Microchannel cooling of face down bonded chips

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, Anthony F.

1993-01-01

Microchannel cooling is applied to flip-chip bonded integrated circuits, in a manner which maintains the advantages of flip-chip bonds, while overcoming the difficulties encountered in cooling the chips. The technique is suited to either multichip integrated circuit boards in a plane, or to stacks of circuit boards in a three dimensional interconnect structure. Integrated circuit chips are mounted on a circuit board using flip-chip or control collapse bonds. A microchannel structure is essentially permanently coupled with the back of the chip. A coolant delivery manifold delivers coolant to the microchannel structure, and a seal consisting of a compressible elastomer is provided between the coolant delivery manifold and the microchannel structure. The integrated circuit chip and microchannel structure are connected together to form a replaceable integrated circuit module which can be easily decoupled from the coolant delivery manifold and the circuit board. The coolant supply manifolds may be disposed between the circuit boards in a stack and coupled to supplies of coolant through a side of the stack.

Microchannel cooling of face down bonded chips

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, A.F.

1993-06-08

Microchannel cooling is applied to flip-chip bonded integrated circuits, in a manner which maintains the advantages of flip-chip bonds, while overcoming the difficulties encountered in cooling the chips. The technique is suited to either multi chip integrated circuit boards in a plane, or to stacks of circuit boards in a three dimensional interconnect structure. Integrated circuit chips are mounted on a circuit board using flip-chip or control collapse bonds. A microchannel structure is essentially permanently coupled with the back of the chip. A coolant delivery manifold delivers coolant to the microchannel structure, and a seal consisting of a compressible elastomer is provided between the coolant delivery manifold and the microchannel structure. The integrated circuit chip and microchannel structure are connected together to form a replaceable integrated circuit module which can be easily decoupled from the coolant delivery manifold and the circuit board. The coolant supply manifolds may be disposed between the circuit boards in a stack and coupled to supplies of coolant through a side of the stack.

Neural dynamics for landmark orientation and angular path integration

PubMed Central

Seelig, Johannes D.; Jayaraman, Vivek

2015-01-01

Summary Many animals navigate using a combination of visual landmarks and path integration. In mammalian brains, head direction cells integrate these two streams of information by representing an animal's heading relative to landmarks, yet maintaining their directional tuning in darkness based on self-motion cues. Here we use two-photon calcium imaging in head-fixed flies walking on a ball in a virtual reality arena to demonstrate that landmark-based orientation and angular path integration are combined in the population responses of neurons whose dendrites tile the ellipsoid body — a toroidal structure in the center of the fly brain. The population encodes the fly's azimuth relative to its environment, tracking visual landmarks when available and relying on self-motion cues in darkness. When both visual and self-motion cues are absent, a representation of the animal's orientation is maintained in this network through persistent activity — a potential substrate for short-term memory. Several features of the population dynamics of these neurons and their circular anatomical arrangement are suggestive of ring attractors — network structures proposed to support the function of navigational brain circuits. PMID:25971509

Software reengineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest M., III

1991-01-01

Today's software systems generally use obsolete technology, are not integrated properly with other software systems, and are difficult and costly to maintain. The discipline of reverse engineering is becoming prominent as organizations try to move their systems up to more modern and maintainable technology in a cost effective manner. JSC created a significant set of tools to develop and maintain FORTRAN and C code during development of the Space Shuttle. This tool set forms the basis for an integrated environment to re-engineer existing code into modern software engineering structures which are then easier and less costly to maintain and which allow a fairly straightforward translation into other target languages. The environment will support these structures and practices even in areas where the language definition and compilers do not enforce good software engineering. The knowledge and data captured using the reverse engineering tools is passed to standard forward engineering tools to redesign or perform major upgrades to software systems in a much more cost effective manner than using older technologies. A beta vision of the environment was released in Mar. 1991. The commercial potential for such re-engineering tools is very great. CASE TRENDS magazine reported it to be the primary concern of over four hundred of the top MIS executives.

Playful Structure: A Novel Image of Early Years Pedagogy for Primary School Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Glenda; Sproule, Liz; McGuinness, Carol; Trew, Karen

2011-01-01

Playful structure is a new pedagogic image representing a more balanced and integrated perspective on early years pedagogy, aiming to blend apparent dichotomies and contradictions and to sustain and evolve play-based practice beyond Year 1. Playful structure invites teachers and children to initiate and maintain a degree of playfulness in the…

Fast Faraday Cup With High Bandwidth

DOEpatents

Deibele, Craig E [Knoxville, TN

2006-03-14

A circuit card stripline Fast Faraday cup quantitatively measures the picosecond time structure of a charged particle beam. The stripline configuration maintains signal integrity, and stitching of the stripline increases the bandwidth. A calibration procedure ensures the measurement of the absolute charge and time structure of the charged particle beam.

Fiber optics in composite materials: materials with nerves of glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Measures, Raymond M.

1990-08-01

A Fiber Optic BasedSmart Structure wiipossess a structurally integrated optical microsensor system for determining its state. This built-in sensor system should, in real-time, be able to: evaluate the strain or deformation of a structure, monitor if its vibrating or subject to excessive loads, check its temperature and warn of the appearance of any hot spots. In addition a Smart Structure should maintain a vigilant survelliance over its structural integrity. The successful development of Smart StructureTechnolgy could lead to: aircraft that are safer, lighter, more efficient, easier to maintain and to service; pipelines, pressure vessels and storage tanks that constantly monitor their structuralintegrity and immediately issue an alert ifany problem is detected; space platforms that check forpressure leaks, unwanted vibration, excess thermal buildup, and deviation from some preassigned shape.This technology is particularly appropriate for composite materials where internal damage generated by: impacts, manufacturing flaws, excessive loading or fatigue could be detected and assessed. In service monitoring of structural loads, especially in regions like wing roots of aircraft, could be ofconsiderable benefit in helping to avoid structural overdesign and reduce weight. Structurally imbedded optical fibers sensors might also serve to monitor the cure state of composite thermosets during their fabrication and thereby contribute to improved quality control of these products.

User Guide to the Aircraft Cumulative Probability Chart Template

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

Technology Organisation *AeroStructures Technologies DSTO-TR-2332 ABSTRACT To ensure aircraft structural integrity is maintained to an acceptable level...cracking (or failure) which may be used to assess the life of aircraft structures . RELEASE LIMITATION Approved for public release Report...ADDRESS(ES) DSTO Defence Science and Technology Organisation ,506 Lorimer St,Fishermans Bend Victoria 3207 Australia, , , 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

Propulsion system performance resulting from an integrated flight/propulsion control design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattern, Duane; Garg, Sanjay

1992-01-01

Propulsion-system-specific results are presented from the application of the integrated methodology for propulsion and airframe control (IMPAC) design approach to integrated flight/propulsion control design for a 'short takeoff and vertical landing' (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The IMPAC method is briefly discussed and the propulsion system specifications for the integrated control design are examined. The structure of a linear engine controller that results from partitioning a linear centralized controller is discussed. The details of a nonlinear propulsion control system are presented, including a scheme to protect the engine operational limits: the fan surge margin and the acceleration/deceleration schedule that limits the fuel flow. Also, a simple but effective multivariable integrator windup protection scheme is examined. Nonlinear closed-loop simulation results are presented for two typical pilot commands for transition flight: acceleration while maintaining flightpath angle and a change in flightpath angle while maintaining airspeed. The simulation nonlinearities include the airframe/engine coupling, the actuator and sensor dynamics and limits, the protection scheme for the engine operational limits, and the integrator windup protection. Satisfactory performance of the total airframe plus engine system for transition flight, as defined by the specifications, was maintained during the limit operation of the closed-loop engine subsystem.

Hughes Associates Final Report

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

Olson, Brad

2013-05-22

This report focuses on the more limiting gasket material (neoprene and viton). The use of polymer based gasketing material has led the DOE to question whether the ducts will be able to maintain structural integrity during a fire.

Integrating Meaning and Structure in L1-L2 and L2-L1 Translations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Jung Hyun; Christianson, Kiel

2013-01-01

This article examined the integration of semantic and morphosyntactic information by Korean learners of English as a second language (L2). In Experiment 1, L2 learners listened to English active or passive sentences that were either plausible or implausible and translated them into Korean. A significant number of Korean translations maintained the…

Update on ongoing tank car crashworthiness research : predicted performance and fabrication approach

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-04-22

Research is currently underway to develop strategies for maintaining the structural integrity of railroad tank cars carrying hazardous materials during collisions. This research, sponsored by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has focused on ...

Integrated vegetation management (IVM) for INDOT roadsides.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

With over 90,000 miles of road in Indiana, it is important that adjoining vegetation be maintained for safety concerns, road structure : maintenance and aesthetics. Mowing is currently the main form of vegetation management on INDOT (Indiana Departme...

On the Improvement of Convergence Performance for Integrated Design of Wind Turbine Blade Using a Vector Dominating Multi-objective Evolution Algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L.; Wang, T. G.; Wu, J. H.; Cheng, G. P.

2016-09-01

A novel multi-objective optimization algorithm incorporating evolution strategies and vector mechanisms, referred as VD-MOEA, is proposed and applied in aerodynamic- structural integrated design of wind turbine blade. In the algorithm, a set of uniformly distributed vectors is constructed to guide population in moving forward to the Pareto front rapidly and maintain population diversity with high efficiency. For example, two- and three- objective designs of 1.5MW wind turbine blade are subsequently carried out for the optimization objectives of maximum annual energy production, minimum blade mass, and minimum extreme root thrust. The results show that the Pareto optimal solutions can be obtained in one single simulation run and uniformly distributed in the objective space, maximally maintaining the population diversity. In comparison to conventional evolution algorithms, VD-MOEA displays dramatic improvement of algorithm performance in both convergence and diversity preservation for handling complex problems of multi-variables, multi-objectives and multi-constraints. This provides a reliable high-performance optimization approach for the aerodynamic-structural integrated design of wind turbine blade.

Metabolic and structural integrity of magnetic nanoparticle-loaded primary endothelial cells for targeted cell therapy.

PubMed

Orynbayeva, Zulfiya; Sensenig, Richard; Polyak, Boris

2015-05-01

To successfully translate magnetically mediated cell targeting from bench to bedside, there is a need to systematically assess the potential adverse effects of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) interacting with 'therapeutic' cells. Here, we examined in detail the effects of internalized polymeric MNPs on primary rat endothelial cells' structural intactness, metabolic integrity and proliferation potential. The intactness of cytoskeleton and organelles was studied by fluorescent confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and high-resolution respirometry. MNP-loaded primary endothelial cells preserve intact cytoskeleton and organelles, maintain normal rate of proliferation, calcium signaling and mitochondria energy metabolism. This study provides supportive evidence that MNPs at doses necessary for targeting did not induce significant adverse effects on structural integrity and functionality of primary endothelial cells - potential cell therapy vectors.

SEWER AND TANK SEDIMENT FLUSHING: CASE STUDIES

EPA Science Inventory

The objective of the report summarized here is to demonstrate that sewer system and storage tank flushing that reduces sediment deposition and accumulation is of prime importance to optimizing performance, maintaining structural integrity, and minimizing pollution of receiving wa...

Multicanister overpack topical report

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

Lorenz, B.D., Fluor Daniel Hanford

1997-03-25

The Spent Nuclear Fuel MCO is a single-use container that consists of a cylindrical shell, five to six fuel baskets, a shield plug, and features necessary for maintaining the structural integrity of the MCO while providing criticality control and fuel processing capability.

Ischemic preconditioning enhances integrity of coronary endothelial tight junctions

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

Li, Zhao; Jin, Zhu-Qiu, E-mail: zhu-qiu.jin@sdstate.edu

2012-08-31

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cardiac tight junctions are present between coronary endothelial cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ischemic preconditioning preserves the structural and functional integrity of tight junctions. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Myocardial edema is prevented in hearts subjected to ischemic preconditioning. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ischemic preconditioning enhances translocation of ZO-2 from cytosol to cytoskeleton. -- Abstract: Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) is one of the most effective procedures known to protect hearts against ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Tight junction (TJ) barriers occur between coronary endothelial cells. TJs provide barrier function to maintain the homeostasis of the inner environment of tissues. However, the effect of IPC on the structure and function of cardiacmore » TJs remains unknown. We tested the hypothesis that myocardial IR injury ruptures the structure of TJs and impairs endothelial permeability whereas IPC preserves the structural and functional integrity of TJs in the blood-heart barrier. Langendorff hearts from C57BL/6J mice were prepared and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer. Cardiac function, creatine kinase release, and myocardial edema were measured. Cardiac TJ function was evaluated by measuring Evans blue-conjugated albumin (EBA) content in the extravascular compartment of hearts. Expression and translocation of zonula occludens (ZO)-2 in IR and IPC hearts were detected with Western blot. A subset of hearts was processed for the observation of ultra-structure of cardiac TJs with transmission electron microscopy. There were clear TJs between coronary endothelial cells of mouse hearts. IR caused the collapse of TJs whereas IPC sustained the structure of TJs. IR increased extravascular EBA content in the heart and myocardial edema but decreased the expression of ZO-2 in the cytoskeleton. IPC maintained the structure of TJs. Cardiac EBA content and edema were reduced in IPC hearts. IPC enhanced the translocation of ZO-2 from cytosol to cytoskeleton. In conclusion, TJs occur in normal mouse heart. IPC preserves the integrity of TJ structure and function that are vulnerable to IR injury.« less

Ordered macroporous platinum electrode and enhanced mass transfer in fuel cells using inverse opal structure.

PubMed

Kim, Ok-Hee; Cho, Yong-Hun; Kang, Soon Hyung; Park, Hee-Young; Kim, Minhyoung; Lim, Ju Wan; Chung, Dong Young; Lee, Myeong Jae; Choe, Heeman; Sung, Yung-Eun

2013-01-01

Three-dimensional, ordered macroporous materials such as inverse opal structures are attractive materials for various applications in electrochemical devices because of the benefits derived from their periodic structures: relatively large surface areas, large voidage, low tortuosity and interconnected macropores. However, a direct application of an inverse opal structure in membrane electrode assemblies has been considered impractical because of the limitations in fabrication routes including an unsuitable substrate. Here we report the demonstration of a single cell that maintains an inverse opal structure entirely within a membrane electrode assembly. Compared with the conventional catalyst slurry, an ink-based assembly, this modified assembly has a robust and integrated configuration of catalyst layers; therefore, the loss of catalyst particles can be minimized. Furthermore, the inverse-opal-structure electrode maintains an effective porosity, an enhanced performance, as well as an improved mass transfer and more effective water management, owing to its morphological advantages.

Proof of concept for using unmanned aerial vehicles for high mast pole and bridge inspections.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

Bridges and high mast luminaires (HMLs) are key components of transportation infrastructures. Effective inspection : processes are crucial to maintain the structural integrity of these components. The most common approach for : inspections is visual ...

Introduction to natural disturbances and historic range of variation: type, frequency, severity, and post-disturbance structure in central hardwood forests

Treesearch

Katie Greenberg; Beverly S. Collins; Henry McNab; Douglas K. Miller; Gary R. Wein

2015-01-01

EXCERPT FROM: Natural Disturbances and Historic Range Variation 2015. Throughout the history of upland hardwood forests of the Central Hardwood Region, natural disturbances have been integral to shaping forest structure and composition, and essential in maintaining diverse biotic...

Impact of land use on the biodiversity integrity of the moist sub-biome of the grassland biome, South Africa.

PubMed

O'Connor, T G; Kuyler, P

2009-01-01

South Africa's moist grassland harbours globally significant biodiversity, supplies essential ecosystem services, supports crop and livestock agriculture, forestry and settlement, yet is poorly conserved. Ongoing transformation and limited opportunity for expanding the protected area network require instead that biodiversity conservation is 'mainstreamed' within other land uses. This exercise sought to identify the relative compatibility of 10 land uses (conservation, livestock or game ranching, tourism/recreation, rural settlement, dryland cropping, irrigated cropping, dairy farming, plantation forestry, and urban settlement) with maintaining biodiversity integrity. This was assessed using 46 indicators for biodiversity integrity that covered landscape composition, structure, and functioning. Data was integrated into a single measure per land use through application of the analytic hierarchy process, with supporting information gained from interviews with experts. The rank order of importance amongst indicators was landscape structure, functioning and composition. Consistent differences among land uses for all three categories revealed two clear groupings. Conservation, livestock or game ranching had the lowest impact and retained substantial natural asset, while that for tourism/recreation was intermediate. All other land uses had a severe impact. Impact on biodiversity integrity depended mainly on the extent of transformation and fragmentation, which accounted for the greatest impact on habitats and species, and impairment of landscape functioning. It is suggested that a strategic intervention for maintaining biodiversity integrity of moist grassland is to support livestock or game ranching and limit ongoing urban sprawl.

Characterizing and Mapping of Ecosystem Services (CMESs) Literature Database Version 1.0

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services (ESs) represent an ecosystem’s capacity for satisfying essential human needs, directly or indirectly, above that required to maintain ecosystem integrity (structure, function and processes). The spatial characterization and mapping of ESs is an essential first ...

Interplay of DNA repair with transcription: from structures to mechanisms.

PubMed

Deaconescu, Alexandra M; Artsimovitch, Irina; Grigorieff, Nikolaus

2012-12-01

Many DNA transactions are crucial for maintaining genomic integrity and faithful transfer of genetic information but remain poorly understood. An example is the interplay between nucleotide excision repair (NER) and transcription, also known as transcription-coupled DNA repair (TCR). Discovered decades ago, the mechanisms for TCR have remained elusive, not in small part due to the scarcity of structural studies of key players. Here we summarize recent structural information on NER/TCR factors, focusing on bacterial systems, and integrate it with existing genetic, biochemical, and biophysical data to delineate the mechanisms at play. We also review emerging, alternative modalities for recruitment of NER proteins to DNA lesions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composite structural materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loewy, R.; Wiberley, S. E.

1986-01-01

Overall emphasis is on basic long-term research in the following categories: constituent materials, composite materials, generic structural elements, processing science technology; and maintaining long-term structural integrity. Research in basic composition, characteristics, and processing science of composite materials and their constituents is balanced against the mechanics, conceptual design, fabrication, and testing of generic structural elements typical of aerospace vehicles so as to encourage the discovery of unusual solutions to present and future problems. Detailed descriptions of the progress achieved in the various component parts of this comprehensive program are presented.

Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanospheres as anode material for enhanced performance in lithium ion batteries

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

Sasidharan, Manickam; Gunawardhana, Nanda; Yoshio, Masaki, E-mail: yoshio@cc.saga-u.ac.jp

2012-09-15

Graphical abstract: Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanosphere constructed electrode delivers high capacity of 172 mAh g{sup −1} after 250 cycles and maintains structural integrity and excellent cycling stability. Highlights: ► Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanospheres synthesis was synthesized by soft-template. ► Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanospheres were investigated as anode material in Li-ion battery. ► Nanostructured electrode delivers high capacity of 172 mAh g{sup −1} after 250 cycles. ► The electrode maintains the structural integrity and excellent cycling stability. ► Nanosized shell domain facilitates fast lithium intercalation/deintercalation. -- Abstract: Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanospheres of average diameter ca. ∼29 nmmore » and hollow cavity size ca. 17 nm were synthesized using polymeric micelles with core–shell–corona architecture under mild conditions. The hollow particles were thoroughly characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal (TG/DTA) and nitrogen adsorption analyses. Thus obtained Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} hollow nanospheres were investigated as anode materials for lithium ion rechargeable batteries for the first time. The nanostructured electrode delivers high capacity of 172 mAh g{sup −1} after 250 cycles of charge/discharge at a rate of 0.5 C. More importantly, the hollow particles based electrodes maintains the structural integrity and excellent cycling stability even after exposing to high current density 6.25 A g{sup −1}. The enhanced electrochemical behavior is ascribed to hollow cavity coupled with nanosized Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} shell domain that facilitates fast lithium intercalation/deintercalation kinetics.« less

E-MSD: an integrated data resource for bioinformatics.

PubMed

Velankar, S; McNeil, P; Mittard-Runte, V; Suarez, A; Barrell, D; Apweiler, R; Henrick, K

2005-01-01

The Macromolecular Structure Database (MSD) group (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd/) continues to enhance the quality and consistency of macromolecular structure data in the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) and to work towards the integration of various bioinformatics data resources. One of the major obstacles to the improved integration of structural databases such as MSD and sequence databases like UniProt is the absence of up to date and well-maintained mapping between corresponding entries. We have worked closely with the UniProt group at the EBI to clean up the taxonomy and sequence cross-reference information in the MSD and UniProt databases. This information is vital for the reliable integration of the sequence family databases such as Pfam and Interpro with the structure-oriented databases of SCOP and CATH. This information has been made available to the eFamily group (http://www.efamily.org.uk/) and now forms the basis of the regular interchange of information between the member databases (MSD, UniProt, Pfam, Interpro, SCOP and CATH). This exchange of annotation information has enriched the structural information in the MSD database with annotation from wider sequence-oriented resources. This work was carried out under the 'Structure Integration with Function, Taxonomy and Sequences (SIFTS)' initiative (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd-srv/docs/sifts) in the MSD group.

Brain’s DNA Repair Response to Neurotoxicants

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-07-01

it is possible that OTA exposure may impact on this ability of this structure to maintain its functional integrity over time. Indeed it is known...Gordon et al., 2004). In light of the critical role played by hippocampus in cognitive function, and the importance of neurogenesis in this structure ...uncompetitive inhibitorof both succinate-cytochrome c reductase and succinate dehydrogenase while sparing cytochrome oxidase and NADH dehydrogenase

Liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of 3D polymer nanopatterns for direct carbonisation with high structural integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Da-Young; Kim, Cheolho; Park, Gyurim; Moon, Jun Hyuk

2015-12-01

The direct pyrolytic carbonisation of polymer patterns has attracted interest for its use in obtaining carbon materials. In the case of carbonisation of nanopatterned polymers, the polymer flow and subsequent pattern change may occur in order to relieve their high surface energies. Here, we demonstrated that liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of polymer nanopatterns effectively enhanced the thermal resistance and maintained the structure integrity during the heat treatment. We employed the liquid immersion thermal crosslinking for 3D porous SU8 photoresist nanopatterns and successfully converted them to carbon nanopatterns while maintaining their porous features. The thermal crosslinking reaction and carbonisation of SU8 nanopatterns were characterised. The micro-crystallinity of the SU8-derived carbon nanopatterns was also characterised. The liquid immersion heat treatment can be extended to the carbonisation of various polymer or photoresist nanopatterns and also provide a facile way to control the surface energy of polymer nanopatterns for various purposes, for example, to block copolymer or surfactant self-assemblies.

Liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of 3D polymer nanopatterns for direct carbonisation with high structural integrity

PubMed Central

Kang, Da-Young; Kim, Cheolho; Park, Gyurim; Moon, Jun Hyuk

2015-01-01

The direct pyrolytic carbonisation of polymer patterns has attracted interest for its use in obtaining carbon materials. In the case of carbonisation of nanopatterned polymers, the polymer flow and subsequent pattern change may occur in order to relieve their high surface energies. Here, we demonstrated that liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of polymer nanopatterns effectively enhanced the thermal resistance and maintained the structure integrity during the heat treatment. We employed the liquid immersion thermal crosslinking for 3D porous SU8 photoresist nanopatterns and successfully converted them to carbon nanopatterns while maintaining their porous features. The thermal crosslinking reaction and carbonisation of SU8 nanopatterns were characterised. The micro-crystallinity of the SU8-derived carbon nanopatterns was also characterised. The liquid immersion heat treatment can be extended to the carbonisation of various polymer or photoresist nanopatterns and also provide a facile way to control the surface energy of polymer nanopatterns for various purposes, for example, to block copolymer or surfactant self-assemblies. PMID:26677949

Liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of 3D polymer nanopatterns for direct carbonisation with high structural integrity.

PubMed

Kang, Da-Young; Kim, Cheolho; Park, Gyurim; Moon, Jun Hyuk

2015-12-18

The direct pyrolytic carbonisation of polymer patterns has attracted interest for its use in obtaining carbon materials. In the case of carbonisation of nanopatterned polymers, the polymer flow and subsequent pattern change may occur in order to relieve their high surface energies. Here, we demonstrated that liquid immersion thermal crosslinking of polymer nanopatterns effectively enhanced the thermal resistance and maintained the structure integrity during the heat treatment. We employed the liquid immersion thermal crosslinking for 3D porous SU8 photoresist nanopatterns and successfully converted them to carbon nanopatterns while maintaining their porous features. The thermal crosslinking reaction and carbonisation of SU8 nanopatterns were characterised. The micro-crystallinity of the SU8-derived carbon nanopatterns was also characterised. The liquid immersion heat treatment can be extended to the carbonisation of various polymer or photoresist nanopatterns and also provide a facile way to control the surface energy of polymer nanopatterns for various purposes, for example, to block copolymer or surfactant self-assemblies.

An Assessment of Research Gaps Related to Deep Water Wellbore Integrity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkach, M. K.; Radonjic, M.; Kutchko, B. G.

2017-12-01

In order for a deep-water wellbore to uphold its integrity under high pressure - high temperature conditions, the wellbore must possess complete zonal isolation while surrounded in an extreme environment. Highly variable temperature and pressure ranges, shallow flow zones, as well as potentially corrosive fluids and gasses all present unique challenges to the job of the cement which maintains that zonal isolation. As such, alternative options to mainstream choices often present themselves as attractive avenues of discovery. As it is of utmost importance to maintain structural integrity under HPHT conditions, cement slurries are pumped downhole to provide zonal isolation and structural support to offshore wells. The wellbore system potentially faces a variety of temperature and pressure fluctuations from the immediate onset. These fluctuations may affect the hydration properties of the cement. It is also important to consider the chemical interactions that the cement may have at the rock-cement interface where potential degradation or annulus gaps may occur further risking a decrease in zonal isolation. This presentation intends to review some of the important issues regarding zonal isolation in HPHT conditions and to highlight critical knowledge gaps in order to generate important research questions.

Project Integration Architecture: Distributed Lock Management, Deadlock Detection, and Set Iteration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, William Henry

2005-01-01

The migration of the Project Integration Architecture (PIA) to the distributed object environment of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) brings with it the nearly unavoidable requirements of multiaccessor, asynchronous operations. In order to maintain the integrity of data structures in such an environment, it is necessary to provide a locking mechanism capable of protecting the complex operations typical of the PIA architecture. This paper reports on the implementation of a locking mechanism to treat that need. Additionally, the ancillary features necessary to make the distributed lock mechanism work are discussed.

A fuselage/tank structure study for actively cooled hypersonic cruise vehicles, summary. [aircraft design of aircraft fuel systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pirrello, C. J.; Baker, A. H.; Stone, J. E.

1976-01-01

A detailed analytical study was made to investigate the effects of fuselage cross section (circular and elliptical) and the structural arrangement (integral and nonintegral tanks) on aircraft performance. The vehicle was a 200 passenger, liquid hydrogen fueled Mach 6 transport designed to meet a range goal of 9.26 Mn (5000 NM). A variety of trade studies were conducted in the area of configuration arrangement, structural design, and active cooling design in order to maximize the performance of each of three point design aircraft: (1) circular wing-body with nonintegral tanks, (2) circular wing-body with integral tanks and (3) elliptical blended wing-body with integral tanks. Aircraft range and weight were used as the basis for comparison. The resulting design and performance characteristics show that the blended body integral tank aircraft weights the least and has the greatest range capability, however, producibility and maintainability factors favor nonintegral tank concepts.

Intraepithelial gammadelta+ lymphocytes maintain the integrity of intestinal epithelial tight junctions in response to infection.

PubMed

Dalton, Jane E; Cruickshank, Sheena M; Egan, Charlotte E; Mears, Rainy; Newton, Darren J; Andrew, Elizabeth M; Lawrence, Beth; Howell, Gareth; Else, Kathryn J; Gubbels, Marc-Jan; Striepen, Boris; Smith, Judith E; White, Stanley J; Carding, Simon R

2006-09-01

Intestinal epithelial integrity and permeability is dependent on intercellular tight junction (TJ) complexes. How TJ integrity is regulated remains unclear, although phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the integral membrane protein occludin is an important determinant of TJ formation and epithelial permeability. We have investigated the role intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (iIELs) play in regulating epithelial permeability in response to infection. Recombinant strains of Toxoplasma gondii were used to assess intestinal epithelial barrier function and TJ integrity in mice with intact or depleted populations of iIELs. Alterations in epithelial permeability were correlated with TJ structure and the state of phosphorylation of occludin. iIEL in vivo reconstitution experiments were used to identify the iIELs required to maintain epithelial permeability and TJ integrity. In the absence of gammadelta+ iIELs, intestinal epithelial barrier function and the ability to restrict epithelial transmigration of Toxoplasma and the unrelated intracellular bacterial pathogen Salmonella typhimurium was severely compromised. Leaky epithelium in gammadelta+ iIEL-deficient mice was associated with the absence of phosphorylation of serine residues of occludin and lack of claudin 3 and zona occludens-1 proteins in TJ complexes. These deficiencies were attributable to the absence of a single subset of gammadelta T-cell receptor (TCR-Vgamma7+) iIELs that, after reconstituting gammadelta iIEL-deficient mice, restored epithelial barrier function and TJ complexes, resulting in increased resistance to infection. These findings identify a novel role for gammadelta+ iIELs in maintaining TJ integrity and epithelial barrier function that have implications for understanding the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammatory diseases associated with disruption of TJ complexes.

Integrated Control Using the SOFFT Control Structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halyo, Nesim

1996-01-01

The need for integrated/constrained control systems has become clearer as advanced aircraft introduced new coupled subsystems such as new propulsion subsystems with thrust vectoring and new aerodynamic designs. In this study, we develop an integrated control design methodology which accomodates constraints among subsystem variables while using the Stochastic Optimal Feedforward/Feedback Control Technique (SOFFT) thus maintaining all the advantages of the SOFFT approach. The Integrated SOFFT Control methodology uses a centralized feedforward control and a constrained feedback control law. The control thus takes advantage of the known coupling among the subsystems while maintaining the identity of subsystems for validation purposes and the simplicity of the feedback law to understand the system response in complicated nonlinear scenarios. The Variable-Gain Output Feedback Control methodology (including constant gain output feedback) is extended to accommodate equality constraints. A gain computation algorithm is developed. The designer can set the cross-gains between two variables or subsystems to zero or another value and optimize the remaining gains subject to the constraint. An integrated control law is designed for a modified F-15 SMTD aircraft model with coupled airframe and propulsion subsystems using the Integrated SOFFT Control methodology to produce a set of desired flying qualities.

Evaluation of Short-Term Bioassays to Predict Functional Impairment. Selected Short-Term Cardiovascular Toxicity Tests.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-10-01

for many cultures at one time (Acosta, 1979). When Nitro Blue tetrazolium (NBT) and phenazine methosulphate react with succinate dehydrogenase...microscopically-observable for- mazan granules are formed. When the structural integrity of the mitochondrial membranes is maintained, NBT and phenazine

Airframe integration trade studies for a reusable launch vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorsey, John T.; Wu, Chauncey; Rivers, Kevin; Martin, Carl; Smith, Russell

1999-01-01

Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost.

Enhanced neural stem cell functions in conductive annealed carbon nanofibrous scaffolds with electrical stimulation.

PubMed

Zhu, Wei; Ye, Tao; Lee, Se-Jun; Cui, Haitao; Miao, Shida; Zhou, Xuan; Shuai, Danmeng; Zhang, Lijie Grace

2017-05-25

Carbon-based nanomaterials have shown great promise in regenerative medicine because of their unique electrical, mechanical, and biological properties; however, it is still difficult to engineer 2D pure carbon nanomaterials into a 3D scaffold while maintaining its structural integrity. In the present study, we developed novel carbon nanofibrous scaffolds by annealing electrospun mats at elevated temperature. The resultant scaffold showed a cohesive structure and excellent mechanical flexibility. The graphitic structure generated by annealing renders superior electrical conductivity to the carbon nanofibrous scaffold. By integrating the conductive scaffold with biphasic electrical stimulation, neural stem cell proliferation was promoted associating with upregulated neuronal gene expression level and increased microtubule-associated protein 2 immunofluorescence, demonstrating an improved neuronal differentiation and maturation. The findings suggest that the integration of the conducting carbon nanofibrous scaffold and electrical stimulation may pave a new avenue for neural tissue regeneration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Airframe Integration Trade Studies for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorsey, John T.; Wu, Chauncey; Rivers, Kevin; Martin, Carl; Smith, Russell

1999-01-01

Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost.

Three-Axis Distributed Fiber Optic Strain Measurement in 3D Woven Composite Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Castellucci, Matt; Klute, Sandra; Lally, Evan M.; Froggatt, Mark E.; Lowry, David

2013-01-01

Recent advancements in composite materials technologies have broken further from traditional designs and require advanced instrumentation and analysis capabilities. Success or failure is highly dependent on design analysis and manufacturing processes. By monitoring smart structures throughout manufacturing and service life, residual and operational stresses can be assessed and structural integrity maintained. Composite smart structures can be manufactured by integrating fiber optic sensors into existing composite materials processes such as ply layup, filament winding and three-dimensional weaving. In this work optical fiber was integrated into 3D woven composite parts at a commercial woven products manufacturing facility. The fiber was then used to monitor the structures during a VARTM manufacturing process, and subsequent static and dynamic testing. Low cost telecommunications-grade optical fiber acts as the sensor using a high resolution commercial Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer (OFDR) system providing distributed strain measurement at spatial resolutions as low as 2mm. Strain measurements using the optical fiber sensors are correlated to resistive strain gage measurements during static structural loading. Keywords: fiber optic, distributed strain sensing, Rayleigh scatter, optical frequency domain reflectometry

Targeted Structural Optimization with Additive Manufacturing of Metals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burt, Adam; Hull, Patrick

2015-01-01

The recent advances in additive manufacturing (AM) of metals have now improved the state-of-the-art such that traditionally non-producible parts can be readily produced in a cost-effective way. Because of these advances in manufacturing technology, structural optimization techniques are well positioned to supplement and advance this new technology. The goal of this project is to develop a structural design, analysis, and optimization framework combined with AM to significantly light-weight the interior of metallic structures while maintaining the selected structural properties of the original solid. This is a new state-of-the-art capability to significantly reduce mass, while maintaining the structural integrity of the original design, something that can only be done with AM. In addition, this framework will couple the design, analysis, and fabrication process, meaning that what has been designed directly represents the produced part, thus closing the loop on the design cycle and removing human iteration between design and fabrication. This fundamental concept has applications from light-weighting launch vehicle components to in situ resource fabrication.

Sustainability and integration of radioecology-position paper.

PubMed

Muikku, M; Beresford, N A; Garnier-Laplace, J; Real, A; Sirkka, L; Thorne, M; Vandenhove, H; Willrodt, C

2018-03-01

This position paper gives an overview of how the COMET project (COordination and iMplementation of a pan-European instrumenT for radioecology, a combined Collaborative Project and Coordination and Support Action under the EC/Euratom 7th Framework Programme) contributed to the integration and sustainability of radioecology in Europe via its support to and interaction with the European Radioecology ALLIANCE. COMET built upon the foundations laid by the FP7 project STAR (Strategic Network for Integrating Radioecology) Network of Excellence in radioecology. In close association with the ALLIANCE, and based on the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), COMET developed innovative mechanisms for joint programming and implementation of radioecological research. To facilitate and foster future integration under a common federating structure, research activities developed within COMET were targeted at radioecological research needs identified in the SRA. Furthermore, COMET maintained and developed strong mechanisms for knowledge exchange, dissemination and training to enhance and maintain European capacity, competence and skills in radioecology. In the short term the work to promote radioecology will continue under the H2020 project EJP-CONCERT (European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research). The EJP-CONCERT project (2015-2020) aims to develop a sustainable structure for promoting and administering joint programming and open research calls in the field of radiation protection research for Europe. In the longer term, radioecological research will be facilitated by the ALLIANCE. External funding is, however, required in order to be able to answer emerging research needs.

Excimer laser with fluoropolymer lining

DOEpatents

Sze, Robert C.

1982-01-01

A cavity formed of Teflon to provide extended static fill lifetimes for gases containing halogens. A double cavity configuration provides structural integrity to the inner Teflon cavity by maintaining an identical multi-atmospheric pressure within the outer structural cavity to minimize tension on the Teflon inner cavity. Use of a quantity of the lasing gas in the outer cavity or a constituent of that gas minimizes contamination of the lasing gas.

Toll-like receptor 4 deficiency causes pulmonary emphysema

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xuchen; Shan, Peiying; Jiang, Ge; Cohn, Lauren; Lee, Patty J.

2006-01-01

TLRs have been studied extensively in the context of pathogen challenges, yet their role in the unchallenged lung is unknown. Given their direct interface with the external environment, TLRs in the lungs are prime candidates to respond to air constituents, namely particulates and oxygen. The mechanism whereby the lung maintains structural integrity in the face of constant ambient exposures is essential to our understanding of lung disease. Emphysema is characterized by gradual loss of lung elasticity and irreversible airspace enlargement, usually in the later decades of life and after years of insult, most commonly cigarette smoke. Here we show Tlr4–/– mice exhibited emphysema as they aged. Adoptive transfer experiments revealed that TLR4 expression in lung structural cells was required for maintaining normal lung architecture. TLR4 deficiency led to the upregulation of what we believe to be a novel NADPH oxidase (Nox), Nox3, in lungs and endothelial cells, resulting in increased oxidant generation and elastolytic activity. Treatment of Tlr4–/– mice or endothelial cells with chemical NADPH inhibitors or Nox3 siRNA reversed the observed phenotype. Our data identify a role for TLR4 in maintaining constitutive lung integrity by modulating oxidant generation and provide insights into the development of emphysema. PMID:17053835

Neuroglian stabilizes epithelial structure during Drosophila oogenesis.

PubMed

Wei, Jun; Hortsch, Michael; Goode, Scott

2004-08-01

The vertebrate L1 family of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and their fly homolog, Neuroglian, are members of the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily of CAMs. In general, Ig CAMs have been found to play critical roles in mediating axon guidance. One Ig CAM, NCAM, has also been implicated in maintaining epithelial integrity and suppressing metastatic dissemination of tumor cells. Other Ig CAMs, such as Nrg, are also expressed in epithelia. We thus tested the hypothesis that, like NCAM, Nrg might also be required for maintaining epithelial integrity and for inhibiting tumor invasion. We used the Drosophila follicular epithelium to determine the function of Nrg in vivo in maintaining epithelial structure, and in regulating the motility of migrating border cells and invasive tumorous follicle cells. Nrg(167) is expressed on the lateral membrane of follicle cells. Loss of Nrg(167) causes border cells to delay delamination and causes other follicle cells to delaminate inappropriately. The delaminated cells have aberrant epithelial polarity manifested as severe mislocalization of apical and basal membrane proteins, and uniform localization of lateral membrane proteins. Furthermore, loss of Nrg(167) dramatically enhances the invasive phenotype associated with loss of Discs Large, a neoplastic tumor suppressor. These results indicate that Nrg(167) stabilizes epithelial polarity by regulating junctional adhesion and function in normal and tumorous epithelia. Our data also suggest that Ig superfamily members have significant functional redundancy in maintaining epithelial polarity, with individual members playing subtle, unique roles during epithelial morphogenesis. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Challenges for the aircraft structural integrity program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lincoln, John W.

1994-01-01

Thirty-six years ago the United States Air Force established the USAF Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) because flight safety had been degraded by fatigue failures of operational aircraft. This initial program evolved, but has been stable since the issuance of MIL-STD-1530A in 1975. Today, the program faces new challenges because of a need to maintain aircraft longer in an environment of reduced funding levels. Also, there is increased pressure to reduce cost of the acquisition of new aircraft. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the challenges for the ASIP and identify the changes in the program that will meet these challenges in the future.

Aquatic biodiversity in forests: A weak link in ecosystem services resilience

USGS Publications Warehouse

Penaluna, Brooke E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Flitcroft, Rebecca L; Weber, Matthew A.; Bellmore, J. Ryan; Wondzell, Steven M.; Dunham, Jason B.; Johnson, Sherri L.; Reeves, Gordon H.

2017-01-01

The diversity of aquatic ecosystems is being quickly reduced on many continents, warranting a closer examination of the consequences for ecological integrity and ecosystem services. Here we describe intermediate and final ecosystem services derived from aquatic biodiversity in forests. We include a summary of the factors framing the assembly of aquatic biodiversity in forests in natural systems and how they change with a variety of natural disturbances and human-derived stressors. We consider forested aquatic ecosystems as a multi-state portfolio, with diverse assemblages and life-history strategies occurring at local scales as a consequence of a mosaic of habitat conditions and past disturbances and stressors. Maintaining this multi-state portfolio of assemblages requires a broad perspective of ecosystem structure, various functions, services, and management implications relative to contemporary stressors. Because aquatic biodiversity provides multiple ecosystem services to forests, activities that compromise aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity could be an issue for maintaining forest ecosystem integrity. We illustrate these concepts with examples of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in forests of northwestern North America, also known as Northeast Pacific Rim. Encouraging management planning at broad as well as local spatial scales to recognize multi-state ecosystem management goals has promise for maintaining valuable ecosystem services. Ultimately, integration of information from socio-ecological ecosystems will be needed to maintain ecosystem services derived directly and indirectly from forest aquatic biota.

The Landscape Framework for the Spatial Characterization and Mapping of Ecosystem Services: What is the State of the Science?

EPA Science Inventory

Ecosystem services (ESS) represent an ecosystems capacity for satisfying essential human needs, directly or indirectly, above that required to maintain ecosystem integrity (structure, function and processes). The spatial characterization and mapping of ESS is an essential first s...

"Sesame Street": A Linguistic Detour for Black-Language Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Barbara H.

1973-01-01

Maintains that the concept of verbal deprivation'' constituting an integral part of the operating assumption of Sesame Street'' has been thoroughly refuted by reputed liguists; that nonstandard'' English is not an inept, deficient approximation of American English but a separate, logical, and highly structured system of communication. (RJ)

Nondestructive cryomicro-CT imaging enables structural and molecular analysis of human lung tissue.

PubMed

Vasilescu, Dragoş M; Phillion, André B; Tanabe, Naoya; Kinose, Daisuke; Paige, David F; Kantrowitz, Jacob J; Liu, Gang; Liu, Hanqiao; Fishbane, Nick; Verleden, Stijn E; Vanaudenaerde, Bart M; Lenburg, Marc; Stevenson, Christopher S; Spira, Avrum; Cooper, Joel D; Hackett, Tillie-Louise; Hogg, James C

2017-01-01

Micro-computed tomography (CT) enables three-dimensional (3D) imaging of complex soft tissue structures, but current protocols used to achieve this goal preclude cellular and molecular phenotyping of the tissue. Here we describe a radiolucent cryostage that permits micro-CT imaging of unfixed frozen human lung samples at an isotropic voxel size of (11 µm) 3 under conditions where the sample is maintained frozen at -30°C during imaging. The cryostage was tested for thermal stability to maintain samples frozen up to 8 h. This report describes the methods used to choose the materials required for cryostage construction and demonstrates that whole genome mRNA integrity and expression are not compromised by exposure to micro-CT radiation and that the tissue can be used for immunohistochemistry. The new cryostage provides a novel method enabling integration of 3D tissue structure with cellular and molecular analysis to facilitate the identification of molecular determinants of disease. The described micro-CT cryostage provides a novel way to study the three-dimensional lung structure preserved without the effects of fixatives while enabling subsequent studies of the cellular matrix composition and gene expression. This approach will, for the first time, enable researchers to study structural changes of lung tissues that occur with disease and correlate them with changes in gene or protein signatures. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

E-MSD: an integrated data resource for bioinformatics

PubMed Central

Velankar, S.; McNeil, P.; Mittard-Runte, V.; Suarez, A.; Barrell, D.; Apweiler, R.; Henrick, K.

2005-01-01

The Macromolecular Structure Database (MSD) group (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd/) continues to enhance the quality and consistency of macromolecular structure data in the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) and to work towards the integration of various bioinformatics data resources. One of the major obstacles to the improved integration of structural databases such as MSD and sequence databases like UniProt is the absence of up to date and well-maintained mapping between corresponding entries. We have worked closely with the UniProt group at the EBI to clean up the taxonomy and sequence cross-reference information in the MSD and UniProt databases. This information is vital for the reliable integration of the sequence family databases such as Pfam and Interpro with the structure-oriented databases of SCOP and CATH. This information has been made available to the eFamily group (http://www.efamily.org.uk/) and now forms the basis of the regular interchange of information between the member databases (MSD, UniProt, Pfam, Interpro, SCOP and CATH). This exchange of annotation information has enriched the structural information in the MSD database with annotation from wider sequence-oriented resources. This work was carried out under the ‘Structure Integration with Function, Taxonomy and Sequences (SIFTS)’ initiative (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/msd-srv/docs/sifts) in the MSD group. PMID:15608192

Integration of healthcare information: from enterprise PACS to patient centered multimedia health record.

PubMed

Soriano, Enrique; Plazzotta, Fernando; Campos, Fernando; Kaminker, Diego; Cancio, Alfredo; Aguilera Díaz, Jerónimo; Luna, Daniel; Seehaus, Alberto; Carcía Mónaco, Ricardo; de Quirós, Fernán González Bernaldo

2010-01-01

Every single piece of healthcare information should be fully integrated and transparent within the electronic health record. The Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires initiated the project Multimedia Health Record with the goal to achieve this integration while maintaining a holistic view of current structure of the systems of the Hospital, where the axis remains are the patient and longitudinal history, commencing with section Computed Tomography. Was implemented DICOM standard for communication and image storage and bought a PACS. It was necessary adapt our generic reporting system for live up to the commercial RIS. The Computerized Tomography (CT) Scanners of our hospital were easily integrated into the DICOM network and all the CT Scans generated by our radiology service were stored in the PACS, reported using the Structured Reporting System (we installed diagnostic terminals equipped with 3 monitors) and displayed in the EHR at any point of HIBA's healthcare network.

Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj): maintaining a structural data archive and resource description framework format

PubMed Central

Kinjo, Akira R.; Suzuki, Hirofumi; Yamashita, Reiko; Ikegawa, Yasuyo; Kudou, Takahiro; Igarashi, Reiko; Kengaku, Yumiko; Cho, Hasumi; Standley, Daron M.; Nakagawa, Atsushi; Nakamura, Haruki

2012-01-01

The Protein Data Bank Japan (PDBj, http://pdbj.org) is a member of the worldwide Protein Data Bank (wwPDB) and accepts and processes the deposited data of experimentally determined macromolecular structures. While maintaining the archive in collaboration with other wwPDB partners, PDBj also provides a wide range of services and tools for analyzing structures and functions of proteins, which are summarized in this article. To enhance the interoperability of the PDB data, we have recently developed PDB/RDF, PDB data in the Resource Description Framework (RDF) format, along with its ontology in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) based on the PDB mmCIF Exchange Dictionary. Being in the standard format for the Semantic Web, the PDB/RDF data provide a means to integrate the PDB with other biological information resources. PMID:21976737

Large scale database scrubbing using object oriented software components.

PubMed

Herting, R L; Barnes, M R

1998-01-01

Now that case managers, quality improvement teams, and researchers use medical databases extensively, the ability to share and disseminate such databases while maintaining patient confidentiality is paramount. A process called scrubbing addresses this problem by removing personally identifying information while keeping the integrity of the medical information intact. Scrubbing entire databases, containing multiple tables, requires that the implicit relationships between data elements in different tables of the database be maintained. To address this issue we developed DBScrub, a Java program that interfaces with any JDBC compliant database and scrubs the database while maintaining the implicit relationships within it. DBScrub uses a small number of highly configurable object-oriented software components to carry out the scrubbing. We describe the structure of these software components and how they maintain the implicit relationships within the database.

Drosophila melanogaster muscle LIM protein and alpha-actinin function together to stabilize muscle cytoarchitecture: a potential role for Mlp84B in actin-crosslinking.

PubMed

Clark, Kathleen A; Kadrmas, Julie L

2013-06-01

Stabilization of tissue architecture during development and growth is essential to maintain structural integrity. Because of its contractile nature, muscle is especially susceptible to physiological stresses, and has multiple mechanisms to maintain structural integrity. The Drosophila melanogaster Muscle LIM Protein (MLP), Mlp84B, participates in muscle maintenance, yet its precise mechanism of action is still controversial. Through a candidate approach, we identified α-actinin as a protein that functions with Mlp84B to ensure muscle integrity. α-actinin RNAi animals die primarily as pupae, and Mlp84B RNAi animals are adult viable. RNAi knockdown of Mlp84B and α-actinin together produces synergistic early larval lethality and destabilization of Z-line structures. We recapitulated these phenotypes using combinations of traditional loss-of-function alleles and single-gene RNAi. We observe that Mlp84B induces the formation of actin loops in muscle cell nuclei in the absence of nuclear α-actinin, suggesting Mlp84B has intrinsic actin cross-linking activity, which may complement α-actinin cross-linking activity at sites of actin filament anchorage. These results reveal a molecular mechanism for MLP stabilization of muscle and implicate reduced actin crosslinking as the primary destabilizing defect in MLP-associated cardiomyopathies. Our data support a model in which α-actinin and Mlp84B have important and overlapping functions at sites of actin filament anchorage to preserve muscle structure and function. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Engineering Elegant Systems: Postulates, Principles, and Hypotheses of Systems Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, Michael D.

2018-01-01

Definition: System Engineering is the engineering discipline which integrates the system functions, system environment, and the engineering disciplines necessary to produce and/or operate an elegant system; Elegant System - A system that is robust in application, fully meeting specified and adumbrated intent, is well structured, and is graceful in operation. Primary Focus: System Design and Integration: Identify system couplings and interactions; Identify system uncertainties and sensitivities; Identify emergent properties; Manage the effectiveness of the system. Engineering Discipline Integration: Manage flow of information for system development and/or operations; Maintain system activities within budget and schedule. Supporting Activities: Process application and execution.

Data::Downloader

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duggan, Brian

2012-01-01

Downloading and organizing large amounts of files is challenging, and often done using ad hoc methods. This software is capable of downloading and organizing files as an OpenSearch client. It can subscribe to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds and Atom feeds containing arbitrary metadata, and maintains a local content addressable data store. It uses existing standards for obtaining the files, and uses efficient techniques for storing the files. Novel features include symbolic links to maintain a sane directory structure, checksums for validating file integrity during transfer and storage, and flexible use of server-provided metadata.

Development and Applications of a Modular Parallel Process for Large Scale Fluid/Structures Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guruswamy, Guru P.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A modular process that can efficiently solve large scale multidisciplinary problems using massively parallel supercomputers is presented. The process integrates disciplines with diverse physical characteristics by retaining the efficiency of individual disciplines. Computational domain independence of individual disciplines is maintained using a meta programming approach. The process integrates disciplines without affecting the combined performance. Results are demonstrated for large scale aerospace problems on several supercomputers. The super scalability and portability of the approach is demonstrated on several parallel computers.

Development and Applications of a Modular Parallel Process for Large Scale Fluid/Structures Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guruswamy, Guru P.; Byun, Chansup; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

A modular process that can efficiently solve large scale multidisciplinary problems using massively parallel super computers is presented. The process integrates disciplines with diverse physical characteristics by retaining the efficiency of individual disciplines. Computational domain independence of individual disciplines is maintained using a meta programming approach. The process integrates disciplines without affecting the combined performance. Results are demonstrated for large scale aerospace problems on several supercomputers. The super scalability and portability of the approach is demonstrated on several parallel computers.

Aquaporin-0 Targets Interlocking Domains to Control the Integrity and Transparency of the Eye Lens

PubMed Central

Lo, Woo-Kuen; Biswas, Sondip K.; Brako, Lawrence; Shiels, Alan; Gu, Sumin; Jiang, Jean X.

2014-01-01

Purpose. Lens fiber cell membranes contain aquaporin-0 (AQP0), which constitutes approximately 50% of the total fiber cell membrane proteins and has a dual function as a water channel protein and an adhesion molecule. Fiber cell membranes also develop an elaborate interlocking system that is required for maintaining structural order, stability, and lens transparency. Herein, we used an AQP0-deficient mouse model to investigate an unconventional adhesion role of AQP0 in maintaining a normal structure of lens interlocking protrusions. Methods. The loss of AQP0 in AQP0−/− lens fibers was verified by Western blot and immunofluorescence analyses. Changes in membrane surface structures of wild-type and AQP0−/− lenses at age 3 to 12 weeks were examined with scanning electron microscopy. Preferential distribution of AQP0 in wild-type fiber cell membranes was analyzed with immunofluorescence and immunogold labeling using freeze-fracturing transmission electron microscopy. Results. Interlocking protrusions in young differentiating fiber cells developed normally but showed minor abnormalities at approximately 50 μm deep in the absence of AQP0 in all ages studied. Strikingly, protrusions in maturing fiber cells specifically underwent uncontrolled elongation, deformation, and fragmentation, while cells still retained their overall shape. Later in the process, these changes eventually resulted in fiber cell separation, breakdown, and cataract formation in the lens core. Immunolabeling at the light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy levels demonstrated that AQP0 was particularly enriched in interlocking protrusions in wild-type lenses. Conclusions. This study suggests that AQP0 exerts its primary adhesion or suppression role specifically to maintain the normal structure of interlocking protrusions that is critical to the integrity and transparency of the lens. PMID:24458158

E-type cyclins modulate telomere integrity in mammalian male meiosis.

PubMed

Manterola, Marcia; Sicinski, Piotr; Wolgemuth, Debra J

2016-06-01

We have shown that E-type cyclins are key regulators of mammalian male meiosis. Depletion of cyclin E2 reduced fertility in male mice due to meiotic defects, involving abnormal pairing and synapsis, unrepaired DNA, and loss of telomere structure. These defects were exacerbated by additional loss of cyclin E1, and complete absence of both E-type cyclins produces a meiotic catastrophe. Here, we investigated the involvement of E-type cyclins in maintaining telomere integrity in male meiosis. Spermatocytes lacking cyclin E2 and one E1 allele (E1+/-E2-/-) displayed a high rate of telomere abnormalities but can progress to pachytene and diplotene stages. We show that their telomeres exhibited an aberrant DNA damage repair response during pachynema and that the shelterin complex proteins TRF2 and RAP2 were significantly decreased in the proximal telomeres. Moreover, the insufficient level of these proteins correlated with an increase of γ-H2AX foci in the affected telomeres and resulted in telomere associations involving TRF1 and telomere detachment in later prophase-I stages. These results suggest that E-type cyclins are key modulators of telomere integrity during meiosis by, at least in part, maintaining the balance of shelterin complex proteins, and uncover a novel role of E-type cyclins in regulating chromosome structure during male meiosis.

The Drosophila muscle LIM protein, Mlp84B, cooperates with D-titin to maintain muscle structural integrity.

PubMed

Clark, Kathleen A; Bland, Jennifer M; Beckerle, Mary C

2007-06-15

Muscle LIM protein (MLP) is a cytoskeletal LIM-only protein expressed in striated muscle. Mutations in human MLP are associated with cardiomyopathy; however, the molecular mechanism by which MLP functions is not established. A Drosophila MLP homolog, mlp84B, displays many of the same features as the vertebrate protein, illustrating the utility of the fly for the study of MLP function. Animals lacking Mlp84B develop into larvae with a morphologically intact musculature, but the mutants arrest during pupation with impaired muscle function. Mlp84B displays muscle-specific expression and is a component of the Z-disc and nucleus. Preventing nuclear retention of Mlp84B does not affect its function, indicating that Mlp84B site of action is likely to be at the Z-disc. Within the Z-disc, Mlp84B is colocalized with the N-terminus of D-titin, a protein crucial for sarcomere organization and stretch mechanics. The mlp84B mutants phenotypically resemble weak D-titin mutants. Furthermore, reducing D-titin activity in the mlp84B background leads to pronounced enhancement of the mlp84B muscle defects and loss of muscle structural integrity. The genetic interactions between mlp84B and D-titin reveal a role for Mlp84B in maintaining muscle structural integrity that was not obvious from analysis of the mlp84B mutants themselves, and suggest Mlp84B and D-titin cooperate to stabilize muscle sarcomeres.

Guidelines to restoring structural integrity of covered bridge members

Treesearch

Ronald W. Anthony

2018-01-01

These guidelines are designed for decision makers (selectmen, county commissioners, city planners, preservation officers, etc.) that have responsibility for repairing and maintaining existing covered bridges to help them understand what goes into making effective decisions about how, and when, to repair a covered bridge. The purpose of these guidelines is to present...

A strategy for compression and analysis of massive geophysical data sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braverman, A.

2001-01-01

This paper describes a method for summaraizing data in a way that approximately preserves high-resolution data structure while reducing data volume and maintaining global integrity of very large, remote sensing data sets. The method is under development for one of Terra's instruments, the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR).

The Maintenance of Cross-Domain Associations in the Episodic Buffer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langerock, Naomi; Vergauwe, Evie; Barrouillet, Pierre

2014-01-01

The episodic buffer has been described as a structure of working memory capable of maintaining multimodal information in an integrated format. Although the role of the episodic buffer in binding features into objects has received considerable attention, several of its characteristics have remained rather underexplored. This is the case for its…

Chondriotin sulfate disaccharides as a bioactive compound modified the murine gut microbiome under healthy and stressed conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Chondriotin sulfate (CS) has been widely used for medical and nutraceutical purposes due to its roles in maintaining tissue structural integrity. We investigated if CS disaccharides may act as a bioactive compound and modulate gut microbial composition in mice. Our data show that CS disaccharides su...

Crash-Energy Absorbing Composite Structure and Method of Fabrication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellas, Sotiris (Inventor); Carden, Huey D. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A stand-alone, crash-energy absorbing structure and fabrication method are provided. A plurality of adjoining rigid cells are each constructed of resin-cured fiber reinforcement and are arranged in a geometric configuration. The geometric configuration of cells is integrated by means of continuous fibers wrapped thereabout in order to maintain the cells in the geometric configuration. The cured part results in a net shape, stable structure that can function on its own with no additional reinforcement and can withstand combined loading while crushing in a desired direction.

Integrated digital flight-control system for the space shuttle orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The integrated digital flight control system is presented which provides rotational and translational control of the space shuttle orbiter in all phases of flight: from launch ascent through orbit to entry and touchdown, and during powered horizontal flights. The program provides a versatile control system structure while maintaining uniform communications with other programs, sensors, and control effectors by using an executive routine/functional subroutine format. The program reads all external variables at a single point, copies them into its dedicated storage, and then calls the required subroutines in the proper sequence. As a result, the flight control program is largely independent of other programs in the GN&C computer complex and is equally insensitive to the characteristics of the processor configuration. The integrated structure of the control system and the DFCS executive routine which embodies that structure are described along with the input and output. The specific estimation and control algorithms used in the various mission phases are given.

Positive semidefinite tensor factorizations of the two-electron integral matrix for low-scaling ab initio electronic structure.

PubMed

Hoy, Erik P; Mazziotti, David A

2015-08-14

Tensor factorization of the 2-electron integral matrix is a well-known technique for reducing the computational scaling of ab initio electronic structure methods toward that of Hartree-Fock and density functional theories. The simplest factorization that maintains the positive semidefinite character of the 2-electron integral matrix is the Cholesky factorization. In this paper, we introduce a family of positive semidefinite factorizations that generalize the Cholesky factorization. Using an implementation of the factorization within the parametric 2-RDM method [D. A. Mazziotti, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 253002 (2008)], we study several inorganic molecules, alkane chains, and potential energy curves and find that this generalized factorization retains the accuracy and size extensivity of the Cholesky factorization, even in the presence of multi-reference correlation. The generalized family of positive semidefinite factorizations has potential applications to low-scaling ab initio electronic structure methods that treat electron correlation with a computational cost approaching that of the Hartree-Fock method or density functional theory.

m1A and m1G Potently Disrupt A-RNA Structure Due to the Intrinsic Instability of Hoogsteen Base Pairs

PubMed Central

Zhou, Huiqing; Kimsey, Isaac J.; Nikolova, Evgenia N.; Sathyamoorthy, Bharathwaj; Grazioli, Gianmarc; McSally, James; Bai, Tianyu; Wunderlich, Christoph H.; Kreutz, Christoph; Andricioaei, Ioan; Al-Hashimi, Hashim M.

2016-01-01

The B-DNA double helix can dynamically accommodate G–C and A–T base pairs in either Watson-Crick or Hoogsteen configurations. Here, we show that G–C+ and A–U Hoogsteen base pairs are strongly disfavored in A-RNA. As a result, N1-methyl adenosine and N1-methyl guanosine, which occur in DNA as a form of alkylation damage, and in RNA as a posttranscriptional modification, have dramatically different consequences. They create G–C+ and A–U Hoogsteen base pairs in duplex DNA that maintain the structural integrity of the double helix, but block base pairing all together and induce local duplex melting in RNA, providing a mechanism for potently disrupting RNA structure through posttranscriptional modifications. The markedly different propensities to form Hoogsteen base pairs in B-DNA and A-RNA may help meet the opposing requirements of maintaining genome stability on one hand, and dynamically modulating the structure of the epitranscriptome on the other. PMID:27478929

Spermatozeugmata structure and dissociation of the Australian flat oyster Ostera angasi: Implications for reproductive strategy.

PubMed

Hassan, Md Mahbubul; Qin, Jian G; Li, Xiaoxu

2016-06-01

Variation in reproductive strategy is one of the key factors contributing to recruitment success of molluscs in different habitats. Spermcasting is a unique mode in mollusc reproduction where males produce spermatozeugmata, a radially arrayed sperm cluster wrapped by gelatinous membrane. In this study, spermatozeugmata structure and their dissociation in the Australian flat oyster Ostrea angasi were investigated to elucidate the reproductive strategy in spermcasting molluscs. The histological observation indicated that spermatogonia gradually aggregated in the gonad follicle at the early gonad development stages and developed into spermatozeugmata and became tightly packed at the advanced stages. Even though mature male and female gametes could be found in a hermaphroditic individual, the animal may prevent self-fertilization by shedding different sex gametes at different time. The O. angasi sperm are similar in size and shape to broadcasting oysters, but have one additional mitochondrion. Variations in maintaining spermatozeugmata integrity and sperm motility between individuals depended on the level of masculinity or femineity. The durations of spermatozeugmata dissociation and sperm viability were longer in males than in hermaphrodites. The unique structure and capability for spermatozeugmata to maintain the functional integrity after spawning have adaptive significance for fertilization and gamete dispersal in this species. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of Brain and Skull in Prenatal Mouse Models of Apert and Crouzon Syndromes

PubMed Central

Motch Perrine, Susan M.; Stecko, Tim; Neuberger, Thomas; Jabs, Ethylin W.; Ryan, Timothy M.; Richtsmeier, Joan T.

2017-01-01

The brain and skull represent a complex arrangement of integrated anatomical structures composed of various cell and tissue types that maintain structural and functional association throughout development. Morphological integration, a concept developed in vertebrate morphology and evolutionary biology, describes the coordinated variation of functionally and developmentally related traits of organisms. Syndromic craniosynostosis is characterized by distinctive changes in skull morphology and perceptible, though less well studied, changes in brain structure and morphology. Using mouse models for craniosynostosis conditions, our group has precisely defined how unique craniosynostosis causing mutations in fibroblast growth factor receptors affect brain and skull morphology and dysgenesis involving coordinated tissue-specific effects of these mutations. Here we examine integration of brain and skull in two mouse models for craniosynostosis: one carrying the FGFR2c C342Y mutation associated with Pfeiffer and Crouzon syndromes and a mouse model carrying the FGFR2 S252W mutation, one of two mutations responsible for two-thirds of Apert syndrome cases. Using linear distances estimated from three-dimensional coordinates of landmarks acquired from dual modality imaging of skull (high resolution micro-computed tomography and magnetic resonance microscopy) of mice at embryonic day 17.5, we confirm variation in brain and skull morphology in Fgfr2cC342Y/+ mice, Fgfr2+/S252W mice, and their unaffected littermates. Mutation-specific variation in neural and cranial tissue notwithstanding, patterns of integration of brain and skull differed only subtly between mice carrying either the FGFR2c C342Y or the FGFR2 S252W mutation and their unaffected littermates. However, statistically significant and substantial differences in morphological integration of brain and skull were revealed between the two mutant mouse models, each maintained on a different strain. Relative to the effects of disease-associated mutations, our results reveal a stronger influence of the background genome on patterns of brain-skull integration and suggest robust genetic, developmental, and evolutionary relationships between neural and skeletal tissues of the head. PMID:28790902

Experimental application of OMA solutions on the model of industrial structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mironov, A.; Mironovs, D.

2017-10-01

It is very important and sometimes even vital to maintain reliability of industrial structures. High quality control during production and structural health monitoring (SHM) in exploitation provides reliable functioning of large, massive and remote structures, like wind generators, pipelines, power line posts, etc. This paper introduces a complex of technological and methodical solutions for SHM and diagnostics of industrial structures, including those that are actuated by periodic forces. Solutions were verified on a wind generator scaled model with integrated system of piezo-film deformation sensors. Simultaneous and multi-patch Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) approaches were implemented as methodical means for structural diagnostics and monitoring. Specially designed data processing algorithms provide objective evaluation of structural state modification.

Efficacy of Psychosocial Interventions in Inducing and Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Khan, Anam; Tansel, Aylin; White, Donna L; Kayani, Waleed Tallat; Bano, Shah; Lindsay, Jan; El-Serag, Hashem B; Kanwal, Fasiha

2016-02-01

We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles that were published from January 1983 through November 2014 that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. We identified 13 eligible studies that comprised 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, supportive therapy, and psychoeducation either alone or in combination in the intervention group and general health education or treatment as usual in the control group. All studies of induction of abstinence (4 RCTs and 6 observational studies) reported an increase in abstinence among participants in the intervention and control groups. Only an integrated therapy that combined CBT and motivational enhancement therapy with comprehensive medical care, delivered during a period of 2 years, produced a significant increase in abstinence (74% increase in intervention group vs 48% increase in control group, P = .02), which was reported in 1 RCT. All studies of maintenance of abstinence (1 RCT and 2 observational studies) observed recidivism in the intervention and control groups. Only an integrated therapy that combined medical care with CBT produced a significantly smaller rate of recidivism (32.7% in integrated CBT group vs 75% in control group, P = .03), which was reported from 1 observational study. However, data were not collected for more than 2 years on outcomes of patients with CLD and AUD. In a systematic analysis of studies of interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD, integrated combination psychotherapy with CBT, motivational enhancement therapy, and comprehensive medical care increased alcohol abstinence. No psychosocial intervention was successful in maintaining abstinence, but an integrated therapy with CBT and medical care appears to reduce recidivism. Copyright © 2016 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of Psychosocial Interventions in Inducing and Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease – A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Khan, Anam; Tansel, Aylin; White, Donna L.; Kayani, Waleed Tallat; Bano, Shah; Lindsay, Jan; El-Serag, Hashem B.; Kanwal, Fasiha

2016-01-01

Background & Aims We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Methods We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles, published from January 1983 through November 2014, that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. Results We identified 13 eligible studies, comprising 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy (MET), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), supportive therapy and psychoeducation either alone or in combination in the intervention group and general health education or treatment as usual in the control group. All studies of induction of abstinence (4 RCTs and 6 observational studies) reported an increase in abstinence among participants in the intervention and control groups. Only an integrated therapy that combined CBT and MET with comprehensive medical care, delivered over 2 years, produced a significant increase in abstinence (74% increase in intervention group versus 48% increase in control group; P=.02), reported in 1 RCT. All studies of maintenance of abstinence (1 RCT and 2 observational studies) observed recidivism in the intervention and control groups. Only an integrated therapy that combined medical care with CBT produced a significantly smaller rate of recidivism (32.7% in integrated CBT group versus 75% decrease in control group, P=.03), reported from 1 observational study. However, data were not collected for more than 2 y on outcomes of patients with CLD and AUD. Conclusion In a systematic analysis of studies of interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD, integrated combination psychotherapy with CBT, motivational enhancement therapy, and comprehensive medical care increased alcohol abstinence. No psychosocial intervention was successful in maintaining abstinence, but an integrated therapy with CBT and medical care appears to reduce recidivism. PMID:26256464

Linking rainforest ecophysiology and microclimate through fusion of airborne LiDAR and hyperspectral imagery

Treesearch

Eben N. Broadbent; Angélica M. Almeyda Zambrano; Gregory P. Asner; Christopher B. Field; Brad E. Rosenheim; Ty Kennedy-Bowdoin; David E. Knapp; David Burke; Christian Giardina; Susan Cordell

2014-01-01

We develop and validate a high-resolution three-dimensional model of light and air temperature for a tropical forest interior in Hawaii along an elevation gradient varying greatly in structure but maintaining a consistent species composition. Our microclimate models integrate high-resolution airborne waveform light detection and ranging data (LiDAR) and hyperspectral...

Intrapreneurship--A New Way of Doing Business: Maintaining Academic Integrity in the Face of the Political Imperative To Make Money.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elford, Elsie; Hemstreet, Brad

In the context of educational institutions, intrapreneurs are proactive and innovative educational leaders who work as entrepreneurs inside the institution. In order to successfully carry out intrapreneurial activities, community colleges must have a structural and administrative framework that supports a market orientation and a reduced…

Adaptation of the membrane in Archaea.

PubMed

Oger, Philippe M; Cario, Anaïs

2013-12-15

Microbes often face contrasted and fluctuating environmental conditions, to which they need to adapt or die. Because membranes play a central role in regulating fluxes inward and outward from the cells, maintaining the appropriate structure of the membrane is crucial to maintain cellular integrity and functions. This is achieved in bacteria and eucarya by a modification of the membrane lipid compositions, a strategy termed homeoviscous adaptation. We review here evidence for homeoviscous adaptation in Archaea, and discuss the limits of this strategy and our knowledge in this very peculiar domain of life. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Techniques and equipment for assessing the structural integrity of subterranean tower anchor rods

DOEpatents

Hinz, William R.; Parker, Matthew J.

2001-01-01

Techniques and equipment for evaluating structural integrity of buried anchor rods in situ are disclosed. The techniques avoid excavation of soil and avoid, or at least reduce, the possibility of damage to the rods or the concrete in which they may be embedded when evaluations are conducted. Instead, ultrasonic energy is transmitted through the rod from a portable transducer, and returned energy (in either or both of direct and mode-converted states) may be analyzed to assist in detecting flaws, corrosion, wastage, or other degradation of the rod. Data from a field evaluation may be compared with baseline data maintained either for a specific rod or for rods of similar composition and length (or both), and periodic field evaluations of a rod may be used to analyze trends in its structure over time.

A comparative study of serial and parallel aeroelastic computations of wings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byun, Chansup; Guruswamy, Guru P.

1994-01-01

A procedure for computing the aeroelasticity of wings on parallel multiple-instruction, multiple-data (MIMD) computers is presented. In this procedure, fluids are modeled using Euler equations, and structures are modeled using modal or finite element equations. The procedure is designed in such a way that each discipline can be developed and maintained independently by using a domain decomposition approach. In the present parallel procedure, each computational domain is scalable. A parallel integration scheme is used to compute aeroelastic responses by solving fluid and structural equations concurrently. The computational efficiency issues of parallel integration of both fluid and structural equations are investigated in detail. This approach, which reduces the total computational time by a factor of almost 2, is demonstrated for a typical aeroelastic wing by using various numbers of processors on the Intel iPSC/860.

Integrated light and scanning electron microscopy of GFP-expressing cells.

PubMed

Peddie, Christopher J; Liv, Nalan; Hoogenboom, Jacob P; Collinson, Lucy M

2014-01-01

Integration of light and electron microscopes provides imaging tools in which fluorescent proteins can be localized to cellular structures with a high level of precision. However, until recently, there were few methods that could deliver specimens with sufficient fluorescent signal and electron contrast for dual imaging without intermediate staining steps. Here, we report protocols that preserve green fluorescent protein (GFP) in whole cells and in ultrathin sections of resin-embedded cells, with membrane contrast for integrated imaging. Critically, GFP is maintained in a stable and active state within the vacuum of an integrated light and scanning electron microscope. For light microscopists, additional structural information gives context to fluorescent protein expression in whole cells, illustrated here by analysis of filopodia and focal adhesions in Madin Darby canine kidney cells expressing GFP-Paxillin. For electron microscopists, GFP highlights the proteins of interest within the architectural space of the cell, illustrated here by localization of the conical lipid diacylglycerol to cellular membranes. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photogrammetry of the Map Instrument in a Cryogenic Vacuum Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, M.; Packard, E.; Pazar, R.

2000-01-01

MAP Instrument requirements dictated that the instruments Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) and Thermal Reflector System (TRS) maintain a high degree of structural integrity at operational temperatures (< 50K). To verify integrity at these extremes, an elaborate test fixture was constructed to provide a large cryogenic (< 20K) radiative environment and a mobile photogrammetry camera. This paper will discuss MAP's Instrument requirements, how those requirements were verified using photogrammetry, and the test setup used to provide the environment and camera movement needed to verify the instrument's requirements.

Unexplained Obstruction of an Integrated Cardiotomy Filter During Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

PubMed

Alwardt, Cory M; Wilson, Donald S; Pajaro, Octavio E

2017-03-01

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is considered relatively safe in most cases, yet is not complication free. We present a case of an integrated cardiotomy filter obstruction during CPB, requiring circuit reconfiguration. Approximately an hour after uneventful initiation of CPB the integrated cardiotomy filter became obstructed over several minutes, requiring circuit reconfiguration using an external cardiotomy filter to maintain functionality. Following reconfiguration, CPB was maintained with a fully functional circuit allowing safe patient support throughout the remainder of CPB. Postoperatively, there was no sign of thrombus or mechanical obstruction of the filter, which was sent to the manufacturer for analysis. The cause of the obstruction was unclear even after chemical analysis, visual inspection, and a review of all techniques and products to which the patient was exposed. The patient had a generally routine hospital stay, with no signs or symptoms related to the incident. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing an obstructed integrated cardiotomy filter. An appropriate readiness plan for such an incident includes proper venting of the filter chamber, a method for detecting an obstruction, and a plan for circuit reconfiguration. This case illustrates the need for a formal reporting structure for incidents or "near miss" incidents during CPB.

Forming and sustaining partnerships to provide integrated services for young people: an overview based on the headspace Geelong experience.

PubMed

Callaly, Tom; von Treuer, Kathryn; van Hamond, Toni; Windle, Kelly

2011-02-01

To discuss critical considerations in the formation and maintenance of agency partnerships designed to provide integrated care for young people. Two years after its establishment, an evaluation of the headspace Barwon collaboration and a review of the health-care and management literature on agency collaboration were conducted. The principal findings together with the authors' experience working at establishing and maintaining the partnership are used to discuss critical issues in forming and maintaining inter-agency partnerships. Structural and process considerations are necessary but not sufficient for the successful formation and maintenance of inter-agency partnerships and integrated care provision. Specifically, organizational culture change and staff engagement is a significant challenge and planning for this is essential and often neglected. Although agreeing on common goals and objectives is an essential first step in forming partnerships designed to provide integrated care, goodwill is not enough, and the literature consistently shows that most collaborations fail to meet their objectives. Principles and lessons of organizational behaviour and management practices in the business sector can contribute a great deal to partnership planning. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Stabilization of apoptotic cells: generation of zombie cells.

PubMed

Oropesa-Ávila, M; Andrade-Talavera, Y; Garrido-Maraver, J; Cordero, M D; de la Mata, M; Cotán, D; Paz, M V; Pavón, A D; Alcocer-Gómez, E; de Lavera, I; Lema, R; Zaderenko, A P; Rodríguez-Moreno, A; Sánchez-Alcázar, J A

2014-08-14

Apoptosis is characterized by degradation of cell components but plasma membrane remains intact. Apoptotic microtubule network (AMN) is organized during apoptosis forming a cortical structure beneath plasma membrane that maintains plasma membrane integrity. Apoptotic cells are also characterized by high reactive oxygen species (ROS) production that can be potentially harmful for the cell. The aim of this study was to develop a method that allows stabilizing apoptotic cells for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. By using a cocktail composed of taxol (a microtubule stabilizer), Zn(2+) (a caspase inhibitor) and coenzyme Q10 (a lipid antioxidant), we were able to stabilize H460 apoptotic cells in cell cultures for at least 72 h, preventing secondary necrosis. Stabilized apoptotic cells maintain many apoptotic cell characteristics such as the presence of apoptotic microtubules, plasma membrane integrity, low intracellular calcium levels and mitochondrial polarization. Apoptotic cell stabilization may open new avenues in apoptosis detection and therapy.

Stabilization of apoptotic cells: generation of zombie cells

PubMed Central

Oropesa-Ávila, M; Andrade-Talavera, Y; Garrido-Maraver, J; Cordero, M D; de la Mata, M; Cotán, D; Paz, M V; Pavón, A D; Alcocer-Gómez, E; de Lavera, I; Lema, R; Zaderenko, A P; Rodríguez-Moreno, A; Sánchez-Alcázar, J A

2014-01-01

Apoptosis is characterized by degradation of cell components but plasma membrane remains intact. Apoptotic microtubule network (AMN) is organized during apoptosis forming a cortical structure beneath plasma membrane that maintains plasma membrane integrity. Apoptotic cells are also characterized by high reactive oxygen species (ROS) production that can be potentially harmful for the cell. The aim of this study was to develop a method that allows stabilizing apoptotic cells for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. By using a cocktail composed of taxol (a microtubule stabilizer), Zn2+ (a caspase inhibitor) and coenzyme Q10 (a lipid antioxidant), we were able to stabilize H460 apoptotic cells in cell cultures for at least 72 h, preventing secondary necrosis. Stabilized apoptotic cells maintain many apoptotic cell characteristics such as the presence of apoptotic microtubules, plasma membrane integrity, low intracellular calcium levels and mitochondrial polarization. Apoptotic cell stabilization may open new avenues in apoptosis detection and therapy. PMID:25118929

9 CFR 312.10 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 312.10 Section 312.10 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... § 312.10 Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use...

9 CFR 381.112 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 381.112 Section 381.112 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use in sealing...

9 CFR 312.10 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 312.10 Section 312.10 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... § 312.10 Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use...

9 CFR 381.112 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 381.112 Section 381.112 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use in sealing...

9 CFR 381.112 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 381.112 Section 381.112 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use in sealing...

9 CFR 312.10 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 312.10 Section 312.10 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... § 312.10 Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use...

9 CFR 312.10 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 312.10 Section 312.10 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... § 312.10 Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use...

9 CFR 381.112 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 381.112 Section 381.112 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. The official mark for use in sealing...

Generating The Force: The Roundout Brigade

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-20

The Total Force Policy means the integration of planning, programming and budgeting for the manning, equipping, maintaining and training of a mix of...methodology for making force mix decisions: cost, force capability, training requirements, and personnel availability. The GAO did not 3 include political...considerations as part of its criteria for force mix determination. However, any examination of Active and Reserve Component force structure must

Overview Of Structural Behavior and Occupant Responses from Crash Test of a Composite Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Lisa E.; Carden, Huey D.

1995-01-01

As part of NASA's composite structures crash dynamics research, a general aviation aircraft with composite wing, fuselage and empennage (but with metal subfloor structure) was crash tested at the NASA Langley Research Center Impact Research Facility. The test was conducted to determine composite aircraft structural behavior for crash loading conditions and to provide a baseline for a similar aircraft test with a modified subfloor. Structural integrity and cabin volume were maintained. Lumbar loads for dummy occupants in energy absorbing seats wer substantially lower than those in standard aircraft seats; however, loads in the standard seats were much higher that those recorded under similar conditions for an all-metallic aircraft.

SU-F-J-72: A Clinical Usable Integrated Contouring Quality Evaluation Software for Radiotherapy

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

Jiang, S; Dolly, S; Cai, B

Purpose: To introduce the Auto Contour Evaluation (ACE) software, which is the clinical usable, user friendly, efficient and all-in-one toolbox for automatically identify common contouring errors in radiotherapy treatment planning using supervised machine learning techniques. Methods: ACE is developed with C# using Microsoft .Net framework and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) for elegant GUI design and smooth GUI transition animations through the integration of graphics engines and high dots per inch (DPI) settings on modern high resolution monitors. The industrial standard software design pattern, Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern, is chosen to be the major architecture of ACE for neat coding structure, deepmore » modularization, easy maintainability and seamless communication with other clinical software. ACE consists of 1) a patient data importing module integrated with clinical patient database server, 2) a 2D DICOM image and RT structure simultaneously displaying module, 3) a 3D RT structure visualization module using Visualization Toolkit or VTK library and 4) a contour evaluation module using supervised pattern recognition algorithms to detect contouring errors and display detection results. ACE relies on supervised learning algorithms to handle all image processing and data processing jobs. Implementations of related algorithms are powered by Accord.Net scientific computing library for better efficiency and effectiveness. Results: ACE can take patient’s CT images and RT structures from commercial treatment planning software via direct user input or from patients’ database. All functionalities including 2D and 3D image visualization and RT contours error detection have been demonstrated with real clinical patient cases. Conclusion: ACE implements supervised learning algorithms and combines image processing and graphical visualization modules for RT contours verification. ACE has great potential for automated radiotherapy contouring quality verification. Structured with MVVM pattern, it is highly maintainable and extensible, and support smooth connections with other clinical software tools.« less

Agar Block Smear Preparation: a Novel Method of Slide Preparation for Preservation of Native Fungal Structures for Microscopic Examination and Long-Term Storage▿

PubMed Central

Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Ngan, Antonio H. Y.; Chui, Hon-Kit; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

2010-01-01

We describe a novel method of fungal slide preparation named “agar block smear preparation.” A total of 510 agar block smears of 25 fungal strains obtained from culture collections, 90 QC fungal strains, and 82 clinical fungal strains from our clinical microbiology laboratory, which included a total of 137 species of yeasts, molds, and thermal dimorphic fungi, were prepared and examined. In contrast to adhesive tape preparation, agar block smears preserved the native fungal structures, such as intact conidiophores of Aspergillus species and arrangements of conidia in Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. Furthermore, agar block smears allowed examination of fungal structures embedded in the agar, such as the ascomata with ascomal hairs in Chaetomium funicola; pycnidium of Phoma glomerata; the intercalary ovoidal chlamydospores arranged in chains of Fusarium dimerum; and the lateral, spherical chlamydospores arranged in pairs of Fusarium solani. After 1 year of storage, morphological integrity was found to have been maintained in 459 (90%) of the 510 agar block smears. After 3 years of storage, morphological integrity was found to have been maintained in 72 (71%) of the 102 smears prepared in 2006. Agar block smear preparation preserves the native fungal structures and allows long-term storage and examination of fungal structures embedded in the agar, hence overcoming the major drawbacks of adhesive tape preparation. The major roles of agar block smear should be diagnosis for difficult cases, accurate identification of fungal species for clinical management of patients and epidemiological studies, and long-term storage for transportation of slides and education purposes. PMID:20660221

Agar block smear preparation: a novel method of slide preparation for preservation of native fungal structures for microscopic examination and long-term storage.

PubMed

Woo, Patrick C Y; Ngan, Antonio H Y; Chui, Hon-Kit; Lau, Susanna K P; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

2010-09-01

We describe a novel method of fungal slide preparation named "agar block smear preparation." A total of 510 agar block smears of 25 fungal strains obtained from culture collections, 90 QC fungal strains, and 82 clinical fungal strains from our clinical microbiology laboratory, which included a total of 137 species of yeasts, molds, and thermal dimorphic fungi, were prepared and examined. In contrast to adhesive tape preparation, agar block smears preserved the native fungal structures, such as intact conidiophores of Aspergillus species and arrangements of conidia in Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. Furthermore, agar block smears allowed examination of fungal structures embedded in the agar, such as the ascomata with ascomal hairs in Chaetomium funicola; pycnidium of Phoma glomerata; the intercalary ovoidal chlamydospores arranged in chains of Fusarium dimerum; and the lateral, spherical chlamydospores arranged in pairs of Fusarium solani. After 1 year of storage, morphological integrity was found to have been maintained in 459 (90%) of the 510 agar block smears. After 3 years of storage, morphological integrity was found to have been maintained in 72 (71%) of the 102 smears prepared in 2006. Agar block smear preparation preserves the native fungal structures and allows long-term storage and examination of fungal structures embedded in the agar, hence overcoming the major drawbacks of adhesive tape preparation. The major roles of agar block smear should be diagnosis for difficult cases, accurate identification of fungal species for clinical management of patients and epidemiological studies, and long-term storage for transportation of slides and education purposes.

Interfacing modules for integrating discipline specific structural mechanics codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Endres, Ned M.

1989-01-01

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

Evaluating robustness of a diesel-degrading bacterial consortium isolated from contaminated soil.

PubMed

Sydow, Mateusz; Owsianiak, Mikołaj; Szczepaniak, Zuzanna; Framski, Grzegorz; Smets, Barth F; Ławniczak, Łukasz; Lisiecki, Piotr; Szulc, Alicja; Cyplik, Paweł; Chrzanowski, Łukasz

2016-12-25

It is not known whether diesel-degrading bacterial communities are structurally and functionally robust when exposed to different hydrocarbon types. Here, we exposed a diesel-degrading consortium to model either alkanes, cycloalkanes or aromatic hydrocarbons as carbon sources to study its structural resistance. The structural resistance was low, with changes in relative abundances of up to four orders of magnitude, depending on hydrocarbon type and bacterial taxon. This low resistance is explained by the presence of hydrocarbon-degrading specialists in the consortium and differences in growth kinetics on individual hydrocarbons. However, despite this low resistance, structural and functional resilience were high, as verified by re-exposing the hydrocarbon-perturbed consortium to diesel fuel. The high resilience is either due to the short exposure time, insufficient for permanent changes in consortium structure and function, or the ability of some consortium members to be maintained during exposure on degradation intermediates produced by other members. Thus, the consortium is expected to cope with short-term exposures to narrow carbon feeds, while maintaining its structural and functional integrity, which remains an advantage over biodegradation approaches using single species cultures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Archaeal Genome Guardians Give Insights into Eukaryotic DNA Replication and Damage Response Proteins

PubMed Central

Shin, David S.; Pratt, Ashley J.; Tainer, John A.

2014-01-01

As the third domain of life, archaea, like the eukarya and bacteria, must have robust DNA replication and repair complexes to ensure genome fidelity. Archaea moreover display a breadth of unique habitats and characteristics, and structural biologists increasingly appreciate these features. As archaea include extremophiles that can withstand diverse environmental stresses, they provide fundamental systems for understanding enzymes and pathways critical to genome integrity and stress responses. Such archaeal extremophiles provide critical data on the periodic table for life as well as on the biochemical, geochemical, and physical limitations to adaptive strategies allowing organisms to thrive under environmental stress relevant to determining the boundaries for life as we know it. Specifically, archaeal enzyme structures have informed the architecture and mechanisms of key DNA repair proteins and complexes. With added abilities to temperature-trap flexible complexes and reveal core domains of transient and dynamic complexes, these structures provide insights into mechanisms of maintaining genome integrity despite extreme environmental stress. The DNA damage response protein structures noted in this review therefore inform the basis for genome integrity in the face of environmental stress, with implications for all domains of life as well as for biomanufacturing, astrobiology, and medicine. PMID:24701133

Integrated Digital Flight Control System for the Space Shuttle Orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

The objectives of the integrated digital flight control system (DFCS) is to provide rotational and translational control of the space shuttle orbiter in all phases of flight: from launch ascent through orbit to entry and touchdown, and during powered horizontal flights. The program provides a versatile control system structure while maintaining uniform communications with other programs, sensors, and control effectors by using an executive routine/functional subroutine format. The program reads all external variables at a single point, copies them into its dedicated storage, and then calls the required subroutines in the proper sequence. As a result, the flight control program is largely independent of other programs in the computer complex and is equally insensitive to characteristics of the processor configuration. The integrated structure is described of the control system and the DFCS executive routine which embodies that structure. The input and output, including jet selection are included. Specific estimation and control algorithm are shown for the various mission phases: cruise (including horizontal powered flight), entry, on-orbit, and boost. Attitude maneuver routines that interface with the DFCS are included.

Structural integrity of wind tunnel wooden fan blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Clarence P., Jr.; Wingate, Robert T.; Rooker, James R.; Mort, Kenneth W.; Zager, Harold E.

1991-01-01

Information is presented which was compiled by the NASA Inter-Center Committee on Structural Integrity of Wooden Fan Blades and is intended for use as a guide in design, fabrication, evaluation, and assurance of fan systems using wooden blades. A risk assessment approach for existing NASA wind tunnels with wooden fan blades is provided. Also, state of the art information is provided for wooden fan blade design, drive system considerations, inspection and monitoring methods, and fan blade repair. Proposed research and development activities are discussed, and recommendations are provided which are aimed at future wooden fan blade design activities and safely maintaining existing NASA wind tunnel fan blades. Information is presented that will be of value to wooden fan blade designers, fabricators, inspectors, and wind tunnel operations personnel.

Effect of Thermal and Shear Stressors on the Physical Properties, Structural Integrity and Biological Activity of the Anti-TNF-alpha Monoclonal Antibody, Infliximab.

PubMed

Alsaddique, Jihad A; Pabari, Ritesh M; Ramtoola, Zebunnissa

The influence of thermal and shear stressors on the stability of the anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibody (mAb), Infliximab® (INF) was investigated. INF at concentrations of 1, 4 and 10 mg/ml was subjected to thermal stress at temperatures of 25-65°C and to shear force by sonication for 1 and 3 minutes. The stressed samples were analysed for physical properties by particle size, zeta potential, for structural integrity by gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and circular dichroism, INF content by UV spectroscopy and for biological activity by ELISA. Results show no change in physical properties or structural integrity of INF at any concentration tested, when subjected to a temperature of up to 50°C. At 65°C, aggregation and precipitation of INF was observed. When subjected to shear stress, higher concentrations of INF at 4 and 10mg/ml maintained their physical properties and structural integrity. However, the biological activity of INF was found to decrease with increasing temperature and sonication time, and was concentration dependent (ANOVA; p<0.05). Interestingly, lyophilisation of INF at 1mg/ml did not affect its physical properties, structural integrity or its biological activity. These findings have important implications with respect to pharmaceutical processing of INF and mAbs including formulation as polymeric micro and nanoparticle systems for sustained or targeted delivery. These findings also have important implications with respect to the handling and storage of INF and mAbs for clinical use.

Mold with improved core for metal casting operation

DOEpatents

Gritzner, Verne B.; Hackett, Donald W.

1977-01-01

The present invention is directed to a mold containing an improved core for use in casting hollow, metallic articles. The core is formed of, or covered with, a layer of cellular material which possesses sufficient strength to maintain its structural integrity during casting, but will crush to alleviate the internal stresses that build up if the normal contraction during solidification and cooling is restricted.

Remote sensing training for Corps of Engineering personnel: The university training module concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

A concept to permit Corps of Engineers personnel to obtain and maintain an appropriate level of individual proficiency in the application of remote sensing to water resource management is described. Recommendations are made for specific training courses and include structure and staffing requirements, syllabi and methods of operation, supporting materials, and procedures for integrating information systems management into the University Training Modules.

Using Distributed Operations to Enable Science Research on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bathew, Ann S.; Dudley, Stephanie R. B.; Lochmaier, Geoff D.; Rodriquez, Rick C.; Simpson, Donna

2011-01-01

In the early days of the International Space Station (ISS) program, and as the organization structure was being internationally agreed upon and documented, one of the principal tenets of the science program was to allow customer-friendly operations. One important aspect of this was to allow payload developers and principle investigators the flexibility to operate their experiments from either their home sites or distributed telescience centers. This telescience concept was developed such that investigators had several options for ISS utilization support. They could operate from their home site, the closest telescience center, or use the payload operations facilities at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) processes and structures were put into place to allow these different options to its customers, while at the same time maintain its centralized authority over NASA payload operations and integration. For a long duration space program with many scientists, researchers, and universities expected to participate, it was imperative that the program structure be in place to successfully facilitate this concept of telescience support. From a payload control center perspective, payload science operations require two major elements in order to make telescience successful within the scope of the ISS program. The first element is decentralized control which allows the remote participants the freedom and flexibility to operate their payloads within their scope of authority. The second element is a strong ground infrastructure, which includes voice communications, video, telemetry, and commanding between the POIC and the payload remote site. Both of these elements are important to telescience success, and both must be balanced by the ISS program s documented requirements for POIC to maintain its authority as an integration and control center. This paper describes both elements of distributed payload operations and discusses the benefits and drawbacks.

[Integrative approach in the psychotherapy of borderline personality disorder].

PubMed

Kuritárné Szabó, Ildikó

2012-01-01

In the last 20 years six psychotherapy methods have been developed specifically for borderline personality disorder. Solid RCT evidences suggests the efficacy of all the methods. Roughly equivalent improvement was obtained from the different types of psychotherapies. Today we have reached a new phase of the borderline "psychotherapy boom", the integrative approach. According to the integrative treatment advocates we should not choose among these effective treatments but we can incorporate in the therapy all the components that work. The integrative approach uses general factors common to all effective therapies, combined with specific treatment techniques taken from different therapies in order to treat the given patient's psychopathology. These common factors are: coherent framework; attention to strategies for building strong positive alliance and maintaining patient motivation; creating a safe and structured therapeutic environment; clear treatment frame; transparency of the goals and roles; focus upon presenting problems; higher level therapeutic activity; here-and-now focus; and facilitating self-reflection. Treatment focuses on change while maintaining a validating and supportive stance. General strategies can be supplemented by more specific techniques such as cognitive-behavioral interventions for reducing maladaptive behavior, training for developing emotion regulation skills and interpersonal skills coming from dialectical behavior therapy. Methods drawn from psychodynamic approaches can be used for the modification of underlying interpersonal cognitive-emotional schemas.

Integrated modeling of advanced optical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briggs, Hugh C.; Needels, Laura; Levine, B. Martin

1993-02-01

This poster session paper describes an integrated modeling and analysis capability being developed at JPL under funding provided by the JPL Director's Discretionary Fund and the JPL Control/Structure Interaction Program (CSI). The posters briefly summarize the program capabilities and illustrate them with an example problem. The computer programs developed under this effort will provide an unprecedented capability for integrated modeling and design of high performance optical spacecraft. The engineering disciplines supported include structural dynamics, controls, optics and thermodynamics. Such tools are needed in order to evaluate the end-to-end system performance of spacecraft such as OSI, POINTS, and SMMM. This paper illustrates the proof-of-concept tools that have been developed to establish the technology requirements and demonstrate the new features of integrated modeling and design. The current program also includes implementation of a prototype tool based upon the CAESY environment being developed under the NASA Guidance and Control Research and Technology Computational Controls Program. This prototype will be available late in FY-92. The development plan proposes a major software production effort to fabricate, deliver, support and maintain a national-class tool from FY-93 through FY-95.

Composite structural materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ansell, G. S.; Loewy, R. G.; Wiberley, S. E.

1984-01-01

Progress is reported in studies of constituent materials composite materials, generic structural elements, processing science technology, and maintaining long-term structural integrity. Topics discussed include: mechanical properties of high performance carbon fibers; fatigue in composite materials; experimental and theoretical studies of moisture and temperature effects on the mechanical properties of graphite-epoxy laminates and neat resins; numerical investigations of the micromechanics of composite fracture; delamination failures of composite laminates; effect of notch size on composite laminates; improved beam theory for anisotropic materials; variation of resin properties through the thickness of cured samples; numerical analysis composite processing; heat treatment of metal matrix composites, and the RP-1 and RP2 gliders of the sailplane project.

Ultra-Structure database design methodology for managing systems biology data and analyses

PubMed Central

Maier, Christopher W; Long, Jeffrey G; Hemminger, Bradley M; Giddings, Morgan C

2009-01-01

Background Modern, high-throughput biological experiments generate copious, heterogeneous, interconnected data sets. Research is dynamic, with frequently changing protocols, techniques, instruments, and file formats. Because of these factors, systems designed to manage and integrate modern biological data sets often end up as large, unwieldy databases that become difficult to maintain or evolve. The novel rule-based approach of the Ultra-Structure design methodology presents a potential solution to this problem. By representing both data and processes as formal rules within a database, an Ultra-Structure system constitutes a flexible framework that enables users to explicitly store domain knowledge in both a machine- and human-readable form. End users themselves can change the system's capabilities without programmer intervention, simply by altering database contents; no computer code or schemas need be modified. This provides flexibility in adapting to change, and allows integration of disparate, heterogenous data sets within a small core set of database tables, facilitating joint analysis and visualization without becoming unwieldy. Here, we examine the application of Ultra-Structure to our ongoing research program for the integration of large proteomic and genomic data sets (proteogenomic mapping). Results We transitioned our proteogenomic mapping information system from a traditional entity-relationship design to one based on Ultra-Structure. Our system integrates tandem mass spectrum data, genomic annotation sets, and spectrum/peptide mappings, all within a small, general framework implemented within a standard relational database system. General software procedures driven by user-modifiable rules can perform tasks such as logical deduction and location-based computations. The system is not tied specifically to proteogenomic research, but is rather designed to accommodate virtually any kind of biological research. Conclusion We find Ultra-Structure offers substantial benefits for biological information systems, the largest being the integration of diverse information sources into a common framework. This facilitates systems biology research by integrating data from disparate high-throughput techniques. It also enables us to readily incorporate new data types, sources, and domain knowledge with no change to the database structure or associated computer code. Ultra-Structure may be a significant step towards solving the hard problem of data management and integration in the systems biology era. PMID:19691849

Structure and dynamics of European sports science textual contents: Analysis of ECSS abstracts (1996-2014).

PubMed

Hristovski, Robert; Aceski, Aleksandar; Balague, Natalia; Seifert, Ludovic; Tufekcievski, Aleksandar; Cecilia, Aguirre

2017-02-01

The article discusses general structure and dynamics of the sports science research content as obtained from the analysis of 21998 European College of Sport Science abstracts belonging to 12 science topics. The structural analysis showed intertwined multidisciplinary and unifying tendencies structured along horizontal (scope) and vertical (level) axes. Methodological (instrumental and mode of inquiry) integrative tendencies are dominant. Theoretical integrative tendencies are much less detectable along both horizontal and vertical axes. The dynamic analysis of written abstracts text content over the 19 years reveals the contextualizing and guiding role of thematic skeletons of each sports science topic in forming more detailed contingent research ideas and the role of the latter in stabilizing and procreating the former. This circular causality between both hierarchical levels and functioning on separate characteristic time scales is crucial for understanding how stable research traditions self-maintain and self-procreate through innovative contingencies. The structure of sports science continuously rebuilds itself through use and re-use of contingent research ideas. The thematic skeleton ensures its identity and the contingent conceptual sets its flexibility and adaptability to different research or applicative problems.

Pandiculation: nature's way of maintaining the functional integrity of the myofascial system?

PubMed

Bertolucci, Luiz Fernando

2011-07-01

Pandiculation is the involuntary stretching of the soft tissues, which occurs in most animal species and is associated with transitions between cyclic biological behaviors, especially the sleep-wake rhythm (Walusinski, 2006). Yawning is considered a special case of pandiculation that affects the musculature of the mouth, respiratory system and upper spine (Baenninger, 1997). When, as often happens, yawning occurs simultaneously with pandiculation in other body regions (Bertolini and Gessa, 1981; Lehmann, 1979; Urba-Holmgren et al., 1977) the combined behavior is referred to as the stretch-yawning syndrome (SYS). SYS has been associated with the arousal function, as it seems to reset the central nervous system to the waking state after a period of sleep and prepare the animal to respond to environmental stimuli (Walusinski, 2006). This paper explores the hypothesis that the SYS might also have an auto-regulatory role regarding the locomotor system: to maintain the animal's ability to express coordinated and integrated movement by regularly restoring and resetting the structural and functional equilibrium of the myofascial system. It is now recognized that the myofascial system is integrative, linking body parts, as the force of a muscle is transmitted via the fascial structures well beyond the tendonous attachments of the muscle itself (Huijing and Jaspers, 2005). It is argued here that pandiculation might preserve the integrative role of the myofascial system by (a) developing and maintaining appropriate physiological fascial interconnections and (b) modulating the pre-stress state of the myofascial system by regularly activating the tonic musculature. The ideas presented here initially arose from clinical observations during the practice of a manual therapy called Muscular Repositioning (MR) (Bertolucci, 2008; Bertolucci and Kozasa, 2010a; Bertolucci, 2010b). These observations were supplemented by a review of the literature on the subject. A possible link between MR and SYS is presented: The neural reflexes characteristically evoked through MR are reminiscent of SYS, which both suggests that MR might stimulate parts of the SYS reaction, and also points to one of MR's possible mechanisms of action. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection of sustainable seaweed and grouper aquaculture development strategy: a case of Pulau Panjang, Serang Regency Banten Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soejarwo, P. A.; Fitriyanny, W. P.; Heriati, A.; Hakim, A. R.

2018-03-01

Due to their high-income contribution, seaweed and grouper aquacultures are important activities in Pulau Panjang community. Determining alternative strategies in developing sustainable aquaculture for seaweed and grouper and their priority factors from theses aquaculture activities are done using TOPSIS and AHP analysis. It was found that the development strategy that must be taken is the option to maintain aquaculture activities, while, environment factor is the highest priority to maintain seaweed and grouper aquaculture in Pulau Panjang. Then three priorities are obtained from environment factor. The first is to maintain the water quality by the growth requirements of seaweed and grouper by encouraging the formation of “Environmental Community Awareness” that involved the active participation of the community to maintain quality and carrying capacity of the environment. Second is to use of natural or artificial coastal protectors (soft structure). The third priority strategy is integration and real implementation of heavy metal pollution control between government, industry sector and society.

Nursing Faculty and Academic Integrity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Cecilia E.

2013-01-01

Insufficient information exists regarding the process influencing faculty decisions, specifically in the area of maintaining academic integrity in an online environment. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences and decision-making process of nursing faculty related to maintaining academic integrity in an online environment. The…

Tetrahymena Poc1 ensures proper intertriplet microtubule linkages to maintain basal body integrity

PubMed Central

Meehl, Janet B.; Bayless, Brian A.; Giddings, Thomas H.; Pearson, Chad G.; Winey, Mark

2016-01-01

Basal bodies comprise nine symmetric triplet microtubules that anchor forces produced by the asymmetric beat pattern of motile cilia. The ciliopathy protein Poc1 stabilizes basal bodies through an unknown mechanism. In poc1∆ cells, electron tomography reveals subtle defects in the organization of intertriplet linkers (A-C linkers) that connect adjacent triplet microtubules. Complete triplet microtubules are lost preferentially near the posterior face of the basal body. Basal bodies that are missing triplets likely remain competent to assemble new basal bodies with nine triplet microtubules, suggesting that the mother basal body microtubule structure does not template the daughter. Our data indicate that Poc1 stabilizes basal body triplet microtubules through linkers between neighboring triplets. Without this stabilization, specific triplet microtubules within the basal body are more susceptible to loss, probably due to force distribution within the basal body during ciliary beating. This work provides insights into how the ciliopathy protein Poc1 maintains basal body integrity. PMID:27251062

On the Stability of DNA Origami Nanostructures in Low-Magnesium Buffers.

PubMed

Kielar, Charlotte; Xin, Yang; Shen, Boxuan; Kostiainen, Mauri A; Grundmeier, Guido; Linko, Veikko; Keller, Adrian

2018-05-25

DNA origami have great potential as functional platforms in various biomedical applications. Many applications, however, are incompatible with the high Mg2+ concentrations commonly believed to be a prerequisite for maintaining DNA origami integrity. Here, we investigate DNA origami stability in low-Mg2+ buffers. DNA origami stability is found to crucially depend on the availability of residual Mg2+ ions for screening electrostatic repulsion. The presence of EDTA and phosphate ions may thus facilitate DNA origami denaturation by displacing Mg2+ ions from the DNA backbone and reducing the strength of the Mg2+-DNA interaction, respectively. Most remarkably, these buffer dependencies are affected by DNA origami superstructure. However, by rationally selecting buffer components and considering superstructure-dependent effects, the structural integrity of a given DNA origami nanostructure can be maintained in conventional buffers even at Mg2+ concentrations in the low-μM range. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Robust ferroelectricity in two-dimensional SbN and BiP.

PubMed

Liu, Chang; Wan, Wenhui; Ma, Jie; Guo, Wei; Yao, Yugui

2018-05-03

Based on first-principles calculations, we discover two new two-dimensional (2D) ferroelectric materials SbN and BiP. Both of them are stable in a phosphorene-like structure and maintain their ferroelectricity above room temperature. Till date, SbN has the largest in-plane spontaneous polarization of about 7.81 × 10-10 C m-1 ever found in 2D ferroelectric materials, and it can retain its ferroelectricity until melting at about 1700 K. The spontaneous polarizations and switching barriers can easily be tuned by strains. Additionally, the ferroelectricity can still be maintained in their multilayers. These advantages make SbN and BiP promising candidate materials for future integrated ferroelectric devices.

Maintaining the Brain: Insight into Human Neurodegeneration From Drosophila Mutants

PubMed Central

Lessing, Derek; Bonini, Nancy M.

2009-01-01

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has brought significant advances to research in neurodegenerative disease, notably in the identification of genes that are required to maintain the structural integrity of the brain, defined by recessive mutations that cause adult-onset neurodegeneration. Here, we survey these genes in the fly and classify them according to five key cell biological processes. Over half of these genes have counterparts in mouse or human that are also associated with neurodegeneration. Fly genetics continues to be instrumental in the analysis of degenerative disease, with notable recent advances in our understanding of several inherited disorders, as well as Parkinson’s Disease and the central role of mitochondria in neuronal maintenance. PMID:19434080

A Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics Manufactured Power Inductor Based on A Ternary Hybrid Material System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Yunsong; Chen, Ru

Low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) is one of the most important techniques to produce circuits with high working frequency, multi-functionality and high integration. We have developed a methodology to enable a ternary hybrid material system being implemented into the LTCC manufacturing process. The co-firing sintering process can be divided into a densification and cooling process. In this method, a successful ternary hybrid material densification process is achieved by tuning the sintering profile of each material to match each other. The system integrity is maintained in the cooling process is obtained by develop a strong bonding at the interfaces of each materials. As a demonstration, we have construct a power inductor device made of the ternary material system including Ag, NiCuZn ferrite and non-magnetic ceramic. The power inductors well maintains its physical integrity after sintering. The microscopic images show no obvious sign of cracks or structural deformation. More importantly, despite the bonding between the ferrite and ceramic is enhanced by non-magnetic element diffusion, the undesired magnetic elements diffusion is effectively suppressed. The electric performance shows that the power handling capability is comparable to the current state of art device.

Biological (Molecular and Cellular) Markers of Toxicity.

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-15

capability to maintain the integrity of it’s DNA (repair and chromosomal structure -function), will provide the basis for determining bioavailability...examined in this research. In Phase I metabolism, catalyzed by the mixed function oxidase (MFO) enzyme system, a reactive functional group (such as -OH...the incorporation of many organic chemicals in tissues, organisms will induce a family of enzymes better known as the Mixed-Function Oxidase (MFO

Smurf2 Regulates DNA Repair and Packaging to Prevent Tumors | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

The blueprint for all of a cell’s functions is written in the genetic code of DNA sequences as well as in the landscape of DNA and histone modifications. DNA is wrapped around histones to package it into chromatin, which is stored in the nucleus. It is important to maintain the integrity of the chromatin structure to ensure that the cell continues to behave appropriately.

Histone H3.3 maintains genome integrity during mammalian development

PubMed Central

Jang, Chuan-Wei; Shibata, Yoichiro; Starmer, Joshua; Yee, Della; Magnuson, Terry

2015-01-01

Histone H3.3 is a highly conserved histone H3 replacement variant in metazoans and has been implicated in many important biological processes, including cell differentiation and reprogramming. Germline and somatic mutations in H3.3 genomic incorporation pathway components or in H3.3 encoding genes have been associated with human congenital diseases and cancers, respectively. However, the role of H3.3 in mammalian development remains unclear. To address this question, we generated H3.3-null mouse models through classical genetic approaches. We found that H3.3 plays an essential role in mouse development. Complete depletion of H3.3 leads to developmental retardation and early embryonic lethality. At the cellular level, H3.3 loss triggers cell cycle suppression and cell death. Surprisingly, H3.3 depletion does not dramatically disrupt gene regulation in the developing embryo. Instead, H3.3 depletion causes dysfunction of heterochromatin structures at telomeres, centromeres, and pericentromeric regions of chromosomes, leading to mitotic defects. The resulting karyotypical abnormalities and DNA damage lead to p53 pathway activation. In summary, our results reveal that an important function of H3.3 is to support chromosomal heterochromatic structures, thus maintaining genome integrity during mammalian development. PMID:26159997

A hybrid design methodology for structuring an Integrated Environmental Management System (IEMS) for shipping business.

PubMed

Celik, Metin

2009-03-01

The International Safety Management (ISM) Code defines a broad framework for the safe management and operation of merchant ships, maintaining high standards of safety and environmental protection. On the other hand, ISO 14001:2004 provides a generic, worldwide environmental management standard that has been utilized by several industries. Both the ISM Code and ISO 14001:2004 have the practical goal of establishing a sustainable Integrated Environmental Management System (IEMS) for shipping businesses. This paper presents a hybrid design methodology that shows how requirements from both standards can be combined into a single execution scheme. Specifically, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Axiomatic Design (FAD) are used to structure an IEMS for ship management companies. This research provides decision aid to maritime executives in order to enhance the environmental performance in the shipping industry.

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

Ellis, Sebastian A. R.; Quevillon, Jérémie; You, Tevong

Recently, a general result for evaluating the path integral at one loop was obtained in the form of the Universal One-Loop Effective Action. It may be used to derive effective field theory operators of dimensions up to six, by evaluating the traces of matrices in this expression, with the mass dependence encapsulated in the universal coefficients. In this study we show that it can account for loops of mixed heavy–light particles in the matching procedure. Our prescription for computing these mixed contributions to the Wilson coefficients is conceptually simple. Moreover it has the advantage of maintaining the universal structure ofmore » the effective action, which we illustrate using the example of integrating out a heavy electroweak triplet scalar coupling to a light Higgs doublet. Finally we also identify new structures that were previously neglected in the universal results.« less

Types of OI

MedlinePlus

... is also important to address difficulties with social integration, participation in leisure activities, and maintaining stamina. The ... is also important to address difficulties with social integration, participation in leisure activities, and maintaining stamina. The ...

MAINTAINING DATA QUALITY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF A LARGE SCALE INTEGRATED MONITORING EFFORT

EPA Science Inventory

Macauley, John M. and Linda C. Harwell. In press. Maintaining Data Quality in the Performance of a Large Scale Integrated Monitoring Effort (Abstract). To be presented at EMAP Symposium 2004: Integrated Monitoring and Assessment for Effective Water Quality Management, 3-7 May 200...

Integrated polarizers based on tapered highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers.

PubMed

Romagnoli, Priscila; Biazoli, Claudecir R; Franco, Marcos A R; Cordeiro, Cristiano M B; de Matos, Christiano J S

2014-07-28

This paper proposes and demonstrates the creation of sections with a high polarization dependent loss (PDL) in a commercial highly birefringent (polarization maintaining) photonic crystal fiber (PCF), via tapering with pressure applied to the holes. The tapers had a 1-cm-long uniform section with a 66% scale reduction, in which the original microstructure aspect ratio was kept by the pressure application. The resulting waveguides show polarizing action across the entire tested wavelength range, 1510-1600 nm, with a peak PDL of 35.3 dB/cm (c.f. ~1 dB/cm for a typical commercial polarizing fiber). The resulting structure, as well as its production, is extremely simple, and enable a small section with a high PDL to be obtained in a polarization maintaining PCF, meaning that the polarization axes in the polarizing and polarization maintaining sections are automatically aligned.

UAS Integration in the NAS: Detect and Avoid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, Jay

2018-01-01

This presentation will cover the structure of the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration into the national airspace system (NAS) project (UAS-NAS Project). The talk also details the motivation of the project to help develop standards for a detect-and-avoid (DAA) system, which is required in order to comply with requirements in manned aviation to see-and-avoid other traffic so as to maintain well clear. The presentation covers accomplishments reached by the project in Phase 1 of the research, and touches on the work to be done in Phase 2. The discussion ends with examples of the display work developed as a result of the Phase 1 research.

Nickel Ferrite Nanoparticles Anchored onto Silica Nanofibers for Designing Magnetic and Flexible Nanofibrous Membranes.

PubMed

Hong, Feifei; Yan, Chengcheng; Si, Yang; He, Jianxin; Yu, Jianyong; Ding, Bin

2015-09-16

Many applications proposed for magnetic silica nanofibers require their assembly into a cellular membrane structure. The feature to keep structure stable upon large deformation is crucial for a macroscopic porous material which functions reliably. However, it remains a key issue to realize robust flexibility in two-dimensional (2D) magnetic silica nanofibrous networks. Here, we report that the combination of electrospun silica nanofibers with zein dip-coating can lead to the formation of flexible, magnetic, and hierarchical porous silica nanofibrous membranes (SNM). The 290 nm diameter silica nanofibers act as templates for the uniform anchoring of nickel ferrite nanoparticles (size of 50 nm). Benefiting from the homogeneous and stable nanofiber-nanoparticle composite structure, the resulting magnetic SNM can maintain their structure integrity under repeated bending as high as 180° and can facilely recover. The unique hierarchical structure also provides this new class of silica membrane with integrated properties of ultralow density, high porosity, large surface area, good magnetic responsiveness, robust dye adsorption capacity, and effective emulsion separation performance. Significantly, the synthesis of such fascinating membranes may provide new insight for further application of silica in a self-supporting, structurally adaptive, and 2D membrane form.

Authentication, integrity, and confidentiality in DICOM-structured reporting: concept and implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riesmeier, Joerg; Eichelberg, Marco; Kleber, Klaus; Groenemeyer, Dietrich H.; Oosterwijk, Herman J.; Jensch, Peter F.

2002-05-01

With the release of 'DICOM Structured Reporting' (SR) as an official extension of the standard about two years ago, DICOM has entered a new domain that is only indirectly related to medical imaging. Basically, DICOM SR is a general model allowing to encode medical reports in a structured manner in DICOM's tag-based format. Therefore, the existing DICOM infrastructure can be used to archive and communicate structured reports, with only relatively small changes to existing systems. As a consequence of the introduction of medical reports in a digital form, the relevance of security measures increases significantly. We have developed a prototype implementation of DICOM structured reporting together with the new security extensions for secure transport connections and digital signatures. The application allows to create, read and modify any SR document, to digitally sign an SR document in whole or part and to transmit such documents over a network. While the secure transport connection protects data from modifications or unauthorized access only during transmission, digital signatures provide a lifetime integrity check and, therefore, maintain the legal document status of structured reports. The application has been successfully demonstrated at RSNA 2000 and ECR 2001, and is freely available on the Internet.

Analysis of methods. [information systems evolution environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayer, Richard J. (Editor); Ackley, Keith A.; Wells, M. Sue; Mayer, Paula S. D.; Blinn, Thomas M.; Decker, Louis P.; Toland, Joel A.; Crump, J. Wesley; Menzel, Christopher P.; Bodenmiller, Charles A.

1991-01-01

Information is one of an organization's most important assets. For this reason the development and maintenance of an integrated information system environment is one of the most important functions within a large organization. The Integrated Information Systems Evolution Environment (IISEE) project has as one of its primary goals a computerized solution to the difficulties involved in the development of integrated information systems. To develop such an environment a thorough understanding of the enterprise's information needs and requirements is of paramount importance. This document is the current release of the research performed by the Integrated Development Support Environment (IDSE) Research Team in support of the IISEE project. Research indicates that an integral part of any information system environment would be multiple modeling methods to support the management of the organization's information. Automated tool support for these methods is necessary to facilitate their use in an integrated environment. An integrated environment makes it necessary to maintain an integrated database which contains the different kinds of models developed under the various methodologies. In addition, to speed the process of development of models, a procedure or technique is needed to allow automatic translation from one methodology's representation to another while maintaining the integrity of both. The purpose for the analysis of the modeling methods included in this document is to examine these methods with the goal being to include them in an integrated development support environment. To accomplish this and to develop a method for allowing intra-methodology and inter-methodology model element reuse, a thorough understanding of multiple modeling methodologies is necessary. Currently the IDSE Research Team is investigating the family of Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) DEFinition (IDEF) languages IDEF(0), IDEF(1), and IDEF(1x), as well as ENALIM, Entity Relationship, Data Flow Diagrams, and Structure Charts, for inclusion in an integrated development support environment.

Engineering aspects of design and integration of ECE diagnostic in ITER

DOE PAGES

Udintsev, V. S.; Taylor, G.; Pandya, H. K.B.; ...

2015-03-12

ITER ECE diagnostic [1] needs not only to meet measurement requirements, but also to withstand various loads, such as electromagnetic, mechanical, neutronic and thermal, and to be protected from stray ECH radiation at 170 GHz and other millimeter wave emission, like Collective Thomson scattering which is planned to operate at 60 GHz. Same or similar loads will be applied to other millimetre-wave diagnostics [2], located both in-vessel and in-port plugs. These loads must be taken into account throughout the design phases of the ECE and other microwave diagnostics to ensure their structural integrity and maintainability. The integration of microwave diagnosticsmore » with other ITER systems is another challenging activity which is currently ongoing through port integration and in-vessel integration work. Port Integration has to address the maintenance and the safety aspects of diagnostics, too. Engineering solutions which are being developed to support and to operate ITER ECE diagnostic, whilst complying with safety and maintenance requirements, are discussed in this paper.« less

Micronucleus-specific histone H1 is required for micronuclear chromosome integrity in Tetrahymena thermophila

PubMed Central

Qiao, Juxia; Xu, Jing; Bo, Tao

2017-01-01

Histone H1 molecules play a key role in establishing and maintaining higher order chromatin structures. They can bind to linker DNA entering and exiting the nucleosome and regulate transcriptional activity. Tetrahymena thermophila has two histone H1, namely, macronuclear histone H1 and micronuclear histone H1 (Mlh1). Mlh1 is specifically localized at micronuclei during growth and starvation stages. Moreover, Mlh1 is localized around micronuclei and forms a specific structure during the conjugation stage. It co-localizes partially with spindle apparatus during micronuclear meiosis. Analysis of MLH1 knock-out revealed that Mlh1 was required for the micronuclear integrity and development during conjugation stage. Overexpression of Mlh1 led to abnormal conjugation progression. RT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression level of HMGB3 increased in ΔMLH1 strains, while the expression level of MLH1 increased in ΔHMGB3 cells during conjugation. These results indicate that micronuclear integrity and sexual development require normal expression level of Mlh1 and that HmgB3 and Mlh1 may functionally compensate each other in regulating micronuclear structure in T. thermophila. PMID:29095884

FAA/NASA International Symposium on Advanced Structural Integrity Methods for Airframe Durability and Damage Tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Charles E. (Editor)

1994-01-01

International technical experts in durability and damage tolerance of metallic airframe structures were assembled to present and discuss recent research findings and the development of advanced design and analysis methods, structural concepts, and advanced materials. The symposium focused on the dissemination of new knowledge and the peer-review of progress on the development of advanced methodologies. Papers were presented on: structural concepts for enhanced durability, damage tolerance, and maintainability; new metallic alloys and processing technology; fatigue crack initiation and small crack effects; fatigue crack growth models; fracture mechanics failure, criteria for ductile materials; structural mechanics methodology for residual strength and life prediction; development of flight load spectra for design and testing; and advanced approaches to resist corrosion and environmentally assisted fatigue.

FAA/NASA International Symposium on Advanced Structural Integrity Methods for Airframe Durability and Damage Tolerance, part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, Charles E. (Editor)

1994-01-01

The international technical experts in the areas of durability and damage tolerance of metallic airframe structures were assembled to present and discuss recent research findings and the development of advanced design and analysis methods, structural concepts, and advanced materials. The principal focus of the symposium was on the dissemination of new knowledge and the peer-review of progress on the development of advanced methodologies. Papers were presented on the following topics: structural concepts for enhanced durability, damage tolerance, and maintainability; new metallic alloys and processing technology; fatigue crack initiation and small crack effects; fatigue crack growth models; fracture mechanics failure criteria for ductile materials; structural mechanics methodology for residual strength and life prediction; development of flight load spectra for design and testing; and corrosion resistance.

Fullerene C60 coated silicon nanowires as anode materials for lithium secondary batteries.

PubMed

Arie, Arenst Andreas; Lee, Joong Kee

2012-04-01

A Fullerene C60 film was introduced as a coating layer for silicon nanowires (Si NWs) by a plasma assisted thermal evaporation technique. The morphology and structural characteristics of the materials were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). SEM observations showed that the shape of the nanowire structure was maintained after the C60 coating and the XPS analysis confirmed the presence of the carbon coating layer. The electrochemical characteristics of C60 coated Si NWs as anode materials were examined by charge-discharge tests and electrochemical impedance measurements. With the C60 film coating, Si NW electrodes exhibited a higher initial coulombic efficiency of 77% and a higher specific capacity of 2020 mA h g(-1) after the 30th cycle at a current density of 100 microA cm(-2) with cut-off voltage between 0-1.5 V. These improved electrochemical characteristics are attributed to the presence of the C60 coating layer which suppresses side reaction with the electrolyte and maintains the structural integrity of the Si NW electrodes during cycle tests.

A novel high performance ESD power clamp circuit with a small area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhaonian, Yang; Hongxia, Liu; Li, Li; Qingqing, Zhuo

2012-09-01

A MOSFET-based electrostatic discharge (ESD) power clamp circuit with only a 10 ns RC time constant for a 0.18-μm process is proposed. A diode-connected NMOSFET is used to maintain a long delay time and save area. The special structure overcomes other shortcomings in this clamp circuit. Under fast power-up events, the gate voltage of the clamp MOSFET does not rise as quickly as under ESD events, the special structure can keep the clamp MOSFET thoroughly off. Under a falsely triggered event, the special structure can turn off the clamp MOSFET in a short time. The clamp circuit can also reject the power supply noise effectively. Simulation results show that the clamp circuit avoids fast false triggering events such as a 30 ns/1.8 V power-up, maintains a 1.2 μs delay time and a 2.14 μs turn-off time, and reduces to about 70% of the RC time constant. It is believed that the proposed clamp circuit can be widely used in high-speed integrated circuits.

NURBS-Based Geometry for Integrated Structural Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliver, James H.

1997-01-01

This grant was initiated in April 1993 and completed in September 1996. The primary goal of the project was to exploit the emerging defacto CAD standard of Non- Uniform Rational B-spline (NURBS) based curve and surface geometry to integrate and streamline the process of turbomachinery structural analysis. We focused our efforts on critical geometric modeling challenges typically posed by the requirements of structural analysts. We developed a suite of software tools that facilitate pre- and post-processing of NURBS-based turbomachinery blade models for finite element structural analyses. We also developed tools to facilitate the modeling of blades in their manufactured (or cold) state based on nominal operating shape and conditions. All of the software developed in the course of this research is written in the C++ language using the Iris Inventor 3D graphical interface tool-kit from Silicon Graphics. In addition to enhanced modularity, improved maintainability, and efficient prototype development, this design facilitates the re-use of code developed for other NASA projects and provides a uniform and professional 'look and feel' for all applications developed by the Iowa State Team.

37 CFR 10.22 - Maintaining integrity and competence of the legal profession.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Maintaining integrity and competence of the legal profession. 10.22 Section 10.22 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES... integrity and competence of the legal profession. (a) A practitioner is subject to discipline if the...

Mechanical design principles of a mitotic spindle.

PubMed

Ward, Jonathan J; Roque, Hélio; Antony, Claude; Nédélec, François

2014-12-18

An organised spindle is crucial to the fidelity of chromosome segregation, but the relationship between spindle structure and function is not well understood in any cell type. The anaphase B spindle in fission yeast has a slender morphology and must elongate against compressive forces. This 'pushing' mode of chromosome transport renders the spindle susceptible to breakage, as observed in cells with a variety of defects. Here we perform electron tomographic analyses of the spindle, which suggest that it organises a limited supply of structural components to increase its compressive strength. Structural integrity is maintained throughout the spindle's fourfold elongation by organising microtubules into a rigid transverse array, preserving correct microtubule number and dynamically rescaling microtubule length.

The MIGenAS integrated bioinformatics toolkit for web-based sequence analysis

PubMed Central

Rampp, Markus; Soddemann, Thomas; Lederer, Hermann

2006-01-01

We describe a versatile and extensible integrated bioinformatics toolkit for the analysis of biological sequences over the Internet. The web portal offers convenient interactive access to a growing pool of chainable bioinformatics software tools and databases that are centrally installed and maintained by the RZG. Currently, supported tasks comprise sequence similarity searches in public or user-supplied databases, computation and validation of multiple sequence alignments, phylogenetic analysis and protein–structure prediction. Individual tools can be seamlessly chained into pipelines allowing the user to conveniently process complex workflows without the necessity to take care of any format conversions or tedious parsing of intermediate results. The toolkit is part of the Max-Planck Integrated Gene Analysis System (MIGenAS) of the Max Planck Society available at (click ‘Start Toolkit’). PMID:16844980

Integrated polarization beam splitter with relaxed fabrication tolerances.

PubMed

Pérez-Galacho, D; Halir, R; Ortega-Moñux, A; Alonso-Ramos, C; Zhang, R; Runge, P; Janiak, K; Bach, H-G; Steffan, A G; Molina-Fernández, Í

2013-06-17

Polarization handling is a key requirement for the next generation of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Integrated polarization beam splitters (PBS) are central elements for polarization management, but their use in PICs is hindered by poor fabrication tolerances. In this work we present a fully passive, highly fabrication tolerant polarization beam splitter, based on an asymmetrical Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with a Si/SiO(2) Periodic Layer Structure (PLS) on top of one of its arms. By engineering the birefringence of the PLS we are able to design the MZI arms so that sensitivities to the most critical fabrication errors are greatly reduced. Our PBS design tolerates waveguide width variations of 400nm maintaining a polarization extinction ratio better than 13dB in the complete C-Band.

3D integrated superconducting qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenberg, D.; Kim, D.; Das, R.; Yost, D.; Gustavsson, S.; Hover, D.; Krantz, P.; Melville, A.; Racz, L.; Samach, G. O.; Weber, S. J.; Yan, F.; Yoder, J. L.; Kerman, A. J.; Oliver, W. D.

2017-10-01

As the field of quantum computing advances from the few-qubit stage to larger-scale processors, qubit addressability and extensibility will necessitate the use of 3D integration and packaging. While 3D integration is well-developed for commercial electronics, relatively little work has been performed to determine its compatibility with high-coherence solid-state qubits. Of particular concern, qubit coherence times can be suppressed by the requisite processing steps and close proximity of another chip. In this work, we use a flip-chip process to bond a chip with superconducting flux qubits to another chip containing structures for qubit readout and control. We demonstrate that high qubit coherence (T1, T2,echo > 20 μs) is maintained in a flip-chip geometry in the presence of galvanic, capacitive, and inductive coupling between the chips.

Electric power scheduling - A distributed problem-solving approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mellor, Pamela A.; Dolce, James L.; Krupp, Joseph C.

1990-01-01

Space Station Freedom's power system, along with the spacecraft's other subsystems, needs to carefully conserve its resources and yet strive to maximize overall Station productivity. Due to Freedom's distributed design, each subsystem must work cooperatively within the Station community. There is a need for a scheduling tool which will preserve this distributed structure, allow each subsystem the latitude to satisfy its own constraints, and preserve individual value systems while maintaining Station-wide integrity.

Understanding the Effects of Climate on Airfield Pavement Deterioration Rates

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

a reduction of approximately $12 billion in their operating budget over the next 10 years while still maintaining the ability to execute its...responded and is in the process of implementing asset management as the foundation of CE operations in “Building Sustainable Installations,” which is one...of a pavement’s structural integrity and surface operational condition (Shahin, 2005). Their research led to the development of the PCI. PCI is a

Preconditions for constructing a biomechanical model of the heart as an integral musculovascular organ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edemskii, M. L.; Kogan, V. A.

1981-07-01

Relative to its major function, pumping, the heart should be considered as an integral musculovascular organ. It is precisely this integration in the structural and functional sense which permits the heart not only to perform its pump function as a converter of chemical energy supplied by the blood into mechanical flow energy but also to combine the supply and conversion of energy into a single cycle, produce the hydrodynamics of cardiac output in definite fashion, and introduce a correction into the filling phase according to current arterial pressure as the most dynamic index of systemic hemodynamics. The breakdown of the structure of the cardiac pump into elements differing in their functional significance permits us to delineate at least three channels for the utilization of energy supplied to the heart and consumed in the major pumping function: the mechanical work performed by the lower part of the cardiac muscle that is displaced into the ventricular space, the energy consumed on maintaining the systolic pressure of the myocardial fibers which form the relatively immobile upper and side walls of the heart, and the energy consumed on maintaining the high tone of the muscular walls of the coronary arteries and arterioles which form the hydraulic frame of the heart. A representation of the heart which includes muscular and vascular components, in our view, is the basic prerequisite for the development of mathematical models for the cardiac pump based on energy balance equations and suitable for solving the problems posed by clinical medicine in regard to auxiliary blood circulation.

A road map for integrating eco-evolutionary processes into biodiversity models.

PubMed

Thuiller, Wilfried; Münkemüller, Tamara; Lavergne, Sébastien; Mouillot, David; Mouquet, Nicolas; Schiffers, Katja; Gravel, Dominique

2013-05-01

The demand for projections of the future distribution of biodiversity has triggered an upsurge in modelling at the crossroads between ecology and evolution. Despite the enthusiasm around these so-called biodiversity models, most approaches are still criticised for not integrating key processes known to shape species ranges and community structure. Developing an integrative modelling framework for biodiversity distribution promises to improve the reliability of predictions and to give a better understanding of the eco-evolutionary dynamics of species and communities under changing environments. In this article, we briefly review some eco-evolutionary processes and interplays among them, which are essential to provide reliable projections of species distributions and community structure. We identify gaps in theory, quantitative knowledge and data availability hampering the development of an integrated modelling framework. We argue that model development relying on a strong theoretical foundation is essential to inspire new models, manage complexity and maintain tractability. We support our argument with an example of a novel integrated model for species distribution modelling, derived from metapopulation theory, which accounts for abiotic constraints, dispersal, biotic interactions and evolution under changing environmental conditions. We hope such a perspective will motivate exciting and novel research, and challenge others to improve on our proposed approach. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Optimization of Layered Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

PubMed Central

Julien, Christian; Mauger, Alain; Zaghib, Karim; Groult, Henri

2016-01-01

This review presents a survey of the literature on recent progress in lithium-ion batteries, with the active sub-micron-sized particles of the positive electrode chosen in the family of lamellar compounds LiMO2, where M stands for a mixture of Ni, Mn, Co elements, and in the family of yLi2MnO3•(1 − y)LiNi½Mn½O2 layered-layered integrated materials. The structural, physical, and chemical properties of these cathode elements are reported and discussed as a function of all the synthesis parameters, which include the choice of the precursors and of the chelating agent, and as a function of the relative concentrations of the M cations and composition y. Their electrochemical properties are also reported and discussed to determine the optimum compositions in order to obtain the best electrochemical performance while maintaining the structural integrity of the electrode lattice during cycling. PMID:28773717

Mixed heavy–light matching in the Universal One-Loop Effective Action

DOE PAGES

Ellis, Sebastian A. R.; Quevillon, Jérémie; You, Tevong; ...

2016-11-10

Recently, a general result for evaluating the path integral at one loop was obtained in the form of the Universal One-Loop Effective Action. It may be used to derive effective field theory operators of dimensions up to six, by evaluating the traces of matrices in this expression, with the mass dependence encapsulated in the universal coefficients. In this study we show that it can account for loops of mixed heavy–light particles in the matching procedure. Our prescription for computing these mixed contributions to the Wilson coefficients is conceptually simple. Moreover it has the advantage of maintaining the universal structure ofmore » the effective action, which we illustrate using the example of integrating out a heavy electroweak triplet scalar coupling to a light Higgs doublet. Finally we also identify new structures that were previously neglected in the universal results.« less

Aptamer based surface enhanced Raman scattering detection of vasopressin using multilayer nanotube arrays

PubMed Central

Huh, Yun Suk; Erickson, David

2009-01-01

Here we present an optofluidic surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) device for on-chip detection of vasopressin using an aptamer based binding assay. To create the SERS-active substrate, densely packed, 200 nm diameter, metal nanotube arrays were fabricated using an anodized alumina nanoporous membrane as a template for shadow evaporation. We explore the use of both single layer Au structures and multilayer Au/Ag/Au structures and also demonstrate a facile technique for integrating the membranes with all polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices. Using the integrated device, we demonstrate a linear response in the main detection peak intensity to solution phase concentration and a limit of detection on the order of 5.2 μU/mL. This low limit of detection is obtained with device containing the multilayer SERS substrate which we show exhibits a stronger Raman enhancement while maintaining biocompatibility and ease or surface reactivity with the capture probe. PMID:19857952

Monolithically Integrated Dual-Wavelength Self-Sustained Pulsating Laser Diodes with Real Refractive Index Guided Self-Aligned Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onishi, Toshikazu; Imafuji, Osamu; Fukuhisa, Toshiya; Mochida, Atsunori; Kobayashi, Yasuhiro; Yuri, Masaaki; Itoh, Kunio; Shimizu, Hirokazu

2001-11-01

Monolithically integrated 780-nm-band and 650-nm-band self-sustained pulsating (SSP) lasers, which are desirable for simplified optical pickups in digital versatile disk (DVD) systems, have been developed for the first time. The real refractive index guided self-aligned (RISA) waveguide structure is adapted to reduce absorption loss in the current blocking layers. In order to obtain stable SSP, a saturable absorber formed in the active layer outside the current stripe, and a saturable absorbing layer above the active layer are utilized for the 780-nm-band and 650-nm-band laser diodes (LDs), respectively. Relative intensity noise less than -130 dB/Hz is maintained at temperatures of up to 80°C at an output power of 7 mW for the 650 nm band and 10 mW for the 780 nm band, which suggests that stable SSP operations have been realized.

Integrity in Presidential Leadership: Principles Related to Maintaining Integrity for College Presidents in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomason, Robert Riner, Jr.

2013-01-01

This qualitative study, utilizing a grounded theory methodological approach, focused on how former Christian college and university presidents maintain their integrity over the course of their lives and their time in office. Eight participants from a variety of theological backgrounds were identified by using purposeful sampling methods; the…

Ovalbumin-induced allergic inflammation lead to structural alterations in mouse model and protective effects of intranasal curcumin: A comparative study.

PubMed

Subhashini; Chauhan, P S; Singh, R

2016-01-01

Antigen exposure and persistent inflammation leads to structural changes in the asthmatic airways which are collectively termed as "airway remodelling". Presently available asthma medications ameliorate inflammations but are unable to prevent or reverse the airway remodelling process as most of the treatment strategies are only focused on inflammation instead of remodelling. Curcumin, a phytochemical present in the rhizome of Curcuma longa is well known for its anti-inflammatory activity; however, the main drawback is its poor bioavailability which limits its therapeutic approval. So, the effect of nasal curcumin on acute and chronic asthma has been studied where short exposure to ovalbumin (4 days) represents acute phase whereas repeated exposures for longer (twice per week till 5 weeks) represents chronic asthma. Disodium cromoglycate (DSCG, 50mg/kg, i.p.) and dexamethasone (1mg/kg, i.p.) were used as standard drugs in acute and chronic model of asthma respectively. OVA-induced airway inflammation initiated in acute stage led to remodelling due to persistent inflammation, epithelial and sub epithelial thickening (smooth muscle thickening), extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus plug formation. Intranasal curcumin is effective in inhibiting airway inflammation and remodelling both by maintaining the structural integrity of lungs in terms of inflammation, airway wall thickening and mucus production. Our findings suggest that curcumin administered through nasal route might prove therapeutically efficient in inhibiting allergic airway inflammations and maintaining structural integrity in the mouse model of allergic asthma. This may lead to the development of curcumin aerosol in near future. Copyright © 2016 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Passive Earth Entry Vehicle Landing Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellas, Sotiris

2017-01-01

Two full-scale passive Earth Entry Vehicles (EEV) with realistic structure, surrogate sample container, and surrogate Thermal Protection System (TPS) were built at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and tested at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The main test objective was to demonstrate structural integrity and investigate possible impact response deviations of the realistic vehicle as compared to rigid penetrometer responses. With the exception of the surrogate TPS and minor structural differences in the back shell construction, the two test vehicles were identical in geometry and both utilized the Integrated Composite Stiffener Structure (ICoSS) structural concept in the forward shell. The ICoSS concept is a lightweight and highly adaptable composite concept developed at NASA LaRC specifically for entry vehicle TPS carrier structures. The instrumented test vehicles were released from a helicopter approximately 400 m above ground. The drop height was selected such that at least 98% of the vehicles terminal velocity would be achieved. While drop tests of spherical penetrometers and a low fidelity aerodynamic EEV model were conducted at UTTR in 1998 and 2000, this was the first time a passive EEV with flight-like structure, surrogate TPS, and sample container was tested at UTTR for the purpose of complete structural system validation. Test results showed that at a landing vertical speed of approximately 30 m/s, the test vehicle maintained structural integrity and enough rigidity to penetrate the sandy clay surface thus attenuating the landing load, as measured at the vehicle CG, to less than 600 g. This measured deceleration was found to be in family with rigid penetrometer test data from the 1998 and 2000 test campaigns. Design implications of vehicle structure/soil interaction with respect to sample container and sample survivability are briefly discussed.

Short-Term Storage of Human Spermatozoa in Electrolyte-Free Medium Without Freezing Maintains Sperm Chromatin Integrity Better Than Cryopreservation1

PubMed Central

Riel, Jonathan M.; Yamauchi, Yasuhiro; Huang, Thomas T.F.; Grove, John; Ward, Monika A.

2011-01-01

Previous attempts to maintain human spermatozoa without freezing were based on short-term storage in component-rich medium and led to fast decline in motility and increased incidence of chromosome breaks. Here we report a new method in which sperm are maintained without freezing in an electrolyte-free medium (EFM) composed of glucose and bovine serum albumin. Human sperm were stored in EFM or human tubal fluid medium (HTFM) or were cryopreserved, and their motility, viability, and DNA integrity were examined at different intervals. Cryopreservation led to significant decline in sperm motility and viability and induced DNA fragmentation. Sperm stored in EFM maintained motility and viability for up to 4 and 7 wk, respectively, much longer than sperm stored in HTFM (<2 and <4 wk, respectively). DNA integrity, assessed with comet assay, was also maintained significantly better in EFM than in HTFM. One-week storage in EFM yielded motility and viability similar to that of cryopreserved sperm, but DNA integrity was significantly higher, resembling that of fresh sperm. After several weeks of storage in EFM, sperm were able to activate oocytes, undergo chromatin remodeling, and form normal zygotic chromosomes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. This study demonstrated that human spermatozoa can be stored in EFM without freezing for several weeks while maintaining motility, viability, and chromatin integrity and that 1-wk storage in EFM offers better protection of sperm DNA integrity than cryopreservation. Sperm storage in EFM may become a viable option for the physicians working in assisted reproduction technology clinics, which would avoid cryodamage. PMID:21593474

Control of flexible structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, R. A.

1985-01-01

The requirements for future space missions indicate that many of these spacecraft will be large, flexible, and in some applications, require precision geometries. A technology program that addresses the issues associated with the structure/control interactions for these classes of spacecraft is discussed. The goal of the NASA control of flexible structures technology program is to generate a technology data base that will provide the designer with options and approaches to achieve spacecraft performance such as maintaining geometry and/or suppressing undesired spacecraft dynamics. This technology program will define the appropriate combination of analysis, ground testing, and flight testing required to validate the structural/controls analysis and design tools. This work was motivated by a recognition that large minimum weight space structures will be required for many future missions. The tools necessary to support such design included: (1) improved structural analysis; (2) modern control theory; (3) advanced modeling techniques; (4) system identification; and (5) the integration of structures and controls.

The Human Thalamus Is an Integrative Hub for Functional Brain Networks

PubMed Central

Bertolero, Maxwell A.

2017-01-01

The thalamus is globally connected with distributed cortical regions, yet the functional significance of this extensive thalamocortical connectivity remains largely unknown. By performing graph-theoretic analyses on thalamocortical functional connectivity data collected from human participants, we found that most thalamic subdivisions display network properties that are capable of integrating multimodal information across diverse cortical functional networks. From a meta-analysis of a large dataset of functional brain-imaging experiments, we further found that the thalamus is involved in multiple cognitive functions. Finally, we found that focal thalamic lesions in humans have widespread distal effects, disrupting the modular organization of cortical functional networks. This converging evidence suggests that the human thalamus is a critical hub region that could integrate diverse information being processed throughout the cerebral cortex as well as maintain the modular structure of cortical functional networks. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The thalamus is traditionally viewed as a passive relay station of information from sensory organs or subcortical structures to the cortex. However, the thalamus has extensive connections with the entire cerebral cortex, which can also serve to integrate information processing between cortical regions. In this study, we demonstrate that multiple thalamic subdivisions display network properties that are capable of integrating information across multiple functional brain networks. Moreover, the thalamus is engaged by tasks requiring multiple cognitive functions. These findings support the idea that the thalamus is involved in integrating information across cortical networks. PMID:28450543

Drosophila UNC-45 prevents heat-induced aggregation of skeletal muscle myosin and facilitates refolding of citrate synthase

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

Melkani, Girish C.; Lee, Chi F.; Cammarato, Anthony

2010-05-28

UNC-45 belongs to the UCS (UNC-45, CRO1, She4p) domain protein family, whose members interact with various classes of myosin. Here we provide structural and biochemical evidence that Escherichia coli-expressed Drosophila UNC-45 (DUNC-45) maintains the integrity of several substrates during heat-induced stress in vitro. DUNC-45 displays chaperone function in suppressing aggregation of the muscle myosin heavy meromyosin fragment, the myosin S-1 motor domain, {alpha}-lactalbumin and citrate synthase. Biochemical evidence is supported by electron microscopy, which reveals the first structural evidence that DUNC-45 prevents inter- or intra-molecular aggregates of skeletal muscle heavy meromyosin caused by elevated temperatures. We also demonstrate for themore » first time that UNC-45 is able to refold a denatured substrate, urea-unfolded citrate synthase. Overall, this in vitro study provides insight into the fate of muscle myosin under stress conditions and suggests that UNC-45 protects and maintains the contractile machinery during in vivo stress.« less

A parameter optimization approach to controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Phillip; Garg, Sanjay; Holowecky, Brian

1992-01-01

A parameter optimization framework is presented to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. The controller partitioning problem is briefly discussed and a cost function to be minimized is formulated, such that the resulting 'optimal' partitioned subsystem controllers will closely match the performance (including robustness) properties of the closed-loop system with the centralized controller while maintaining the desired controller partitioning structure. The cost function is written in terms of parameters in a state-space representation of the partitioned sub-controllers. Analytical expressions are obtained for the gradient of this cost function with respect to parameters, and an optimization algorithm is developed using modern computer-aided control design and analysis software. The capabilities of the algorithm are demonstrated by application to partitioned integrated flight/propulsion control design for a modern fighter aircraft in the short approach to landing task. The partitioning optimization is shown to lead to reduced-order subcontrollers that match the closed-loop command tracking and decoupling performance achieved by a high-order centralized controller.

A parameter optimization approach to controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Phillip H.; Garg, Sanjay; Holowecky, Brian R.

1993-01-01

A parameter optimization framework is presented to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. The controller partitioning problem is briefly discussed and a cost function to be minimized is formulated, such that the resulting 'optimal' partitioned subsystem controllers will closely match the performance (including robustness) properties of the closed-loop system with the centralized controller while maintaining the desired controller partitioning structure. The cost function is written in terms of parameters in a state-space representation of the partitioned sub-controllers. Analytical expressions are obtained for the gradient of this cost function with respect to parameters, and an optimization algorithm is developed using modern computer-aided control design and analysis software. The capabilities of the algorithm are demonstrated by application to partitioned integrated flight/propulsion control design for a modern fighter aircraft in the short approach to landing task. The partitioning optimization is shown to lead to reduced-order subcontrollers that match the closed-loop command tracking and decoupling performance achieved by a high-order centralized controller.

Resistive Switching of Ta2O5-Based Self-Rectifying Vertical-Type Resistive Switching Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Sungyeon; Kim, Seong Keun; Choi, Byung Joon

2018-01-01

To efficiently increase the capacity of resistive switching random-access memory (RRAM) while maintaining the same area, a vertical structure similar to a vertical NAND flash structure is needed. In addition, the sneak-path current through the half-selected neighboring memory cell should be mitigated by integrating a selector device with each RRAM cell. In this study, an integrated vertical-type RRAM cell and selector device was fabricated and characterized. Ta2O5 as the switching layer and TaOxNy as the selector layer were used to preliminarily study the feasibility of such an integrated device. To make the side contact of the bottom electrode with active layers, a thick Al2O3 insulating layer was placed between the Pt bottom electrode and the Ta2O5/TaOxNy stacks. Resistive switching phenomena were observed under relatively low currents (below 10 μA) in this vertical-type RRAM device. The TaOxNy layer acted as a nonlinear resistor with moderate nonlinearity. Its low-resistance-state and high-resistance-state were well retained up to 1000 s.

Integration of mechanism and control for large-angle slew maneuvers of flexible structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chew, Meng-Sang

1991-01-01

A rolling contact noncircular gear system is applied to assist a desired controller in the slewing of a flexible space structure. The varying gear ratio in cooperation with the controller results in lower feedback gains at the controller, as well as considerably reducing flexural vibrations of the space structure. The noncircular gears consist of a pair of convex noncircular cylinders with specially designed profiles that are synthesized in conjunction with the optimal controller gains for minimizing the flexural vibrations of flexible structure during a slew maneuver. Convexity of the cylindrical profiles for this noncircular gear device must be ensured to maintain rolling contact between the two cylinders. Simulations of slewing control tasks for two kinds of flexible space structures, such as a planar flexible beam and the planar articulated flexible beams, are presented.

Chemical Speciation and Metallomics.

PubMed

de Jesus, Jemmyson Romário; da Costa, Luana Ferreira; Lehmann, Eraldo Luiz; Galazzi, Rodrigo Moretto; Madrid, Katherine Chacón; Arruda, Marco Aurélio Zezzi

2018-01-01

Chemical speciation approaches is an inherent part of metallomics, once metals/metalloids and organic structures need to be currently evaluated for attaining metallomics studies. Then, this chapter focuses on the applications of the chemical speciation applied to the human health risk, food and human diet, drugs, forensic, nanoscience, and geological metallomics, also pointing out the advances in such area. Some aspects regarding sample preparation is commented along this chapter, and some strategies for maintaining the integrity of the metallomics information are also emphasized.

Transcription as a source of genome instability

PubMed Central

Kim, Nayun; Jinks-Robertson, Sue

2012-01-01

Alterations in genome sequence and structure contribute to somatic disease, affect the fitness of subsequent generations and drive evolutionary processes. The critical roles of highly accurate replication and efficient repair in maintaining overall genome integrity are well known, but the more localized stability costs associated with transcribing DNA into RNA molecules are less appreciated. Here we review the diverse ways that the essential process of transcription alters the underlying DNA template and thereby modifies the genetic landscape. PMID:22330764

How platelets safeguard vascular integrity

PubMed Central

Ho-Tin-Noé, Benoit; Demers, Mélanie; Wagner, Denisa D

2011-01-01

Summary The haemostatic role of platelets was established in the 1880s by Bizzozero who observed their ability to adhere and aggregate at sites of vascular injury. It was only some 80 years later that the function of platelets in maintaining the structural integrity of intact blood vessels was reported by Danielli. Danielli noted that platelets help preserve the barrier function of endothelium during organ perfusion. Subsequent studies have demonstrated further that platelets are continuously needed to support intact mature blood vessels. More recently, platelets were shown to safeguard developing vessels, lymphatics, as well as the microvasculature at sites of leukocyte infiltration, including inflamed organs and tumours. Interestingly, from a mechanistic point of view, the supporting role of platelets in these various vessels does not necessarily involve the well-understood process of platelet plug formation but, rather, may rely on secretion of the various platelet granules and their many active components. The present review focuses on these nonconventional aspects of platelet biology and function by presenting situations in which platelets intervene to maintain vascular integrity and discusses possible mechanisms of their actions. We propose that modulating these newly described platelet functions may help treat haemorrhage as well as treat cancer by increasing the efficacy of drug delivery to tumours. PMID:21781242

Physiologically Low Oxygen Enhances Biomolecule Production and Stemness of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Spheroids

PubMed Central

Shearier, Emily; Xing, Qi; Qian, Zichen

2016-01-01

Multicellular human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) spheroids have been demonstrated to be valuable in a variety of applications, including cartilage regeneration, wound healing, and neoangiogenesis. Physiological relevant low oxygen culture can significantly improve in vitro hMSC expansion by preventing cell differentiation. We hypothesize that hypoxia-cultured hMSC spheroids can better maintain the regenerative properties of hMSCs. In this study, hMSC spheroids were fabricated using hanging drop method and cultured under 2% O2 and 20% O2 for up to 96 h. Spheroid diameter and viability were examined, as well as extracellular matrix (ECM) components and growth factor levels between the two oxygen tensions at different time points. Stemness was measured among the spheroid culture conditions and compared to two-dimensional cell cultures. Spheroid viability and structural integrity were studied using different needle gauges to ensure no damage would occur when implemented in vivo. Spheroid attachment and integration within a tissue substitute were also demonstrated. The results showed that a three-dimensional hMSC spheroid cultured at low oxygen conditions can enhance the production of ECM proteins and growth factors, while maintaining the spheroids' stemness and ability to be injected, attached, and potentially be integrated within a tissue. PMID:26830500

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

Lawrence, Thomas M.; Boudreau, Marie-Claude; Helsen, Lieve

Recent advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have initiated development of a smart electrical grid and smart buildings. Buildings consume a large portion of the total electricity production worldwide, and to fully develop a smart grid they must be integrated with that grid. Buildings can now be 'prosumers' on the grid (both producers and consumers), and the continued growth of distributed renewable energy generation is raising new challenges in terms of grid stability over various time scales. Buildings can contribute to grid stability by managing their overall electrical demand in response to current conditions. Facility managers must balance demandmore » response requests by grid operators with energy needed to maintain smooth building operations. For example, maintaining thermal comfort within an occupied building requires energy and, thus an optimized solution balancing energy use with indoor environmental quality (adequate thermal comfort, lighting, etc.) is needed. Successful integration of buildings and their systems with the grid also requires interoperable data exchange. However, the adoption and integration of newer control and communication technologies into buildings can be problematic with older legacy HVAC and building control systems. Public policy and economic structures have not kept up with the technical developments that have given rise to the budding smart grid, and further developments are needed in both technical and non-technical areas.« less

Integrated Procedures for Flight and Ground Operations Using International Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingalls, John

2011-01-01

Imagine astronauts using the same Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETM's) as the ground personnel who assemble or maintain their flight hardware, and having all of that data interoperable with design, logistics, reliability analysis, and training. Modern international standards and their corresponding COTS tools already used in other industries provide a good foundation for streamlined technical publications in the space industry. These standards cover everything from data exchange to product breakdown structure to business rules flexibility. Full Product Lifecycle Support (PLCS) is supported. The concept is to organize, build once, reuse many ways, and integrate. This should apply to all future and some current launch vehicles, payloads, space stations/habitats, spacecraft, facilities, support equipment, and retrieval ships.

Integrated Design Engineering Analysis (IDEA) Environment Automated Generation of Structured CFD Grids using Topology Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamhawi, Hilmi N.

2012-01-01

This report documents the work performed from March 2010 to March 2012. The Integrated Design and Engineering Analysis (IDEA) environment is a collaborative environment based on an object-oriented, multidisciplinary, distributed framework using the Adaptive Modeling Language (AML) as a framework and supporting the configuration design and parametric CFD grid generation. This report will focus on describing the work in the area of parametric CFD grid generation using novel concepts for defining the interaction between the mesh topology and the geometry in such a way as to separate the mesh topology from the geometric topology while maintaining the link between the mesh topology and the actual geometry.

How could discharge management affect Florida spring fish assemblage structure?

PubMed

Work, Kirsten; Codner, Keneil; Gibbs, Melissa

2017-08-01

Freshwater bodies are increasingly affected by reductions in water quantity and quality and by invasions of exotic species. To protect water quantity and maintain the ecological integrity of many water bodies in central Florida, a program of adopting Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) has begun for both lentic and lotic waters. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were relationships between discharge and stage, water quality, and biological parameters for Volusia Blue Spring, a first magnitude spring (discharge > 380,000 m 3 day -1 or 100 mgd) for which an MFL program was adopted in 2006. Over the course of fourteen years, we assessed fish density and diversity weekly, monthly, or seasonally with seine and snorkel counts. We evaluated annual changes in the assemblages for relationships with water quantity and quality. Low discharge and dissolved oxygen combined with high stage and conductivity produced a fish population with a lower density and diversity in 2014 than in previous years. Densities of fish taxonomic/functional groups also were low in 2014 and measures of water quantity were significant predictors of fish assemblage structure. As a result of the strong relationships between variation in discharge and an array of chemical and biological characteristics of the spring, we conclude that maintaining the historical discharge rate is important for preserving the ecological integrity of Volusia Blue Spring. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Shrinkage of ipsilateral taste buds and hyperplasia of contralateral taste buds following chorda tympani nerve transection.

PubMed

Li, Yi-Ke; Yang, Juan-Mei; Huang, Yi-Bo; Ren, Dong-Dong; Chi, Fang-Lu

2015-06-01

The morphological changes that occur in the taste buds after denervation are not well understood in rats, especially in the contralateral tongue epithelium. In this study, we investigated the time course of morphological changes in the taste buds following unilateral nerve transection. The role of the trigeminal component of the lingual nerve in maintaining the structural integrity of the taste buds was also examined. Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: control, unilateral chorda tympani nerve transection and unilateral chorda tympani nerve transection + lingual nerve transection. Rats were allowed up to 42 days of recovery before being euthanized. The taste buds were visualized using a cytokeratin 8 antibody. Taste bud counts, volumes and taste receptor cell numbers were quantified and compared among groups. No significant difference was detected between the chorda tympani nerve transection and chorda tympani nerve transection + lingual nerve transection groups. Taste bud counts, volumes and taste receptor cell numbers on the ipsilateral side all decreased significantly compared with control. On the contralateral side, the number of taste buds remained unchanged over time, but they were larger, and taste receptor cells were more numerous postoperatively. There was no evidence for a role of the trigeminal branch of the lingual nerve in maintaining the structural integrity of the anterior taste buds.

The resilient brain and the guardians of sleep: New perspectives on old assumptions.

PubMed

Parrino, Liborio; Vaudano, Anna Elisabetta

2018-06-01

Resilience is the capacity of a system, enterprise or a person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances. In human physiology, resilience is the capacity of adaptively overcoming stress and adversity while maintaining normal psychological and physical functioning. In this review, we investigate the resilient strategies of sleep. First, we discuss the concept of brain resilience, highlighting the modular structure of small-world networking, neuronal plasticity and critical brain behavior. Second, we explore the contribution of sleep to brain resilience listing the putative factors that impair sleep quality and predict susceptibility to sleep disorders. The third part details the manifold mechanisms acting as guardians of sleep, i.e., homeostatic, circadian and ultradian processes, sleep microstructure (K-complexes, delta bursts, arousals, cyclic alternating pattern, spindles), gravity, muscle tone and dreams. Mapping and pooling together the guardians of sleep in a dynamic integrated framework might lead towards an objective measure of sleep resilience and identify effective personalized strategies (biological, pharmacological, behavioral) to restore or protect the core properties of healthy sleep. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Loss of tight junction barrier function and its role in cancer metastasis.

PubMed

Martin, Tracey A; Jiang, Wen G

2009-04-01

As the most apical structure between epithelial and endothelial cells, tight junctions (TJ) are well known as functioning as a control for the paracellular diffusion of ions and certain molecules. It has however, become increasingly apparent that the TJ has a vital role in maintaining cell to cell integrity and that the loss of cohesion of the structure can lead to invasion and thus metastasis of cancer cells. This article will present data showing how modulation of expression of TJ molecules results in key changes in TJ barrier function leading to the successful metastasis of a number of different cancer types.

Intelligent fault isolation and diagnosis for communication satellite systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tallo, Donald P.; Durkin, John; Petrik, Edward J.

1992-01-01

Discussed here is a prototype diagnosis expert system to provide the Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS) System with autonomous diagnosis capability. The system, the Fault Isolation and Diagnosis EXpert (FIDEX) system, is a frame-based system that uses hierarchical structures to represent such items as the satellite's subsystems, components, sensors, and fault states. This overall frame architecture integrates the hierarchical structures into a lattice that provides a flexible representation scheme and facilitates system maintenance. FIDEX uses an inexact reasoning technique based on the incrementally acquired evidence approach developed by Shortliffe. The system is designed with a primitive learning ability through which it maintains a record of past diagnosis studies.

Multiphysics and multiscale modelling, data-model fusion and integration of organ physiology in the clinic: ventricular cardiac mechanics.

PubMed

Chabiniok, Radomir; Wang, Vicky Y; Hadjicharalambous, Myrianthi; Asner, Liya; Lee, Jack; Sermesant, Maxime; Kuhl, Ellen; Young, Alistair A; Moireau, Philippe; Nash, Martyn P; Chapelle, Dominique; Nordsletten, David A

2016-04-06

With heart and cardiovascular diseases continually challenging healthcare systems worldwide, translating basic research on cardiac (patho)physiology into clinical care is essential. Exacerbating this already extensive challenge is the complexity of the heart, relying on its hierarchical structure and function to maintain cardiovascular flow. Computational modelling has been proposed and actively pursued as a tool for accelerating research and translation. Allowing exploration of the relationships between physics, multiscale mechanisms and function, computational modelling provides a platform for improving our understanding of the heart. Further integration of experimental and clinical data through data assimilation and parameter estimation techniques is bringing computational models closer to use in routine clinical practice. This article reviews developments in computational cardiac modelling and how their integration with medical imaging data is providing new pathways for translational cardiac modelling.

RTEL1: functions of a disease-associated helicase.

PubMed

Vannier, Jean-Baptiste; Sarek, Grzegorz; Boulton, Simon J

2014-07-01

DNA secondary structures that arise during DNA replication, repair, and recombination (3R) must be processed correctly to prevent genetic instability. Regulator of telomere length 1 (RTEL1) is an essential DNA helicase that disassembles a variety of DNA secondary structures to facilitate 3R processes and to maintain telomere integrity. The past few years have witnessed the emergence of RTEL1 variants that confer increased susceptibility to high-grade glioma, astrocytomas, and glioblastomas. Mutations in RTEL1 have also been implicated in Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome, a severe form of the bone-marrow failure and cancer predisposition disorder, dyskeratosis congenita. We review these recent findings and highlight its crucial link between DNA secondary-structure metabolism and human disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Sizing Completed for Single- Stage-To-Orbit Launch Vehicles Powered By Rocket-Based Combined Cycle Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roche, Joseph M.

2002-01-01

Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) propulsion remains an elusive goal for launch vehicles. The physics of the problem is leading developers to a search for higher propulsion performance than is available with all-rocket power. Rocket-based combined cycle (RBCC) technology provides additional propulsion performance that may enable SSTO flight. Structural efficiency is also a major driving force in enabling SSTO flight. Increases in performance with RBCC propulsion are offset with the added size of the propulsion system. Geometrical considerations must be exploited to minimize the weight. Integration of the propulsion system with the vehicle must be carefully planned such that aeroperformance is not degraded and the air-breathing performance is enhanced. Consequently, the vehicle's structural architecture becomes one with the propulsion system architecture. Geometrical considerations applied to the integrated vehicle lead to low drag and high structural and volumetric efficiency. Sizing of the SSTO launch vehicle (GTX) is itself an elusive task. The weight of the vehicle depends strongly on the propellant required to meet the mission requirements. Changes in propellant requirements result in changes in the size of the vehicle, which in turn, affect the weight of the vehicle and change the propellant requirements. An iterative approach is necessary to size the vehicle to meet the flight requirements. GTX Sizer was developed to do exactly this. The governing geometry was built into a spreadsheet model along with scaling relationships. The scaling laws attempt to maintain structural integrity as the vehicle size is changed. Key aerodynamic relationships are maintained as the vehicle size is changed. The closed weight and center of gravity are displayed graphically on a plot of the synthesized vehicle. In addition, comprehensive tabular data of the subsystem weights and centers of gravity are generated. The model has been verified for accuracy with finite element analysis. The final trajectory was rerun using OTIS (Boeing Corporation's trajectory optimization software package), and the sizing output was incorporated into a solid model of the vehicle using PRO/Engineer computer-aided design software (Parametric Technology Corporation, Waltham, MA).

Trajectory-Based Loads for the Ares I-X Test Flight Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vause, Roland F.; Starr, Brett R.

2011-01-01

In trajectory-based loads, the structural engineer treats each point on the trajectory as a load case. Distributed aero, inertial, and propulsion forces are developed for the structural model which are equivalent to the integrated values of the trajectory model. Free-body diagrams are then used to solve for the internal forces, or loads, that keep the applied aero, inertial, and propulsion forces in dynamic equilibrium. There are several advantages to using trajectory-based loads. First, consistency is maintained between the integrated equilibrium equations of the trajectory analysis and the distributed equilibrium equations of the structural analysis. Second, the structural loads equations are tied to the uncertainty model for the trajectory systems analysis model. Atmosphere, aero, propulsion, mass property, and controls uncertainty models all feed into the dispersions that are generated for the trajectory systems analysis model. Changes in any of these input models will affect structural loads response. The trajectory systems model manages these inputs as well as the output from the structural model over thousands of dispersed cases. Large structural models with hundreds of thousands of degrees of freedom would execute too slowly to be an efficient part of several thousand system analyses. Trajectory-based loads provide a means for the structures discipline to be included in the integrated systems analysis. Successful applications of trajectory-based loads methods for the Ares I-X vehicle are covered in this paper. Preliminary design loads were based on 2000 trajectories using Monte Carlo dispersions. Range safety loads were tied to 8423 malfunction turn trajectories. In addition, active control system loads were based on 2000 preflight trajectories using Monte Carlo dispersions.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase constitute an energy consuming redox circuit

PubMed Central

Fisher-Wellman, Kelsey H.; Lin, Chien-Te; Ryan, Terence E.; Reese, Lauren R.; Gilliam, Laura A. A.; Cathey, Brook L.; Lark, Daniel S.; Smith, Cody D.; Muoio, Deborah M.; Neufer, P. Darrell

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Cellular proteins rely on reversible redox reactions to establish and maintain biological structure and function. How redox catabolic (NAD+:NADH) and anabolic (NADP+:NADPH) processes integrate during metabolism to maintain cellular redox homeostasis however is unknown. The present work identifies a continuously cycling, mitochondrial membrane potential-dependent redox circuit between the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT). PDHC is shown to produce H2O2 in relation to reducing pressure within the complex. The H2O2 produced however is effectively masked by a continuously cycling redox circuit that links, via glutathione/thioredoxin, to NNT, which catalyzes the regeneration of NADPH from NADH at the expense of the mitochondrial membrane potential. The net effect is an automatic fine tuning of NNT-mediated energy expenditure to metabolic balance at the level of PDHC. In mitochondria, genetic or pharmacological disruptions in the PDHC-NNT redox circuit negate counterbalance changes in energy expenditure. At the whole animal level, mice lacking functional NNT (C57BL/6J) are characterized by lower energy expenditure rates, consistent with their well known susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. These findings suggest the integration of redox sensing of metabolic balance with compensatory changes in energy expenditure provides a potential mechanism by which cellular redox homeostasis is maintained and body weight is defended during periods of positive and negative energy balance. PMID:25643703

Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase constitute an energy-consuming redox circuit.

PubMed

Fisher-Wellman, Kelsey H; Lin, Chien-Te; Ryan, Terence E; Reese, Lauren R; Gilliam, Laura A A; Cathey, Brook L; Lark, Daniel S; Smith, Cody D; Muoio, Deborah M; Neufer, P Darrell

2015-04-15

Cellular proteins rely on reversible redox reactions to establish and maintain biological structure and function. How redox catabolic (NAD+/NADH) and anabolic (NADP+/NADPH) processes integrate during metabolism to maintain cellular redox homoeostasis, however, is unknown. The present work identifies a continuously cycling mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm)-dependent redox circuit between the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT). PDHC is shown to produce H2O2 in relation to reducing pressure within the complex. The H2O2 produced, however, is effectively masked by a continuously cycling redox circuit that links, via glutathione/thioredoxin, to NNT, which catalyses the regeneration of NADPH from NADH at the expense of ΔΨm. The net effect is an automatic fine-tuning of NNT-mediated energy expenditure to metabolic balance at the level of PDHC. In mitochondria, genetic or pharmacological disruptions in the PDHC-NNT redox circuit negate counterbalance changes in energy expenditure. At the whole animal level, mice lacking functional NNT (C57BL/6J) are characterized by lower energy-expenditure rates, consistent with their well-known susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. These findings suggest the integration of redox sensing of metabolic balance with compensatory changes in energy expenditure provides a potential mechanism by which cellular redox homoeostasis is maintained and body weight is defended during periods of positive and negative energy balance.

Reducing fatigue damage for ships in transit through structured decision making

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nichols, J.M.; Fackler, P.L.; Pacifici, K.; Murphy, K.D.; Nichols, J.D.

2014-01-01

Research in structural monitoring has focused primarily on drawing inference about the health of a structure from the structure’s response to ambient or applied excitation. Knowledge of the current state can then be used to predict structural integrity at a future time and, in principle, allows one to take action to improve safety, minimize ownership costs, and/or increase the operating envelope. While much time and effort has been devoted toward data collection and system identification, research to-date has largely avoided the question of how to choose an optimal maintenance plan. This work describes a structured decision making (SDM) process for taking available information (loading data, model output, etc.) and producing a plan of action for maintaining the structure. SDM allows the practitioner to specify his/her objectives and then solves for the decision that is optimal in the sense that it maximizes those objectives. To demonstrate, we consider the problem of a Naval vessel transiting a fixed distance in varying sea-state conditions. The physics of this problem are such that minimizing transit time increases the probability of fatigue failure in the structural supports. It is shown how SDM produces the optimal trip plan in the sense that it minimizes both transit time and probability of failure in the manner of our choosing (i.e., through a user-defined cost function). The example illustrates the benefit of SDM over heuristic approaches to maintaining the vessel.

Bubble Jet agent release cartridge for chemical single cell stimulation.

PubMed

Wangler, N; Welsche, M; Blazek, M; Blessing, M; Vervliet-Scheebaum, M; Reski, R; Müller, C; Reinecke, H; Steigert, J; Roth, G; Zengerle, R; Paust, N

2013-02-01

We present a new method for the distinct specific chemical stimulation of single cells and small cell clusters within their natural environment. By single-drop release of chemical agents with droplets in size of typical cell diameters (d <30 μm) on-demand micro gradients can be generated for the specific manipulation of single cells. A single channel and a double channel agent release cartridge with integrated fluidic structures and integrated agent reservoirs are shown, tested, and compared in this publication. The single channel setup features a fluidic structure fabricated by anisotropic etching of silicon. To allow for simultaneous release of different agents even though maintaining the same device size, the second type comprises a double channel fluidic structure, fabricated by photolithographic patterning of TMMF. Dispensed droplet volumes are V = 15 pl and V = 10 pl for the silicon and the TMMF based setups, respectively. Utilizing the agent release cartridges, the application in biological assays was demonstrated by hormone-stimulated premature bud formation in Physcomitrella patens and the individual staining of one single L 929 cell within a confluent grown cell culture.

Intensity-demodulated torsion sensor based on thin-core polarization-maintaining fiber.

PubMed

Kang, Xuexue; Zhang, Weigang; Zhang, Yanxin; Yang, Jiang; Chen, Lei; Kong, Lingxin; Zhang, Yunshan; Yu, Lin; Yan, Tieyi; Geng, Pengcheng

2018-05-01

An intensity-demodulated torsion sensor is designed and realized, which consists of a polarization ring as the sensing part and a section of thin-core polarization-maintaining fiber as the demodulation part. An intensity map of a sinusoidal change can be obtained at some specific wavelengths, and the experimental results correspond to the theoretical analysis well. The maximum sensitivity is about 0.29 dB/deg at the wavelength of 1584.6 nm, and the minimum sensitivity is about 0.10 dB/deg at the wavelength of 1510.2 nm. Meanwhile, the temperature characteristic is measured in the experiment. More broadly, the proposed structure can be used in an integrated smart device for loose-screw detection in devices in aeronautics and astronautics.

Structural integrity--Searching the key factor to suppress the voltage fade of Li-rich layered cathode materials through 3D X-ray imaging and spectroscopy techniques

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

Xu, Yahong; Hu, Enyuan; Yang, Feifei

Li-rich layered materials are important cathode compounds used in commercial lithium ion batteries, which, however, suffers from some drawbacks including the so-called voltage fade upon electrochemical cycling. Here, our study employs novel transmission X-ray microscopy to investigate the electrochemical reaction induced morphological and chemical changes in the Li-rich Li 2Ru 0.5Mn 0.5O 3 cathode particles at the meso to nano scale. We performed combined X-ray spectroscopy, diffraction and microscopy experiments to systematically study this cathode material's evolution upon cycling as well as to establish a comprehensive understanding of the structural origin of capacity fade through 2D and 3D fine lengthmore » scale morphology and heterogeneity change of this material. This work suggests that atomic manipulation (e.g. doping, substitution etc.) or nano engineering (e.g. nano-sizing, heterogeneous structure) are important strategies to mitigate the internal strain and defects induced by extensive lithium insertion/extraction. It also shows that maintaining the structural integrity is the key in designing and synthesizing lithium-rich layered materials with better cycle stability.« less

Altered contralateral sensorimotor system organization after experimental hemispherectomy: a structural and functional connectivity study.

PubMed

Otte, Willem M; van der Marel, Kajo; van Meer, Maurits P A; van Rijen, Peter C; Gosselaar, Peter H; Braun, Kees P J; Dijkhuizen, Rick M

2015-08-01

Hemispherectomy is often followed by remarkable recovery of cognitive and motor functions. This reflects plastic capacities of the remaining hemisphere, involving large-scale structural and functional adaptations. Better understanding of these adaptations may (1) provide new insights in the neuronal configuration and rewiring that underlies sensorimotor outcome restoration, and (2) guide development of rehabilitation strategies to enhance recovery after hemispheric lesioning. We assessed brain structure and function in a hemispherectomy model. With MRI we mapped changes in white matter structural integrity and gray matter functional connectivity in eight hemispherectomized rats, compared with 12 controls. Behavioral testing involved sensorimotor performance scoring. Diffusion tensor imaging and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were acquired 7 and 49 days post surgery. Hemispherectomy caused significant sensorimotor deficits that largely recovered within 2 weeks. During the recovery period, fractional anisotropy was maintained and white matter volume and axial diffusivity increased in the contralateral cerebral peduncle, suggestive of preserved or improved white matter integrity despite overall reduced white matter volume. This was accompanied by functional adaptations in the contralateral sensorimotor network. The observed white matter modifications and reorganization of functional network regions may provide handles for rehabilitation strategies improving functional recovery following large lesions.

Nanowire-Assembled Hierarchical ZnCo2O4 Microstructure Integrated with a Low-Power Microheater for Highly Sensitive Formaldehyde Detection.

PubMed

Long, Hu; Harley-Trochimczyk, Anna; Cheng, Siyi; Hu, Hao; Chi, Won Seok; Rao, Ameya; Carraro, Carlo; Shi, Tielin; Tang, Zirong; Maboudian, Roya

2016-11-23

Nanowire-assembled 3D hierarchical ZnCo 2 O 4 microstructure is synthesized by a facile hydrothermal route and a subsequent annealing process. In comparison to simple nanowires, the resulting dandelion-like structure yields more open spaces between nanowires, which allow for better gas diffusion and provide more active sites for gas adsorption while maintaining good electrical conductivity. The hierarchical ZnCo 2 O 4 microstructure is integrated on a low-power microheater platform without using binders or conductive additives. The hierarchical structure of the ZnCo 2 O 4 sensing material provides reliable electrical connection across the sensing electrodes. The resulting sensor exhibits an ultralow detection limit of 3 ppb toward formaldehyde with fast response and recovery as well as good selectivity to CO, H 2 , and hydrocarbons such as n-pentane, propane, and CH 4 . The sensor only consumes ∼5.7 mW for continuous operation at 300 °C with good long-term stability. The excellent sensing performance of this hierarchical structure based sensor suggests the advantages of combining such structures with microfabricated heaters for practical low-power sensing applications.

Building a global business continuity programme.

PubMed

Lazcano, Michael

2014-01-01

Business continuity programmes provide an important function within organisations, especially when aligned with and supportive of the organisation's goals, objectives and organisational culture. Continuity programmes for large, complex international organisations, unlike those for compact national companies, are more difficult to design, build, implement and maintain. Programmes for international organisations require attention to structural design, support across organisational leadership and hierarchy, seamless integration with the organisation's culture, measured success and demonstrated value. This paper details practical, but sometimes overlooked considerations for building successful global business continuity programmes.

A Distributed Operating System Design and Dictionary/Directory for the Stock Point Logistics Integrated Communications Environment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-01

transmission, FM(R) will only have to hold one message. 3. Program Control Block (PCB) The PCB ( Deitel 82] will be maintained by the Executive in...and Use of Kernel to Process Interrupts 35 10. Layered Operating System Design 38 11. Program Control Block Table 43 12. Ready List Data Structure 45 13...examples of fully distributed systems in operation. An objective of the NPS research program for SPLICE is to advance our knowledge of distributed

Tight junctions in cancer metastasis.

PubMed

Martin, Tracey A; Mason, Malcolm D; Jiang, Wen G

2011-01-01

Tight Junctions (TJ) are well known to function as a control for the paracellular diffusion of ions and certain molecules, it has however, become evident that the TJ has a vital role in maintaining cell to cell integrity. Loss of cohesion of the TJ structure can lead to invasion and ultimately to the metastasis of cancer cells. This review will discuss how modulation of expression of TJ molecules results in key changes in TJ barrier function leading to the progression of cancer and progression of metastasis.

Electric power scheduling: A distributed problem-solving approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mellor, Pamela A.; Dolce, James L.; Krupp, Joseph C.

1990-01-01

Space Station Freedom's power system, along with the spacecraft's other subsystems, needs to carefully conserve its resources and yet strive to maximize overall Station productivity. Due to Freedom's distributed design, each subsystem must work cooperatively within the Station community. There is a need for a scheduling tool which will preserve this distributed structure, allow each subsystem the latitude to satisfy its own constraints, and preserve individual value systems while maintaining Station-wide integrity. The value-driven free-market economic model is such a tool.

Advanced Packaging Materials and Techniques for High Power TR Module: Standard Flight vs. Advanced Packaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, James Patrick; Del Castillo, Linda; Miller, Jennifer; Jenabi, Masud; Hunter, Donald; Birur, Gajanana

2011-01-01

The higher output power densities required of modern radar architectures, such as the proposed DESDynI [Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice] SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] Instrument (or DSI) require increasingly dense high power electronics. To enable these higher power densities, while maintaining or even improving hardware reliability, requires advances in integrating advanced thermal packaging technologies into radar transmit/receive (TR) modules. New materials and techniques have been studied and compared to standard technologies.

Development of Values and Moral Judgments of West Point Cadets,

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

normative data, and relevance to traditional USMA concerns for integrity, duty, and career success . 3. Throughout the six years of this project...integrity, duty and career success , and these values are maintained throughout the four years. Their value profiles become more similar to the value...four years. Cadets enter the Academy with these values, and they maintain that approval throughout their four years. Integrity, duty, and career success are

Iterative Tensor Voting for Perceptual Grouping of Ill-Defined Curvilinear Structures: Application to Adherens Junctions

PubMed Central

Loss, Leandro A.; Bebis, George; Parvin, Bahram

2012-01-01

In this paper, a novel approach is proposed for perceptual grouping and localization of ill-defined curvilinear structures. Our approach builds upon the tensor voting and the iterative voting frameworks. Its efficacy lies on iterative refinements of curvilinear structures by gradually shifting from an exploratory to an exploitative mode. Such a mode shifting is achieved by reducing the aperture of the tensor voting fields, which is shown to improve curve grouping and inference by enhancing the concentration of the votes over promising, salient structures. The proposed technique is applied to delineation of adherens junctions imaged through fluorescence microscopy. This class of membrane-bound macromolecules maintains tissue structural integrity and cell-cell interactions. Visually, it exhibits fibrous patterns that may be diffused, punctate and frequently perceptual. Besides the application to real data, the proposed method is compared to prior methods on synthetic and annotated real data, showing high precision rates. PMID:21421432

Performance of fuselage pressure structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maclin, James R.

1992-01-01

There are currently more than 1,000 Boeing airplanes around the world over 20 years old. That number is expected to double by the year 1995. With these statistics comes the reality that structural airworthiness will be in the forefront of aviation issues well into the next century. The results of previous and recent test programs Boeing has implemented to study the structural performance of older airplanes relative to pressurized fuselage sections are described. Included in testing were flat panels with multiple site damage (MSD), a full-scale 737 and 2 747s as well as panels representing a 737 and 777, and a generic aircraft in large pressure-test fixtures. Because damage is a normal part of aging, focus is on the degree to which structural integrity is maintained after failure or partial failure of any structural element, including multiple site damage (MSD), and multiple element damage (MED).

An integrated approach to system design, reliability, and diagnosis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson-Hine, F. A.; Iverson, David L.

1990-01-01

The requirement for ultradependability of computer systems in future avionics and space applications necessitates a top-down, integrated systems engineering approach for design, implementation, testing, and operation. The functional analyses of hardware and software systems must be combined by models that are flexible enough to represent their interactions and behavior. The information contained in these models must be accessible throughout all phases of the system life cycle in order to maintain consistency and accuracy in design and operational decisions. One approach being taken by researchers at Ames Research Center is the creation of an object-oriented environment that integrates information about system components required in the reliability evaluation with behavioral information useful for diagnostic algorithms. Procedures have been developed at Ames that perform reliability evaluations during design and failure diagnoses during system operation. These procedures utilize information from a central source, structured as object-oriented fault trees. Fault trees were selected because they are a flexible model widely used in aerospace applications and because they give a concise, structured representation of system behavior. The utility of this integrated environment for aerospace applications in light of our experiences during its development and use is described. The techniques for reliability evaluation and failure diagnosis are discussed, and current extensions of the environment and areas requiring further development are summarized.

An integrated approach to system design, reliability, and diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patterson-Hine, F. A.; Iverson, David L.

1990-12-01

The requirement for ultradependability of computer systems in future avionics and space applications necessitates a top-down, integrated systems engineering approach for design, implementation, testing, and operation. The functional analyses of hardware and software systems must be combined by models that are flexible enough to represent their interactions and behavior. The information contained in these models must be accessible throughout all phases of the system life cycle in order to maintain consistency and accuracy in design and operational decisions. One approach being taken by researchers at Ames Research Center is the creation of an object-oriented environment that integrates information about system components required in the reliability evaluation with behavioral information useful for diagnostic algorithms. Procedures have been developed at Ames that perform reliability evaluations during design and failure diagnoses during system operation. These procedures utilize information from a central source, structured as object-oriented fault trees. Fault trees were selected because they are a flexible model widely used in aerospace applications and because they give a concise, structured representation of system behavior. The utility of this integrated environment for aerospace applications in light of our experiences during its development and use is described. The techniques for reliability evaluation and failure diagnosis are discussed, and current extensions of the environment and areas requiring further development are summarized.

Maintaining Pedagogical Integrity of a Computer Mediated Course Delivery in Social Foundations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Shelley; Cobb-Roberts, Deirdre; Shircliffe, Barbara J.

2013-01-01

Transforming a face to face course to a computer mediated format in social foundations (interdisciplinary field in education), while maintaining pedagogical integrity, involves strategic collaboration between instructional technologists and content area experts. This type of planned partnership requires open dialogue and a mutual respect for prior…

Structural Health Monitoring of a Composite Panel Based on PZT Sensors and a Transfer Impedance Framework.

PubMed

Dziendzikowski, Michal; Niedbala, Patryk; Kurnyta, Artur; Kowalczyk, Kamil; Dragan, Krzysztof

2018-05-11

One of the ideas for development of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems is based on excitation of elastic waves by a network of PZT piezoelectric transducers integrated with the structure. In the paper, a variant of the so-called Transfer Impedance (TI) approach to SHM is followed. Signal characteristics, called the Damage Indices (DIs), were proposed for data presentation and analysis. The idea underlying the definition of DIs was to maintain most of the information carried by the voltage induced on PZT sensors by elastic waves. In particular, the DIs proposed in the paper should be sensitive to all types of damage which can influence the amplitude or the phase of the voltage induced on the sensor. Properties of the proposed DIs were investigated experimentally using a GFRP composite panel equipped with PZT networks attached to its surface and embedded into its internal structure. Repeatability and stability of DI indications under controlled conditions were verified in tests. Also, some performance indicators for surface-attached and structure-embedded sensors were obtained. The DIs' behavior was dependent mostly on the presence of a simulated damage in the structure. Anisotropy of mechanical properties of the specimen, geometrical properties of PZT network as well as, to some extent, the technology of sensor integration with the structure were irrelevant for damage indication. This property enables the method to be used for damage detection and classification.

Modular thrust subsystem approaches to solar electric propulsion module design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cake, J. E.; Sharp, G. R.; Oglebay, J. C.; Shaker, F. J.; Zavesky, R. J.

1976-01-01

Three approaches are presented for packaging the elements of a 30 cm ion thruster subsystem into a modular thrust subsystem. The individual modules, when integrated into a conceptual solar electric propulsion module are applicable to a multimission set of interplanetary flights with the space shuttle interim upper stage as the launch vehicle. The emphasis is on the structural and thermal integration of the components into the modular thrust subsystems. Thermal control for the power processing units is either by direct radiation through louvers in combination with heat pipes or an all heat pipe system. The propellant storage and feed system and thruster gimbal system concepts are presented. The three approaches are compared on the basis of mass, cost, testing, interfaces, simplicity, reliability, and maintainability.

Modular thrust subsystem approaches to solar electric propulsion module design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cake, J. E.; Sharp, G. R.; Oglebay, J. C.; Shaker, F. J.; Zevesky, R. J.

1976-01-01

Three approaches are presented for packaging the elements of a 30 cm ion thrustor subsystem into a modular thrust subsystem. The individual modules, when integrated into a conceptual solar electric propulsion module are applicable to a multimission set of interplanetary flights with the Space Shuttle/Interim Upper Stage as the launch vehicle. The emphasis is on the structural and thermal integration of the components into the modular thrust subsystems. Thermal control for the power processing units is either by direct radiation through louvers in combination with heat pipes of an all heat pipe system. The propellant storage and feed system and thrustor gimbal system concepts are presented. The three approaches are compared on the basis of mass, cost, testing, interfaces, simplicity, reliability, and maintainability.

Attaining and maintaining data integrity with configuration management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, Dorothy J.; Jeane, Shirley A.

1993-08-01

Managers and scientists are concerned about data integrity because they draw conclusions from data that can have far reaching effects. Projects managers use Configuration Management to insure that hardware, software, and project information are controlled. They have not, as yet, applied its rigorously to data. However, there is ample opportunity in the data collection and production process to jeopardize data integrity. Environmental changes, tampering and production problems can all affect data integrity. There are four functions included in the Configuration Management process: configuration identification, control, auditing and status accounting. These functions provide management the means to attain data integrity and the visibility into engineering processes needed to maintain data integrity. When project managers apply Configuration Management processes to data, the data user can trace back through history to validate data integrity. The user knows that the project allowed only orderly changes to the data. He is assured that project personnel followed procedures to maintain data quality. He also has access to status information about the data. The user receives data products with a known integrity level and a means to assess the impact of past events ont he conclusions derived from the data. To obtain these benefits, project managers should apply the Configuration Management discipline to data.

A combined finite element-boundary element formulation for solution of two-dimensional problems via CGFFT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, Jeffery D.; Jin, Jian-Ming; Volakis, John L.

1990-01-01

A method for the computation of electromagnetic scattering from arbitrary two-dimensional bodies is presented. The method combines the finite element and boundary element methods leading to a system for solution via the conjugate gradient Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. Two forms of boundaries aimed at reducing the storage requirement of the boundary integral are investigated. It is shown that the boundary integral becomes convolutional when a circular enclosure is chosen, resulting in reduced storage requirement when the system is solved via the conjugate gradient FFT method. The same holds for the ogival enclosure, except that some of the boundary integrals are not convolutional and must be carefully treated to maintain O(N) memory requirement. Results for several circular and ogival structures are presented and shown to be in excellent agreement with those obtained by traditional methods.

Mechanical design principles of a mitotic spindle

PubMed Central

Ward, Jonathan J; Roque, Hélio; Antony, Claude; Nédélec, François

2014-01-01

An organised spindle is crucial to the fidelity of chromosome segregation, but the relationship between spindle structure and function is not well understood in any cell type. The anaphase B spindle in fission yeast has a slender morphology and must elongate against compressive forces. This ‘pushing’ mode of chromosome transport renders the spindle susceptible to breakage, as observed in cells with a variety of defects. Here we perform electron tomographic analyses of the spindle, which suggest that it organises a limited supply of structural components to increase its compressive strength. Structural integrity is maintained throughout the spindle's fourfold elongation by organising microtubules into a rigid transverse array, preserving correct microtubule number and dynamically rescaling microtubule length. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03398.001 PMID:25521247

Design optimization of rear uprights for UniMAP Automotive Racing Team Formula SAE racing car

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azmeer, M.; Basha, M. H.; Hamid, M. F.; Rahman, M. T. A.; Hashim, M. S. M.

2017-10-01

In an automobile, the rear upright are used to provide a physical mounting and links the suspension arms to the hub and wheel assembly. In this work, static structural and shape optimization analysis for rear upright for UniMAP’s Formula SAE racing car had been done using ANSYS software with the objective to reduce weight while maintaining the structural strength of the vehicle upright. During the shape optimization process, the component undergoes 25%, 50% and 75 % weight reduction in order to find the best optimal shape of the upright. The final design of the upright is developed considering the weight reduction, structural integrity and the manufacturability. The final design achieved 21 % weight reduction and is able to withstand several loads.

Bidirectional active control of structures with type-2 fuzzy PD and PID

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Satyam; Yu, Wen; Li, Xiaoou

2018-03-01

Proportional-derivative and proportional-integral-derivative (PD/PID) controllers are popular algorithms in structure vibration control. In order to maintain minimum regulation error, the PD/PID control require big proportional and derivative gains. The control performances are not satisfied because of the big uncertainties in the buildings. In this paper, type-2 fuzzy system is applied to compensate the unknown uncertainties, and is combined with the PD/PID control. We prove the stability of these fuzzy PD and PID controllers. The sufficient conditions can be used for choosing the gains of PD/PID. The theory results are verified by a two-storey building prototype. The experimental results validate our analysis.

The Z1 truss is transported to Launch Pad 39A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

At Launch Pad 39A, workers attach umbilical hoses onto the payload canister with the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 inside. The hoses will maintain the environmentally controlled environment while the canister is lifted up the Rotating Service Structure to the Payload Changeout Room. There the Z1 truss will be removed and later transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. The Z1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the International Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. Along with its companion payload, the third Pressurized Mating Adapter, the Z1 is scheduled to be launched aboard Discovery Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT.

KSC00pp1353

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-09-13

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A, workers attach umbilical hoses onto the payload canister with the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 inside. The hoses will maintain the environmentally controlled environment while the canister is lifted up the Rotating Service Structure to the Payload Changeout Room. There the Z1 truss will be removed and later transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay. The Z1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the International Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. Along with its companion payload, the third Pressurized Mating Adapter, the Z1 is scheduled to be launched aboard Discovery Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT

KSC-00pp1353

NASA Image and Video Library

2000-09-13

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -- At Launch Pad 39A, workers attach umbilical hoses onto the payload canister with the Integrated Truss Structure Z1 inside. The hoses will maintain the environmentally controlled environment while the canister is lifted up the Rotating Service Structure to the Payload Changeout Room. There the Z1 truss will be removed and later transferred to Space Shuttle Discovery’s payload bay. The Z1 truss is the first of 10 that will become the backbone of the International Space Station, eventually stretching the length of a football field. Along with its companion payload, the third Pressurized Mating Adapter, the Z1 is scheduled to be launched aboard Discovery Oct. 5 at 9:38 p.m. EDT

Integrating an incident management system within a continuity of operations programme: case study of the Bank of Canada.

PubMed

Loop, Carole

2013-01-01

Carrying out critical business functions without interruption requires a resilient and robust business continuity framework. By embedding an industry-standard incident management system within its business continuity structure, the Bank of Canada strengthened its response plan by enabling timely response to incidents while maintaining a strong focus on business continuity. A total programme approach, integrating the two disciplines, provided for enhanced recovery capabilities. While the value of an effective and efficient response organisation is clear, as demonstrated by emergency events around the world, incident response structures based on normal operating hierarchy can experience unique challenges. The internationally-recognised Incident Command System (ICS) model addresses these issues and reflects the five primary incident management functions, each contributing to the overall strength and effectiveness of the response organisation. The paper focuses on the Bank of Canada's successful implementation of the ICS model as its incident management and continuity of operations programmes evolved to reflect current best practices.

High Temperature Aerogels for Thermal Protection Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurwitz, Frances I.; Mbah, Godfrey C.

2008-01-01

High temperature aerogels in the Al2O3-SiO2 system are being investigated as possible constituents for lightweight integrated thermal protection system (TPS) designs for use in supersonic and hypersonic applications. Gels are synthesized from ethoxysilanes and AlCl3.6H2O, using an epoxide catalyst. The influence of Al:Si ratio, solvent, water to metal and water to alcohol ratios on aerogel composition, morphology, surface area, and pore size distribution were examined, and phase transformation on heat treatment characterized. Aerogels have been fabricated which maintain porous, fractal structures after brief exposures to 1000 C. Incorporation of nanofibers, infiltration of aerogels into SiC foams, use of polymers for crosslinking the aerogels, or combinations of these, offer potential for toughening and integration of TPS with composite structure. Woven fabric composites having Al2O3-SiO2 aerogels as a matrix also have been fabricated. Continuing work is focused on reduction in shrinkage and optimization of thermal and physical properties.

Perceptions of Yoga Therapy Embedded in Two Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals: Agency Perspectives

PubMed Central

Van Puymbroeck, Marieke; Miller, Kristine K.; Dickes, Lori A.; Schmid, Arlene A.

2015-01-01

Inpatient medical rehabilitation has maintained a typical medical-model focus and structure for many years. However, as integrative therapies, such as yoga therapy, emerge as treatments which can enhance the physical and mental health of its participants, it is important to determine if they can be easily implemented into the traditional rehabilitation structure and milieu. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of key agency personnel on the feasibility and utility of yoga therapy implemented in inpatient rehabilitation. This study reports the results of focus groups and an individual interview with key stakeholders (administrators and rehabilitation therapists) from two rehabilitation hospitals following the implementation of yoga therapy. Results focused on several key themes: feasibility from the therapist and administrator perspectives, challenges to implementation, and utility and benefit. Overall, the implementation and integration of yoga therapy were positive; however, some programmatic and policy and organizational considerations remain. Implications for practice and future research are provided. PMID:26491457

Does viscosity or structure govern the rate at which starch granules are digested?

PubMed

Hardacre, Allan K; Lentle, Roger G; Yap, Sia-Yen; Monro, John A

2016-01-20

The rates of in vitro digestion of incompletely or fully gelatinised potato and corn starch were measured at 37 °C over 20 min in a rheometer fitted with cup and vane geometry at shear rates of 0.1, 1 and 10 s(-1). Shear rate did not influence the rate of starch digestion provided it was close to physiological levels. However, rates of digestion were significantly reduced when shear rates were below the physiological range (0.1 s(-1)) or when gelatinisation was incomplete. At physiological shear rates the relationship between starch digestion and viscosity was sigmoid in form and following a short initial slow phase a rapid decline in viscosity occurred as starch was digested and the structural integrity of the granules was lost. Conversely, when shear rate was reduced below physiological levels or gelatinisation was incomplete, digestion was hindered, granule integrity was maintained and the relationship between starch and viscosity became linear. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated healthcare networks' performance: a growth curve modeling approach.

PubMed

Wan, Thomas T H; Wang, Bill B L

2003-05-01

This study examines the effects of integration on the performance ratings of the top 100 integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) in the United States. A strategic-contingency theory is used to identify the relationship of IHNs' performance to their structural and operational characteristics and integration strategies. To create a database for the panel study, the top 100 IHNs selected by the SMG Marketing Group in 1998 were followed up in 1999 and 2000. The data were merged with the Dorenfest data on information system integration. A growth curve model was developed and validated by the Mplus statistical program. Factors influencing the top 100 IHNs' performance in 1998 and their subsequent rankings in the consecutive years were analyzed. IHNs' initial performance scores were positively influenced by network size, number of affiliated physicians and profit margin, and were negatively associated with average length of stay and technical efficiency. The continuing high performance, judged by maintaining higher performance scores, tended to be enhanced by the use of more managerial or executive decision-support systems. Future studies should include time-varying operational indicators to serve as predictors of network performance.

Cas4-Dependent Prespacer Processing Ensures High-Fidelity Programming of CRISPR Arrays.

PubMed

Lee, Hayun; Zhou, Yi; Taylor, David W; Sashital, Dipali G

2018-04-05

CRISPR-Cas immune systems integrate short segments of foreign DNA as spacers into the host CRISPR locus to provide molecular memory of infection. Cas4 proteins are widespread in CRISPR-Cas systems and are thought to participate in spacer acquisition, although their exact function remains unknown. Here we show that Bacillus halodurans type I-C Cas4 is required for efficient prespacer processing prior to Cas1-Cas2-mediated integration. Cas4 interacts tightly with the Cas1 integrase, forming a heterohexameric complex containing two Cas1 dimers and two Cas4 subunits. In the presence of Cas1 and Cas2, Cas4 processes double-stranded substrates with long 3' overhangs through site-specific endonucleolytic cleavage. Cas4 recognizes PAM sequences within the prespacer and prevents integration of unprocessed prespacers, ensuring that only functional spacers will be integrated into the CRISPR array. Our results reveal the critical role of Cas4 in maintaining fidelity during CRISPR adaptation, providing a structural and mechanistic model for prespacer processing and integration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maintaining Academic Integrity among East African University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mwamwenda, T. S.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which academic integrity is maintained in the academic programmes of three East African university students selected from one of the universities in each one of the three countries. For confidentiality and identification purposes, the universities were labeled A, B and C. The level of…

An integrative view of storage of low- and high-level visual dimensions in visual short-term memory.

PubMed

Magen, Hagit

2017-03-01

Efficient performance in an environment filled with complex objects is often achieved through the temporal maintenance of conjunctions of features from multiple dimensions. The most striking finding in the study of binding in visual short-term memory (VSTM) is equal memory performance for single features and for integrated multi-feature objects, a finding that has been central to several theories of VSTM. Nevertheless, research on binding in VSTM focused almost exclusively on low-level features, and little is known about how items from low- and high-level visual dimensions (e.g., colored manmade objects) are maintained simultaneously in VSTM. The present study tested memory for combinations of low-level features and high-level representations. In agreement with previous findings, Experiments 1 and 2 showed decrements in memory performance when non-integrated low- and high-level stimuli were maintained simultaneously compared to maintaining each dimension in isolation. However, contrary to previous findings the results of Experiments 3 and 4 showed decrements in memory performance even when integrated objects of low- and high-level stimuli were maintained in memory, compared to maintaining single-dimension objects. Overall, the results demonstrate that low- and high-level visual dimensions compete for the same limited memory capacity, and offer a more comprehensive view of VSTM.

ZFPL1, a novel ring finger protein required for cis-Golgi integrity and efficient ER-to-Golgi transport.

PubMed

Chiu, Chi-Fang; Ghanekar, Yashoda; Frost, Laura; Diao, Aipo; Morrison, Daniel; McKenzie, Eddie; Lowe, Martin

2008-04-09

The Golgi apparatus occupies a central position within the secretory pathway, but the molecular mechanisms responsible for its assembly and organization remain poorly understood. We report here the identification of zinc finger protein-like 1 (ZFPL1) as a novel structural component of the Golgi apparatus. ZFPL1 is a conserved and widely expressed integral membrane protein with two predicted zinc fingers at the N-terminus, the second of which is a likely ring domain. ZFPL1 directly interacts with the cis-Golgi matrix protein GM130. Depletion of ZFPL1 results in the accumulation of cis-Golgi matrix proteins in the intermediate compartment (IC) and the tubulation of cis-Golgi and IC membranes. Loss of ZFPL1 function also impairs cis-Golgi assembly following brefeldin A washout and slows the rate of cargo trafficking into the Golgi apparatus. Effects upon Golgi matrix protein localization and cis-Golgi structure can be rescued by wild-type ZFPL1 but not mutants defective in GM130 binding. Together, these data suggest that ZFPL1 has an important function in maintaining the integrity of the cis-Golgi and that it does so through interactions with GM130.

Wilms Tumor 1b defines a wound-specific sheath cell subpopulation associated with notochord repair

PubMed Central

Lopez-Baez, Juan Carlos; Zeng, Zhiqiang; Brunsdon, Hannah; Salzano, Angela; Brombin, Alessandro; Wyatt, Cameron; Rybski, Witold; Huitema, Leonie F A; Dale, Rodney M; Kawakami, Koichi; Englert, Christoph; Chandra, Tamir; Schulte-Merker, Stefan

2018-01-01

Regenerative therapy for degenerative spine disorders requires the identification of cells that can slow down and possibly reverse degenerative processes. Here, we identify an unanticipated wound-specific notochord sheath cell subpopulation that expresses Wilms Tumor (WT) 1b following injury in zebrafish. We show that localized damage leads to Wt1b expression in sheath cells, and that wt1b+cells migrate into the wound to form a stopper-like structure, likely to maintain structural integrity. Wt1b+sheath cells are distinct in expressing cartilage and vacuolar genes, and in repressing a Wt1b-p53 transcriptional programme. At the wound, wt1b+and entpd5+ cells constitute separate, tightly-associated subpopulations. Surprisingly, wt1b expression at the site of injury is maintained even into adult stages in developing vertebrae, which form in an untypical manner via a cartilage intermediate. Given that notochord cells are retained in adult intervertebral discs, the identification of novel subpopulations may have important implications for regenerative spine disorder treatments. PMID:29405914

Improved Fabrication of Ceramic Matrix Composite/Foam Core Integrated Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurwitz, Frances I.

2009-01-01

The use of hybridized carbon/silicon carbide (C/SiC) fabric to reinforce ceramic matrix composite face sheets and the integration of such face sheets with a foam core creates a sandwich structure capable of withstanding high-heatflux environments (150 W/cm2) in which the core provides a temperature drop of 1,000 C between the surface and the back face without cracking or delamination of the structure. The composite face sheet exhibits a bilinear response, which results from the SiC matrix not being cracked on fabrication. In addition, the structure exhibits damage tolerance under impact with projectiles, showing no penetration to the back face sheet. These attributes make the composite ideal for leading edge structures and control surfaces in aerospace vehicles, as well as for acreage thermal protection systems and in high-temperature, lightweight stiffened structures. By tailoring the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of a carbon fiber containing ceramic matrix composite (CMC) face sheet to match that of a ceramic foam core, the face sheet and the core can be integrally fabricated without any delamination. Carbon and SiC are woven together in the reinforcing fabric. Integral densification of the CMC and the foam core is accomplished with chemical vapor deposition, eliminating the need for bond-line adhesive. This means there is no need to separately fabricate the core and the face sheet, or to bond the two elements together, risking edge delamination during use. Fibers of two or more types are woven together on a loom. The carbon and ceramic fibers are pulled into the same pick location during the weaving process. Tow spacing may be varied to accommodate the increased volume of the combined fiber tows while maintaining a target fiber volume fraction in the composite. Foam pore size, strut thickness, and ratio of face sheet to core thickness can be used to tailor thermal and mechanical properties. The anticipated CTE for the hybridized composite is managed by the choice of constituents, varying fiber tow sizes and constituent part ratios. This structural concept provides high strength and stiffness at low density 1.06 g/cm3 in panels tested. Varieties of face sheet constructions are possible, including variations in fiber type and weave geometry. The integrated structures possible with this composite could eliminate the need for non-load-bearing thermal protection systems on top of a structural component. The back sheet can readily be integrated to substructures through the incorporation of ribs. This would eliminate weight and cost for aerospace missions.

Correlative Microscopy of Neutron-Irradiated Materials

DOE PAGES

Briggs, Samuel A.; Sridharan, Kumar; Field, Kevin G.

2016-12-31

A nuclear reactor core is a highly demanding environment that presents several unique challenges for materials performance. Materials in modern light water reactor (LWR) cores must survive several decades in high-temperature (300-350°C) aqueous corrosion conditions while being subject to large amounts of high-energy neutron irradiation. Next-generation reactor designs seek to use more corrosive coolants (e.g., molten salts) and even greater temperatures and neutron doses. The high amounts of disorder and unique crystallographic defects and microchemical segregation effects induced by radiation inevitably lead to property degradation of materials. Thus, maintaining structural integrity and safety margins over the course of the reactor'smore » service life thus necessitates the ability to understand and predict these degradation phenomena in order to develop new, radiation-tolerant materials that can maintain the required performance in these extreme conditions.« less

A Conformational Investigation of Propeptide Binding to the Integral Membrane Protein γ-Glutamyl Carboxylase Using Nanodisc Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Gamma (γ)-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is an integral membrane protein responsible for the post-translational catalytic conversion of select glutamic acid (Glu) residues to γ-carboxy glutamic acid (Gla) in vitamin K-dependent (VKD) proteins. Understanding the mechanism of carboxylation and the role of GGCX in the vitamin K cycle is of biological interest in the development of therapeutics for blood coagulation disorders. Historically, biophysical investigations and structural characterizations of GGCX have been limited due to complexities involving the availability of an appropriate model membrane system. In previous work, a hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry (HX MS) platform was developed to study the structural configuration of GGCX in a near-native nanodisc phospholipid environment. Here we have applied the nanodisc–HX MS approach to characterize specific domains of GGCX that exhibit structural rearrangements upon binding the high-affinity consensus propeptide (pCon; AVFLSREQANQVLQRRRR). pCon binding was shown to be specific for monomeric GGCX-nanodiscs and promoted enhanced structural stability to the nanodisc-integrated complex while maintaining catalytic activity in the presence of carboxylation co-substrates. Noteworthy modifications in HX of GGCX were prominently observed in GGCX peptides 491–507 and 395–401 upon pCon association, consistent with regions previously identified as sites for propeptide and glutamate binding. Several additional protein regions exhibited minor gains in solvent protection upon propeptide incorporation, providing evidence for a structural reorientation of the GGCX complex in association with VKD carboxylation. The results herein demonstrate that nanodisc–HX MS can be utilized to study molecular interactions of membrane-bound enzymes in the absence of a complete three-dimensional structure and to map dynamic rearrangements induced upon ligand binding. PMID:24512177

A Concept of Operations for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Ross, Richard W.; Berger, David E.; Lekki, John D.; Mah, Robert W.; Perey, Danie F.; Schuet, Stefan R.; Simon, Donald L.; Smith, Stephen W.

2013-01-01

This document describes a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System (IVHAS). This ConOps is associated with the Maintain Vehicle Safety (MVS) between Major Inspections Technical Challenge in the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) Project within NASA s Aviation Safety Program. In particular, this document seeks to describe an integrated system concept for vehicle health assurance that integrates ground-based inspection and repair information with in-flight measurement data for airframe, propulsion, and avionics subsystems. The MVS Technical Challenge intends to maintain vehicle safety between major inspections by developing and demonstrating new integrated health management and failure prevention technologies to assure the integrity of vehicle systems between major inspection intervals and maintain vehicle state awareness during flight. The approach provided by this ConOps is intended to help optimize technology selection and development, as well as allow the initial integration and demonstration of these subsystem technologies over the 5 year span of the VSST program, and serve as a guideline for developing IVHAS technologies under the Aviation Safety Program within the next 5 to 15 years. A long-term vision of IVHAS is provided to describe a basic roadmap for more intelligent and autonomous vehicle systems.

Sustainable Urban Forestry Potential Based Quantitative And Qualitative Measurement Using Geospatial Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosli, A. Z.; Reba, M. N. M.; Roslan, N.; Room, M. H. M.

2014-02-01

In order to maintain the stability of natural ecosystems around urban areas, urban forestry will be the best initiative to maintain and control green space in our country. Integration between remote sensing (RS) and geospatial information system (GIS) serves as an effective tool for monitoring environmental changes and planning, managing and developing a sustainable urbanization. This paper aims to assess capability of the integration of RS and GIS to provide information for urban forest potential sites based on qualitative and quantitative by using priority parameter ranking in the new township of Nusajaya. SPOT image was used to provide high spatial accuracy while map of topography, landuse, soils group, hydrology, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and soil series data were applied to enhance the satellite image in detecting and locating present attributes and features on the ground. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique provides structural and pair wise quantification and comparison elements and criteria for priority ranking for urban forestry purpose. Slope, soil texture, drainage, spatial area, availability of natural resource, and vicinity of urban area are criteria considered in this study. This study highlighted the priority ranking MCDM is cost effective tool for decision-making in urban forestry planning and landscaping.

Keeping the rhythm: light/dark cycles during postharvest storage preserve the tissue integrity and nutritional content of leafy plants.

PubMed

Liu, John D; Goodspeed, Danielle; Sheng, Zhengji; Li, Baohua; Yang, Yiran; Kliebenstein, Daniel J; Braam, Janet

2015-03-27

The modular body structure of plants enables detached plant organs, such as postharvest fruits and vegetables, to maintain active responsiveness to environmental stimuli, including daily cycles of light and darkness. Twenty-four hour light/darkness cycles entrain plant circadian clock rhythms, which provide advantage to plants. Here, we tested whether green leafy vegetables gain longevity advantage by being stored under light/dark cycles designed to maintain biological rhythms. Light/dark cycles during postharvest storage improved several aspects of plant tissue performance comparable to that provided by refrigeration. Tissue integrity, green coloration, and chlorophyll content were generally enhanced by cycling of light and darkness compared to constant light or darkness during storage. In addition, the levels of the phytonutrient glucosinolates in kale and cabbage remained at higher levels over time when the leaf tissue was stored under light/dark cycles. Maintenance of the daily cycling of light and dark periods during postharvest storage may slow the decline of plant tissues, such as green leafy vegetables, improving not only appearance but also the health value of the crops through the maintenance of chlorophyll and phytochemical content after harvest.

Integration: For or Against?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veblen, Kari K.; Elliott, David J.

2000-01-01

Argues in support of integrating music education with other subject areas, discussing the importance of maintaining music's integrity, combining the arts, reasons for integration, and whether integration is always good. Offers an opposing argument that views the integration of music with other subject areas as unsound. (CMK)

Coherence and recurrency: maintenance, control and integration in working memory

PubMed Central

Raffone, Antonino

2007-01-01

Working memory (WM), including a ‘central executive’, is used to guide behavior by internal goals or intentions. We suggest that WM is best described as a set of three interdependent functions which are implemented in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These functions are maintenance, control of attention and integration. A model for the maintenance function is presented, and we will argue that this model can be extended to incorporate the other functions as well. Maintenance is the capacity to briefly maintain information in the absence of corresponding input, and even in the face of distracting information. We will argue that maintenance is based on recurrent loops between PFC and posterior parts of the brain, and probably within PFC as well. In these loops information can be held temporarily in an active form. We show that a model based on these structural ideas is capable of maintaining a limited number of neural patterns. Not the size, but the coherence of patterns (i.e., a chunking principle based on synchronous firing of interconnected cell assemblies) determines the maintenance capacity. A mechanism that optimizes coherent pattern segregation, also poses a limit to the number of assemblies (about four) that can concurrently reverberate. Top-down attentional control (in perception, action and memory retrieval) can be modelled by the modulation and re-entry of top-down information to posterior parts of the brain. Hierarchically organized modules in PFC create the possibility for information integration. We argue that large-scale multimodal integration of information creates an ‘episodic buffer’, and may even suffice for implementing a central executive. PMID:17901994

9 CFR 312.10 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 312.10 Section 312.10 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... of the Federal Meat Inspection Act shall bear the designation “Sample Seal” accompanied by the...

9 CFR 381.112 - Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Official mark for maintaining the identity and integrity of samples. 381.112 Section 381.112 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND... Inspection Act shall bear the designation “Sample Seal” accompanied by the official USDA logo as shown below...

The Information Technology Infrastructure for the Translational Genomics Core and the Partners Biobank at Partners Personalized Medicine

PubMed Central

Boutin, Natalie; Holzbach, Ana; Mahanta, Lisa; Aldama, Jackie; Cerretani, Xander; Embree, Kevin; Leon, Irene; Rathi, Neeta; Vickers, Matilde

2016-01-01

The Biobank and Translational Genomics core at Partners Personalized Medicine requires robust software and hardware. This Information Technology (IT) infrastructure enables the storage and transfer of large amounts of data, drives efficiencies in the laboratory, maintains data integrity from the time of consent to the time that genomic data is distributed for research, and enables the management of complex genetic data. Here, we describe the functional components of the research IT infrastructure at Partners Personalized Medicine and how they integrate with existing clinical and research systems, review some of the ways in which this IT infrastructure maintains data integrity and security, and discuss some of the challenges inherent to building and maintaining such infrastructure. PMID:26805892

Adaptability of Protein Structures to Enable Functional Interactions and Evolutionary Implications

PubMed Central

Haliloglu, Turkan; Bahar, Ivet

2015-01-01

Several studies in recent years have drawn attention to the ability of proteins to adapt to intermolecular interactions by conformational changes along structure-encoded collective modes of motions. These so-called soft modes, primarily driven by entropic effects, facilitate, if not enable, functional interactions. They represent excursions on the conformational space along principal low-ascent directions/paths away from the original free energy minimum, and they are accessible to the protein even prior to protein-protein/ligand interactions. An emerging concept from these studies is the evolution of structures or modular domains to favor such modes of motion that will be recruited or integrated for enabling functional interactions. Structural dynamics, including the allosteric switches in conformation that are often stabilized upon formation of complexes and multimeric assemblies, emerge as key properties that are evolutionarily maintained to accomplish biological activities, consistent with the paradigm sequence → structure → dynamics → function where ‘dynamics’ bridges structure and function. PMID:26254902

Preliminary Development of a Multifunctional Hot Structure Heat Shield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Sandra P.; Daryabeigi, Kamran; Samareh, Jamshid A.; Armand, Sasan C.; Perino, Scott V

2014-01-01

Development of a Multifunctional Hot Structure Heat Shield concept has initiated with the goal to provide advanced technology with significant benefits compared to the current state of the art heat shield technology. The concept is unique in integrating the function of the thermal protection system with the primary load carrying structural component. An advanced carbon-carbon material system has been evaluated for the load carrying structure, which will be utilized on the outer surface of the heat shield, and thus will operate as a hot structure exposed to the severe aerodynamic heating associated with planetary entry. Flexible, highly efficient blanket insulation has been sized for use underneath the hot structure to maintain desired internal temperatures. The approach was to develop a preliminary design to demonstrate feasibility of the concept. The preliminary results indicate that the concept has the potential to save both mass and volume with significantly less recession compared to traditional heat shield designs, and thus provide potential to enable new planetary missions.

Iterative tensor voting for perceptual grouping of ill-defined curvilinear structures.

PubMed

Loss, Leandro A; Bebis, George; Parvin, Bahram

2011-08-01

In this paper, a novel approach is proposed for perceptual grouping and localization of ill-defined curvilinear structures. Our approach builds upon the tensor voting and the iterative voting frameworks. Its efficacy lies on iterative refinements of curvilinear structures by gradually shifting from an exploratory to an exploitative mode. Such a mode shifting is achieved by reducing the aperture of the tensor voting fields, which is shown to improve curve grouping and inference by enhancing the concentration of the votes over promising, salient structures. The proposed technique is validated on delineating adherens junctions that are imaged through fluorescence microscopy. However, the method is also applicable for screening other organisms based on characteristics of their cell wall structures. Adherens junctions maintain tissue structural integrity and cell-cell interactions. Visually, they exhibit fibrous patterns that may be diffused, heterogeneous in fluorescence intensity, or punctate and frequently perceptual. Besides the application to real data, the proposed method is compared to prior methods on synthetic and annotated real data, showing high precision rates.

Tools Lighten Designs, Maintain Structural Integrity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

Collier Research Corporation of Hampton, Virginia, licensed software developed at Langley Research Center to reduce design weight through the use of composite materials. The first license of NASA-developed software, it has now been used in everything from designing next-generation cargo containers, to airframes, rocket engines, ship hulls, and train bodies. The company now has sales of the NASA-derived software topping $4 million a year and has recently received several Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to apply its software to nearly all aspects of the new Orion crew capsule design.

Topics in LIFE Target Survival: 11-SI-004 Final Report

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

Miles, Robin; Benett, Bill; Bond, Tiziana

The LIFE target design incorporates many considerations to generate the desired fusion gain including the physics design, the cost of manufacturing of the target, the injectability of the target, the aerodynamic flight characteristics of the target, the ability to track and engage the target and to maintain the structural and thermal integrity of the target. This document describes the effort that was made in support of issues of survivability of the target during injection which included issues massmanufactural materials and processes which could be used in the target.

Robust, Rework-able Thermal Electronic Packaging: Applications in High Power TR Modules for Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, James Patrick; Del Castillo, Linda; Hunter, Don; Miller, Jennifer

2012-01-01

The higher output power densities required of modern radar architectures, such as the proposed DESDynI [Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice] SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] Instrument (or DSI) require increasingly dense high power electronics. To enable these higher power densities, while maintaining or even improving hardware reliability, requires improvements in integrating advanced thermal packaging technologies into radar transmit/receive (TR) modules. New materials and techniques have been studied and are now being implemented side-by-side with more standard technology typically used in flight hardware.

Structural Integrity Testing Method for PRSEUS Rod-Wrap Stringer Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, John T.; Grenoble, Ray W.; Pickell, Robert D.

2012-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center and The Boeing Company are developing an innovative composite structural concept, called PRSEUS, for the flat center section of a future environmentally friendly hybrid wing body (HWB) aircraft. The PRSEUS (Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure) concept uses dry textile preforms for the skins, frames, and stiffener webs. The highly loaded stiffeners are made from precured unidirectional carbon/epoxy rods and dry fiber preforms. The rods are wrapped with the dry fiber preforms and a resin infusion process is used to form the rod-wrap stiffeners. The structural integrity of the rod-wrap interface is critical for maintaining the panel s high strength and bending rigidity. No standard testing method exists for testing the strength of the rod-wrap bondline. Recently, Boeing proposed a rod push-out testing method and conducted some preliminary tests using this method. This paper details an analytical study of the rod-wrap bondline. The rod-wrap interface is modeled as a cohesive zone for studying the initiation and growth of interfacial debonding during push-out testing. Based on the correlations of analysis results and Boeing s test data, the adequacy of the rod-wrap testing method is evaluated, and potential approaches for improvement of the test method are proposed.

Dynamics of magnetic shells and information loss problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Bum-Hoon; Lee, Wonwoo; Yeom, Dong-han

2015-07-01

We investigate dynamics of magnetic thin-shells in three dimensional anti-de Sitter background. Because of the magnetic field, an oscillatory solution is possible. This oscillating shell can tunnel to a collapsing shell or a bouncing shell, where both tunnelings induce an event horizon and a singularity. In the entire path integral, via the oscillating solution, there is a nonzero probability to maintain a trivial causal structure without a singularity. Therefore, due to the path integral, the entire wave function can conserve information. Since an oscillating shell can tunnel after a number of oscillations, in the end, it will allow an infinite number of different branchings to classical histories. This system can be a good model of the effective loss of information, where information is conserved by a solution that is originated from gauge fields.

BIOSPIDA: A Relational Database Translator for NCBI.

PubMed

Hagen, Matthew S; Lee, Eva K

2010-11-13

As the volume and availability of biological databases continue widespread growth, it has become increasingly difficult for research scientists to identify all relevant information for biological entities of interest. Details of nucleotide sequences, gene expression, molecular interactions, and three-dimensional structures are maintained across many different databases. To retrieve all necessary information requires an integrated system that can query multiple databases with minimized overhead. This paper introduces a universal parser and relational schema translator that can be utilized for all NCBI databases in Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1). The data models for OMIM, Entrez-Gene, Pubmed, MMDB and GenBank have been successfully converted into relational databases and all are easily linkable helping to answer complex biological questions. These tools facilitate research scientists to locally integrate databases from NCBI without significant workload or development time.

Endothelial cells use dynamic actin to facilitate lymphocyte transendothelial migration and maintain the monolayer barrier

PubMed Central

Mooren, Olivia L.; Li, Jinmei; Nawas, Julie; Cooper, John A.

2014-01-01

The vascular endothelium is a highly dynamic structure, and the integrity of its barrier function is tightly regulated. Normally impenetrable to cells, the endothelium actively assists lymphocytes to exit the bloodstream during inflammation. The actin cytoskeleton of the endothelial cell (EC) is known to facilitate transmigration, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here we report that actin assembly in the EC, induced by Arp2/3 complex under control of WAVE2, is important for several steps in the process of transmigration. To begin transmigration, ECs deploy actin-based membrane protrusions that create a cup-shaped docking structure for the lymphocyte. We found that docking structure formation involves the localization and activation of Arp2/3 complex by WAVE2. The next step in transmigration is creation of a migratory pore, and we found that endothelial WAVE2 is needed for lymphocytes to follow a transcellular route through an EC. Later, ECs use actin-based protrusions to close the gap behind the lymphocyte, which we discovered is also driven by WAVE2. Finally, we found that ECs in resting endothelial monolayers use lamellipodial protrusions dependent on WAVE2 to form and maintain contacts and junctions between cells. PMID:25355948

Thermal management system and method for a solid-state energy storing device

DOEpatents

Rouillard, Roger; Domroese, Michael K.; Gauthier, Michel; Hoffman, Joseph A.; Lindeman, David D.; Noel, Joseph-Robert-Gaetan; Radewald, Vern E.; Ranger, Michel; Rouillard, Jean; Shiota, Toshimi; St-Germain, Philippe; Sudano, Anthony; Trice, Jennifer L.; Turgeon, Thomas A.

2000-01-01

An improved electrochemical energy storing device includes a number of thin-film electrochemical cells which are maintained in a state of compression through use of an internal or an external pressure apparatus. A thermal conductor, which is connected to at least one of the positive or negative contacts of each electrochemical cell, conducts current into and out of the electrochemical cells and also conducts thermal energy between the electrochemical cells and thermally conductive material disposed on a wall structure adjacent the conductors. The wall structure includes electrically resistive material, such as an anodized coating or a thin film of plastic. The thermal conductors are fabricated to include a spring mechanism which expands and contacts to maintain mechanical contact between the electrochemical cells and the thermally conductive material in the presence of relative movement between the electrochemical cells and the wall structure. An active cooling apparatus may be employed external to a hermetically sealed housing containing the electrochemical cells to enhance the transfer of thermal energy into and out of the electrochemical cells. An integrated interconnect board may be disposed within the housing onto which a number of electrical and electro-mechanical components are mounted. Heat generated by the components is conducted from the interconnect board to the housing using the thermal conductors.

Structural Health Monitoring of a Composite Panel Based on PZT Sensors and a Transfer Impedance Framework

PubMed Central

Dziendzikowski, Michal; Niedbala, Patryk; Kurnyta, Artur; Kowalczyk, Kamil; Dragan, Krzysztof

2018-01-01

One of the ideas for development of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems is based on excitation of elastic waves by a network of PZT piezoelectric transducers integrated with the structure. In the paper, a variant of the so-called Transfer Impedance (TI) approach to SHM is followed. Signal characteristics, called the Damage Indices (DIs), were proposed for data presentation and analysis. The idea underlying the definition of DIs was to maintain most of the information carried by the voltage induced on PZT sensors by elastic waves. In particular, the DIs proposed in the paper should be sensitive to all types of damage which can influence the amplitude or the phase of the voltage induced on the sensor. Properties of the proposed DIs were investigated experimentally using a GFRP composite panel equipped with PZT networks attached to its surface and embedded into its internal structure. Repeatability and stability of DI indications under controlled conditions were verified in tests. Also, some performance indicators for surface-attached and structure-embedded sensors were obtained. The DIs’ behavior was dependent mostly on the presence of a simulated damage in the structure. Anisotropy of mechanical properties of the specimen, geometrical properties of PZT network as well as, to some extent, the technology of sensor integration with the structure were irrelevant for damage indication. This property enables the method to be used for damage detection and classification. PMID:29751664

Atomic resolution of structural changes in elastic crystals of copper(II) acetylacetonate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Worthy, Anna; Grosjean, Arnaud; Pfrunder, Michael C.; Xu, Yanan; Yan, Cheng; Edwards, Grant; Clegg, Jack K.; McMurtrie, John C.

2018-01-01

Single crystals are typically brittle, inelastic materials. Such mechanical responses limit their use in practical applications, particularly in flexible electronics and optical devices. Here we describe single crystals of a well-known coordination compound—copper(II) acetylacetonate—that are flexible enough to be reversibly tied into a knot. Mechanical measurements indicate that the crystals exhibit an elasticity similar to that of soft materials such as nylon, and thus display properties normally associated with both hard and soft matter. Using microfocused synchrotron radiation, we mapped the changes in crystal structure that occur on bending, and determined the mechanism that allows this flexibility with atomic precision. We show that, under strain, the molecules in the crystal reversibly rotate, and thus reorganize to allow the mechanical compression and expansion required for elasticity and still maintain the integrity of the crystal structure.

Adhesive Defect Monitoring of Glass Fiber Epoxy Plate Using an Impedance-Based Non-Destructive Testing Method for Multiple Structures

PubMed Central

Na, Wongi S.; Baek, Jongdae

2017-01-01

The emergence of composite materials has revolutionized the approach to building engineering structures. With the number of applications for composites increasing every day, maintaining structural integrity is of utmost importance. For composites, adhesive bonding is usually the preferred choice over the mechanical fastening method, and monitoring for delamination is an essential factor in the field of composite materials. In this study, a non-destructive method known as the electromechanical impedance method is used with an approach of monitoring multiple areas by specifying certain frequency ranges to correspond to a certain test specimen. Experiments are conducted using various numbers of stacks created by attaching glass fiber epoxy composite plates onto one another, and two different debonding damage types are introduced to evaluate the performance of the multiple monitoring electromechanical impedance method. PMID:28629194

Cortical connectivity in fronto-temporal focal epilepsy from EEG analysis: A study via graph theory.

PubMed

Vecchio, Fabrizio; Miraglia, Francesca; Curcio, Giuseppe; Della Marca, Giacomo; Vollono, Catello; Mazzucchi, Edoardo; Bramanti, Placido; Rossini, Paolo Maria

2015-06-01

It is believed that effective connectivity and optimal network structure are essential for proper information processing in the brain. Indeed, functional abnormalities of the brain are found to be associated with pathological changes in connectivity and network structures. The aim of the present study was to explore the interictal network properties of EEG signals from temporal lobe structures in the context of fronto-temporal lobe epilepsy. To complete this aim, the graph characteristics of the EEG data of 17 patients suffering from focal epilepsy of the fronto-temporal type, recorded during interictal periods, were examined and compared in terms of the affected versus the unaffected hemispheres. EEG connectivity analysis was performed using eLORETA software in 15 fronto-temporal regions (Brodmann Areas BAs 8, 9, 10, 11, 20, 21, 22, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47) on both affected and unaffected hemispheres. The evaluation of the graph analysis parameters, such as 'global' (characteristic path length) and 'local' connectivity (clustering coefficient) showed a statistically significant interaction among side (affected and unaffected hemisphere) and Band (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma). Duncan post hoc testing showed an increase of the path length in the alpha band in the affected hemisphere with respect to the unaffected one, as evaluated by an inter-hemispheric marker. The affected hemisphere also showed higher values of local connectivity in the alpha band. In general, an increase of local and global graph theory parameters in the alpha band was found in the affected hemisphere. It was also demonstrated that these effects were more evident in drug-free patients than in those undergoing pharmacological therapy. The increased measures in the affected hemisphere of both functional local segregation and global integration could result from the combination of overlapping mechanisms, including reactive neuroplastic changes seeking to maintain constant integration and segregation properties. This reactive neuroplastic mechanism seeking to maintain constant integration and segregation properties seems to be more evident in the absence of antiepileptic treatment. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields have differential effects on cells in the S-phase.

PubMed

Hall, Emily H; Schoenbach, Karl H; Beebe, Stephen J

2007-03-01

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are a type of nonthermal, nonionizing radiation that exhibit intense electric fields with high power, but low energy. NsPEFs extend conventional electroporation (EP) to affect intracellular structures and functions and depending on the intensity, can induce lethal and nonlethal cell signaling. In this study, HCT116 human colon carcinoma cells were synchronized to the S-phase or remained unsynchronized, exposed to electric fields of 60 kV/cm with either 60-ns or 300-ns durations, and analyzed for apoptosis and proliferative markers. Several nsPEF structural and functional targets were identified. Unlike unsynchronized cells, S-phase cells under limiting conditions exhibited greater membrane integrity and caspase activation and maintained cytoskeletal structure. Regardless of synchronization, cells exposed to nsPEFs under these conditions primarily survived, but exhibited some turnover and delayed proliferation in cell populations, as well as reversible increases in phosphatidylserine externalization, membrane integrity, and nuclei size. These results show that nsPEFs can act as a nonligand agonist to modulate plasma membrane (PM) and intracellular structures and functions, as well as differentially affect cells in the S-phase, but without effect on cell survival. Furthermore, nsPEF effects on the nucleus and cytoskeleton may provide synergistic therapeutic actions with other agents, such as ionizing radiation or chemotherapeutics that affect these same structures.

[Maintainance of a research tissue bank. (Infra)structural and quality aspects].

PubMed

Schmitt, S; Kynast, K; Schirmacher, P; Herpel, E

2015-11-01

The availability of high quality human tissue samples and access to associated histopathological and clinical data are essential for biomedical research. Therefore, it is necessary to establish quality assured tissue biobanks that provide high quality tissue samples for research purposes. This entails quality concerns referring not only to the biomaterial specimen itself but encompassing all procedures related to biobanking, including the implementation of structural components, e.g. ethical and legal guidelines, quality management documentation as well as data and project management and information technology (IT) administration. Moreover, an integral aspect of tissue biobanks is the quality assured evaluation of every tissue specimen that is stored in a tissue biobank and used for projects to guarantee high quality assured biomaterial.

C. elegans model of neuronal aging

PubMed Central

Peng, Chiu-Ying; Chen, Chun-Hao; Hsu, Jiun-Min

2011-01-01

Aging of the nervous system underlies the behavioral and cognitive decline associated with senescence. Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neuronal aging will therefore contribute to the development of effective treatments for aging and age-associated neurodegenerative disorders. Despite this pressing need, there are surprisingly few animal models that aim at recapitulating neuronal aging in a physiological context. We recently developed a C. elegans model of neuronal aging, and showed that age-dependent neuronal defects are regulated by insulin signaling. We identified electrical activity and epithelial attachment as two critical factors in the maintenance of structural integrity of C. elegans touch receptor neurons. These findings open a new avenue for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that maintain neuronal structures during the course of aging. PMID:22446530

High density submicron magnetoresistive random access memory (invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tehrani, S.; Chen, E.; Durlam, M.; DeHerrera, M.; Slaughter, J. M.; Shi, J.; Kerszykowski, G.

1999-04-01

Various giant magnetoresistance material structures were patterned and studied for their potential as memory elements. The preferred memory element, based on pseudo-spin valve structures, was designed with two magnetic stacks (NiFeCo/CoFe) of different thickness with Cu as an interlayer. The difference in thickness results in dissimilar switching fields due to the shape anisotropy at deep submicron dimensions. It was found that a lower switching current can be achieved when the bits have a word line that wraps around the bit 1.5 times. Submicron memory elements integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistors maintained their characteristics and no degradation to the CMOS devices was observed. Selectivity between memory elements in high-density arrays was demonstrated.

Engineering education as a complex system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gattie, David K.; Kellam, Nadia N.; Schramski, John R.; Walther, Joachim

2011-12-01

This paper presents a theoretical basis for cultivating engineering education as a complex system that will prepare students to think critically and make decisions with regard to poorly understood, ill-structured issues. Integral to this theoretical basis is a solution space construct developed and presented as a benchmark for evaluating problem-solving orientations that emerge within students' thinking as they progress through an engineering curriculum. It is proposed that the traditional engineering education model, while analytically rigorous, is characterised by properties that, although necessary, are insufficient for preparing students to address complex issues of the twenty-first century. A Synthesis and Design Studio model for engineering education is proposed, which maintains the necessary rigor of analysis within a uniquely complex yet sufficiently structured learning environment.

Learning to walk before we run: what can medical education learn from the human body about integrated care.

PubMed

Manusov, Eron G; Marlowe, Daniel P; Teasley, Deborah J

2013-04-01

True integration requires a shift in all levels of medical and allied health education; one that emphasizes team learning, practicing, and evaluating from the beginning of each students' educational experience whether that is as physician, nurse, psychologist, or any other health profession. Integration of healthcare services will not occur until medical education focuses, like the human body, on each system working inter-dependently and cohesively to maintain balance through continual change and adaptation. The human body develops and maintains homeostasis by a process of communication: true integrated care relies on learned interprofessionality and ensures shared responsibility and practice.

Learning to walk before we run: what can medical education learn from the human body about integrated care

PubMed Central

Manusov, Eron G; Marlowe, Daniel P; Teasley, Deborah J

2013-01-01

True integration requires a shift in all levels of medical and allied health education; one that emphasizes team learning, practicing, and evaluating from the beginning of each students’ educational experience whether that is as physician, nurse, psychologist, or any other health profession. Integration of healthcare services will not occur until medical education focuses, like the human body, on each system working inter-dependently and cohesively to maintain balance through continual change and adaptation. The human body develops and maintains homeostasis by a process of communication: true integrated care relies on learned interprofessionality and ensures shared responsibility and practice. PMID:23882167

Superconducting magnetic energy storage apparatus structural support system

DOEpatents

Withers, Gregory J.; Meier, Stephen W.; Walter, Robert J.; Child, Michael D.; DeGraaf, Douglas W.

1992-01-01

A superconducting magnetic energy storage apparatus comprising a cylindrical superconducting coil; a cylindrical coil containment vessel enclosing the coil and adapted to hold a liquid, such as liquefied helium; and a cylindrical vacuum vessel enclosing the coil containment vessel and located in a restraining structure having inner and outer circumferential walls and a floor; the apparatus being provided with horizontal compression members between (1) the coil and the coil containment vessel and (2) between the coil containment vessel and the vacuum vessel, compression bearing members between the vacuum vessel and the restraining structure inner and outer walls, vertical support members (1) between the coil bottom and the coil containment vessel bottom and (2) between the coil containment vessel bottom and the vacuum vessel bottom, and external supports between the vacuum vessel bottom and the restraining structure floor, whereby the loads developed by thermal and magnetic energy changes in the apparatus can be accommodated and the structural integrity of the apparatus be maintained.

Carbon and metal nanotube hybrid structures on graphene as efficient electron field emitters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heo, Kwang; Lee, Byung Yang; Lee, Hyungwoo; Cho, Dong-guk; Arif, Muhammad; Kim, Kyu Young; Choi, Young Jin; Hong, Seunghun

2016-07-01

We report a facile and efficient method for the fabrication of highly-flexible field emission devices by forming tubular hybrid structures based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nickel nanotubes (Ni NTs) on graphene-based flexible substrates. By employing an infiltration process in anodic alumina oxide (AAO) templates followed by Ni electrodeposition, we could fabricate CNT-wrapped Ni NT/graphene hybrid structures. During the electrodeposition process, the CNTs served as Ni nucleation sites, resulting in a large-area array of high aspect-ratio field emitters composed of CNT-wrapped Ni NT hybrid structures. As a proof of concepts, we demonstrate that high-quality flexible field emission devices can be simply fabricated using our method. Remarkably, our proto-type field emission devices exhibited a current density higher by two orders of magnitude compared to other devices fabricated by previous methods, while maintaining its structural integrity in various bending deformations. This novel fabrication strategy can be utilized in various applications such as optoelectronic devices, sensors and energy storage devices.

Carbon and metal nanotube hybrid structures on graphene as efficient electron field emitters.

PubMed

Heo, Kwang; Lee, Byung Yang; Lee, Hyungwoo; Cho, Dong-Guk; Arif, Muhammad; Kim, Kyu Young; Choi, Young Jin; Hong, Seunghun

2016-07-08

We report a facile and efficient method for the fabrication of highly-flexible field emission devices by forming tubular hybrid structures based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nickel nanotubes (Ni NTs) on graphene-based flexible substrates. By employing an infiltration process in anodic alumina oxide (AAO) templates followed by Ni electrodeposition, we could fabricate CNT-wrapped Ni NT/graphene hybrid structures. During the electrodeposition process, the CNTs served as Ni nucleation sites, resulting in a large-area array of high aspect-ratio field emitters composed of CNT-wrapped Ni NT hybrid structures. As a proof of concepts, we demonstrate that high-quality flexible field emission devices can be simply fabricated using our method. Remarkably, our proto-type field emission devices exhibited a current density higher by two orders of magnitude compared to other devices fabricated by previous methods, while maintaining its structural integrity in various bending deformations. This novel fabrication strategy can be utilized in various applications such as optoelectronic devices, sensors and energy storage devices.

Unpicking the signal thread of the sector web spider Zygiella x-notata

PubMed Central

Mortimer, Beth; Holland, Chris; Windmill, James F. C.; Vollrath, Fritz

2015-01-01

Remote sensing allows an animal to extend its morphology with appropriate conductive materials and sensors providing environmental feedback from spatially removed locations. For example, the sector web spider Zygiella x-notata uses a specialized thread as both a structural bridge and signal transmitter to monitor web vibrations from its retreat at the web perimeter. To unravel this model multifunctional system, we investigated Zygiella's signal thread structure with a range of techniques, including tensile testing, laser vibrometry, electron microscopy and behavioural analysis. We found that signal threads varied significantly in the number of filaments; a result of the spider adding a lifeline each time it runs along the bridge. Our mechanical property analysis suggests that while the structure varies, its normalized load does not. We propose that the signal thread represents a complex and fully integrated multifunctional structure where filaments can be added, thus increasing absolute load-bearing capacity while maintaining signal fidelity. We conclude that such structures may serve as inspiration for remote sensing design strategies. PMID:26674191

Structure of Tetrahymena telomerase reveals previously unknown subunits, functions, and interactions

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Jiansen; Chan, Henry; Cash, Darian D.; ...

2015-10-15

Telomerase helps maintain telomeres by processive synthesis of telomere repeat DNA at their 3'-ends, using an integral telomerase RNA (TER) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). In this paper, we report the cryo–electron microscopy structure of Tetrahymena telomerase at ~9 angstrom resolution. In addition to seven known holoenzyme proteins, we identify two additional proteins that form a complex (TEB) with single-stranded telomere DNA-binding protein Teb1, paralogous to heterotrimeric replication protein A (RPA). The p75-p45-p19 subcomplex is identified as another RPA-related complex, CST (CTC1-STN1-TEN1). This study reveals the paths of TER in the TERT-TER-p65 catalytic core and single-stranded DNA exit; extensive subunitmore » interactions of the TERT essential N-terminal domain, p50, and TEB; and other subunit identities and structures, including p19 and p45C crystal structures. Finally, our findings provide structural and mechanistic insights into telomerase holoenzyme function.« less

Structure of Tetrahymena telomerase reveals previously unknown subunits, functions, and interactions

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

Jiang, Jiansen; Chan, Henry; Cash, Darian D.

Telomerase helps maintain telomeres by processive synthesis of telomere repeat DNA at their 3'-ends, using an integral telomerase RNA (TER) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). In this paper, we report the cryo–electron microscopy structure of Tetrahymena telomerase at ~9 angstrom resolution. In addition to seven known holoenzyme proteins, we identify two additional proteins that form a complex (TEB) with single-stranded telomere DNA-binding protein Teb1, paralogous to heterotrimeric replication protein A (RPA). The p75-p45-p19 subcomplex is identified as another RPA-related complex, CST (CTC1-STN1-TEN1). This study reveals the paths of TER in the TERT-TER-p65 catalytic core and single-stranded DNA exit; extensive subunitmore » interactions of the TERT essential N-terminal domain, p50, and TEB; and other subunit identities and structures, including p19 and p45C crystal structures. Finally, our findings provide structural and mechanistic insights into telomerase holoenzyme function.« less

Constructing inquiry: One school's journey to develop an inquiry-based school for teachers and students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sisk-Hilton, Stephanie Lee

This study examines the two way relationship between an inquiry-based professional development model and teacher enactors. The two year study follows a group of teachers enacting the emergent Supporting Knowledge Integration for Inquiry Practice (SKIIP) professional development model. This study seeks to: (a) identify activity structures in the model that interact with teachers' underlying assumptions regarding professional development and inquiry learning; (b) explain key decision points during implementation in terms of these underlying assumptions; and (c) examine the impact of key activity structures on individual teachers' stated belief structures regarding inquiry learning. Linn's knowledge integration framework facilitates description and analysis of teacher development. Three sets of tensions emerge as themes that describe and constrain participants' interaction with and learning through the model. These are: learning from the group vs. learning on one's own; choosing and evaluating evidence based on impressions vs. specific criteria; and acquiring new knowledge vs. maintaining feelings of autonomy and efficacy. In each of these tensions, existing group goals and operating assumptions initially fell at one end of the tension, while the professional development goals and forms fell at the other. Changes to the model occurred as participants reacted to and negotiated these points of tension. As the group engaged in and modified the SKIIP model, they had repeated opportunities to articulate goals and to make connections between goals and model activity structures. Over time, decisions to modify the model took into consideration an increasingly complex set of underlying assumptions and goals. Teachers identified and sought to balance these tensions. This led to more complex and nuanced decision making, which reflected growing capacity to consider multiple goals in choosing activity structures to enact. The study identifies key activity structures that scaffolded this process for teachers, and which ultimately promoted knowledge integration at both the group and individual levels. This study is an "extreme case" which examines implementation of the SKIIP model under very favorable conditions. Lessons learned regarding appropriate levels of model responsiveness, likely areas of conflict between model form and teacher underlying assumptions, and activity structures that scaffold knowledge integration provide a starting point for future, larger scale implementation.

Maintaining consistency in distributed systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Birman, Kenneth P.

1991-01-01

In systems designed as assemblies of independently developed components, concurrent access to data or data structures normally arises within individual programs, and is controlled using mutual exclusion constructs, such as semaphores and monitors. Where data is persistent and/or sets of operation are related to one another, transactions or linearizability may be more appropriate. Systems that incorporate cooperative styles of distributed execution often replicate or distribute data within groups of components. In these cases, group oriented consistency properties must be maintained, and tools based on the virtual synchrony execution model greatly simplify the task confronting an application developer. All three styles of distributed computing are likely to be seen in future systems - often, within the same application. This leads us to propose an integrated approach that permits applications that use virtual synchrony with concurrent objects that respect a linearizability constraint, and vice versa. Transactional subsystems are treated as a special case of linearizability.

Shuttle freezer conceptual design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Proctor, B. W.; Russell, D. J.

1975-01-01

A conceptual design for a kit freezer for operation onboard shuttle was developed. The freezer features a self-contained unit which can be mounted in the orbiter crew compartment and is capable of storing food at launch and returning with medical samples. Packaging schemes were investigated to provide the optimum storage capacity with a minimum weight and volume penalty. Several types of refrigeration systems were evaluated to select one which would offer the most efficient performance and lowest hazard of safety to the crew. Detailed performance data on the selected, Stirling cycle principled refrigeration unit were developed to validate the feasibility of its application to this freezer. Thermal analyses were performed to determine the adequacy of the thermal insulation to maintain the desired storage temperature with the design cooling capacity. Stress analyses were made to insure the design structure integrity could be maintained over the shuttle flight regime. A proposed prototype freezer development plan is presented.

Mechanical stability of the cell nucleus: roles played by the cytoskeleton in nuclear deformation and strain recovery.

PubMed

Wang, Xian; Liu, Haijiao; Zhu, Min; Cao, Changhong; Xu, Zhensong; Tsatskis, Yonit; Lau, Kimberly; Kuok, Chikin; Filleter, Tobin; McNeill, Helen; Simmons, Craig A; Hopyan, Sevan; Sun, Yu

2018-05-18

Extracellular forces transmitted through the cytoskeleton can deform the cell nucleus. Large nuclear deformation increases the risk of disrupting the nuclear envelope's integrity and causing DNA damage. Mechanical stability of the nucleus defines its capability of maintaining nuclear shape by minimizing nuclear deformation and recovering strain when deformed. Understanding the deformation and recovery behavior of the nucleus requires characterization of nuclear viscoelastic properties. Here, we quantified the decoupled viscoelastic parameters of the cell membrane, cytoskeleton, and the nucleus. The results indicate that the cytoskeleton enhances nuclear mechanical stability by lowering the effective deformability of the nucleus while maintaining nuclear sensitivity to mechanical stimuli. Additionally, the cytoskeleton decreases the strain energy release rate of the nucleus and might thus prevent shape change-induced structural damage to chromatin. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Corrosion detector apparatus for universal assessment of pollution in data centers

DOEpatents

Hamann, Hendrik F.; Klein, Levente I.

2015-08-18

A compact corrosion measurement apparatus and system includes an air fan, a corrosion sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a heater element, and an air flow sensor all under control to monitor and maintain constant air parameters in an environment and minimize environmental fluctuations around the corrosion sensor to overcome the variation commonly encountered in corrosion rate measurement. The corrosion measurement apparatus includes a structure providing an enclosure within which are located the sensors. Constant air flow and temperature is maintained within the enclosure where the corrosion sensor is located by integrating a variable speed air fan and a heater with the corresponding feedback loop control. Temperature and air flow control loops ensure that corrosivity is measured under similar conditions in different facilities offering a general reference point that allow a one to one comparison between facilities with similar or different pollution levels.

Multi-scale Multi-mechanism Design of Tough Hydrogels: Building Dissipation into Stretchy Networks

PubMed Central

Zhao, Xuanhe

2014-01-01

As swollen polymer networks in water, hydrogels are usually brittle. However, hydrogels with high toughness play critical roles in many plant and animal tissues as well as in diverse engineering applications. Here we review the intrinsic mechanisms of a wide variety of tough hydrogels developed over past few decades. We show that tough hydrogels generally possess mechanisms to dissipate substantial mechanical energy but still maintain high elasticity under deformation. The integrations and interactions of different mechanisms for dissipating energy and maintaining elasticity are essential to the design of tough hydrogels. A matrix that combines various mechanisms is constructed for the first time to guide the design of next-generation tough hydrogels. We further highlight that a particularly promising strategy for the design is to implement multiple mechanisms across multiple length scales into nano-, micro-, meso-, and macro-structures of hydrogels. PMID:24834901

Continent or incontinent? That is the question.

PubMed

Taunton, Roma Lee; Swagerty, Daniel L; Lasseter, Joyce A; Lee, Robert H

2005-09-01

A qualitative, emergent, case study design guided the description of care provided to nursing home residents with urinary incontinence in three Midwestern nursing facilities. Participants included 17 residents and 16 family members or friends of the respective residents. Staff and managers involved in the planning and delivery of care to the participating residents also were included. The three facilities represented variation in size, location, ownership, and Medicare certification. Data were collected via observation, resident record audit, and semi-structured interview. Definitions of incontinence varied among staff. A collectively held expectation that residents would be toileted every 2 hours was not met. Maintaining skin integrity was the primary motivation for keeping residents clean and dry. Medical directors viewed incontinence as a nursing problem. Staff described situations in which incontinence was improved for specific residents, but there was little evidence of formal programs to maintain continence or improve incontinence.

Design and evaluation of a novel subatmospheric pressure bioreactor for the preconditioning of tissue-engineered vascular constructs.

PubMed

Coakley, Daniel N; Shaikh, Faisal M; O'Sullivan, Kathleen; Kavanagh, Eamon G; Grace, Pierce A; McGloughlin, Tim M

2016-02-01

The pre-conditioning of tissue-engineered vascular scaffolds with mechanical stimuli is being recognised as an essential step in producing a functional vascular construct. In this study we design and evaluate a novel bioreactor, which exerts a mechanical strain on developing vascular scaffolds via subatmospheric pressure. We design and construct a bioreactor, which exerts subatmospheric pressure via a vacuum assisted closure unit. Vascular scaffolds seeded with human umbilical endothelial cells were evaluated for structural integrity, microbial contamination, cellular viability, von Willebrand factor (VWF) production, cell proliferation and morphology under a range of subatmospheric pressures (75-200mmHg). The bioreactor produced sustained subatmospheric pressures, which exerted a mechanical strain on the vascular scaffold. No microbial contamination was found during the study. The structural integrity of the vascular construct was maintained. There was no difference in cellular viability between control or subatmospheric pressure groups (p = 0.817). Cells continued to produce VWF under a range of subatmospheric pressures. Cells subjected to subatmospheric pressures of 125mmHg and 200mmHg exhibited higher levels of growth than cells in atmospheric pressure at 24 (p≤0.016) and 48 hour (p≤0.001). Negative pressure affected cellular morphology, which were more organised, elongated and expanded when exposed to subatmospheric pressure. We have constructed and validated a novel subatmospheric bioreactor. The bioreactor maintained a continuous subatmospheric pressure to the vascular scaffolds in a stable, sterile and constant environment. The bioreactor exerted a strain on the vascular sheets, which was shown to alter cellular morphology and enhance cellular proliferation.

Development of low-cost high-performance multispectral camera system at Banpil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oduor, Patrick; Mizuno, Genki; Olah, Robert; Dutta, Achyut K.

2014-05-01

Banpil Photonics (Banpil) has developed a low-cost high-performance multispectral camera system for Visible to Short- Wave Infrared (VIS-SWIR) imaging for the most demanding high-sensitivity and high-speed military, commercial and industrial applications. The 640x512 pixel InGaAs uncooled camera system is designed to provide a compact, smallform factor to within a cubic inch, high sensitivity needing less than 100 electrons, high dynamic range exceeding 190 dB, high-frame rates greater than 1000 frames per second (FPS) at full resolution, and low power consumption below 1W. This is practically all the feature benefits highly desirable in military imaging applications to expand deployment to every warfighter, while also maintaining a low-cost structure demanded for scaling into commercial markets. This paper describes Banpil's development of the camera system including the features of the image sensor with an innovation integrating advanced digital electronics functionality, which has made the confluence of high-performance capabilities on the same imaging platform practical at low cost. It discusses the strategies employed including innovations of the key components (e.g. focal plane array (FPA) and Read-Out Integrated Circuitry (ROIC)) within our control while maintaining a fabless model, and strategic collaboration with partners to attain additional cost reductions on optics, electronics, and packaging. We highlight the challenges and potential opportunities for further cost reductions to achieve a goal of a sub-$1000 uncooled high-performance camera system. Finally, a brief overview of emerging military, commercial and industrial applications that will benefit from this high performance imaging system and their forecast cost structure is presented.

Chitosan, the deacetylated form of chitin, is necessary for cell wall integrity in Cryptococcus neoformans.

PubMed

Baker, Lorina G; Specht, Charles A; Donlin, Maureen J; Lodge, Jennifer K

2007-05-01

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes cryptococcal meningoencephalitis, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The fungal cell wall is an excellent target for antifungal therapies as it is an essential organelle that provides cell structure and integrity, it is needed for the localization or attachment of known virulence factors, including the polysaccharide capsule, melanin, and phospholipase, and it is critical for host-pathogen interactions. In C. neoformans, chitosan produced by the enzymatic removal of acetyl groups from nascent chitin polymers has been implicated as an important component of the vegetative cell wall. In this study, we identify four putative chitin/polysaccharide deacetylases in C. neoformans. We have demonstrated that three of these deacetylases, Cda1, Cda2, and Cda3, can account for all of the chitosan produced during vegetative growth in culture, but the function for one, Fpd1, remains undetermined. The data suggest a model for chitosan production in vegetatively growing C. neoformans where the three chitin deacetylases convert chitin generated by the chitin synthase Chs3 into chitosan. Utilizing a collection of chitin/polysaccharide deacetylase deletion strains, we determined that during vegetative growth, chitosan helps to maintain cell integrity and aids in bud separation. Additionally, chitosan is necessary for maintaining normal capsule width and the lack of chitosan results in a "leaky melanin" phenotype. Our analysis indicates that chitin deacetylases and the chitosan made by them may prove to be excellent antifungal targets.

How livestock and flooding mediate the ecological integrity of working forests in Amazon River floodplains.

PubMed

Lucas, Christine M; Sheikh, Pervaze; Gagnon, Paul R; Mcgrath, David G

2016-01-01

The contribution of working forests to tropical conservation and development depends upon the maintenance of ecological integrity under ongoing land use. Assessment of ecological integrity requires an understanding of the structure, composition, and function and major drivers that govern their variability. Working forests in tropical river floodplains provide many goods and services, yet the data on the ecological processes that sustain these services is scant. In flooded forests of riverside Amazonian communities, we established 46 0.1-ha plots varying in flood duration, use by cattle and water buffalo, and time since agricultural abandonment (30-90 yr). We monitored three aspects of ecological integrity (stand structure, species composition, and dynamics of trees and seedlings) to evaluate the impacts of different trajectories of livestock activity (alleviation, stasis, and intensification) over nine years. Negative effects of livestock intensification were solely evident in the forest understory, and plots alleviated from past heavy disturbance increased in seedling density but had higher abundance of thorny species than plots maintaining low activity. Stand structure, dynamics, and tree species composition were strongly influenced by the natural pulse of seasonal floods, such that the defining characteristics of integrity were dependent upon flood duration (3-200 d). Forests with prolonged floods ≥ 140 d had not only lower species richness but also lower rates of recruitment and species turnover relative to forests with short floods <70 d. Overall, the combined effects of livestock intensification and prolonged flooding hindered forest regeneration, but overall forest integrity was largely related to the hydrological regime and age. Given this disjunction between factors mediating canopy and understory integrity, we present a subset of metrics for regeneration and recruitment to distinguish forest condition by livestock trajectory. Although our study design includes confounded factors that preclude a definitive assessment of the major drivers of ecological change, we provide much-needed data on the regrowth of a critical but poorly studied ecosystem. In addition to its emphasis on the dynamics of tropical wetland forests undergoing anthropogenic and environmental change, our case study is an important example for how to assess of ecological integrity in working forests of tropical ecosystems.

Robo4 maintains vessel integrity and inhibits angiogenesis by interacting with UNC5B.

PubMed

Koch, Alexander W; Mathivet, Thomas; Larrivée, Bruno; Tong, Raymond K; Kowalski, Joe; Pibouin-Fragner, Laurence; Bouvrée, Karine; Stawicki, Scott; Nicholes, Katrina; Rathore, Nisha; Scales, Suzie J; Luis, Elizabeth; del Toro, Raquel; Freitas, Catarina; Bréant, Christiane; Michaud, Annie; Corvol, Pierre; Thomas, Jean-Léon; Wu, Yan; Peale, Franklin; Watts, Ryan J; Tessier-Lavigne, Marc; Bagri, Anil; Eichmann, Anne

2011-01-18

Robo4 is an endothelial cell-specific member of the Roundabout axon guidance receptor family. To identify Robo4 binding partners, we performed a protein-protein interaction screen with the Robo4 extracellular domain. We find that Robo4 specifically binds to UNC5B, a vascular Netrin receptor, revealing unexpected interactions between two endothelial guidance receptors. We show that Robo4 maintains vessel integrity by activating UNC5B, which inhibits signaling downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Function-blocking monoclonal antibodies against Robo4 and UNC5B increase angiogenesis and disrupt vessel integrity. Soluble Robo4 protein inhibits VEGF-induced vessel permeability and rescues barrier defects in Robo4(-/-) mice, but not in mice treated with anti-UNC5B. Thus, Robo4-UNC5B signaling maintains vascular integrity by counteracting VEGF signaling in endothelial cells, identifying a novel function of guidance receptor interactions in the vasculature. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Run Environment and Data Management for Earth System Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widmann, H.; Lautenschlager, M.; Fast, I.; Legutke, S.

2009-04-01

The Integrating Model and Data Infrastructure (IMDI) developed and maintained by the Model and Data Group (M&D) comprises the Standard Compile Environment (SCE) and the Standard Run Environment (SRE). The IMDI software has a modular design, which allows to combine and couple a suite of model components and as well to execute the tasks independently and on various platforms. Furthermore the modular structure enables the extension to new model combinations and new platforms. The SRE presented here enables the configuration and performance of earth system model experiments from model integration up to storage and visualization of data. We focus on recently implemented tasks such as synchronous data base filling, graphical monitoring and automatic generation of meta data in XML forms during run time. As well we address the capability to run experiments in heterogeneous IT environments with different computing systems for model integration, data processing and storage. These features are demonstrated for model configurations and on platforms used in current or upcoming projects, e.g. MILLENNIUM or IPCC AR5.

Integrating cost information with health management support system: an enhanced methodology to assess health care quality drivers.

PubMed

Kohli, R; Tan, J K; Piontek, F A; Ziege, D E; Groot, H

1999-08-01

Changes in health care delivery, reimbursement schemes, and organizational structure have required health organizations to manage the costs of providing patient care while maintaining high levels of clinical and patient satisfaction outcomes. Today, cost information, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction results must become more fully integrated if strategic competitiveness and benefits are to be realized in health management decision making, especially in multi-entity organizational settings. Unfortunately, traditional administrative and financial systems are not well equipped to cater to such information needs. This article presents a framework for the acquisition, generation, analysis, and reporting of cost information with clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction in the context of evolving health management and decision-support system technology. More specifically, the article focuses on an enhanced costing methodology for determining and producing improved, integrated cost-outcomes information. Implementation issues and areas for future research in cost-information management and decision-support domains are also discussed.

A conceptual design for an integrated data base management system for remote sensing data. [user requirements and data processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maresca, P. A.; Lefler, R. M.

1978-01-01

The requirements of potential users were considered in the design of an integrated data base management system, developed to be independent of any specific computer or operating system, and to be used to support investigations in weather and climate. Ultimately, the system would expand to include data from the agriculture, hydrology, and related Earth resources disciplines. An overview of the system and its capabilities is presented. Aspects discussed cover the proposed interactive command language; the application program command language; storage and tabular data maintained by the regional data base management system; the handling of data files and the use of system standard formats; various control structures required to support the internal architecture of the system; and the actual system architecture with the various modules needed to implement the system. The concepts on which the relational data model is based; data integrity, consistency, and quality; and provisions for supporting concurrent access to data within the system are covered in the appendices.

Sensing and Virtual Worlds - A Survey of Research Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Dana

2012-01-01

Virtual Worlds (VWs) have been used effectively in live and constructive military training. An area that remains fertile ground for exploration and a new vision involves integrating various traditional and now non-traditional sensors into virtual worlds. In this paper, we will assert that the benefits of this integration are several. First, we maintain that virtual worlds offer improved sensor deployment planning through improved visualization and stimulation of the model, using geo-specific terrain and structure. Secondly, we assert that VWs enhance the mission rehearsal process, and that using a mix of live avatars, non-player characters, and live sensor feeds (e.g. real time meteorology) can help visualization of the area of operations. Finally, tactical operations are improved via better collaboration and integration of real world sensing capabilities, and in most situations, 30 VWs improve the state of the art over current "dots on a map" 20 geospatial visualization. However, several capability gaps preclude a fuller realization of this vision. In this paper, we identify many of these gaps and suggest research directions

The monopolistic integrated model and health care reform: the Swedish experience.

PubMed

Anell, A

1996-07-01

This article reviews recent reforms geared to creating internal markets in the Swedish health-care sector. The main purpose is to describe driving forces behind reforms, and to analyse the limitations of reforms oriented towards internal markets within a monopolistic integrated health-care model. The principal part of the article is devoted to a discussion of incentives within Swedish county councils, and of how these incentives have influenced reforms in the direction of more choices for consumers and a separation between purchasers and providers. It is argued that the current incentives, in combination with criticism against county council activities in the early 1990's, account for the present inconsistencies as regards reforms. Furthermore, the article maintains that a weak form of separation between purchasers and providers will lead to distorted incentives, restricting innovative behaviour and structural change. In conclusion, the process of reforming the Swedish monopolistic integrated health-care model in the direction of some form of internal market is said to rest on shaky ground.

Workshop on Measurement Needs for Local-Structure Determination in Inorganic Materials

PubMed Central

Levin, Igor; Vanderah, Terrell

2008-01-01

The functional responses (e.g., dielectric, magnetic, catalytic, etc.) of many industrially-relevant materials are controlled by their local structure—a term that refers to the atomic arrangements on a scale ranging from atomic (sub-nanometer) to several nanometers. Thus, accurate knowledge of local structure is central to understanding the properties of nanostructured materials, thereby placing the problem of determining atomic positions on the nanoscale—the so-called “nanostructure problem”—at the center of modern materials development. Today, multiple experimental techniques exist for probing local atomic arrangements; nonetheless, finding accurate comprehensive, and robust structural solutions for the nanostructured materials still remains a formidable challenge because any one of these methods yields only a partial view of the local structure. The primary goal of this 2-day NIST-sponsored workshop was to bring together experts in the key experimental and theoretical areas relevant to local-structure determination to devise a strategy for the collaborative effort required to develop a comprehensive measurement solution on the local scale. The participants unanimously agreed that solving the nanostructure problem—an ultimate frontier in materials characterization—necessitates a coordinated interdisciplinary effort that transcends the existing capabilities of any single institution, including national laboratories, centers, and user facilities. The discussions converged on an institute dedicated to local structure determination as the most viable organizational platform for successfully addressing the nanostructure problem. The proposed “institute” would provide an intellectual infrastructure for local structure determination by (1) developing and maintaining relevant computer software integrated in an open-source global optimization framework (Fig. 2), (2) connecting industrial and academic users with experts in measurement techniques, (3) developing and maintaining pertinent databases, and (4) providing necessary education and training. PMID:27096131

Theme 3: Mechanical Integrity - Pre & Post Well Integrity Methods for Hydraulically Fractured/Stimulated Wells

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This presentation looks into wellbore design and monitoring techniques that are critical in assuring that wellbore integrity is maintained in conjunction with hydraulic fracturing/stimulation completion practices.

Effect of different baculovirus inactivation procedures on the integrity and immunogenicity of porcine parvovirus-like particles.

PubMed

Rueda, P; Fominaya, J; Langeveld, J P; Bruschke, C; Vela, C; Casal, J I

2000-11-22

We have demonstrated earlier the usefulness of recombinant porcine parvovirus (PPV) virus-like particles (VLPs) as an efficient recombinant vaccine for PPV. Here, we have demonstrated that preparations of PPV VLPs could be contaminated by recombinant baculoviruses. Since these baculoviruses can be a problem for the registration and safety requirements of the recombinant vaccine, we have tested different baculovirus inactivation strategies, studying simultaneously the integrity and immunogenicity of the VLPs. These methods were pasteurization, treatment with detergents and alkylation with binary ethylenimine (BEI). The structural and functional integrity of the PPV VLPs after the inactivation treatments were analyzed by electron microscopy, hemagglutination, double antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA and immunogenicity studies. Binary ethylenimine and Triton X-100 inactivated particles maintained all the original structural and antigenic properties. In addition, PPV VLPs were subjected to size-exclusion chromatography to analyze the presence of VP2 monomers or any other contaminant. The resulting highly purified material was used as the standard of reference to quantify PPV VLPs in order to determine the dose of vaccine by DAS-ELISA. After immunization experiments in guinea pigs, the antibody titers obtained with all the inactivation procedures were very similar. Triton X-100 treatment was selected for further testing in animals because of the speed, simplicity and safety of the overall procedure.

The effect of nanoparticle enhanced sizing on the structural health monitoring sensitivity and mechanical properties of carbon fiber composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowland, Christopher C.; Nguyen, Ngoc A.; Naskar, Amit K.

2018-03-01

With current carbon composites being introduced into new commercial market sectors, there is an opportunity to develop multifunctional composites, which are poised to be the next generation of composites that will see future commercial applications. This multifunctional attribute can be achieved via integrated nanomaterials, which are currently under-utilized in real-world applications despite significant research efforts focused on their synthesis. This research utilizes a simple, scalable approach to integrate various nanomaterials into carbon fiber composites by embedding the nanomaterials in the epoxy fiber sizing. Illustrated in this work is the effect of silicon carbide nanoparticle concentrations and dimensions on the structural health monitoring sensitivity of unidirectional carbon fiber composites. Additionally, the nanoparticles contribute to the overall damping property of the composites thus enabling tunable damping through simple variations in nanoparticle concentration and size. Not only does this nanoparticle sizing offer enhanced sensitivity and tunable damping, but it also maintains the mechanical integrity and performance of the composites, which demonstrates a truly multifunctional composite. Therefore, this research establishes an efficient route for combining nanomaterials research with real-world multifunctional composite applications using a technique that is easily scalable to the commercial level and is compatible with a wide range of fibers and nanomaterials.

The apoptotic microtubule network preserves plasma membrane integrity during the execution phase of apoptosis.

PubMed

Sánchez-Alcázar, José A; Rodríguez-Hernández, Angeles; Cordero, Mario D; Fernández-Ayala, Daniel J M; Brea-Calvo, Gloria; Garcia, Katherina; Navas, Plácido

2007-07-01

It has recently been shown that the microtubule cytoskeleton is reformed during the execution phase of apoptosis. We demonstrate that this microtubule reformation occurs in many cell types and under different apoptotic stimuli. We confirm that the apoptotic microtubule network possesses a novel organization, whose nucleation appears independent of conventional gamma-tubulin ring complex containing structures. Our analysis suggests that microtubules are closely associated with the plasma membrane, forming a cortical ring or cellular "cocoon". Concomitantly other components of the cytoskeleton, such as actin and cytokeratins disassemble. We found that colchicine-mediated disruption of apoptotic microtubule network results in enhanced plasma membrane permeability and secondary necrosis, suggesting that the reformation of a microtubule cytoskeleton plays an important role in preserving plasma membrane integrity during apoptosis. Significantly, cells induced to enter apoptosis in the presence of the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD, nevertheless form microtubule-like structures suggesting that microtubule formation is not dependent on caspase activation. In contrast we found that treatment with EGTA-AM, an intracellular calcium chelator, prevents apoptotic microtubule network formation, suggesting that intracellular calcium may play an essential role in the microtubule reformation. We propose that apoptotic microtubule network is required to maintain plasma membrane integrity during the execution phase of apoptosis.

Using dual classifications in the development of avian wetland indices of biological integrity for wetlands in West Virginia, USA.

PubMed

Veselka, Walter; Anderson, James T; Kordek, Walter S

2010-05-01

Considerable resources are being used to develop and implement bioassessment methods for wetlands to ensure that "biological integrity" is maintained under the United States Clean Water Act. Previous research has demonstrated that avian composition is susceptible to human impairments at multiple spatial scales. Using a site-specific disturbance gradient, we built avian wetland indices of biological integrity (AW-IBI) specific to two wetland classification schemes, one based on vegetative structure and the other based on the wetland's position in the landscape and sources of water. The resulting class-specific AW-IBI was comprised of one to four metrics that varied in their sensitivity to the disturbance gradient. Some of these metrics were specific to only one of the classification schemes, whereas others could discriminate varying levels of disturbance regardless of classification scheme. Overall, all of the derived biological indices specific to the vegetative structure-based classes of wetlands had a significant relation with the disturbance gradient; however, the biological index derived for floodplain wetlands exhibited a more consistent response to a local disturbance gradient. We suspect that the consistency of this response is due to the inherent nature of the connectivity of available habitat in floodplain wetlands.

Highly-ordered supportless three-dimensional nanowire networks with tunable complexity and interwire connectivity for device integration.

PubMed

Rauber, Markus; Alber, Ina; Müller, Sven; Neumann, Reinhard; Picht, Oliver; Roth, Christina; Schökel, Alexander; Toimil-Molares, Maria Eugenia; Ensinger, Wolfgang

2011-06-08

The fabrication of three-dimensional assemblies consisting of large quantities of nanowires is of great technological importance for various applications including (electro-)catalysis, sensitive sensing, and improvement of electronic devices. Because the spatial distribution of the nanostructured material can strongly influence the properties, architectural design is required in order to use assembled nanowires to their full potential. In addition, special effort has to be dedicated to the development of efficient methods that allow precise control over structural parameters of the nanoscale building blocks as a means of tuning their characteristics. This paper reports the direct synthesis of highly ordered large-area nanowire networks by a method based on hard templates using electrodeposition within nanochannels of ion track-etched polymer membranes. Control over the complexity of the networks and the dimensions of the integrated nanostructures are achieved by a modified template fabrication. The networks possess high surface area and excellent transport properties, turning them into a promising electrocatalyst material as demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry studies on platinum nanowire networks catalyzing methanol oxidation. Our method opens up a new general route for interconnecting nanowires to stable macroscopic network structures of very high integration level that allow easy handling of nanowires while maintaining their connectivity.

Drosophila small heat shock protein CryAB ensures structural integrity of developing muscles, and proper muscle and heart performance.

PubMed

Wójtowicz, Inga; Jabłońska, Jadwiga; Zmojdzian, Monika; Taghli-Lamallem, Ouarda; Renaud, Yoan; Junion, Guillaume; Daczewska, Malgorzata; Huelsmann, Sven; Jagla, Krzysztof; Jagla, Teresa

2015-03-01

Molecular chaperones, such as the small heat shock proteins (sHsps), maintain normal cellular function by controlling protein homeostasis in stress conditions. However, sHsps are not only activated in response to environmental insults, but also exert developmental and tissue-specific functions that are much less known. Here, we show that during normal development the Drosophila sHsp CryAB [L(2)efl] is specifically expressed in larval body wall muscles and accumulates at the level of Z-bands and around myonuclei. CryAB features a conserved actin-binding domain and, when attenuated, leads to clustering of myonuclei and an altered pattern of sarcomeric actin and the Z-band-associated actin crosslinker Cheerio (filamin). Our data suggest that CryAB and Cheerio form a complex essential for muscle integrity: CryAB colocalizes with Cheerio and, as revealed by mass spectrometry and co-immunoprecipitation experiments, binds to Cheerio, and the muscle-specific attenuation of cheerio leads to CryAB-like sarcomeric phenotypes. Furthermore, muscle-targeted expression of CryAB(R120G), which carries a mutation associated with desmin-related myopathy (DRM), results in an altered sarcomeric actin pattern, in affected myofibrillar integrity and in Z-band breaks, leading to reduced muscle performance and to marked cardiac arrhythmia. Taken together, we demonstrate that CryAB ensures myofibrillar integrity in Drosophila muscles during development and propose that it does so by interacting with the actin crosslinker Cheerio. The evidence that a DRM-causing mutation affects CryAB muscle function and leads to DRM-like phenotypes in the fly reveals a conserved stress-independent role of CryAB in maintaining muscle cell cytoarchitecture. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Fatigue behavior and life prediction of a SiC/Ti-24Al-11Nb composite under isothermal conditions. Ph.D. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bartolotta, Paul A.

1991-01-01

Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) and Intermetallic Matrix Composites (IMC) were identified as potential material candidates for advanced aerospace applications. They are especially attractive for high temperature applications which require a low density material that maintains its structural integrity at elevated temperatures. High temperature fatigue resistance plays an important role in determining the structural integrity of the material. This study attempts to examine the relevance of test techniques, failure criterion, and life prediction as they pertain to an IMC material, specifically, unidirectional SiC fiber reinforced titanium aluminide. A series of strain and load controlled fatigue tests were conducted on unidirectional SiC/Ti-24Al-11Nb composite at 425 and 815 C. Several damage mechanism regimes were identified by using a strain-based representation of the data, Talreja's fatigue life diagram concept. Results of these tests were then used to address issues of test control modes, definition of failure, and testing techniques. Finally, a strain-based life prediction method was proposed for an IMC under tensile cyclic loadings at elevated temperatures.

On-orbit NDE: A novel approach to tube weld inspection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Michaels, Kerry; Hughes, Greg

1994-01-01

The challenge of fabrication and repair of structures in space must be met if we are to utilize and maintain long-duration space facilities. Welding techniques have been demonstrated to provide the most reliable means to accomplish this task. Over the past few years, methods have been developed to perform orbital tube welding employing space-based welding technology pioneered by the former Soviet Union. Welding can result in the formation of defects, which threaten the structural integrity of the welded joint. Implementation of welding on-orbit, therefore, must also include methods to evaluate the quality and integrity of the welded joints. To achieve this goal, the development of an on-orbit tube weld inspection system, utilizing alternating current field measurement (ACFM) technology, has been under taken. This paper describes the development of the ACFM on-orbit tube weld inspection tool. Topics discussed include: requirements for on-orbit NDE, basic theory of ACFM, its advantages over other NDE methods for on-orbit applications, and the ACFM NDE system design. System operation and trial inspection results are also discussed. Future work with this technology is also considered.

Application of controller partitioning optimization procedure to integrated flight/propulsion control design for a STOVL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garg, Sanjay; Schmidt, Phillip H.

1993-01-01

A parameter optimization framework has earlier been developed to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. This paper presents results from the application of the controller partitioning optimization procedure to IFPC design for a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The controller partitioning problem and the parameter optimization algorithm are briefly described. Insight is provided into choosing various 'user' selected parameters in the optimization cost function such that the resulting optimized subcontrollers will meet the characteristics of the centralized controller that are crucial to achieving the desired closed-loop performance and robustness, while maintaining the desired subcontroller structure constraints that are crucial for IFPC implementation. The optimization procedure is shown to improve upon the initial partitioned subcontrollers and lead to performance comparable to that achieved with the centralized controller. This application also provides insight into the issues that should be addressed at the centralized control design level in order to obtain implementable partitioned subcontrollers.

LFT foam - Lightweight potential for semi-structural components through the use of long-glass-fiber-reinforced thermoplastic foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roch, A.; Huber, T.; Henning, F.; Elsner, P.

2014-05-01

Investigations on PP-LGF30 foam sandwiches have been carried out using different manufacturing processes: standard injection molding, MuCell® and LFT-D foam. Both chemical and physical blowing agents were applied. Precision mold opening (breathing mold technology) was selected for the foaming process. The integral foam design, which can be conceived as a sandwich structure, helps to save material in the neutral axis area and maintains a distance between load-bearing, unfoamed skin layers. The experiments showed that, at a constant mass per unit area, integral foams have a significantly higher flexural rigidity than compact components, due to their greater area moment of inertia after foaming: with an increase of the wall thickness from 3.6 mm to 4.4 mm compared to compact construction, the flexural rigidity increased by 75 %. With a final wall thickness of 5.8 mm an increase of 300 % was measured. Compared to non-reinforced components that show significant embrittlement during foaming, the energy absorption capacity (impact strength) of LFT foam components remains almost constant.

Integrity of erythrocytes of hypercholesterolemic rats during spices treatment.

PubMed

Kempaiah, R K; Srinivasan, K

2002-07-01

In rats rendered hypercholesterolemic by maintaining them on a cholesterol-enriched diet (0.5%) for 8 weeks, inclusion of spice principles--curcumin (0.2%) or capsaicin (0.015%) or the spice--garlic powder (2.0%) in the diet, produced the expected hypolipidemic effect. Plasma cholesterol which was more than 200% that of basal control in hypercholesterolemic rats, was decreased by these dietary spice principles and garlic by 25-39%. Erythrocyte membranes of hypercholesterolemic rats were relatively enriched in cholesterol, which was about 120% of basal control, while membrane phospholipid was unaffected. This resulted in a significant alteration in cholesterol to phospholipid ratio of RBC membranes. Dietary curcumin, capsaicin and garlic were observed to counter this altered lipid profile of erythrocyte membranes in hypercholesterolemic situation by producing a significant 10-14% decrease in membrane cholesterol content. As a result of alteration in membrane structural lipids, the structural integrity of RBCs was also affected. An examination of the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes in various groups, indicated that RBCs of hypercholesterolemic rats were relatively fragile compared to normal controls. Dietary curcumin, capsaicin and garlic appeared to correct this increased fragility of erythrocytes.

Embedding Agile Practices within a Plan-Driven Hierarchical Project Life Cycle

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

Millard, W. David; Johnson, Daniel M.; Henderson, John M.

2014-07-28

Organizations use structured, plan-driven approaches to provide continuity, direction, and control to large, multi-year programs. Projects within these programs vary greatly in size, complexity, level of maturity, technical risk, and clarity of the development objectives. Organizations that perform exploratory research, evolutionary development, and other R&D activities can obtain the benefits of Agile practices without losing the benefits of their program’s overarching plan-driven structure. This paper describes application of Agile development methods on a large plan-driven sensor integration program. While the client employed plan-driven, requirements flow-down methodologies, tight project schedules and complex interfaces called for frequent end-to-end demonstrations to provide feedbackmore » during system development. The development process maintained the many benefits of plan-driven project execution with the rapid prototyping, integration, demonstration, and client feedback possible through Agile development methods. This paper also describes some of the tools and implementing mechanisms used to transition between and take advantage of each methodology, and presents lessons learned from the project management, system engineering, and developer’s perspectives.« less

Organizational Considerations for Implementing Systems Engineering and Integration in the Ares Projects Office

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, LeAnn; Doreswamy, Rajiv N.

2008-01-01

Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) is a critical discipline in developing new space systems. In 2005, NASA performed an internal study of 24 agency and Department of Defense (DoD) programs to evaluate methods of integrating SE&I practices and determine their effectiveness. The goal of the study was to determine the best SE&I implementation strategy for the Ares Projects Office. The study identified six SE&I organizational structures: 1. Lead systems integrator (LSI) with SE&I responsibility and government technical insight. 2a. Integration contractor with government SE&I responsibility (government insight). 2b. Integration contractor with government SE&I responsibility (government oversight). 3a. Prime contractor with SE&I responsibility (government insight). 3b. Prime contractor with SE&I responsibility (government oversight). 3c. Prime contractor with SE&I responsibility (government/industry partnership). 4a.Prime contractor with government SE&I responsibility (government insight). 4b. Prime contractor with government SE&I responsibility (government oversight). 4d.Prime contractors with total system performance responsibility (TSPR). 5. Prime contractor with government SE&I responsibility and integration products through a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). 6. Government/FFRDC in-house development with SE&I responsibility and function. The organizational structure used most often was number 4, using a prime contractor with government SE&I responsibility and government technical insight. However, data analyses did not establish a positive relationship between program development costs and specific SE&I organizational types, nor did it positively determine the relationship between successful programs or projects and their SE&I structure. The SE&I study reached the following conclusions: (1) Large, long-duration, technically complex programs or projects reach their technical goals, but rarely meet schedule or cost goals. NASA's recent successes have been smaller, short-duration development projects using heritage hardware/software, focused technology development, technical oversight and stable external factors. (2) Programs and projects have failed or been terminated due to lack of technical insight, relaxing of SE&I processes, and unstable external factors. (3) The study did not find a single, clear optimum SE&I organization type to fit all projects. However, while any organizational structure can be made to work, the fewer complexities in the program, the better the likelihood of success. (4) The most common successful SE&I organization structure type in the study was type 4b, where the government maintained integration responsibility, with the prime contractor providing SE&I products and the government providing technical oversight. This study was instrumental in helping the APO select organization structure 4, following the same SE&I and oversight process used during humanlund7s last voyages to the Moon.

BIOSPIDA: A Relational Database Translator for NCBI

PubMed Central

Hagen, Matthew S.; Lee, Eva K.

2010-01-01

As the volume and availability of biological databases continue widespread growth, it has become increasingly difficult for research scientists to identify all relevant information for biological entities of interest. Details of nucleotide sequences, gene expression, molecular interactions, and three-dimensional structures are maintained across many different databases. To retrieve all necessary information requires an integrated system that can query multiple databases with minimized overhead. This paper introduces a universal parser and relational schema translator that can be utilized for all NCBI databases in Abstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1). The data models for OMIM, Entrez-Gene, Pubmed, MMDB and GenBank have been successfully converted into relational databases and all are easily linkable helping to answer complex biological questions. These tools facilitate research scientists to locally integrate databases from NCBI without significant workload or development time. PMID:21347013

Extinction order and altered community structure rapidly disrupt ecosystem functioning.

PubMed

Larsen, Trond H; Williams, Neal M; Kremen, Claire

2005-05-01

By causing extinctions and altering community structure, anthropogenic disturbances can disrupt processes that maintain ecosystem integrity. However, the relationship between community structure and ecosystem functioning in natural systems is poorly understood. Here we show that habitat loss appeared to disrupt ecosystem functioning by affecting extinction order, species richness and abundance. We studied pollination by bees in a mosaic of agricultural and natural habitats in California and dung burial by dung beetles on recently created islands in Venezuela. We found that large-bodied bee and beetle species tended to be both most extinction-prone and most functionally efficient, contributing to rapid functional loss. Simulations confirmed that extinction order led to greater disruption of function than predicted by random species loss. Total abundance declined with richness and also appeared to contribute to loss of function. We demonstrate conceptually and empirically how the non-random response of communities to disturbance can have unexpectedly large functional consequences.

View-Dependent Streamline Deformation and Exploration

PubMed Central

Tong, Xin; Edwards, John; Chen, Chun-Ming; Shen, Han-Wei; Johnson, Chris R.; Wong, Pak Chung

2016-01-01

Occlusion presents a major challenge in visualizing 3D flow and tensor fields using streamlines. Displaying too many streamlines creates a dense visualization filled with occluded structures, but displaying too few streams risks losing important features. We propose a new streamline exploration approach by visually manipulating the cluttered streamlines by pulling visible layers apart and revealing the hidden structures underneath. This paper presents a customized view-dependent deformation algorithm and an interactive visualization tool to minimize visual clutter in 3D vector and tensor fields. The algorithm is able to maintain the overall integrity of the fields and expose previously hidden structures. Our system supports both mouse and direct-touch interactions to manipulate the viewing perspectives and visualize the streamlines in depth. By using a lens metaphor of different shapes to select the transition zone of the targeted area interactively, the users can move their focus and examine the vector or tensor field freely. PMID:26600061

View-Dependent Streamline Deformation and Exploration

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

Tong, Xin; Edwards, John; Chen, Chun-Ming

Occlusion presents a major challenge in visualizing 3D flow and tensor fields using streamlines. Displaying too many streamlines creates a dense visualization filled with occluded structures, but displaying too few streams risks losing important features. We propose a new streamline exploration approach by visually manipulating the cluttered streamlines by pulling visible layers apart and revealing the hidden structures underneath. This paper presents a customized view-dependent deformation algorithm and an interactive visualization tool to minimize visual cluttering for visualizing 3D vector and tensor fields. The algorithm is able to maintain the overall integrity of the fields and expose previously hidden structures.more » Our system supports both mouse and direct-touch interactions to manipulate the viewing perspectives and visualize the streamlines in depth. By using a lens metaphor of different shapes to select the transition zone of the targeted area interactively, the users can move their focus and examine the vector or tensor field freely.« less

Block Copolymer Micellization as a Protection Strategy for DNA Origami.

PubMed

Agarwal, Nayan P; Matthies, Michael; Gür, Fatih N; Osada, Kensuke; Schmidt, Thorsten L

2017-05-08

DNA nanotechnology enables the synthesis of nanometer-sized objects that can be site-specifically functionalized with a large variety of materials. For these reasons, DNA-based devices such as DNA origami are being considered for applications in molecular biology and nanomedicine. However, many DNA structures need a higher ionic strength than that of common cell culture buffers or bodily fluids to maintain their integrity and can be degraded quickly by nucleases. To overcome these deficiencies, we coated several different DNA origami structures with a cationic poly(ethylene glycol)-polylysine block copolymer, which electrostatically covered the DNA nanostructures to form DNA origami polyplex micelles (DOPMs). This straightforward, cost-effective, and robust route to protect DNA-based structures could therefore enable applications in biology and nanomedicine where unprotected DNA origami would be degraded. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Development of a novel multi-layer MRE isolator for suppression of building vibrations under seismic events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jian; Sun, Shuaishuai; Tian, Tongfei; Li, Weihua; Du, Haiping; Alici, Gursel; Nakano, Masami

2016-03-01

Protecting civil engineering structures from uncontrollable events such as earthquakes while maintaining their structural integrity and serviceability is very important; this paper describes the performance of a stiffness softening magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) isolator in a scaled three storey building. In order to construct a closed-loop system, a scaled three storey building was designed and built according to the scaling laws, and then four MRE isolator prototypes were fabricated and utilised to isolate the building from the motion induced by a scaled El Centro earthquake. Fuzzy logic was used to output the current signals to the isolators, based on the real-time responses of the building floors, and then a simulation was used to evaluate the feasibility of this closed loop control system before carrying out an experimental test. The simulation and experimental results showed that the stiffness softening MRE isolator controlled by fuzzy logic could suppress structural vibration well.

View-Dependent Streamline Deformation and Exploration.

PubMed

Tong, Xin; Edwards, John; Chen, Chun-Ming; Shen, Han-Wei; Johnson, Chris R; Wong, Pak Chung

2016-07-01

Occlusion presents a major challenge in visualizing 3D flow and tensor fields using streamlines. Displaying too many streamlines creates a dense visualization filled with occluded structures, but displaying too few streams risks losing important features. We propose a new streamline exploration approach by visually manipulating the cluttered streamlines by pulling visible layers apart and revealing the hidden structures underneath. This paper presents a customized view-dependent deformation algorithm and an interactive visualization tool to minimize visual clutter in 3D vector and tensor fields. The algorithm is able to maintain the overall integrity of the fields and expose previously hidden structures. Our system supports both mouse and direct-touch interactions to manipulate the viewing perspectives and visualize the streamlines in depth. By using a lens metaphor of different shapes to select the transition zone of the targeted area interactively, the users can move their focus and examine the vector or tensor field freely.

Preparation of positional renal slices for study of cell-specific toxicity.

PubMed

Ruegg, C E; Gandolfi, A J; Nagle, R B; Krumdieck, C L; Brendel, K

1987-04-01

To reduce structural complexity, rabbit kidneys were sliced perpendicular to their cortical-papillary axis to isolate four distinct cell groupings. This positional orientation allows identification of each renal cell type based on its location within the slice. A mechanical slicer was used to make several precision-cut slices rapidly from an oriented cylindrical core of renal tissue, with minimal tissue trauma. Slices were then submerged under a gently circulating oxygenated media in a fritted glass support system that maintains viability (intracellular K+/DNA ratio) and structural integrity (histology) for at least 30 h. A high dose of mercuric chloride (10(-3) M) was used to demonstrate the structural and biochemical changes of intoxicated slices. This method provides a controlled subchronic in vitro system for the study of the individual cell types involved in cell-specific renal toxicities and may also be a useful tool for addressing other pharmacological and physiological research questions.

U.S. Minority Homeless Youth's Access to and Use of Mobile Phones: Implications for mHealth Intervention Design.

PubMed

Jennings, Larissa; Lee, Nicole; Shore, Deborah; Strohminger, Nancy; Allison, Burgundi; Conserve, Donaldson F; Cheskin, Lawrence J

2016-07-01

Few interventions for homeless youth have leveraged the potential of mHealth technologies, in part because of the limited data on phone behaviors, perceptions, and intervention preferences among youth experiencing homelessness. We conducted 9 focus groups (n = 52 homeless youth) and 41 individual structured interviews also with homeless youth in underserved communities in Baltimore and Washington, DC, to ascertain how youth perceived their mobile phone, acquired and maintained mobile services over time, and thought mHealth programs for this population should be designed. We also measured phone use, functionality, source, duration of ownership, and reasons for changing phones or numbers. Results showed that mobile coverage was high, as most youth self-purchased phones or received gift payments from others. Maintaining mobile connectivity was often challenging because of financial constraints and interpersonal conflict. Youth valued phones to access social support but used several tactics to avoid perceived negative consequences of phone ownership, such as harassment, theft, or relational disputes. Youth most preferred mHealth content relating to sexual, reproductive, and mental health provided that mobile communication was confidential, empowering, and integrated with other digital media. Integrating hidden phones, financial support, and safety management may improve homeless youth's access to and engagement with mHealth strategies over time.

Small things considered: the small accessory subunits of RNA polymerase in Gram-positive bacteria

PubMed Central

Weiss, Andy; Shaw, Lindsey N.

2015-01-01

The DNA-dependent RNA polymerase core enzyme in Gram-positive bacteria consists of seven subunits. Whilst four of them (α2ββ′) are essential, three smaller subunits, δ, ε and ω (∼9–21.5 kDa), are considered accessory. Both δ and ω have been viewed as integral components of RNAP for several decades; however, ε has only recently been described. Functionally these three small subunits carry out a variety of tasks, imparting important, supportive effects on the transcriptional process of Gram-positive bacteria. While ω is thought to have a wide range of roles, reaching from maintaining structural integrity of RNAP to σ factor recruitment, the only suggested function for ε thus far is in protecting cells from phage infection. The third subunit, δ, has been shown to have distinct influences in maintaining transcriptional specificity, and thus has a key role in cellular fitness. Collectively, all three accessory subunits, although dispensable under laboratory conditions, are often thought to be crucial for proper RNAP function. Herein we provide an overview of the available literature on each subunit, summarizing landmark findings that have deepened our understanding of these proteins and their function, and outline future challenges in understanding the role of these small subunits in the transcriptional process. PMID:25878038

Larval leg integrity is maintained by Distal-less and is required for proper timing of metamorphosis in the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

PubMed Central

Suzuki, Yuichiro; Squires, Diego C.; Riddiford, Lynn M.

2009-01-01

The dramatic transformation from a larva to an adult must be accompanied by a coordinated activity of genes and hormones that enable an orchestrated transformation from larval to pupal/adult tissues. The maintenance of larval appendages and their subsequent transformation to appendages in holometabolous insects remains elusive at the developmental genetic level. Here the role of a key appendage patterning gene Distal-less (Dll) was examined in mid- to late- larval stages of the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. During late larval development, Dll was expressed in appendages in a similar manner as previously reported for the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. Removal of this late Dll expression resulted in disruption of adult appendage patterning. Intriguingly, earlier removal resulted in dramatic loss of structural integrity and identity of larval appendages. A large amount of variability in appendage morphology was observed following Dll dsRNA injection, unlike larvae injected with dachshund dsRNA. These Dll dsRNA-injected larvae underwent numerous supernumerary molts, which could be terminated with injection of either JH methyltransferase or Methoprene-tolerant dsRNA. Apparently, the partial dedifferentiation of the appendages in these larvae acts to maintain high JH and, hence, prevents metamorphosis. PMID:19022238

Evidence for a Role of FEN1 in Maintaining Mitochondrial DNA Integrity

PubMed Central

Kalifa, Lidza; Beutner, Gisela; Phadnis, Naina; Sheu, Shey-Shing; Sia, Elaine A.

2009-01-01

Although the nuclear processes responsible for genomic DNA replication and repair are well characterized, the pathways involved in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication and repair remain unclear. DNA repair has been identified as being particularly important within the mitochondrial compartment due to the organelle’s high propensity to accumulate oxidative DNA damage. It has been postulated that continual accumulation of mtDNA damage and subsequent mutagenesis may function in cellular aging. Mitochondrial base excision repair (mtBER) plays a major role in combating mtDNA oxidative damage; however, the proteins involved in mtBER have yet to be fully characterized. It has been established that during nuclear long-patch (LP) BER, FEN1 is responsible for cleavage of 5′ flap structures generated during DNA synthesis. Furthermore, removal of 5′ flaps has been observed in mitochondrial extracts of mammalian cell lines; yet, the mitochondrial localization of FEN1 has not been clearly demonstrated. In this study, we analyzed the effects of deleting the yeast FEN1 homolog, RAD27, on mtDNA stability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our findings demonstrate that Rad27p/FEN1 is localized in the mitochondrial compartment of both yeast and mice and that Rad27p has a significant role in maintaining mtDNA integrity. PMID:19699691

Examining structured representation and designated fiscal support for women's health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources.

PubMed

Mazure, C M; Arons, A; Vitali, A

2001-11-01

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is committed to monitoring, protecting, and improving the health of the nation. We examine the structure established within DHHS to address the health of women; review initiatives generated by women's health offices, advisors, and coordinators within DHHS agencies; and contrast the budgets provided to women's health offices with those of the parent DHHS agencies. Data were obtained from DHHS and other public government documents, DHHS websites, contact with agency personnel, and literature review. Significant clinical, research, and educational efforts important to the health of women have resulted from representation for women's health within the DHHS. Yet, structured representation and designated fiscal support necessary to maintain and expand these efforts are variable and not guaranteed across agencies. Only one Office of Women's Health and one Senior Advisor position are supported by statute, one director's position for an Office of Women's Health has been downgraded in government rank, and two other women's health positions had their reporting structure changed, making them less centrally located in their respective agencies. During the last 4 years of unprecedented growth within DHHS, only one Office of Women's Health received consistent increases in budgeted dollars. There is a clear need to support and stabilize representation for women's health within DHHS in order to maintain current productive efforts, coordinate existing and developing initiatives, and integrate new topics of importance to women's health into each agency. This can be accomplished by establishing structured offices by statute and ensuring future funding commensurate with the mission of each office.

An Engineer, an Architect, and an Anthropologist Walk into a Conference Room...

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aiken, Jo

2016-01-01

Ethnographers are urged to "be there", in the field, in order to gain insight about a particular culture. When the field is unreachable, or does not yet exist, the applied anthropologist must adapt their methods accordingly while maintaining the integrity of their research. The space industry presents a unique case study for such a dilemma. Drawing on Bourdieu's 1977 reflection on the structural constraints and the forming of unconscious schemes of thought imposed by the material world on the body, this paper considers the effect of the presence and absence of place in applied, collaborative anthropological work.

Selective Permeating Properties of Butanol and Water through Polystyrene- b-polydimethylsiloxane- b-polystyrene Pervaporation Membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Chaeyoung; Baer, Zachary; Chen, X. Chelsea; Ozcam, A. Evren; Clark, Douglas; Balsara, Nitash

2015-03-01

Polystyrene- b-polydimethylsiloxane- b-polystyrene (SDS) membranes have been studied in butanol-water binary pervaporation experiments and pervaporation experiments integrated with viable fermentation broths. Polydimethylsiloxane has been widely known to be a suitable material for separating organic chemicals from aqueous solutions, and it thus provides a continuous matrix phase in SDS membranes for permeation of small molecules. The polystyrene block provides mechanical stability to maintain the membrane structure in the pervaporation membranes. We take advantage of these features to fabricate a thin and butanol-selective SDS membrane for in situ product removal in fermentation.

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

Bower, J.C.; Burford, M.J.; Downing, T.R.

The Integrated Baseline System (IBS) is an emergency management planning and analysis tool that is being developed under the direction of the US Army Nuclear and Chemical Agency (USANCA). The IBS Data Management Guide provides the background, as well as the operations and procedures needed to generate and maintain a site-specific map database. Data and system managers use this guide to manage the data files and database that support the administrative, user-environment, database management, and operational capabilities of the IBS. This document provides a description of the data files and structures necessary for running the IBS software and using themore » site map database.« less

Muscle assembly: a titanic achievement?

PubMed

Gregorio, C C; Granzier, H; Sorimachi, H; Labeit, S

1999-02-01

The formation of perfectly aligned myofibrils in striated muscle represents a dramatic example of supramolecular assembly in eukaryotic cells. Recently, considerable progress has been made in deciphering the roles that titin, the third most abundant protein in muscle, has in this process. An increasing number of sarcomeric proteins (ligands) are being identified that bind to specific titin domains. Titin may serve as a molecular blueprint for sarcomere assembly and turnover by specifying the precise position of its ligands within each half-sarcomere in addition to functioning as a molecular spring that maintains the structural integrity of the contracting myofibrils.

Robust hydrogen-bonded self-assemblies from biimidazole complexes. Synthesis and structural characterization of [M(biimidazole)2(OH2)2]2+ (M = Co2+, Ni2+) complexes and carboxylate modules.

PubMed

Atencio, Reinaldo; Chacón, Mirbel; González, Teresa; Briceño, Alexander; Agrifoglio, Giuseppe; Sierraalta, Anibal

2004-02-21

A robust heteromeric hydrogen-bonded synthon [R2(2) (9)-Id] is exploited to drive the modular self-assembly of four coordination complexes [M(H2biim)2(OH2)2]2+ (M = Co2+, Ni2+) and carboxylate counterions. This strategy allowed us to build molecular architectures of 0-, 1-, and 2-dimensions. A hydrogen-bonded 2D-network with cavities has been designed, which maintains its striking integrity after reversible water desorption-resorption processes.

NASA UAS Integration into the NAS Project Detect and Avoid Display Evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shively, Jay

2016-01-01

As part of the Air Force - NASA Bi-Annual Research Council Meeting, slides will be presented on phase 1 Detect and Avoid (DAA) display evaluations. A series of iterative human-in-the-loops (HITL) experiments were conducted with different display configurations to objectively measure pilot performance on maintaining well clear. To date, four simulations and two mini-HITLs have been conducted. Data from these experiments have been incorporated into a revised alerting structure and included in the RTCA SC 228 Phase 1 Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) proposal. Plans for phase 2 are briefly discussed.

Reducing Bolt Preload Variation with Angle-of-Twist Bolt Loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Bryce; Nayate, Pramod; Smith, Doug; McCool, Alex (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Critical high-pressure sealing joints on the Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor require precise control of bolt preload to ensure proper joint function. As the reusable solid rocket motor experiences rapid internal pressurization, correct bolt preloads maintain the sealing capability and structural integrity of the hardware. The angle-of-twist process provides the right combination of preload accuracy, reliability, process control, and assembly-friendly design. It improves significantly over previous methods. The sophisticated angle-of-twist process controls have yielded answers to all discrepancies encountered while the simplicity of the root process has assured joint preload reliability.

Black Lipid Membranes at Bifaces

PubMed Central

Ti Tien, H.

1968-01-01

Black lipid membranes (BLM) less than 90 A thick have been shown to be the most realistic approach to biological membrane models. This paper describes the formation characteristics, optical properties, and thermodynamics of BLM at water/oil/water bifaces. In particular, the nature of the Plateau-Gibbs border which supports the black membrane is analyzed in some detail. The formation of BLM at the biface involves a spontaneous reduction of the free energy of the system. As long as the integrity of the membrane is maintained, the limiting structure of the BLM represents the lowest free energy configuration. PMID:19873618

Synthesis of collagenase-sensitive polyureas for ligament tissue engineering.

PubMed

Benhardt, Hugh; Sears, Nick; Touchet, Tyler; Cosgriff-Hernandez, Elizabeth

2011-08-11

Recently, poly(ester urethanes) were investigated for use as ligament grafts due to their exceptional mechanical properties and highly tunable structure; however, these grafts are susceptible to hydrolytic degradation that occurs independent of tissue regeneration. To address this limitation, polyureas containing collagen-derived peptides were synthesized which enable cellular release of proteases to dictate degradation rate. It is hypothesized that this cell-responsive design will facilitate load transfer from the biodegradable scaffold to neotissue at a rate that promotes proper tissue orientation and function while maintaining construct integrity. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cryopreservation of bull spermatozoa alters the perinuclear theca.

PubMed

Martínez, Carmen Omega; Juárez-Mosqueda, María de Lourdes; Hernández, Jorge; Valencia, Javier

2006-11-01

The perinuclear theca (PT) is involved in several important sperm functions leading to fertilization. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cryopreservation of bull spermatozoa on the integrity of the PT and the relationship between PT integrity and semen characteristics. Semen from seven bulls was evaluated before and after cryopreservation, comparing the integrity of the plasma membrane (hypo-osmotic test), percentage of live and dead spermatozoa (triple stain), acrosome integrity (triple stain) and the integrity of the PT (negative stain by electron microscopy). Cryopreservation of bull semen caused substantial damage to the PT; the proportion of spermatozoa with a damaged PT was 15.2% versus 52.5% (P<0.05) in fresh versus frozen-thawed spermatozoa, respectively. Furthermore, on average, 67.4% (range, 64-72%) of fresh spermatozoa were live, compared to 53.1% (range, 49-58%) for frozen-thawed spermatozoa; there was an inverse correlation between the percentage of live spermatozoa and the percentage with damage to the PT. Although 59.1% of frozen-thawed spermatozoa had an intact acrosome, only 43.7% of them still remained alive. In frozen-thawed semen, there was a high correlation (r=0.69) between live spermatozoa with an intact acrosome and spermatozoa that maintained an intact PT. In conclusion, freezing/thawing of bull spermatozoa altered the PT and maintaining PT integrity may be necessary to maintain acrosome integrity.

Model-Based Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frisch, Harold P.

2007-01-01

Engineers, who design systems using text specification documents, focus their work upon the completed system to meet Performance, time and budget goals. Consistency and integrity is difficult to maintain within text documents for a single complex system and more difficult to maintain as several systems are combined into higher-level systems, are maintained over decades, and evolve technically and in performance through updates. This system design approach frequently results in major changes during the system integration and test phase, and in time and budget overruns. Engineers who build system specification documents within a model-based systems environment go a step further and aggregate all of the data. They interrelate all of the data to insure consistency and integrity. After the model is constructed, the various system specification documents are prepared, all from the same database. The consistency and integrity of the model is assured, therefore the consistency and integrity of the various specification documents is insured. This article attempts to define model-based systems relative to such an environment. The intent is to expose the complexity of the enabling problem by outlining what is needed, why it is needed and how needs are being addressed by international standards writing teams.

The role of organic soil layer on the fate of Siberian larch forest and near-surface permafrost under changing climate: A simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

SATO, H.; Iwahana, G.; Ohta, T.

2013-12-01

Siberian larch forest is the largest coniferous forest region in the world. In this vast region, larch often forms nearly pure stands, regenerated by recurrent fire. This region is characterized by a short and dry growing season; the annual mean precipitation for Yakutsk was only about 240 mm. To maintain forest ecosystem under such small precipitation, underlying permafrost and seasonal soil freezing-thawing-cycle have been supposed to play important roles; (1) frozen ground inhibits percolation of soil water into deep soil layers, and (2) excess soil water at the end of growing season can be carried over until the next growing season as ice, and larch trees can use the melt water. As a proof for this explanation, geographical distribution of Siberian larch region highly coincides with continuous and discontinuous permafrost zone. Recent observations and simulation studies suggests that existences of larch forest and permafrost in subsurface layer are co-dependent; permafrost maintains the larch forest by enhancing water use efficiency of trees, while larch forest maintains permafrost by inhibiting solar radiation and preventing heat exchanges between soil and atmosphere. Owing to such complexity and absence of enough ecosystem data available, current-generation Earth System Models significantly diverse in their prediction of structure and key ecosystem functions in Siberian larch forest under changing climate. Such uncertainty should in turn expand uncertainty over predictions of climate, because Siberian larch forest should have major role in the global carbon balance with its huge area and vast potential carbon pool within the biomass and soil, and changes in boreal forest albedo can have a considerable effect on Northern Hemisphere climate. In this study, we developed an integrated ecosystem model, which treats interactions between plant-dynamics and freeze-thaw cycles. This integrated model contains a dynamic global vegetation model SEIB-DGVM, which simulates plant and carbon dynamics. It also contains a one-dimensional land surface model NOAH 2.7.1, which simulates soil moisture (both liquid and frozen), soil temperature, snowpack depth and density, canopy water content, and the energy and water fluxes. This integrated model quantitatively reconstructs post-fire development of forest structure (i.e. LAI and biomass) and organic soil layer, which dampens heat exchanges between soil and atmosphere. With the post-fire development of LAI and the soil organic layer, the integrated model also quantitatively reconstructs changes in seasonal maximum of active layer depth. The integrated model is then driven by the IPCC A1B scenario of rising atmospheric CO2, and by climate changes during the twenty-first century resulting from the change in CO2. This simulation suggests that forecasted global warming would causes decay of Siberian larch ecosystem, but such responses could be delayed by "memory effect" of the soil organic layer for hundreds of years.

Integrating Music into the Curriculum: A Recipe for Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Keith P.

1992-01-01

Because music is an integral part of living, it should be an integral part of school experiences. Music teachers must be deeply involved in instructional planning and delivery. This will happen if administrators ensure that integration means expanding a school's musical offerings, maintaining the integrity of the musical arts, and appropriately…

Investigating Resulting Residual Stresses during Mechanical Forming Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akinlabi, Stephen A.; Fatoba, Olawale S.; Mashinini, Peter M.; Akinlabi, Esther T.

2018-03-01

Most manufacturing processes such as machining, welding, heat treatment, laser forming, laser cladding and, laser metal deposition, etc. are subjected to a form of heat or energy to change the geometrical shape thus changing the inherent engineering and structural properties of the material. These changes often cause the development of locked up stresses referred to as residual stresses as a result of these activities. This study reports on the residual stresses developed due to the mechanical forming process to maintain a suitable structural integrity for the formed components. The result of the analysis through the X-ray diffraction confirmed that residual stresses were induced in the manufactured parts and further revealed that residual stresses were compressive in nature as found in the parent material but with values less than the parent material.

Effective drinking water collaborations are not accidental: interagency relationships in the international water utility sector.

PubMed

Jalba, D I; Cromar, N J; Pollard, S J T; Charrois, J W; Bradshaw, R; Hrudey, S E

2014-02-01

The role that deficient institutional relationships have played in aggravating drinking water incidents over the last 30 years has been identified in several inquiries of high profile drinking water safety events, peer-reviewed articles and media reports. These indicate that collaboration between water utilities and public health agencies (PHAs) during normal operations, and in emergencies, needs improvement. Here, critical elements of these interagency collaborations, that can be integrated within the corporate risk management structures of water utilities and PHAs alike, were identified using a grounded theory approach and 51 semi-structured interviews with utility and PHA staff. Core determinants of effective interagency relationships are discussed. Intentionally maintained functional relationships represent a key ingredient in assuring the delivery of safe, high quality drinking water. © 2013.

The introspective may achieve more: Enhancing existing Geoscientific models with native-language emulated structural reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Xinye; Shen, Chaopeng

2018-01-01

Geoscientific models manage myriad and increasingly complex data structures as trans-disciplinary models are integrated. They often incur significant redundancy with cross-cutting tasks. Reflection, the ability of a program to inspect and modify its structure and behavior at runtime, is known as a powerful tool to improve code reusability, abstraction, and separation of concerns. Reflection is rarely adopted in high-performance Geoscientific models, especially with Fortran, where it was previously deemed implausible. Practical constraints of language and legacy often limit us to feather-weight, native-language solutions. We demonstrate the usefulness of a structural-reflection-emulating, dynamically-linked metaObjects, gd. We show real-world examples including data structure self-assembly, effortless input/output (IO) and upgrade to parallel I/O, recursive actions and batch operations. We share gd and a derived module that reproduces MATLAB-like structure in Fortran and C++. We suggest that both a gd representation and a Fortran-native representation are maintained to access the data, each for separate purposes. Embracing emulated reflection allows generically-written codes that are highly re-usable across projects.

Three New Structures of Left-Handed RadA Helical Filaments: Structural Flexibility of N-Terminal Domain Is Critical for Recombinase Activity

PubMed Central

Chang, Yu-Wei; Ko, Tzu-Ping; Lee, Chien-Der; Chang, Yuan-Chih; Lin, Kuei-Ann; Chang, Chia-Seng; Wang, Andrew H.-J.; Wang, Ting-Fang

2009-01-01

RecA family proteins, including bacterial RecA, archaeal RadA, and eukaryotic Dmc1 and Rad51, mediate homologous recombination, a reaction essential for maintaining genome integrity. In the presence of ATP, these proteins bind a single-strand DNA to form a right-handed nucleoprotein filament, which catalyzes pairing and strand exchange with a homologous double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), by as-yet unknown mechanisms. We recently reported a structure of RadA left-handed helical filament, and here present three new structures of RadA left-handed helical filaments. Comparative structural analysis between different RadA/Rad51 helical filaments reveals that the N-terminal domain (NTD) of RadA/Rad51, implicated in dsDNA binding, is highly flexible. We identify a hinge region between NTD and polymerization motif as responsible for rigid body movement of NTD. Mutant analysis further confirms that structural flexibility of NTD is essential for RadA's recombinase activity. These results support our previous hypothesis that ATP-dependent axial rotation of RadA nucleoprotein helical filament promotes homologous recombination. PMID:19295907

Golden rule for buttressing vulnerable soluble proteins.

PubMed

Fernández, Ariel; Berry, R Stephen

2010-05-07

Local weaknesses in the structure of soluble proteins have received little attention. The structure may be inherently weak at sites where hydration of the protein backbone is locally hampered by formation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond which in turn is not fully stabilized through burial within a hydrophobic environment. The result is insufficient compensation for the thermodynamic cost of dehydrating the backbone polar groups. This work shows that these structural deficiencies, the unburied backbone hydrogen bonds, are compensated in natural proteins by disulfide bonds that are needed to maintain the structural integrity. Examination of all PDB-reported soluble structures reveals that, after suitable normalization, the number of disulfide bonds, X, correlates tightly with the number of unburied backbone hydrogen bonds, Y, beyond the baseline level Y = 20, revealing a simple balance relation: Y = 5X + 20. This equation introduces a 1:5 ratio associated with the buttressing of soluble proteins with structural deficiencies. The results are justified on thermodynamic grounds and have implications for biomolecular engineering as they introduce two constants of universal applicability determining the architecture of soluble proteins.

International Space Station Payload Operations Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fanske, Elizabeth Anne

2011-01-01

The Payload Operations Integrator (POINT) plays an integral part in the Certification of Flight Readiness process for the Mission Operations Laboratory and the Payload Operations Integration Function that supports International Space Station Payload operations. The POINTs operate in support of the POIF Payload Operations Manager to bring together and integrate the Certification of Flight Readiness inputs from various MOL teams through maintaining an open work tracking log. The POINTs create monthly metrics for current and future payloads that the Payload Operations Integration Function supports. With these tools, the POINTs assemble the Certification of Flight Readiness package before a given flight, stating that the Mission Operations Laboratory is prepared to support it. I have prepared metrics for Increment 29/30, maintained the Open Work Tracking Logs for Flights ULF6 (STS-134) and ULF7 (STS-135), and submitted the Mission Operations Laboratory Certification of Flight Readiness package for Flight 44P to the Mission Operations Directorate (MOD/OZ).

A new measure based on degree distribution that links information theory and network graph analysis

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Detailed connection maps of human and nonhuman brains are being generated with new technologies, and graph metrics have been instrumental in understanding the general organizational features of these structures. Neural networks appear to have small world properties: they have clustered regions, while maintaining integrative features such as short average pathlengths. Results We captured the structural characteristics of clustered networks with short average pathlengths through our own variable, System Difference (SD), which is computationally simple and calculable for larger graph systems. SD is a Jaccardian measure generated by averaging all of the differences in the connection patterns between any two nodes of a system. We calculated SD over large random samples of matrices and found that high SD matrices have a low average pathlength and a larger number of clustered structures. SD is a measure of degree distribution with high SD matrices maximizing entropic properties. Phi (Φ), an information theory metric that assesses a system’s capacity to integrate information, correlated well with SD - with SD explaining over 90% of the variance in systems above 11 nodes (tested for 4 to 13 nodes). However, newer versions of Φ do not correlate well with the SD metric. Conclusions The new network measure, SD, provides a link between high entropic structures and degree distributions as related to small world properties. PMID:22726594

Inert Welding/Brazing Gas Filters and Dryers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goudy, Jerry

2009-01-01

The use of hybridized carbon/silicon carbide (C/SiC) fabric to reinforce ceramic matrix composite face sheets and the integration of such face sheets with a foam core creates a sandwich structure capable of withstanding high-heat-flux environments (150 W/sq cm) in which the core provides a temperature drop of 1,000 C between the surface and the back face without cracking or delamination of the structure. The composite face sheet exhibits a bilinear response, which results from the SiC matrix not being cracked on fabrication. In addition, the structure exhibits damage tolerance under impact with projectiles, showing no penetration to the back face sheet. These attributes make the composite ideal for leading-edge structures and control surfaces in aerospace vehicles, as well as for acreage thermal protection systems and in high-temperature, lightweight stiffened structures. By tailoring the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of a carbon fiber containing ceramic matrix composite (CMC) face sheet to match that of a ceramic foam core, the face sheet and the core can be integrally fabricated without any delamination. Carbon and SiC are woven together in the reinforcing fabric. Integral densification of the CMC and the foam core is accomplished with chemical vapor deposition, eliminating the need for bond-line adhesive. This means there is no need to separately fabricate the core and the face sheet, or to bond the two elements together, risking edge delamination during use. Fibers of two or more types are woven together on a loom. The carbon and ceramic fibers are pulled into the same "pick" location during the weaving process. Tow spacing may be varied to accommodate the increased volume of the combined fiber tows while maintaining a target fiber volume fraction in the composite. Foam pore size, strut thickness, and ratio of face sheet to core thickness can be used to tailor thermal and mechanical properties. The anticipated CTE for the hybridized composite is managed by the choice of constituents, varying fiber tow sizes and constituent part ratios. This structural concept provides high strength and stiffness at low density 1.06 g/cu cm in panels tested. Varieties of face sheet constructions are possible, including variations in fiber type and weave geometry. The integrated structures possible with this composite could eliminate the need for non-load-bearing thermal protection systems on top of a structural component. The back sheet can readily be integrated to substructures through the incorporation of ribs. This would eliminate weight and cost for aerospace missions.

The Endogenous Calcium Ions of Horseradish Peroxidase C Are Required to Maintain the Functional Nonplanarity of the Heme

PubMed Central

Laberge, Monique; Huang, Qing; Schweitzer-Stenner, Reinhard; Fidy, Judit

2003-01-01

Horseradish peroxidase C (HRPC) binds 2 mol calcium per mol of enzyme with binding sites located distal and proximal to the heme group. The effect of calcium depletion on the conformation of the heme was investigated by combining polarized resonance Raman dispersion spectroscopy with normal coordinate structural decomposition analysis of the hemes extracted from models of Ca2+-bound and Ca2+-depleted HRPC generated and equilibrated using molecular dynamics simulations. Results show that calcium removal causes reorientation of heme pocket residues. We propose that these rearrangements significantly affect both the in-plane and out-of-plane deformations of the heme. Analysis of the experimental depolarization ratios are clearly consistent with increased B1g- and B2g-type distortions in the Ca2+-depleted species while the normal coordinate structural decomposition results are indicative of increased planarity for the heme of Ca2+-depleted HRPC and of significant changes in the relative contributions of three of the six lowest frequency deformations. Most noteworthy is the decrease of the strong saddling deformation that is typical of all peroxidases, and an increase in ruffling. Our results confirm previous work proposing that calcium is required to maintain the structural integrity of the heme in that we show that the preferred geometry for catalysis is lost upon calcium depletion. PMID:12668462

46 CFR 111.105-5 - System integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false System integrity. 111.105-5 Section 111.105-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Hazardous Locations § 111.105-5 System integrity. In order to maintain system integrity, each...

46 CFR 111.105-5 - System integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false System integrity. 111.105-5 Section 111.105-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Hazardous Locations § 111.105-5 System integrity. In order to maintain system integrity, each...

46 CFR 111.105-5 - System integrity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false System integrity. 111.105-5 Section 111.105-5 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Hazardous Locations § 111.105-5 System integrity. In order to maintain system integrity, each...

Assessing Structure and Condition of Temperate And Tropical Forests: Fusion of Terrestrial Lidar and Airborne Multi-Angle and Lidar Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saenz, Edward J.

Forests provide vital ecosystem functions and services that maintain the integrity of our natural and human environment. Understanding the structural components of forests (extent, tree density, heights of multi-story canopies, biomass, etc.) provides necessary information to preserve ecosystem services. Increasingly, remote sensing resources have been used to map and monitor forests globally. However, traditional satellite and airborne multi-angle imagery only provide information about the top of the canopy and little about the forest structure and understory. In this research, we investigative the use of rapidly evolving lidar technology, and how the fusion of aerial and terrestrial lidar data can be utilized to better characterize forest stand information. We further apply a novel terrestrial lidar methodology to characterize a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid infestation in Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, and adapt a dynamic terrestrial lidar sampling scheme to identify key structural vegetation profiles of tropical rainforests in La Selva, Costa Rica.

Specificity determinants for lysine incorporation in Staphylococcus aureus peptidoglycan as revealed by the structure of a MurE enzyme ternary complex.

PubMed

Ruane, Karen M; Lloyd, Adrian J; Fülöp, Vilmos; Dowson, Christopher G; Barreteau, Hélène; Boniface, Audrey; Dementin, Sébastien; Blanot, Didier; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Gobec, Stanislav; Dessen, Andréa; Roper, David I

2013-11-15

Formation of the peptidoglycan stem pentapeptide requires the insertion of both L and D amino acids by the ATP-dependent ligase enzymes MurC, -D, -E, and -F. The stereochemical control of the third position amino acid in the pentapeptide is crucial to maintain the fidelity of later biosynthetic steps contributing to cell morphology, antibiotic resistance, and pathogenesis. Here we determined the x-ray crystal structure of Staphylococcus aureus MurE UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamate:meso-2,6-diaminopimelate ligase (MurE) (E.C. 6.3.2.7) at 1.8 Å resolution in the presence of ADP and the reaction product, UDP-MurNAc-L-Ala-γ-D-Glu-L-Lys. This structure provides for the first time a molecular understanding of how this Gram-positive enzyme discriminates between L-lysine and D,L-diaminopimelic acid, the predominant amino acid that replaces L-lysine in Gram-negative peptidoglycan. Despite the presence of a consensus sequence previously implicated in the selection of the third position residue in the stem pentapeptide in S. aureus MurE, the structure shows that only part of this sequence is involved in the selection of L-lysine. Instead, other parts of the protein contribute substrate-selecting residues, resulting in a lysine-binding pocket based on charge characteristics. Despite the absolute specificity for L-lysine, S. aureus MurE binds this substrate relatively poorly. In vivo analysis and metabolomic data reveal that this is compensated for by high cytoplasmic L-lysine concentrations. Therefore, both metabolic and structural constraints maintain the structural integrity of the staphylococcal peptidoglycan. This study provides a novel focus for S. aureus-directed antimicrobials based on dual targeting of essential amino acid biogenesis and its linkage to cell wall assembly.

A New Method to Develop Human Dental Pulp Cells and Platelet-rich Fibrin Complex.

PubMed

He, Xuan; Chen, Wen-Xia; Ban, Guifei; Wei, Wei; Zhou, Jun; Chen, Wen-Jin; Li, Xian-Yu

2016-11-01

Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) has been used as a scaffold material in various tissue regeneration studies. In the previous methods to combine seed cells with PRF, the structure of PRF was damaged, and the manipulation time in vitro was also increased. The objective of this in vitro study was to explore an appropriate method to develop a PRF-human dental pulp cell (hDPC) complex to maintain PRF structure integrity and to find out the most efficient part of PRF. The PRF-hDPC complex was developed at 3 different time points during PRF preparation: (1) the before centrifugation (BC) group, the hDPC suspension was added to the venous blood before blood centrifugation; (2) the immediately after centrifugation (IAC) group, the hDPC suspension was added immediately after blood centrifugation; (3) the after centrifugation (AC) group, the hDPC suspension was added 10 minutes after blood centrifugation; and (4) the control group, PRF without hDPC suspension. The prepared PRF-hDPC complexes were cultured for 7 days. The samples were fixed for histologic, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopic evaluation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate messenger RNA expression of alkaline phosphatase and dentin sialophosphoprotein. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay quantification for growth factors was performed within the different parts of the PRF. Histologic, immunohistochemistry, and scanning electron microscopic results revealed that hDPCs were only found in the BC group and exhibited favorable proliferation. Real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that alkaline phosphatase and dentin sialophosphoprotein expression increased in the cultured PRF-hDPC complex. The lower part of the PRF released the maximum quantity of growth factors. Our new method to develop a PRF-hDPCs complex maintained PRF structure integrity. The hDPCs were distributed in the buffy coat, which might be the most efficient part of PRF. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Collaborative Analysis Tool for Thermal Protection Systems for Single Stage to Orbit Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, Reginald Andrew; Stanley, Thomas Troy

1999-01-01

Presented is a design tool and process that connects several disciplines which are needed in the complex and integrated design of high performance reusable single stage to orbit (SSTO) vehicles. Every system is linked to every other system and in the case of SSTO vehicles with air breathing propulsion, which is currently being studied by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the thermal protection system (TPS) is linked directly to almost every major system. The propulsion system pushes the vehicle to velocities on the order of 15 times the speed of sound in the atmosphere before pulling up to go to orbit which results high temperatures on the external surfaces of the vehicle. Thermal protection systems to maintain the structural integrity of the vehicle must be able to mitigate the heat transfer to the structure and be lightweight. Herein lies the interdependency, in that as the vehicle's speed increases, the TPS requirements are increased. And as TPS masses increase the effect on the propulsion system and all other systems is compounded. To adequately determine insulation masses for a vehicle such as the one described above, the aeroheating loads must be calculated and the TPS thicknesses must be calculated for the entire vehicle. To accomplish this an ascent or reentry trajectory is obtained using the computer code Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST). The trajectory is then used to calculate the convective heat rates on several locations on the vehicles using the Miniature Version of the JA70 Aerodynamic Heating Computer Program (MINIVER). Once the heat rates are defined for each body point on the vehicle, then insulation thickness that are required to maintain the vehicle within structural limits are calculated using Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer (SINDA) models. If the TPS masses are too heavy for the performance of the vehicle the process may be repeated altering the trajectory or some other input to reduce the TPS mass.

β-Boomerang Antimicrobial and Antiendotoxic Peptides: Lipidation and Disulfide Bond Effects on Activity and Structure.

PubMed

Mohanram, Harini; Bhattacharjya, Surajit

2014-04-21

Drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens and endotoxin- or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammations are among some of the most  prominent health issues globally. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are eminent molecules that can kill drug-resistant strains and neutralize LPS toxicity. LPS, the outer layer of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria safeguards cell integrity against hydrophobic compounds, including antibiotics and AMPs. Apart from maintaining structural integrity, LPS, when released into the blood stream, also induces inflammatory pathways leading to septic shock. In previous works, we have reported the de novo design of a set of 12-amino acid long cationic/hydrophobic peptides for LPS binding and activity. These peptides adopt β-boomerang like conformations in complex with LPS. Structure-activity studies demonstrated some critical features of the β-boomerang scaffold that may be utilized for the further development of potent analogs. In this work, β-boomerang lipopeptides were designed and structure-activity correlation studies were carried out. These lipopeptides were homo-dimerized through a disulfide bridge to stabilize conformations and for improved activity. The designed peptides exhibited potent antibacterial activity and efficiently neutralized LPS toxicity under in vitro assays. NMR structure of C4YI13C in aqueous solution demonstrated the conserved folding of the lipopeptide with a boomerang aromatic lock stabilized with disulfide bond at the C-terminus and acylation at the N-terminus. These lipo-peptides displaying bacterial sterilization and low hemolytic activity may be useful for future applications as antimicrobial and antiendotoxin molecules.

One for All: Maintaining a Single Schedule Database for Large Development Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hilscher, R.; Howerton, G.

1999-01-01

Efficiently maintaining and controlling a single schedule database in an Integrated Product Team environment is a significant challenge. It's accomplished effectively with the right combination of tools, skills, strategy, creativity, and teamwork. We'll share our lessons learned maintaining a 20,000 plus task network on a 36 month project.

Unlocking the relationship of biotic integrity of impaired waters to anthropogenic stresses.

PubMed

Novotny, Vladimir; Bartosová, Alena; O'Reilly, Neal; Ehlinger, Timothy

2005-01-01

The Clean Water Act expressed its goals in terms of restoring and preserving the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the Nation's waters. Integrity has been defined as the ability of the water body's ecological system to support and maintain a balanced integrated, adaptive community of organisms comparable to that of a natural biota of the region. Several indices of biotic integrity (IBIs) have been developed to measure quantitatively the biotic composition and, hence, the integrity. Integrity can be impaired by discharges of pollutants from point and nonpoint sources and by other pollution-related to watershed/landscape and channel stresses, including channel and riparian zone modifications and habitat impairment. Various models that link the stressors to the biotic assessment endpoints, i.e., the IBIs, have been presented and discussed. Simple models that link IBIs directly to single or multiple surrogate stressors such as percent imperviousness are inadequate because they may not represent a true cause-effect proximate relationship. Furthermore, some surrogate landscape parameters are irreversible and the relationships cannot be used for development of plans for restoration of the water body integrity. A concept of a layered hierarchical model that will link the watershed, landscape and stream morphology pollution stressors to the biotic assessment endpoints (IBIs) is described. The key groups of structural components of the model are: IBIs and their metrics in the top layer, chemical water and sediment risks and a habitat quality index in the layer below, in-stream concentrations in water and sediments and channel/habitat impairment parameters in the third layer, and watershed/landscaper pollution generating stressors, land use change rates, and hydrology in the lowest layer of stressors. A modified and expanded Maximum Species Richness concept is developed and used to reveal quantitatively the functional relationships between the top two layers of the structural components and parameters of the model.

On the evolutionary advantage of multi-cusped teeth

PubMed Central

Bush, Mark B.; Barani, Amir; Lawn, Brian R.

2016-01-01

A hallmark of mammalian evolution is a progressive complexity in postcanine tooth morphology. However, the driving force for this complexity remains unclear: whether to expand the versatility in diet source, or to bolster tooth structural integrity. In this study, we take a quantitative approach to this question by examining the roles of number, position and height of multiple cusps in determining sustainable bite forces. Our approach is to use an extended finite-element methodology with due provision for step-by-step growth of an embedded crack to determine how fracture progresses with increasing occlusal load. We argue that multi-cusp postcanine teeth are well configured to withstand high bite forces provided that multiple cusps are contacted simultaneously to share the load. However, contact on a single near-wall cusp diminishes the strength. Location of the load points and cusp height, rather than cusp number or radius, are principal governing factors. Given these findings, we conclude that while complex tooth structures can enhance durability, increases in cusp number are more likely to be driven by the demands of food manipulation. Structural integrity of complex teeth is maintained when individual cusps remain sufficiently distant from the side walls and do not become excessively tall relative to tooth width. PMID:27558851

Simplified Analysis of Airspike Heat Flux Into Lightcraft Thermal Management System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Head, Dean R.; Seo, Junghwa; Cassenti, Brice N.; Myrabo, Leik N.

2005-04-01

An approximate method is presented for estimating the airspike heat flux into a 9-meter diameter lightcraft, integrated over its flight to low Earth orbit. The super-pressure lightcraft's exotic twin-hull, sandwich structure is assumed to be fabricated from SiC/SiC thin-film ceramic matrix composites of semiconductor grade purity, giving superior structural properties while being transparent to 35-GHz microwave radiation. The vehicle's MHD slipstream accelerator engine is energized by an annular microwave power beam — converted on-board into DC electric power by two concentric, water-cooled microwave rectenna arrays. The vehicle's airspike is created by a central 3-m diameter laser beam that sustains a laser-supported detonation wave at a distance of 10-m ahead of the craft; the LSD wave propagates up the beam with a velocity that matches the lightcraft's flight speed. The simplified analysis, which is based on aerodynamic heating during re-entry, shows that helium flowing at a velocity of 10 m/s through the lightcraft's double-hull is sufficient to keep the outer, 0.13-mm thick SiC skin safely under its maximum service temperature. The interior helium pressurant that maintains the structural integrity of this exotic pressure-airship, increases in temperature by only 25 K during the flight to LEO.

Poly-Si TFTs integrated gate driver circuit with charge-sharing structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Meng; Lei, Jiefeng; Huang, Shengxiang; Liao, Congwei; Deng, Lianwen

2017-06-01

A p-type low-temperature poly-Si thin film transistors (LTPS TFTs) integrated gate driver using 2 non-overlapped clocks is proposed. This gate driver features charge-sharing structure to turn off buffer TFT and suppresses voltage feed-through effects. It is analyzed that the conventional gate driver suffers from waveform distortions due to voltage uncertainty of internal nodes for the initial period. The proposed charge-sharing structure also helps to suppress the unexpected pulses during the initialization phases. The proposed gate driver shows a simple circuit, as only 6 TFTs and 1 capacitor are used for single-stage, and the buffer TFT is used for both pulling-down and pulling-up of output electrode. Feasibility of the proposed gate driver is proven through detailed analyses. Investigations show that voltage bootrapping can be maintained once the bootrapping capacitance is larger than 0.8 pF, and pulse of gate driver outputs can be reduced to 5 μs. The proposed gate driver can still function properly with positive {V}{TH} shift within 0.4 V and negative {V}{TH} shift within -1.2 V and it is robust and promising for high-resolution display. Project supported by the Science and Technology Project of Hunan Province, China (No. 2015JC3401)

Integrated sign management system : ADOT maintenance group

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-12-01

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) maintains and manages an inventory of roadway signs. Before the implementation of this project, sign technicians maintained inventory records on individual laptops to track their daily sign maintenance ...

Beyond the EPR: Complementary roles of the hospital-wide electronic health record and clinical departmental systems

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Many hospital departments have implemented small clinical departmental systems (CDSs) to collect and use patient data for documentation as well as for other department-specific purposes. As hospitals are implementing institution-wide electronic patient records (EPRs), the EPR is thought to be integrated with, and gradually substitute the smaller systems. Many EPR systems however fail to support important clinical workflows. Also, successful integration of systems has proven hard to achieve. As a result, CDSs are still in widespread use. This study was conducted to see which tasks are supported by CDSs and to compare this to the support offered by the EPR. Methods Semi-structured interviews with users of 16 clinicians using 15 different clinical departmental systems (CDS) at a Medium-sized University hospital in Norway. Inductive analysis of transcriptions from the audio taped interviews. Results The roles of CDSs were complementary to those of the hospital-wide EPR system. The use of structured patient data was a characteristic feature. This facilitated quality development and supervision, tasks that were poorly supported by the EPR system. The structuring of the data also improved filtering of information to better support clinical decision-making. Because of the high value of the structured patient data, the users put much effort in maintaining their integrity and representativeness. Employees from the departments were also engaged in the funding, development, implementation and maintenance of the systems. Conclusion Clinical departmental systems are vital to the activities of a clinical hospital department. The development, implementation and clinical use of such systems can be seen as bottom-up, user-driven innovations. PMID:19523198

The Minimum M3-M4 Loop Length of Neurotransmitter-activated Pentameric Receptors Is Critical for the Structural Integrity of Cytoplasmic Portals*

PubMed Central

Baptista-Hon, Daniel T.; Deeb, Tarek Z.; Lambert, Jeremy J.; Peters, John A.; Hales, Tim G.

2013-01-01

The 5-HT3A receptor homology model, based on the partial structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor from Torpedo marmorata, reveals an asymmetric ion channel with five portals framed by adjacent helical amphipathic (HA) stretches within the 114-residue loop between the M3 and M4 membrane-spanning domains. The positive charge of Arg-436, located within the HA stretch, is a rate-limiting determinant of single channel conductance (γ). Further analysis reveals that positive charge and volume of residue 436 are determinants of 5-HT3A receptor inward rectification, exposing an additional role for portals. A structurally unresolved stretch of 85 residues constitutes the bulk of the M3-M4 loop, leaving a >45-Å gap in the model between M3 and the HA stretch. There are no additional structural data for this loop, which is vestigial in bacterial pentameric ligand-gated ion channels and was largely removed for crystallization of the Caenorhabditis elegans glutamate-activated pentameric ligand-gated ion channels. We created 5-HT3A subunit loop truncation mutants, in which sequences framing the putative portals were retained, to determine the minimum number of residues required to maintain their functional integrity. Truncation to between 90 and 75 amino acids produced 5-HT3A receptors with unaltered rectification. Truncation to 70 residues abolished rectification and increased γ. These findings reveal a critical M3-M4 loop length required for functions attributable to cytoplasmic portals. Examination of all 44 subunits of the human neurotransmitter-activated Cys-loop receptors reveals that, despite considerable variability in their sequences and lengths, all M3-M4 loops exceed 70 residues, suggesting a fundamental requirement for portal integrity. PMID:23740249

[Dynamic evaluation on landscape connectivity of ecological land: a case study of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of South China].

PubMed

Wu, Jian-Sheng; Liu, Hong-Meng; Huang, Xiu-Lan; Feng, Zhe

2012-09-01

Ecological land is the most crucial and sensitive land use type in rapidly urbanizing areas. Landscape connectivity can help us to better understand the interactions between landscape structure and landscape function. By using the land use data of Shenzhen from 1996 to 2008 and the graph theory- based integral index of connectivity (IIC), probability index of connectivity (PC), and importance value of patches (dPC), a dynamic evaluation on the landscape connectivity of ecological land in the City was conducted, and a spatial assessment was made to identify the most important patches for maintaining overall landscape connectivity. In combining with the basic ecological controlling line in Shenzhen, the variations of the landscape connectivity of the ecological land inside and outside the basic ecological controlling line were evaluated. From 1996 to 2008, the overall landscape connectivity of the ecological land in Shenzhen displayed a downward trend, the importance and the spatial distribution of the important patches for maintaining the overall landscape connectivity changed, and the basic ecological controlling line played definite roles in maintaining the landscape connectivity of ecological land inside the line.

An Integrated, Layered-Spinel Composite Cathode for Energy Storage Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagh, Nader; Skandan, Ganesh

2012-01-01

At low operating temperatures, commercially available electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries do not fully meet the energy and power requirements for NASA fs exploration activities. The composite cathode under development is projected to provide the required energy and power densities at low temperatures and its usage will considerably reduce the overall volume and weight of the battery pack. The newly developed composite electrode material can provide superior electrochemical performance relative to a commercially available lithium cobalt system. One advantage of using a composite cathode is its higher energy density, which can lead to smaller and lighter battery packs. In the current program, different series of layered-spinel composite materials with at least two different systems in an integrated structure were synthesized, and the volumetric and gravimetric energy densities were evaluated. In an integrated network of a composite electrode, the effect of the combined structures is to enhance the capacity and power capabilities of the material to levels greater than what is possible in current state-of-the-art cathode systems. The main objective of the current program is to implement a novel cathode material that meets NASA fs low temperature energy density requirements. An important feature of the composite cathode is that it has at least two components (e.g., layered and spinel) that are structurally integrated. The layered material by itself is electrochemically inactive; however, upon structural integration with a spinel material, the layered material can be electrochemically activated, thereby delivering a large amount of energy with stable cycling. A key aspect of the innovation has been the development of a scalable process to produce submicronand micron-scale particles of these composite materials. An additional advantage of using such a composite electrode material is its low irreversible loss (.5%), which is primarily due to the unique activation of the composite. High columbic efficiency (greater than 99%) upon cycling may indicate the formation of a stable SEI (solid-electrolyte interface) layer, which can contribute to long cycle life. The innovation in the current program, when further developed, will enable the system to maintain high energy and power densities at low temperatures, improve efficiency, and further stabilize and enhance the safety of the cell.

Parallel kinematic mechanisms for distributed actuation of future structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, G.; Plummer, A. R.; Cleaver, D. J.; Zhou, H.

2016-09-01

Future machines will require distributed actuation integrated with load-bearing structures, so that they are lighter, move faster, use less energy, and are more adaptable. Good examples are shape-changing aircraft wings which can adapt precisely to the ideal aerodynamic form for current flying conditions, and light but powerful robotic manipulators which can interact safely with human co-workers. A 'tensegrity structure' is a good candidate for this application due to its potentially excellent stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio and a multi-element structure into which actuators could be embedded. This paper presents results of an analysis of an example practical actuated tensegrity structure consisting of 3 ‘unit cells’. A numerical method is used to determine the stability of the structure with varying actuator length, showing how four actuators can be used to control movement in three degrees of freedom as well as simultaneously maintaining the structural pre-load. An experimental prototype has been built, in which 4 pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are embedded in one unit cell. The PAMs are controlled antagonistically, by high speed switching of on-off valves, to achieve control of position and structure pre-load. Experimental and simulation results are presented, and future prospects for the approach are discussed.

Cell–scaffold interaction within engineered tissue

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

Chen, Haiping; Liu, Yuanyuan, E-mail: Yuanyuan_liu@shu.edu.cn; Jiang, Zhenglong

The structure of a tissue engineering scaffold plays an important role in modulating tissue growth. A novel gelatin–chitosan (Gel–Cs) scaffold with a unique structure produced by three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology combining with vacuum freeze-drying has been developed for tissue-engineering applications. The scaffold composed of overall construction, micro-pore, surface morphology, and effective mechanical property. Such a structure meets the essential design criteria of an ideal engineered scaffold. The favorable cell–matrix interaction supports the active biocompatibility of the structure. The structure is capable of supporting cell attachment and proliferation. Cells seeded into this structure tend to maintain phenotypic shape and secreted largemore » amounts of extracellular matrix (ECM) and the cell growth decreased the mechanical properties of scaffold. This novel biodegradable scaffold has potential applications for tissue engineering based upon its unique structure, which acts to support cell growth. - Highlights: • The scaffold is not only for providing a surface for cell residence but also for determining cell phenotype and retaining structural integrity. • The mechanical property of scaffold can be affected by activities of cell. • The scaffold provides a microenvironment for cell attachment, growth, and migration.« less

A Multifunctional Hot Structure Heatshield Concept for Planetary Entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Sandra P.; Daryabeigi, Kamran; Samareh, Jamshid A.; Wagner, Robert; Waters, Allen

2015-01-01

A multifunctional hot structure heatshield concept is being developed to provide technology enhancements with significant benefits compared to the current state-of-the-art heatshield technology. These benefits can potentially enable future planetary missions. The concept is unique in integrating the function of the thermal protection system with the primary load carrying structural component. An advanced carbon-carbon material system has been evaluated for the load carrying structure, which will be utilized on the outer surface of the heatshield, and thus will operate as a hot structure exposed to the severe aerodynamic heating associated with planetary entry. Flexible, highly efficient blanket insulation is sized for use underneath the hot structure to maintain required operational internal temperatures. The approach followed includes developing preliminary designs to demonstrate feasibility of the concept and benefits over a traditional, baseline design. Where prior work focused on a concept for an Earth entry vehicle, the current efforts presented here are focused on developing a generic heatshield model and performing a trade study for a Mars entry application. This trade study includes both structural and thermal evaluation. The results indicate that a hot structure concept is a feasible alternative to traditional heatshields and may offer advantages that can enable future entry missions.

Miniature X-Ray Bone Densitometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, Harry K., Jr.

1999-01-01

The purpose of the Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) project is to design, build, and test an advanced X-ray absorptiometry scanner capable of being used to monitor the deleterious effects of weightlessness on the human musculoskeletal system during prolonged spaceflight. The instrument is based on the principles of dual energy x-ray absorptiometry and is designed not only to measure bone, muscle, and fat masses but also to generate structural information about these tissues so that the effects on mechanical integrity may be assessed using biomechanical principles. A skeletal strength assessment could be particularly important for an astronaut embarking on a remote planet where the consequences of a fragility fracture may be catastrophic. The scanner will employ multiple projection images about the long axis of the scanned subject to provide geometric properties in three dimensions, suitable for a three-dimensional structural analysis of the scanned region. The instrument will employ advanced fabrication techniques to minimize volume and mass (100 kg current target with a long-term goal of 60 kg) of the scanner as appropriate for the space environment, while maintaining the required mechanical stability for high precision measurement. The unit will have the precision required to detect changes in bone mass and geometry as small as 1% and changes in muscle mass as small as 5%. As the system evolves, advanced electronic fabrication technologies such as chip-on-board and multichip modules will be combined with commercial (off-the-shelf) parts to produce a reliable, integrated system which not only minimizes size and weight, but, because of its simplicity, is also cost effective to build and maintain. Additionally, the system is being designed to minimize power consumption. Methods of heat dissipation and mechanical stowage (for the unit when not in use) are being optimized for the space environment.

Interleukin-10 Is Produced by a Specific Subset of Taste Receptor Cells and Critical for Maintaining Structural Integrity of Mouse Taste Buds

PubMed Central

Chai, Jinghua; Zhou, Minliang; Simon, Nirvine; Huang, Liquan

2014-01-01

Although inflammatory responses are a critical component in defense against pathogens, too much inflammation is harmful. Mechanisms have evolved to regulate inflammation, including modulation by the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Previously we have shown that taste buds express various molecules involved in innate immune responses, including the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Here, using a reporter mouse strain, we show that taste cells also express the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Remarkably, IL-10 is produced by only a specific subset of taste cells, which are different from the TNF-producing cells in mouse circumvallate and foliate taste buds: IL-10 expression was found exclusively in the G-protein gustducin-expressing bitter receptor cells, while TNF was found in sweet and umami receptor cells as reported previously. In contrast, IL-10R1, the ligand-binding subunit of the IL-10 receptor, is predominantly expressed by TNF-producing cells, suggesting a novel cellular hierarchy for regulating TNF production and effects in taste buds. In response to inflammatory challenges, taste cells can increase IL-10 expression both in vivo and in vitro. These findings suggest that taste buds use separate populations of taste receptor cells that coincide with sweet/umami and bitter taste reception to modulate local inflammatory responses, a phenomenon that has not been previously reported. Furthermore, IL-10 deficiency in mice leads to significant reductions in the number and size of taste buds, as well as in the number of taste receptor cells per taste bud, suggesting that IL-10 plays critical roles in maintaining structural integrity of the peripheral gustatory system. PMID:24523558

Interleukin-10 is produced by a specific subset of taste receptor cells and critical for maintaining structural integrity of mouse taste buds.

PubMed

Feng, Pu; Chai, Jinghua; Zhou, Minliang; Simon, Nirvine; Huang, Liquan; Wang, Hong

2014-02-12

Although inflammatory responses are a critical component in defense against pathogens, too much inflammation is harmful. Mechanisms have evolved to regulate inflammation, including modulation by the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). Previously we have shown that taste buds express various molecules involved in innate immune responses, including the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Here, using a reporter mouse strain, we show that taste cells also express the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Remarkably, IL-10 is produced by only a specific subset of taste cells, which are different from the TNF-producing cells in mouse circumvallate and foliate taste buds: IL-10 expression was found exclusively in the G-protein gustducin-expressing bitter receptor cells, while TNF was found in sweet and umami receptor cells as reported previously. In contrast, IL-10R1, the ligand-binding subunit of the IL-10 receptor, is predominantly expressed by TNF-producing cells, suggesting a novel cellular hierarchy for regulating TNF production and effects in taste buds. In response to inflammatory challenges, taste cells can increase IL-10 expression both in vivo and in vitro. These findings suggest that taste buds use separate populations of taste receptor cells that coincide with sweet/umami and bitter taste reception to modulate local inflammatory responses, a phenomenon that has not been previously reported. Furthermore, IL-10 deficiency in mice leads to significant reductions in the number and size of taste buds, as well as in the number of taste receptor cells per taste bud, suggesting that IL-10 plays critical roles in maintaining structural integrity of the peripheral gustatory system.

Communications strategies for on-ship CDPC systems.

PubMed

Jerome, Carlos

2012-01-01

Individual countries and international organisations have worked on standardising methods for on-ship prevention and control of communicable disease (CDPC). A number of voices have called for integrating the various aspects of maritime CDPC. The purpose of this article is to further conceptualise the totality of on-ship CDPC activity as an integrated system and to suggest a few strategies for communications in such systems. The methods used to summarise standardisation and integration of ship-board CDPC procedures included a scientific literature review and a web search. The fields of the review were maritime, health, and technology sources. Special attention was paid to material dealing with communications methods and issues related to ship-board systems and methods to manage communicable diseases. Effective communications strategies are vital for the success of CDPC systems. I suggest some specific viewpoints and strategies to improve communications: (i) It is sometimes helpful to view the Constituent Relations Management (CRM) team as a system component. This view highlights the fact that an on-ship CDPC system will be well designed and maintained only if constituent relations are well designed and maintained. (ii) For rapid communications with appropriate groups of constituents, it is important to structure groups of constituents, with the ability to rapidly apply set-theoretic operations to those groups. (iii) Optimistic concurrency control is generally the appropriate general strategy for synchronisation of on-ship CDPC data locations and data storage types. This may be modified in special situations, in particular with a latest-update-wins policy for disease contraction data in an epidemic. (iv) To encourage traveller cooperation with CDPC efforts, cultural activities may be helpful.

Investigation of a Modern Incipient Stromatolite from Obsidian Pool Prime, Yellowstone National Park: Implications for Early Lithification in the Formation of Light-Dark Stromatolite Laminae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corsetti, F. A.; Berelson, W.; Pepe-Ranney, C. P.; Mata, S. A.; Spear, J. R.

2016-12-01

Stromatolites have been defined multiple ways, but the presence of lamination is common to all definitions. Despite this commonality, the origin of the lamination in many ancient stromatolites remains vague. Lamination styles vary, but sub-mm light-dark couplets are common in many ancient stromatolites. Here, we investigate an actively forming incipient stromatolite from Obsidian Pool Prime (OPP), a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, to better understand the formation of light-dark couplets similar to many ancient stromatolites in texture and structure. In the OPP stromatolites, a dense network of layer-parallel bundles of cyanobacterial filaments (a dark layer) is followed by an open network of layer-perpendicular or random filaments (a light layer) that reflect a diurnal cycle in the leading edge of the microbial mat that coats the stromatolite's surface. Silica crust encases the cyanobacterial filaments maintaining the integrity of the lamination. Bubbles formed via oxygenic photosynthesis are commonly trapped within the light layers, indicating that lithification occurs rapidly before the bubbles can collapse. The filamentous, non-heterocystous stromatoite-building cyanobacterium from OPP is most closely related to a stromatolite-building cyanobacterium from a hot spring in Japan. Once built, "tenants" from multiple microbial phyla move into the structure, mixing and mingling to produce a complicated integrated biogeochemical signal that may be difficult to untangle in ancient examples. While the cyanobacterial response to the diurnal cycle has been previously implicated in the formation of light-dark couplets, the OPP example highlights the importance of early lithification in maintaining the fabric. Thus, the presence of light-dark couplets and bubble structures may indicate very early lithification and therefore a certain degree of mineral saturation in the ancient ocean or other aquatic system, and that bubble structures, if present, may be evidence for oxygenic photosynthesis. Other lamination hypotheses suggest that lithification is driven by sulfate reduction within a stratified microbial mat—a possibility in some stromatolites, but the lithification engine must move deeper in the mat where the formation of fine light-dark couplets becomes more problematic.

Structure and morphology of regenerated silk nano-fibers produced by electrospinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarkoob, Shahrzad

The impressive physical and mechanical properties of natural silk fiberssp1 and the possibility of producing these proteins using biotechnology,sp2 have provided the impetus for recent efforts in both the biosynthesissp{3,4} and the spinning of these protein based biopolymers.sp{5,6,7} The question still remains: whether fibers spun from solutions with similar chemical makeup can produce fibers with similar structures and therefore with the possibility of improved properties. Since genetically engineered silk solutions were not readily available, the first objective of this project was to completely dissolve the Bombyx mori cocoon and the Nephila clavipes dragline silk while maintaining the molecular weight integrity of the polymer. The second objective was to develop a system for re-spinning from very small amount of the resulting silk solutions by the process of electrospinning. The third objective was, to produce regenerated silk fibers with diameters that are several orders of magnitude smaller than the original fibers, suitable for direct observation and analysis by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. And finally, to compare these results to structural information obtained from natural (as spun by the organism) fibers to see if the regenerated solutions are able to form the same structure as the original fibers. Both types of silk fibers were successfully dissolved while maintaining the polymer integrity. Small quantities (25-50 mul) of these solutions were used to electrospin fibers with diameters ranging from 8nm-200nm. The fibers were observed by optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy. These nano fibers showed optical retardation, appeared to have a circular cross-section, and were dimensionally stable at temperatures above 280sp°C. Electron diffraction patterns of annealed electrospun fibers of B. mori and N. clavipes showed reflections, demonstrating orientational and semicrystalline order in the material comparable to natural silk. In addition, electron diffraction was also obtained form extended microtomed single dragline fibers of N. clavipes, and the d-spacings agreed well with thoes obtained from WAXD of dragline fiber bundles.

XML-Based Generator of C++ Code for Integration With GUIs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hua, Hook; Oyafuso, Fabiano; Klimeck, Gerhard

2003-01-01

An open source computer program has been developed to satisfy a need for simplified organization of structured input data for scientific simulation programs. Typically, such input data are parsed in from a flat American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text file into computational data structures. Also typically, when a graphical user interface (GUI) is used, there is a need to completely duplicate the input information while providing it to a user in a more structured form. Heretofore, the duplication of the input information has entailed duplication of software efforts and increases in susceptibility to software errors because of the concomitant need to maintain two independent input-handling mechanisms. The present program implements a method in which the input data for a simulation program are completely specified in an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based text file. The key benefit for XML is storing input data in a structured manner. More importantly, XML allows not just storing of data but also describing what each of the data items are. That XML file contains information useful for rendering the data by other applications. It also then generates data structures in the C++ language that are to be used in the simulation program. In this method, all input data are specified in one place only, and it is easy to integrate the data structures into both the simulation program and the GUI. XML-to-C is useful in two ways: 1. As an executable, it generates the corresponding C++ classes and 2. As a library, it automatically fills the objects with the input data values.

Roadside vegetation field condition study : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Roadside perennial grasses stabilize soils, reduce : erosion, and assist to maintain the integrity of : roadway right-of-ways and roadbeds. One way to : maintain healthy roadside grasses is to control : weed growth. Technicians with FDOTs maintena...

Integrated-optic current sensors with a multimode interference waveguide device.

PubMed

Kim, Sung-Moon; Chu, Woo-Sung; Kim, Sang-Guk; Oh, Min-Cheol

2016-04-04

Optical current sensors based on polarization-rotated reflection interferometry are demonstrated using polymeric integrated optics and various functional optical waveguide devices. Interferometric sensors normally require bias feedback control for maintaining the operating point, which increases the cost. In order to resolve this constraint of feedback control, a multimode interference (MMI) waveguide device is integrated onto the current-sensor optical chip in this work. From the multiple outputs of the MMI, a 90° phase-shifted transfer function is obtained. Using passive quadrature demodulation, we demonstrate that the sensor could maintain the output signal regardless of the drift in the operating bias-point.

Nutrition and Liver Health.

PubMed

Jackson, Alan A

2017-01-01

Good clinical practice is based on a secure and accurate diagnosis. Poor nutrition is frequently associated with disorders of the liver, and a specific nutrition diagnosis is needed for providing best care and experiencing successful outcome. There is opportunity for better-structured approaches to making secure and consistent nutritional diagnoses in patients with liver disease. Nutrition is the set of integrated processes by which cells, tissues, organs and the whole body acquire the energy and nutrients to retain normal structure and perform the required functions. At the level of the whole body, this is achieved through dietary supply and the capacity of the body to transform the substrates and cofactors necessary for metabolism. All of these domains (diet, metabolic capacity, activity of the microbiome, body composition and the level of demand for energy and nutrients) are influenced by levels of physical activity and can vary according to physiological and pathological disease states. The liver plays a central role in establishing and maintaining these regulated processes. Its capacity to achieve and maintain these functional capabilities is established during one's early life. When these capabilities are exceeded and the ability to maintain the milieu interieur is compromised, ill-health supervenes. Stress tests that assess flow through gateway pathways can be used to determine the maximal capacity and functional reserve for critical functions. The inability of the liver to reliably integrate body lipid metabolism and the accumulation of abnormal lipid are obvious manifestations of impaired regulation both in situations of weight loss, for example, the fatty liver of severe malnutrition, and in situations of energy excess, as in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The use of stable isotopic probes and the more recent definition of the variability in the metabolome in different nutritional and pathological states indicate the great potential for clinical tools that would enable a more precise nutritional diagnosis, but these require systematic investigation and application. For the present, approaches that place emphasis on being able to control the metabolic state without exposing the liver to unnecessary metabolic stress remain the basis for successful nutritional support. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Intelligent automotive battery systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witehira, P.

A single power-supply battery is incompatible with modern vehicles. A one-cmbination 12 cell/12 V battery, developed by Power Beat International Limited (PBIL), is described. The battery is designed to be a 'drop in' replacement for existing batteries. The cell structures, however, are designed according to load function, i.e., high-current shallow-discharge cycles and low-current deep-discharge cycles. The preferred energy discharge management logic and integration into the power distribution network of the vehicle to provide safe user-friendly usage is described. The system is designed to operate transparent to the vehicle user. The integrity of the volatile high-current cells is maintained by temperature-sensitive voltage control and discharge management. The deep-cycle cells can be fully utilized without affecting startability under extreme conditions. Electric energy management synchronization with engine starting will provide at least 6% overall reduction in hydrocarbon emissions using an intelligent on-board power-supply technology developed by PBIL.

Education, outreach, and inclusive engagement: Towards integrated indicators of successful program outcomes in participatory science.

PubMed

Haywood, Benjamin K; Besley, John C

2014-01-01

The use and utility of science in society is often influenced by the structure, legitimacy, and efficacy of the scientific research process. Public participation in scientific research (PPSR) is a growing field of practice aimed at enhancing both public knowledge and understanding of science (education outreach) and the efficacy and responsiveness of scientific research, practice, and policy (participatory engagement). However, PPSR objectives focused on "education outreach" and "participatory engagement" have each emerged from diverse theoretical traditions that maintain distinct indicators of success used for program development and evaluation. Although areas of intersection and overlap among these two traditions exist in theory and practice, a set of comprehensive standards has yet to coalesce that supports the key principles of both traditions in an assimilated fashion. To fill this void, a comprehensive indicators framework is proposed with the goal of promoting a more integrative and synergistic PPSR program development and assessment process.

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

Jones, J.P.; Bangs, A.L.; Butler, P.L.

Hetero Helix is a programming environment which simulates shared memory on a heterogeneous network of distributed-memory computers. The machines in the network may vary with respect to their native operating systems and internal representation of numbers. Hetero Helix presents a simple programming model to developers, and also considers the needs of designers, system integrators, and maintainers. The key software technology underlying Hetero Helix is the use of a compiler'' which analyzes the data structures in shared memory and automatically generates code which translates data representations from the format native to each machine into a common format, and vice versa. Themore » design of Hetero Helix was motivated in particular by the requirements of robotics applications. Hetero Helix has been used successfully in an integration effort involving 27 CPUs in a heterogeneous network and a body of software totaling roughly 100,00 lines of code. 25 refs., 6 figs.« less

Recent Progress in Obtaining Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Transistor Applications.

PubMed

Islam, Ahmad E; Rogers, John A; Alam, Muhammad A

2015-12-22

High purity semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) with a narrow diameter distribution are required for high-performance transistors. Achieving this goal is extremely challenging because the as-grown material contains mixtures of s-SWCNTs and metallic- (m-) SWCNTs with wide diameter distributions, typically inadequate for integrated circuits. Since 2000, numerous ex situ methods have been proposed to improve the purity of the s-SWCNTs. The majority of these techniques fail to maintain the quality and integrity of the s-SWCNTs with a few notable exceptions. Here, the progress in realizing high purity s-SWCNTs in as-grown and post-processed materials is highlighted. A comparison of transistor parameters (such as on/off ratio and field-effect mobility) obtained from test structures establishes the effectiveness of various methods and suggests opportunities for future improvements. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Highly Crumpled All-Carbon Transistors for Brain Activity Recording.

PubMed

Yang, Long; Zhao, Yan; Xu, Wenjing; Shi, Enzheng; Wei, Wenjing; Li, Xinming; Cao, Anyuan; Cao, Yanping; Fang, Ying

2017-01-11

Neural probes based on graphene field-effect transistors have been demonstrated. Yet, the minimum detectable signal of graphene transistor-based probes is inversely proportional to the square root of the active graphene area. This fundamentally limits the scaling of graphene transistor-based neural probes for improved spatial resolution in brain activity recording. Here, we address this challenge using highly crumpled all-carbon transistors formed by compressing down to 16% of its initial area. All-carbon transistors, chemically synthesized by seamless integration of graphene channels and hybrid graphene/carbon nanotube electrodes, maintained structural integrity and stable electronic properties under large mechanical deformation, whereas stress-induced cracking and junction failure occurred in conventional graphene/metal transistors. Flexible, highly crumpled all-carbon transistors were further verified for in vivo recording of brain activity in rats. These results highlight the importance of advanced material and device design concepts to make improvements in neuroelectronics.

A Dual Role for UVRAG in Maintaining Chromosomal Stability Independent of Autophagy

PubMed Central

Zhao, Zhen; Oh, Soohwan; Li, Dapeng; Ni, Duojiao; Pirooz, Sara Dolatshahi; Lee, Joo-Hyung; Yang, Shunhua; Lee, June-Yong; Ghozalli, Irene; Costanzo, Vincenzo; Stark, Jeremy M.; Liang, Chengyu

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Autophagy defects have been recently associated with chromosomal instability (CIN), a hallmark of human cancer. However, the functional specificity and mechanism of action of autophagy-related factors in genome stability remain elusive. Here we report that UVRAG, an autophagic tumor suppressor, plays a dual role in chromosomal stability, surprisingly independent of autophagy. We establish that UVRAG promotes DNA double-strand-breaks repair by directly binding and activating DNA-PK in non-homologous end-joining. Disruption of UVRAG increases genetic instability and sensitivity of cells to irradiation. Furthermore, UVRAG was found also localized at centrosomes and physically associated with CEP63, an integral component of centrosomes. Disruption of the association of UVRAG with centrosomes causes centrosome instability and aneuploidy. UVRAG thus represents an autophagy-related molecular factor that also has a convergent role in patrolling both the structural integrity and proper segregation of chromosomes, which may confer autophagy-independent tumor suppressor activity. PMID:22542840

Communication: Phase diagram of C36 by atomistic molecular dynamics and thermodynamic integration through coexistence regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramo, M. C.; Caccamo, C.; Costa, D.; Munaò, G.

2014-09-01

We report an atomistic molecular dynamics determination of the phase diagram of a rigid-cage model of C36. We first show that free energies obtained via thermodynamic integrations along isotherms displaying "van der Waals loops," are fully reproduced by those obtained via isothermal-isochoric integration encompassing only stable states. We find that a similar result also holds for isochoric paths crossing van der Waals regions of the isotherms, and for integrations extending to rather high densities where liquid-solid coexistence can be expected to occur. On such a basis we are able to map the whole phase diagram of C36, with resulting triple point and critical temperatures about 1770 K and 2370 K, respectively. We thus predict a 600 K window of existence of a stable liquid phase. Also, at the triple point density, we find that the structural functions and the diffusion coefficient maintain a liquid-like character down to 1400-1300 K, this indicating a wide region of possible supercooling. We discuss why all these features might render possible the observation of the melting of C36 fullerite and of its liquid state, at variance with what previously experienced for C60.

Investigations on injection molded, glass-fiber reinforced polyamide 6 integral foams using breathing mold technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roch, A.; Kehret, L.; Huber, T.; Henning, F.; Elsner, P.

2015-05-01

Investigations on PA6-GF50 integral foams have been carried out using different material systems: longfiber- and shortfiber-reinforced PA6 as well as unreinforced PA6 as a reference material. Both chemical and physical blowing agents were applied. Breathing mold technology (decompression of the mold) was selected for the foaming process. The integral foam design, which can be conceived as a sandwich structure, helps to save material in the neutral axis area and maintains a distance between load-bearing, unfoamed skin layers. For all test series an initial mold gap of 2.5 mm was chosen and the same amount of material was injected. In order to realize different density reductions, the mold opening stroke was varied. The experiments showed that, at a constant mass per unit area, integral polyamide 6 foams have a significantly higher bending stiffness than compact components, due to their higher area moment of inertia after foaming. At a constant surface weight the bending stiffness in these experiments could be increased by up to 600 %. Both shortfiber- and longfiber-reinforced polyamide 6 showed an increase in energy absorption during foaming.

Integration of an OWL-DL knowledge base with an EHR prototype and providing customized information.

PubMed

Jing, Xia; Kay, Stephen; Marley, Tom; Hardiker, Nicholas R

2014-09-01

When clinicians use electronic health record (EHR) systems, their ability to obtain general knowledge is often an important contribution to their ability to make more informed decisions. In this paper we describe a method by which an external, formal representation of clinical and molecular genetic knowledge can be integrated into an EHR such that customized knowledge can be delivered to clinicians in a context-appropriate manner.Web Ontology Language-Description Logic (OWL-DL) is a formal knowledge representation language that is widely used for creating, organizing and managing biomedical knowledge through the use of explicit definitions, consistent structure and a computer-processable format, particularly in biomedical fields. In this paper we describe: 1) integration of an OWL-DL knowledge base with a standards-based EHR prototype, 2) presentation of customized information from the knowledge base via the EHR interface, and 3) lessons learned via the process. The integration was achieved through a combination of manual and automatic methods. Our method has advantages for scaling up to and maintaining knowledge bases of any size, with the goal of assisting clinicians and other EHR users in making better informed health care decisions.

Integrated cable vibration control system using wireless sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Seunghoo; Cho, Soojin; Sim, Sung-Han

2017-04-01

As the number of long-span bridges is increasing worldwide, maintaining their structural integrity and safety become an important issue. Because the stay cable is a critical member in most long-span bridges and vulnerable to wind-induced vibrations, vibration mitigation has been of interest both in academia and practice. While active and semi-active control schemes are known to be quite effective in vibration reduction compared to the passive control, requirements for equipment including data acquisition, control devices, and power supply prevent a widespread adoption in real-world applications. This study develops an integrated system for vibration control of stay-cables using wireless sensors implementing a semi-active control. Arduino, a low-cost single board system, is employed with a MEMS digital accelerometer and a Zigbee wireless communication module to build the wireless sensor. The magneto-rheological (MR) damper is selected as a damping device, controlled by an optimal control algorithm implemented on the Arduino sensing system. The developed integrated system is tested in a laboratory environment using a cable to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system on vibration reduction. The proposed system is shown to reduce the vibration of stay-cables with low operating power effectively.

Carbon materials-functionalized tin dioxide nanoparticles toward robust, high-performance nitrogen dioxide gas sensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Rui; Liu, Xiupeng; Zhou, Tingting; Wang, Lili; Zhang, Tong

2018-08-15

Carbon (C) materials, which process excellent electrical conductivity and high carrier mobility, are promising sensing materials as active units for gas sensors. However, structural agglomeration caused by chemical processes results in a small resistance change and low sensing response. To address the above issues, structure-derived carbon-coated tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles having distinct core-shell morphology with a 3D net-like structure and highly uniform size are prepared by careful synthesis and fine structural design. The optimum carbon-coated SnO 2 nanoparticles (SnO 2 /C)-based gas sensor exhibits a low working temperature, excellent selectivity and fast response-recovery properties. In addition, the SnO 2 /C-based gas sensor can maintain a sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) of 3 after being cycled 4 times at 140 °C for, suggesting its good long-term stability. The structural integrity, good synergistic properties, and high gas-sensing performance of SnO 2 /C render it a promising sensing material for advanced gas sensors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Experimental and Imaging Techniques for Examining Fibrin Clot Structures in Normal and Diseased States

PubMed Central

Fan, Natalie K.; Keegan, Philip M.; Platt, Manu O.; Averett, Rodney D.

2015-01-01

Fibrin is an extracellular matrix protein that is responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of blood clots. Much research has been done on fibrin in the past years to include the investigation of synthesis, structure-function, and lysis of clots. However, there is still much unknown about the morphological and structural features of clots that ensue from patients with disease. In this research study, experimental techniques are presented that allow for the examination of morphological differences of abnormal clot structures due to diseased states such as diabetes and sickle cell anemia. Our study focuses on the preparation and evaluation of fibrin clots in order to assess morphological differences using various experimental assays and confocal microscopy. In addition, a method is also described that allows for continuous, real-time calculation of lysis rates in fibrin clots. The techniques described herein are important for researchers and clinicians seeking to elucidate comorbid thrombotic pathologies such as myocardial infarctions, ischemic heart disease, and strokes in patients with diabetes or sickle cell disease. PMID:25867016

Databases, Repositories, and Other Data Resources in Structural Biology.

PubMed

Zheng, Heping; Porebski, Przemyslaw J; Grabowski, Marek; Cooper, David R; Minor, Wladek

2017-01-01

Structural biology, like many other areas of modern science, produces an enormous amount of primary, derived, and "meta" data with a high demand on data storage and manipulations. Primary data come from various steps of sample preparation, diffraction experiments, and functional studies. These data are not only used to obtain tangible results, like macromolecular structural models, but also to enrich and guide our analysis and interpretation of various biomedical problems. Herein we define several categories of data resources, (a) Archives, (b) Repositories, (c) Databases, and (d) Advanced Information Systems, that can accommodate primary, derived, or reference data. Data resources may be used either as web portals or internally by structural biology software. To be useful, each resource must be maintained, curated, as well as integrated with other resources. Ideally, the system of interconnected resources should evolve toward comprehensive "hubs", or Advanced Information Systems. Such systems, encompassing the PDB and UniProt, are indispensable not only for structural biology, but for many related fields of science. The categories of data resources described herein are applicable well beyond our usual scientific endeavors.

Databases, Repositories and Other Data Resources in Structural Biology

PubMed Central

Zheng, Heping; Porebski, Przemyslaw J.; Grabowski, Marek; Cooper, David R.; Minor, Wladek

2017-01-01

Structural biology, like many other areas of modern science, produces an enormous amount of primary, derived, and “meta” data with a high demand on data storage and manipulations. Primary data comes from various steps of sample preparation, diffraction experiments, and functional studies. These data are not only used to obtain tangible results, like macromolecular structural models, but also to enrich and guide our analysis and interpretation of existing biomedical studies. Herein we define several categories of data resources, (a) Archives, (b) Repositories, (c) “Databases” and (d) Advanced Information Systems, that can accommodate primary, derived, or reference data. Data resources may be used either as web portals or internally by structural biology software. To be useful, each resource must be maintained, curated, and be integrated with other resources. Ideally, the system of interconnected resources should evolve toward comprehensive “hubs” or Advanced Information Systems. Such systems, encompassing the PDB and UniProt, are indispensable not only for structural biology, but for many related fields of science. The categories of data resources described herein are applicable well beyond our usual scientific endeavors. PMID:28573593

Integrating TRENCADIS components in gLite to share DICOM medical images and structured reports.

PubMed

Blanquer, Ignacio; Hernández, Vicente; Salavert, José; Segrelles, Damià

2010-01-01

The problem of sharing medical information among different centres has been tackled by many projects. Several of them target the specific problem of sharing DICOM images and structured reports (DICOM-SR), such as the TRENCADIS project. In this paper we propose sharing and organizing DICOM data and DICOM-SR metadata benefiting from the existent deployed Grid infrastructures compliant with gLite such as EGEE or the Spanish NGI. These infrastructures contribute with a large amount of storage resources for creating knowledge databases and also provide metadata storage resources (such as AMGA) to semantically organize reports in a tree-structure. First, in this paper, we present the extension of TRENCADIS architecture to use gLite components (LFC, AMGA, SE) on the shake of increasing interoperability. Using the metadata from DICOM-SR, and maintaining its tree structure, enables federating different but compatible diagnostic structures and simplifies the definition of complex queries. This article describes how to do this in AMGA and it shows an approach to efficiently code radiology reports to enable the multi-centre federation of data resources.

Structural mechanism of ligand activation in human calcium-sensing receptor

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

Geng, Yong; Mosyak, Lidia; Kurinov, Igor

2016-07-19

Human calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that maintains extracellular Ca 2+homeostasis through the regulation of parathyroid hormone secretion. It functions as a disulfide-tethered homodimer composed of three main domains, the Venus Flytrap module, cysteine-rich domain, and seven-helix transmembrane region. Here, we present the crystal structures of the entire extracellular domain of CaSR in the resting and active conformations. We provide direct evidence that L-amino acids are agonists of the receptor. In the active structure, L-Trp occupies the orthosteric agonist-binding site at the interdomain cleft and is primarily responsible for inducing extracellular domain closure to initiate receptor activation.more » Our structures reveal multiple binding sites for Ca 2+and PO 4 3-ions. Both ions are crucial for structural integrity of the receptor. While Ca 2+ions stabilize the active state, PO 4 3-ions reinforce the inactive conformation. The activation mechanism of CaSR involves the formation of a novel dimer interface between subunits.« less

Adaptive wing structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, John L., Jr.; Hemmelgarn, Christopher D.; Pelley, Bryan M.; Havens, Ernie

2005-05-01

Cornerstone Research Group, Inc. (CRG) is developing a unique adaptive wing structure intended to enhance the capability of loitering Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). In order to tailor the wing design to a specific application, CRG has developed a wing structure capable of morphing in chord and increasing planform area by 80 percent. With these features, aircraft will be capable of optimizing their flight efficiency throughout the entire mission profile. The key benefit from this morphing design is increased maneuverability, resulting in improved effectiveness over the current design. During the development process CRG has overcome several challenges in the design of such a structure while incorporating advanced materials capable of maintaining aerodynamic shape and transferring aerodynamic loads while enabling crucial changes in planform shape. To overcome some of these challenges, CRG is working on integration of their shape memory polymer materials into the wing skin to enable seamless morphing. This paper will address the challenges associated with the development of a morphing aerospace structure capable of such large shape change, the materials necessary for enabling morphing capabilities, and the current status of the morphing program within CRG.

Error analysis for creating 3D face templates based on cylindrical quad-tree structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutfeter, Weronika

2015-09-01

Development of new biometric algorithms is parallel to advances in technology of sensing devices. Some of the limitations of the current face recognition systems may be eliminated by integrating 3D sensors into these systems. Depth sensing devices can capture a spatial structure of the face in addition to the texture and color. This kind of data is yet usually very voluminous and requires large amount of computer resources for being processed (face scans obtained with typical depth cameras contain more than 150 000 points per face). That is why defining efficient data structures for processing spatial images is crucial for further development of 3D face recognition methods. The concept described in this work fulfills the aforementioned demands. Modification of the quad-tree structure was chosen because it can be easily transformed into less dimensional data structures and maintains spatial relations between data points. We are able to interpret data stored in the tree as a pyramid of features which allow us to analyze face images using coarse-to-fine strategy, often exploited in biometric recognition systems.

An Investigation of Professional Integrity in Pre-registration Nurse Education: A Modified Grounded Theory Research Study.

PubMed

Jane Blowers, E

2018-06-01

Acting with integrity is a central part of nursing practice. However, literature shows that professional integrity can be absent and where this is present it can face challenges. Governmental Inquiries have revealed deficits in the expression of nursing values which underpin professional integrity, in particular caring, compassionate and competent practice that maintains the dignity of patients. Evidence also suggests that it cannot be taken for granted that pre-registration education will have a positive impact on student nurses' ability to practice with integrity. This research explored students', mentors' and lecturers' experiences of professional integrity in pre-registration nurse education. A grounded theory approach was informed by the work of Charmaz (2004, 2006). The study, which took place in a UK university, involved four fields of nursing practice: Adult, Children, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities. 12 student nurses, 5 practice-based mentors and 6 lecturers participated. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups revealed three main themes: meanings, enactment and growth of professional integrity. Pre-registration education can influence the growth of professional integrity by improving students' understanding of the boundaries of nursing practice and potential threats to these, skills to speak up on behalf of patients, and knowledge of the processes involved in raising concerns about practice and potential barriers to this. The proactive development of student nurses' strategies to cope, alongside increasing their understanding of the importance of this is also likely to be beneficial. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Spermatozoa isolated from cat testes retain their structural integrity as well as a developmental potential after refrigeration for up to 7 days.

PubMed

Buarpung, Sirirak; Tharasanit, Theerawat; Thongkittidilok, Chommanart; Comizzoli, Pierre; Techakumphu, Mongkol

2015-10-01

The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of preservation media for isolated feline testicular spermatozoa as well as the concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on: (1) the membrane (sperm membrane integrity (SMI)) and DNA integrity of spermatozoa; and (2) the developmental potential of spermatozoa after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Isolated cat spermatozoa were stored in HEPES-M199 medium (HM) or Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (DPBS) at 4°C for up to 7 days. Results indicated that HM maintained a better SMI than DPBS throughout the storage periods (P > 0.05). When spermatozoa were stored in HM supplemented with BSA at different concentrations (4, 8 or 16 mg/ml), SMI obtained from HM containing 8 and 16 mg/ml BSA was higher than with 4 mg/ml BSA (P 0.05). In summary, cat spermatozoa immediately isolated from testicular tissue can be stored as a suspension in basic buffered medium at 4°C for up to 7 days. BSA supplementation into the medium improves membrane integrity of the spermatozoa during cold storage. Testicular spermatozoa stored in HM containing 16 mg/ml BSA retained full in vitro developmental potential after ICSI, similar to that of fresh controls even though DNA integrity had slightly declined.

A liberation psychology approach to acculturative integration of migrant populations.

PubMed

García-Ramírez, Manuel; de la Mata, Manuel L; Paloma, Virginia; Hernández-Plaza, Sonia

2011-03-01

This paper describes an acculturative integration approach that stresses the contribution of liberation psychology. Immigrant integration is a challenge for receiving countries in the Western world due to the frequent asymmetrical and oppressive conditions suffered by newcomers in their new settlements. The cross-cultural perspective connects integration with psychological acculturation, emphasizing harmony between acquisitions of the new culture while maintaining cultural heritage, and creating opportunities for intergroup relationships. In turn, liberation psychology permits an understanding of the acculturative transition as an empowerment and self-construction process by which immigrants acquire a new vision of the world and of themselves, transforming both structural conditions and themselves. From this perspective we conceptualize acculturative integration as the process by which newcomers become an accepted part of the new society through a reflexive and evaluative process, changing their social references and position, rebuilding their social and personal resources, and achieving a new agency in coherence with their new challenges and goals. In this process, they acquire critical thinking about unequal conditions, gain capacities to respond to the inequalities, and take effective actions to confront them. We illustrate this process using the narratives of nine Moroccan women who are living in asymmetrical and oppressive local contexts in Andalusia, the southern-most region of Spain.

Support Systems for Treatment Integrity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goense, Pauline Brigitta; Boendermaker, Leonieke; van Yperen, Tom

2016-01-01

Objective: This systematic review evaluates the content of effective support provided to practitioners of evidence-based interventions in order to establish and maintain treatment integrity. Method: Four articles covering six outcome studies are included in this review, these studies (1) adequately operationalized treatment integrity procedures…

49 CFR 1106.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... TRANSPORTATION RULES OF PRACTICE PROCEDURES FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD CONSIDERATION OF SAFETY INTEGRATION... the agency within the Department of Transportation responsible for railroad safety. Safety Integration... involved in a manner that would maintain safety at every step of the integration process, in the event the...

A Structured Public Health Approach to Increasing Rates and Duration of Breastfeeding in Romania

PubMed Central

Brînzaniuc, Alexandra; Oprescu, Florin; Cherecheş, Răzvan M.; Mureşan, Marta; Dungy, Claibourne I.

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Studies indicate that since 1990, rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration in Eastern Europe, including Romania, have decreased. Most breastfeeding promotion efforts in Romania have focused on in-hospital care, with an emphasis on training clinicians. Prior studies report that about 88% of Romanian mothers initiate breastfeeding in the hospital; however, these same studies report limited breastfeeding duration. We posit that an important problem is lack of support and education in the weeks and months following the birth. The nature of this problem suggests the need for an integrated and structured public health solution. Methods Based on our independent research, the results of an international maternal and child health (MCH) conference, and consultation with Romanian and American experts, we propose use of the public health problem-solving paradigm to support breastfeeding in Romania. Results This article presents a conceptual model showing the integration of input, output, and process components and a logic model explicating possible interventions (or needs) and barriers to breastfeeding. We propose a public health solution that begins with a new MCH within the public health training structure at a major Romanian university and a summer course bringing together Romanian and American students to study MCH, including breastfeeding. Conclusions We believe that these two courses will promote enthusiasm and generate ideas to develop community-based interventions as well as policy recommendations to increase breastfeeding duration in Romania. We suggest that this public health problem-solving approach provides an integrated way of maintaining and increasing breastfeeding; furthermore, this approach could be broadly used in Eastern Europe. PMID:21675866

Preparation and Characterization of Biofunctionalized Inorganic Substrates.

PubMed

Dugger, Jason W; Webb, Lauren J

2015-09-29

Integrating the function of biological molecules into traditional inorganic materials and substrates couples biologically relevant function to synthetic devices and generates new materials and capabilities by combining biological and inorganic functions. At this so-called "bio/abio interface," basic biological functions such as ligand binding and catalysis can be co-opted to detect analytes with exceptional sensitivity or to generate useful molecules with chiral specificity under entirely benign reaction conditions. Proteins function in dynamic, complex, and crowded environments (the living cell) and are therefore appropriate for integrating into multistep, multiscale, multimaterial devices such as integrated circuits and heterogeneous catalysts. However, the goal of reproducing the highly specific activities of biomolecules in the perturbed chemical and electrostatic environment at an inorganic interface while maintaining their native conformations is challenging to achieve. Moreover, characterizing protein structure and function at a surface is often difficult, particularly if one wishes to compare the activity of the protein to that of the dilute, aqueous solution phase. Our laboratory has developed a general strategy to address this challenge by taking advantage of the structural and chemical properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold surfaces that are functionalized with covalently tethered peptides. These surface-bound peptides then act as the chemical recognition element for a target protein, generating a biomimetic surface in which protein orientation, structure, density, and function are controlled and variable. Herein we discuss current research and future directions related to generating a chemically tunable biofunctionalization strategy that has potential to successfully incorporate the highly specialized functions of proteins onto inorganic substrates.

Enhanced cellular infiltration of human adipose-derived stem cells in allograft menisci using a needle-punch method.

PubMed

Nordberg, Rachel C; Charoenpanich, Adisri; Vaughn, Christopher E; Griffith, Emily H; Fisher, Matthew B; Cole, Jacqueline H; Spang, Jeffrey T; Loboa, Elizabeth G

2016-10-28

The meniscus plays a crucial role in knee joint stability, load transmission, and stress distribution. Meniscal tears are the most common reported knee injuries, and the current standard treatment for meniscal deficiency is meniscal allograft transplantation. A major limitation of this approach is that meniscal allografts do not have the capacity to remodel and maintain tissue homeostasis due to a lack of cellular infiltration. The purpose of this study was to provide a new method for enhanced cellular infiltration in meniscal allografts. Twenty medial menisci were collected from cadaveric human sources and split into five experimental groups: (1) control native menisci, (2) decellularized menisci, (3) decellularized menisci seeded with human adipose-derived stem cells (hASC), (4) decellularized needle-punched menisci, and (5) decellularized needle-punched menisci seeded with hASC. All experimental allografts were decellularized using a combined method with trypsin EDTA and peracetic acid. Needle punching (1-mm spacing, 28 G microneedle) was utilized to improve porosity of the allograft. Samples were recellularized with hASC at a density of 250 k/g of tissue. After 28 days of in vitro culture, menisci were analyzed for mechanical, biochemical, and histological characteristics. Menisci maintained structural integrity and material properties (compressive equilibrium and dynamic moduli) throughout preparations. Increased DNA content was observed in the needle-punched menisci but not in the samples without needle punching. Histology confirmed these results, showing enhanced cellular infiltration in needle-punched samples. The enhanced infiltration achieved in this study could help meniscal allografts better remodel post-surgery. The integration of autologous adipose-derived stem cells could improve long-term efficacy of meniscal transplantation procedures by helping to maintain the meniscus in vivo.

High Sensitivity Crosslink Detection Coupled With Integrative Structure Modeling in the Mass Spec Studio *

PubMed Central

Sarpe, Vladimir; Rafiei, Atefeh; Hepburn, Morgan; Ostan, Nicholas; Schryvers, Anthony B.; Schriemer, David C.

2016-01-01

The Mass Spec Studio package was designed to support the extraction of hydrogen-deuterium exchange and covalent labeling data for a range of mass spectrometry (MS)-based workflows, to integrate with restraint-driven protein modeling activities. In this report, we present an extension of the underlying Studio framework and provide a plug-in for crosslink (XL) detection. To accommodate flexibility in XL methods and applications, while maintaining efficient data processing, the plug-in employs a peptide library reduction strategy via a presearch of the tandem-MS data. We demonstrate that prescoring linear unmodified peptide tags using a probabilistic approach substantially reduces search space by requiring both crosslinked peptides to generate sparse data attributable to their linear forms. The method demonstrates highly sensitive crosslink peptide identification with a low false positive rate. Integration with a Haddock plug-in provides a resource that can combine multiple sources of data for protein modeling activities. We generated a structural model of porcine transferrin bound to TbpB, a membrane-bound receptor essential for iron acquisition in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Using mutational data and crosslinking restraints, we confirm the mechanism by which TbpB recognizes the iron-loaded form of transferrin, and note the requirement for disparate sources of restraint data for accurate model construction. The software plugin is freely available at www.msstudio.ca. PMID:27412762

Research Update: Electrical monitoring of cysts using organic electrochemical transistors a

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huerta, M.; Rivnay, J.; Ramuz, M.; Hama, A.; Owens, R. M.

2015-03-01

Organotypic three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models have the potential to act as surrogate tissues in vitro, both for basic research and for drug discovery/toxicology. 3D cultures maintain not only 3D architecture but also cell-cell and cell extracellular matrix interactions, particularly when grown in cysts or spheroids. Characterization of cell cultures grown in 3D formats, however, provides a significant challenge for cell biologists due to the incompatibility of these structures with commonly found optical or electronic monitoring systems. Electronic impedance spectroscopy is a cell culture monitoring technique with great potential; however, it has not been possible to integrate 3D cultures with commercially available systems to date. Cyst-like 3D cultures are particularly challenging due to their small size and difficulty in manipulation. Herein, we demonstrate isolation of cyst-like 3D cultures by capillarity and subsequent integration with the organic electrochemical transistor for monitoring the integrity of these structures. We show not only that this versatile device can be adapted to the cyst format for measuring resistance and, therefore, the quality of the cysts, but also can be used for quantitative monitoring of the effect of toxic compounds on cells in a 3D format. The ability to quantitatively predict effects of drugs on 3D cultures in vitro has large future potential for the fields of drug discovery and toxicology.

Research Update: Electrical monitoring of cysts using organic electrochemical transistors

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

Huerta, M.; Rivnay, J.; Ramuz, M.

2015-03-01

Organotypic three-dimensional (3D) cell culture models have the potential to act as surrogate tissues in vitro, both for basic research and for drug discovery/toxicology. 3D cultures maintain not only 3D architecture but also cell-cell and cell extracellular matrix interactions, particularly when grown in cysts or spheroids. Characterization of cell cultures grown in 3D formats, however, provides a significant challenge for cell biologists due to the incompatibility of these structures with commonly found optical or electronic monitoring systems. Electronic impedance spectroscopy is a cell culture monitoring technique with great potential; however, it has not been possible to integrate 3D cultures withmore » commercially available systems to date. Cyst-like 3D cultures are particularly challenging due to their small size and difficulty in manipulation. Herein, we demonstrate isolation of cyst-like 3D cultures by capillarity and subsequent integration with the organic electrochemical transistor for monitoring the integrity of these structures. We show not only that this versatile device can be adapted to the cyst format for measuring resistance and, therefore, the quality of the cysts, but also can be used for quantitative monitoring of the effect of toxic compounds on cells in a 3D format. The ability to quantitatively predict effects of drugs on 3D cultures in vitro has large future potential for the fields of drug discovery and toxicology.« less

High Sensitivity Crosslink Detection Coupled With Integrative Structure Modeling in the Mass Spec Studio.

PubMed

Sarpe, Vladimir; Rafiei, Atefeh; Hepburn, Morgan; Ostan, Nicholas; Schryvers, Anthony B; Schriemer, David C

2016-09-01

The Mass Spec Studio package was designed to support the extraction of hydrogen-deuterium exchange and covalent labeling data for a range of mass spectrometry (MS)-based workflows, to integrate with restraint-driven protein modeling activities. In this report, we present an extension of the underlying Studio framework and provide a plug-in for crosslink (XL) detection. To accommodate flexibility in XL methods and applications, while maintaining efficient data processing, the plug-in employs a peptide library reduction strategy via a presearch of the tandem-MS data. We demonstrate that prescoring linear unmodified peptide tags using a probabilistic approach substantially reduces search space by requiring both crosslinked peptides to generate sparse data attributable to their linear forms. The method demonstrates highly sensitive crosslink peptide identification with a low false positive rate. Integration with a Haddock plug-in provides a resource that can combine multiple sources of data for protein modeling activities. We generated a structural model of porcine transferrin bound to TbpB, a membrane-bound receptor essential for iron acquisition in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Using mutational data and crosslinking restraints, we confirm the mechanism by which TbpB recognizes the iron-loaded form of transferrin, and note the requirement for disparate sources of restraint data for accurate model construction. The software plugin is freely available at www.msstudio.ca. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Crystal structure of chiral gammaPNA with complementary DNA strand: insights into the stability and specificity of recognition and conformational preorganization.

PubMed

Yeh, Joanne I; Shivachev, Boris; Rapireddy, Srinivas; Crawford, Matthew J; Gil, Roberto R; Du, Shoucheng; Madrid, Marcela; Ly, Danith H

2010-08-11

We have determined the structure of a PNA-DNA duplex to 1.7 A resolution by multiple-wavelength anomalous diffraction phasing method on a zinc derivative. This structure represents the first high-resolution 3D view of a hybrid duplex containing a contiguous chiral PNA strand with complete gamma-backbone modification ("gammaPNA"). Unlike the achiral counterpart, which adopts a random-fold, this particular gammaPNA is already preorganized into a right-handed helix as a single strand. The new structure illustrates the unique characteristics of this modified PNA, possessing conformational flexibility while maintaining sufficient structural integrity to ultimately adopt the preferred P-helical conformation upon hybridization with DNA. The unusual structural adaptability found in the gammaPNA strand is crucial for enabling the accommodation of backbone modifications while constraining conformational states. In conjunction with NMR analysis characterizing the structures and substructures of the individual building blocks, these results provide unprecedented insights into how this new class of chiral gammaPNA is preorganized and stabilized, before and after hybridization with a cDNA strand. Such knowledge is crucial for the future design and development of PNA for applications in biology, biotechnology, and medicine.

DYCAST: A finite element program for the crash analysis of structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pifko, A. B.; Winter, R.; Ogilvie, P.

1987-01-01

DYCAST is a nonlinear structural dynamic finite element computer code developed for crash simulation. The element library contains stringers, beams, membrane skin triangles, plate bending triangles and spring elements. Changing stiffnesses in the structure are accounted for by plasticity and very large deflections. Material nonlinearities are accommodated by one of three options: elastic-perfectly plastic, elastic-linear hardening plastic, or elastic-nonlinear hardening plastic of the Ramberg-Osgood type. Geometric nonlinearities are handled in an updated Lagrangian formulation by reforming the structure into its deformed shape after small time increments while accumulating deformations, strains, and forces. The nonlinearities due to combined loadings are maintained, and stiffness variation due to structural failures are computed. Numerical time integrators available are fixed-step central difference, modified Adams, Newmark-beta, and Wilson-theta. The last three have a variable time step capability, which is controlled internally by a solution convergence error measure. Other features include: multiple time-load history tables to subject the structure to time dependent loading; gravity loading; initial pitch, roll, yaw, and translation of the structural model with respect to the global system; a bandwidth optimizer as a pre-processor; and deformed plots and graphics as post-processors.

Vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures on flexible pillar arrays

PubMed Central

Choi, Yoon-Young; Yun, Tae Gwang; Qaiser, Nadeem; Paik, Haemin; Roh, Hee Seok; Hong, Jongin; Hong, Seungbum; Han, Seung Min; No, Kwangsoo

2015-01-01

PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE) nano- and micro- structures have been widely used due to their potential applications in several fields, including sensors, actuators, vital sign transducers, and energy harvesters. In this study, we developed vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures using high modulus polyurethane acrylate (PUA) pillars as the support structure to maintain the structural integrity. In addition, we were able to improve the piezoelectric effect by 1.85 times from 40 ± 2 to 74 ± 2 pm/V when compared to the thin film counterpart, which contributes to the more efficient current generation under a given stress, by making an effective use of the P(VDF-TrFE) thin top layer as well as the side walls. We attribute the enhancement of piezoelectric effects to the contributions from the shell component and the strain confinement effect, which was supported by our modeling results. We envision that these organic-based P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures will be used widely as 3D sensors and power generators because they are optimized for current generations by utilizing all surface areas, including the side walls of core-shell structures. PMID:26040539

Vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures on flexible pillar arrays

DOE PAGES

Choi, Yoon-Young; Yun, Tae Gwang; Qaiser, Nadeem; ...

2015-06-04

PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE) nano- and micro- structures are widely used due to their potential applications in several fields, including sensors, actuators, vital sign transducers, and energy harvesters. In this study, we developed vertically aligned P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures using high modulus polyurethane acrylate (PUA) pillars as the support structure to maintain the structural integrity. In addition, we were able to improve the piezoelectric effect by 1.85 times from 40 ± 2 to 74 ± 2 pm/V when compared to the thin film counterpart, which contributes to the more efficient current generation under a given stress, by making an effective use ofmore » the P(VDF-TrFE) thin top layer as well as the side walls. We attribute the enhancement of piezoelectric effects to the contributions from the shell component and the strain confinement effect, which was supported by our modeling results. We envision that these organic-based P(VDF-TrFE) core-shell structures will be used widely as 3D sensors and power generators because they are optimized for current generations by utilizing all surface areas, including the side walls of core-shell structures.« less

Improving program documentation quality through the application of continuous improvement processes.

PubMed

Lovlien, Cheryl A; Johansen, Martha; Timm, Sandra; Eversman, Shari; Gusa, Dorothy; Twedell, Diane

2007-01-01

Maintaining the integrity of record keeping and retrievable information related to the provision of continuing education credit creates challenges for a large organization. Accurate educational program documentation is vital to support the knowledge and professional development of nursing staff. Quality review and accurate documentation of programs for nursing staff development occurred at one institution through the use of continuous improvement principles. Integration of the new process into the current system maintains the process of providing quality record keeping.

Colonization and effector functions of innate lymphoid cells in mucosal tissues

PubMed Central

Kim, Myunghoo; Kim, Chang H.

2016-01-01

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) protect mucosal barrier tissues to fight infection and maintain tissue integrity. ILCs and their progenitors are developmentally programmed to migrate, differentiate and populate various mucosal tissues and associated lymphoid tissues. Functionally mature ILC subsets respond to diverse pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites in subset-specific manners. In this review, we will discuss how ILCs populate mucosal tissues and regulate immune responses to distinct pathogens to protect the host and maintain tissue integrity. PMID:27365193

Abatement of gaseous and particulate contamination in a space instrument application to a solar telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scialdone, J. J.

1983-01-01

Methods to prevent the ingestion of external contaminants into the instrument and to limit the effect of the self-generated contaminants during ground, launch, orbiting and landing phases of flight were investigated. It is proposed that a positive pressure and purging flow of clean gas inside the instrument be maintained while on the ground, during launch, and for a period of time in orbit. The pressure to be maintained and the required purging flow are examined in terms of the effectiveness in preventing gaseous and particulate contaminants ingestion and the abatement of the self-generated contaminants. Considerations have been given to the venting requirements for the structural integrity of the instrument during launch, the limitations on the volume and the pressure of the purging gas to be carried along in orbit, and the required venting area is established based on the internal volume of the instrument, the allowable pressure differential, and the rate of external pressure change during launch.

[The study of anticoagulants selection in platelet-rich plasma preparation].

PubMed

Hua, Lei; Lai, Gui; Zhenjun, Liu; Guie, Ma

2015-07-01

To investigate the effect of the anticoagulants on PRP quality, so as to clarify the appropriate anticoagulant used in PRP production. The microstructure change of platelets collected via heparin, citrate, acid citrate dextrose (ACD) and citrate-theophylline-adenosine-dipyridamole ( CTAD) was observed by TEM following time course. The extent of spontaneous activation of platelets in four groups was detected by measuring sP-selectin in plasma. The TGF-β1 release amount of activated PRP of four groups was measured. CTAD is superior to other anticoagulants in maintaining the integrity of platelet structures for a long time and preventing platelet spontaneous activation. ACD slightly surpassed heparin and citrate in above two aspects. ACD-PRP and CTAD-PRP released significantly more TGF-β1 compared with heparin and citrate. The PRP quality and biological effects were strongly associated with the type of Anticoagulants. ACD and CTAD are optimal anticoagulants in PRP production for they can maintain platelet viability at a high level.

Development of Biodegradable Polycation-Based Inhalable Dry Gene Powders by Spray Freeze Drying

PubMed Central

Okuda, Tomoyuki; Suzuki, Yumiko; Kobayashi, Yuko; Ishii, Takehiko; Uchida, Satoshi; Itaka, Keiji; Kataoka, Kazunori; Okamoto, Hirokazu

2015-01-01

In this study, two types of biodegradable polycation (PAsp(DET) homopolymer and PEG-PAsp(DET) copolymer) were applied as vectors for inhalable dry gene powders prepared by spray freeze drying (SFD). The prepared dry gene powders had spherical and porous structures with a 5~10-μm diameter, and the integrity of plasmid DNA could be maintained during powder production. Furthermore, it was clarified that PEG-PAsp(DET)-based dry gene powder could more sufficiently maintain both the physicochemical properties and in vitro gene transfection efficiencies of polyplexes reconstituted after powder production than PAsp(DET)-based dry gene powder. From an in vitro inhalation study using an Andersen cascade impactor, it was demonstrated that the addition of l-leucine could markedly improve the inhalation performance of dry powders prepared by SFD. Following pulmonary delivery to mice, both PAsp(DET)- and PEG-PAsp(DET)-based dry gene powders could achieve higher gene transfection efficiencies in the lungs compared with a chitosan-based dry gene powder previously reported by us. PMID:26343708

Community health center integration: experience in the State of Ohio.

PubMed

McAlearney, John S; McAlearney, Ann Scheck

2006-02-01

In the face of severe financial challenges and demands to improve quality and service to patients, many community health centers (CHCs) have aligned or integrated with other CHCs, physician groups, or hospitals. Yet the nature of and rationale for these organizational decisions are not well understood. Our research applied an organizational theoretical framework to test whether strategic adaptation theory or institutional theory best describes the integration activity of CHCs in Ohio. We collected primary data from case studies of seven CHCs selected for geographic representation and studied December 2000-January 2001. Semi-structured interviews and a case study database supported our chain of evidence. We found that CHC integration activity was substantial (five of seven CHCs integrated) and extremely varied. Consistent with strategic adaptation theory, we determined that CHC integration actions were predominantly center-specific, rational responses to environmental challenges and were initiated to improve operations or financial performance. Rarely did CHCs initiate major organizational change merely to mimic other CHC actions, as might have been expected of highly institutionalized organizations. Understanding the basis for CHCs' strategic decisions while monitoring financial health will remain critical as lawmakers and administrators work to develop policies that both maintain progress made and improve primary care access for the poor, the uninsured, and those with special health care needs served by these important safety net providers.

Archetype-based semantic integration and standardization of clinical data.

PubMed

Moner, David; Maldonado, Jose A; Bosca, Diego; Fernandez, Jesualdo T; Angulo, Carlos; Crespo, Pere; Vivancos, Pedro J; Robles, Montserrat

2006-01-01

One of the basic needs for any healthcare professional is to be able to access to clinical information of patients in an understandable and normalized way. The lifelong clinical information of any person supported by electronic means configures his/her Electronic Health Record (EHR). This information is usually distributed among several independent and heterogeneous systems that may be syntactically or semantically incompatible. The Dual Model architecture has appeared as a new proposal for maintaining a homogeneous representation of the EHR with a clear separation between information and knowledge. Information is represented by a Reference Model which describes common data structures with minimal semantics. Knowledge is specified by archetypes, which are formal representations of clinical concepts built upon a particular Reference Model. This kind of architecture is originally thought for implantation of new clinical information systems, but archetypes can be also used for integrating data of existing and not normalized systems, adding at the same time a semantic meaning to the integrated data. In this paper we explain the possible use of a Dual Model approach for semantic integration and standardization of heterogeneous clinical data sources and present LinkEHR-Ed, a tool for developing archetypes as elements for integration purposes. LinkEHR-Ed has been designed to be easily used by the two main participants of the creation process of archetypes for clinical data integration: the Health domain expert and the Information Technologies domain expert.

The thermomechanical stability of micro-solid oxide fuel cells fabricated on anodized aluminum oxide membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Chang-Woo; Lee, Jae-Il; Kim, Ki-Bum; Lee, Hae-Weon; Lee, Jong-Ho; Son, Ji-Won

2012-07-01

The thermomechanical stability of micro-solid oxide fuel cells (micro-SOFCs) fabricated on an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane template is investigated. The full structure consists of the following layers: AAO membrane (600 nm)/Pt anode/YSZ electrolyte (900 nm)/porous Pt cathode. The utilization of a 600-nm-thick AAO membrane significantly improves the thermomechanical stability due to its well-known honeycomb-shaped nanopore structure. Moreover, the Pt anode layer deposited in between the AAO membrane and the YSZ electrolyte preserves its integrity in terms of maintaining the triple-phase boundary (TPB) and electrical conductivity during high-temperature operation. Both of these results guarantee thermomechanical stability of the micro-SOFC and extend the cell lifetime, which is one of the most critical issues in the fabrication of freestanding membrane-type micro-SOFCs.

The data model for social welfare in Finland.

PubMed

Kärki, Jarmo; Ailio, Erja

2014-01-01

A client data model for social welfare was gradually developed in the National Project of IT in Social Services in Finland. The client data model describes the nationally uniformed data structures and relationships between the data elements needed in production of social services. It contains the structures of social care client records, unique core components and distinct classifications. The modeling method guaranteed the coverage, integrity, flexibility and device independency of the model. The model is maintained and developed by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) together with the social workers and other experts of social welfare. It forms the basis of the electronic information management of the social services. Implementation of the data model in information systems enables the availability of the client data where and when ever a client has to be helped.

Insight into self-discharge of layered lithium-rich oxide cathode in carbonate-based electrolytes with and without additive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianhui; Xing, Lidan; Zhang, Liping; Yu, Le; Fan, Weizhen; Xu, Mengqing; Li, Weishan

2016-08-01

Self-discharge behavior of layered lithium-rich oxide as cathode of lithium ion battery in a carbonated-based electrolyte is understood, and a simple boron-containing compound, trimethyl borate (TMB), is used as an electrolyte additive to suppress this self-discharge. It is found that layered lithium-rich oxide charged under 4.8 V in additive-free electrolyte suffers severe self-discharge and TMB is an effective electrolyte additive for self-discharge suppression. Physical characterizations from XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and ICP-MS demonstrate that the crystal structure of the layered lithium-rich oxide collapses due to the chemical interaction between the charged oxide and electrolyte. When TMB is applied, the structural integrity of the oxide is maintained due to the protective cathode film generated from the preferential oxidation of TMB.

Synthesis and Characterization of Bionanoparticle-Silica Composites and Mesoporous Silica with Large Pores

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

Niu, Z.; Yang, L.; Kabisatpathy, S.

2009-03-24

A sol-gel process has been developed to incorporate bionanoparticles, such as turnip yellow mosaic virus, cowpea mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and ferritin into silica, while maintaining the integrity and morphology of the particles. The structures of the resulting materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, small angle X-ray scattering, and N{sub 2} adsorption-desorption analysis. The results show that the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles are largely preserved after being embedded into silica. After removal of the bionanoparticles by calcination, mesoporous silica with monodisperse pores, having the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles replicated inside the silica,more » was produced,. This study is expected to lead to both functional composite materials and mesoporous silica with structurally well-defined large pores.« less

Implementing the national priorities for injury surveillance.

PubMed

Mitchell, Rebecca J; McClure, Rod J; Williamson, Ann M; McKenzie, Kirsten

2008-04-07

Injury is a leading cause of disability and death in Australia and is recognised as a national health priority area. The foundation of successful injury prevention is injury surveillance, and national policies and strategies developed over the past 20 years to reduce the burden of injury in Australia have included 22 recommendations on surveillance--only three of which have been completely implemented. Priorities for improving injury surveillance include: improving current injury mortality and morbidity data collection systems; filling the gaps in injury surveillance; maintaining vigilance over data quality; increasing the integration and accessibility of injury data; developing technical expertise in surveillance. Barriers to implementation of the current National Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Plan include the lack of an implementation plan, performance management structure, appropriate national governance structure and resources--all of which could be overcome with government commitment.

Mapping watershed integrity for the conterminous United States..

EPA Science Inventory

Watershed integrity is the capacity of a watershed to support and maintain the full range of ecological processes and functions essential to sustainability. We evaluated and mapped an Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) for 2.6 million watersheds in the conterminous US using firs...

Basic biology and therapeutic implications of lncRNA.

PubMed

Khorkova, O; Hsiao, J; Wahlestedt, C

2015-06-29

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), a class of non-coding RNA molecules recently identified largely due to the efforts of FANTOM, and later GENCODE and ENCODE consortia, have been a subject of intense investigation in the past decade. Extensive efforts to get deeper understanding of lncRNA biology have yielded evidence of their diverse structural and regulatory roles in protecting chromosome integrity, maintaining genomic architecture, X chromosome inactivation, imprinting, transcription, translation and epigenetic regulation. Here we will briefly review the recent studies in the field of lncRNA biology focusing mostly on mammalian species and discuss their therapeutic implications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integration of remote sensing and GIS: Data and data access

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ehlers, M.; Greenlee, D.D.; Smith, T.; Star, J.

1991-01-01

CT: Theintegration of remote sensing tools and technology with the spatial analysis orientation of geographic information systems is a complex task. In this paper, we focus on the issues of making data available and useful to the user. In part, this involves a set of problems which reflect on the physical and logical structures used to encode the data. At the same time, however, the mechanisms and protocols which provide information about the data, and which maintain the data through time, have become increasingly important. We discuss these latter issues from the viewpoint of the functions which must be provided by archives of spatial data.

Cascade generalized predictive control strategy for boiler drum level.

PubMed

Xu, Min; Li, Shaoyuan; Cai, Wenjian

2005-07-01

This paper proposes a cascade model predictive control scheme for boiler drum level control. By employing generalized predictive control structures for both inner and outer loops, measured and unmeasured disturbances can be effectively rejected, and drum level at constant load is maintained. In addition, nonminimum phase characteristic and system constraints in both loops can be handled effectively by generalized predictive control algorithms. Simulation results are provided to show that cascade generalized predictive control results in better performance than that of well tuned cascade proportional integral differential controllers. The algorithm has also been implemented to control a 75-MW boiler plant, and the results show an improvement over conventional control schemes.

Femtosecond transient absorption dynamics of close-packed gold nanocrystal monolayer arrays*1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eah, Sang-Kee; Jaeger, Heinrich M.; Scherer, Norbert F.; Lin, Xiao-Min; Wiederrecht, Gary P.

2004-03-01

Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate hot electron dynamics of close-packed 6 nm gold nanocrystal monolayers. Morphology changes of the monolayer caused by the laser pump pulse are monitored by transmission electron microscopy. At low pump power, the monolayer maintains its structural integrity. Hot electrons induced by the pump pulse decay through electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling inside the nanocrystals with a decay constant that is similar to the value for bulk films. At high pump power, irreversible particle aggregation and sintering occur in the nanocrystal monolayer, which cause damping and peak shifting of the transient bleach signal.

Bridging the Gap between Human Judgment and Automated Reasoning in Predictive Analytics

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

Sanfilippo, Antonio P.; Riensche, Roderick M.; Unwin, Stephen D.

2010-06-07

Events occur daily that impact the health, security and sustainable growth of our society. If we are to address the challenges that emerge from these events, anticipatory reasoning has to become an everyday activity. Strong advances have been made in using integrated modeling for analysis and decision making. However, a wider impact of predictive analytics is currently hindered by the lack of systematic methods for integrating predictive inferences from computer models with human judgment. In this paper, we present a predictive analytics approach that supports anticipatory analysis and decision-making through a concerted reasoning effort that interleaves human judgment and automatedmore » inferences. We describe a systematic methodology for integrating modeling algorithms within a serious gaming environment in which role-playing by human agents provides updates to model nodes and the ensuing model outcomes in turn influence the behavior of the human players. The approach ensures a strong functional partnership between human players and computer models while maintaining a high degree of independence and greatly facilitating the connection between model and game structures.« less

Hypothermic preservation of corneas in a hyperkalaemic solution (CPTES): I. Short-term storage in the absence of colloid osmotic agents.

PubMed Central

Taylor, M J; Hunt, C J

1989-01-01

Preservation solutions for short-term storage of isolated donor corneas for use in penetrating keratoplasty have all been based on tissue culture medium, on the assumption that media designed to maintain the viability of cells at physiological temperatures will also provide suitable conditions for preservation at reduced temperatures. But for hypothermic preservation of some other tissues and organs, when ionic pumps are inhibited, it is unnecessary to support metabolism, and beneficial control of ion and water distribution between intra- and extracellular compartments is achieved by storage in appropriately formulated 'intracellular-type' solutions. We have therefore designed a solution that will restrict ionic imbalances and minimise endothelial cell swelling in corneas during exposure at reduced temperatures. This potassium-rich solution contains the biological pH buffer TES as an impermeant anion and is designated CPTES (corneal-potassium-TES). The structural and functional integrity of rabbit corneas stored at 0 degrees C in CPTES, without the addition of colloid osmotic agents, is compared with that of corneas stored in glutathione bicarbonate Ringers' solution (GBR), an 'extracellular-type' medium formulated for the maintenance of endothelial integrity during in-vitro perfusion at 34 degrees C. Corneas swelled significantly less during storage in CPTES than in GBR and could be stored for five days before reaching the same degree of hydration as corneas stored for only three days in GBR. Gross structural integrity and endothelial ultrastructure were maintained during storage for three and five days in CPTES. The rate of thinning of corneas stored in CPTES was significantly greater than in comparable groups of corneas stored in GBR. However, the efficient dehydration of corneas stored in CPTES was always preceded during perfusion by a brief period of additional swelling which was shown to be an osmotic response during the elution of the buffer compound TES that had permeated the stroma during storage. The omission of calcium or the addition of adenosine and glutathione to the CPTES preservation medium had no detectable effect on the integrity of the endothelium, but the omission of bicarbonate was beneficial, producing significantly higher rates of stromal thinning during normothermic perfusion. Additional benefits for extending storage by including colloid osmotic agents are described in a companion paper. Images PMID:2818988

Cell wall peptidoglycan architecture in Bacillus subtilis

PubMed Central

Hayhurst, Emma J.; Kailas, Lekshmi; Hobbs, Jamie K.; Foster, Simon J.

2008-01-01

The bacterial cell wall is essential for viability and shape determination. Cell wall structural dynamics allowing growth and division, while maintaining integrity is a basic problem governing the life of bacteria. The polymer peptidoglycan is the main structural component for most bacteria and is made up of glycan strands that are cross-linked by peptide side chains. Despite study and speculation over many years, peptidoglycan architecture has remained largely elusive. Here, we show that the model rod-shaped bacterium Bacillus subtilis has glycan strands up to 5 μm, longer than the cell itself and 50 times longer than previously proposed. Atomic force microscopy revealed the glycan strands to be part of a peptidoglycan architecture allowing cell growth and division. The inner surface of the cell wall has a regular macrostructure with ≈50 nm-wide peptidoglycan cables [average 53 ± 12 nm (n = 91)] running basically across the short axis of the cell. Cross striations with an average periodicity of 25 ± 9 nm (n = 96) along each cable are also present. The fundamental cabling architecture is also maintained during septal development as part of cell division. We propose a coiled-coil model for peptidoglycan architecture encompassing our data and recent evidence concerning the biosynthetic machinery for this essential polymer. PMID:18784364

Color filters based on a nanoporous Al-AAO resonator featuring structure tolerant color saturation.

PubMed

Yue, Wenjing; Li, Yang; Wang, Cong; Yao, Zhao; Lee, Sang-Shin; Kim, Nam-Young

2015-10-19

Reflection type subtractive tri-color filters, enabling metal-thickness tolerant high color saturation, were proposed and demonstrated capitalizing on a nanoporous metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) resonant structure, which comprises a cavity made of self-assembled nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO), sandwiched between an Al film of the same nanoporous configuration and a highly reflective aluminum (Al) substrate. For the proposed filter, the output color was easily determined by controlling the resonance wavelength via the thickness of the porous AAO cavity. In particular, the spectral response was deemed to exhibit a near-zero resonant dip, thereby achieving enhanced color saturation, which was stably maintained irrespective of the thickness of the porous Al film, due to its reduced effective refractive index. In order to manufacture the proposed color filters on a large scale, a porous Al film of hexagonal lattice configuration was integrated with an identically porous self-assembled AAO layer, which has been grown on an Al substrate. For the realized tri-color filters for cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY), having a 15-nm Al film, near-zero reflection dips were observed to be centered at the wavelengths of 436, 500, and 600 nm, respectively. The resulting enhanced color saturation was stably maintained even though the variations were as large as 10 nm in the metal thickness.

A Graph-Embedding Approach to Hierarchical Visual Word Mergence.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Liu, Lingqiao; Zhou, Luping

2017-02-01

Appropriately merging visual words are an effective dimension reduction method for the bag-of-visual-words model in image classification. The approach of hierarchically merging visual words has been extensively employed, because it gives a fully determined merging hierarchy. Existing supervised hierarchical merging methods take different approaches and realize the merging process with various formulations. In this paper, we propose a unified hierarchical merging approach built upon the graph-embedding framework. Our approach is able to merge visual words for any scenario, where a preferred structure and an undesired structure are defined, and, therefore, can effectively attend to all kinds of requirements for the word-merging process. In terms of computational efficiency, we show that our algorithm can seamlessly integrate a fast search strategy developed in our previous work and, thus, well maintain the state-of-the-art merging speed. To the best of our survey, the proposed approach is the first one that addresses the hierarchical visual word mergence in such a flexible and unified manner. As demonstrated, it can maintain excellent image classification performance even after a significant dimension reduction, and outperform all the existing comparable visual word-merging methods. In a broad sense, our work provides an open platform for applying, evaluating, and developing new criteria for hierarchical word-merging tasks.

Phosphorylation of CPAP by Aurora-A Maintains Spindle Pole Integrity during Mitosis.

PubMed

Chou, En-Ju; Hung, Liang-Yi; Tang, Chieh-Ju C; Hsu, Wen-Bin; Wu, Hsin-Yi; Liao, Pao-Chi; Tang, Tang K

2016-03-29

CPAP is required for centriole elongation during S/G2 phase, but the role of CPAP in mitosis is incompletely understood. Here, we show that CPAP maintains spindle pole integrity through its phosphorylation by Aurora-A during mitosis. Depletion of CPAP induced a prolonged delay in mitosis, pericentriolar material (PCM) dispersion, and multiple mitotic abnormalities. Further studies demonstrated that CPAP directly interacts with and is phosphorylated by Aurora-A at serine 467 during mitosis. Interestingly, the dispersal of the PCM was effectively rescued by ectopic expression of wild-type CPAP or a phospho-mimic CPAP-S467D mutant, but not a non-phosphorylated CPAP-S467A mutant. Finally, we found that CPAP-S467D has a low affinity for microtubule binding but a high affinity for PCM proteins. Together, our results support a model wherein CPAP is required for proper mitotic progression, and phosphorylation of CPAP by Aurora-A is essential for maintaining spindle pole integrity. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrative self-assembly of functional hybrid nanoconstructs by inorganic wrapping of single biomolecules, biomolecule arrays and organic supramolecular assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patil, Avinash J.; Li, Mei; Mann, Stephen

2013-07-01

Synthesis of functional hybrid nanoscale objects has been a core focus of the rapidly progressing field of nanomaterials science. In particular, there has been significant interest in the integration of evolutionally optimized biological systems such as proteins, DNA, virus particles and cells with functional inorganic building blocks to construct mesoscopic architectures and nanostructured materials. However, in many cases the fragile nature of the biomolecules seriously constrains their potential applications. As a consequence, there is an on-going quest for the development of novel strategies to modulate the thermal and chemical stabilities, and performance of biomolecules under adverse conditions. This feature article highlights new methods of ``inorganic molecular wrapping'' of single or multiple protein molecules, individual double-stranded DNA helices, lipid bilayer vesicles and self-assembled organic dye superstructures using inorganic building blocks to produce bio-inorganic nanoconstructs with core-shell type structures. We show that spatial isolation of the functional biological nanostructures as ``armour-plated'' enzyme molecules or polynucleotide strands not only maintains their intact structure and biochemical properties, but also enables the fabrication of novel hybrid nanomaterials for potential applications in diverse areas of bionanotechnology.

Utilization of native oxygen in Eu(RE)-doped GaN for enabling device compatibility in optoelectronic applications

DOE PAGES

Mitchell, Brandon; Timmerman, D.; Poplawsky, Jonathan D.; ...

2016-01-04

The detrimental influence of oxygen on the performance and reliability of V/III nitride based devices is well known. However, the influence of oxygen on the nature of the incorporation of other co-dopants, such as rare earth ions, has been largely overlooked in GaN. Here, we report the first comprehensive study of the critical role that oxygen has on Eu in GaN, as well as atomic scale observation of diffusion and local concentration of both atoms in the crystal lattice. We find that oxygen plays an integral role in the location, stability, and local defect structure around the Eu ions thatmore » were doped into the GaN host. Although the availability of oxygen is essential for these properties, it renders the material incompatible with GaN-based devices. However, the utilization of the normally occurring oxygen in GaN is promoted through structural manipulation, reducing its concentration by 2 orders of magnitude, while maintaining both the material quality and the favorable optical properties of the Eu ions. Furthermore, these findings open the way for full integration of RE dopants for optoelectronic functionalities in the existing GaN platform.« less

Rare species contribute disproportionately to the functional structure of species assemblages.

PubMed

Leitão, Rafael P; Zuanon, Jansen; Villéger, Sébastien; Williams, Stephen E; Baraloto, Christopher; Fortunel, Claire; Mendonça, Fernando P; Mouillot, David

2016-04-13

There is broad consensus that the diversity of functional traits within species assemblages drives several ecological processes. It is also widely recognized that rare species are the first to become extinct following human-induced disturbances. Surprisingly, however, the functional importance of rare species is still poorly understood, particularly in tropical species-rich assemblages where the majority of species are rare, and the rate of species extinction can be high. Here, we investigated the consequences of local and regional extinctions on the functional structure of species assemblages. We used three extensive datasets (stream fish from the Brazilian Amazon, rainforest trees from French Guiana, and birds from the Australian Wet Tropics) and built an integrative measure of species rarity versus commonness, combining local abundance, geographical range, and habitat breadth. Using different scenarios of species loss, we found a disproportionate impact of rare species extinction for the three groups, with significant reductions in levels of functional richness, specialization, and originality of assemblages, which may severely undermine the integrity of ecological processes. The whole breadth of functional abilities within species assemblages, which is disproportionately supported by rare species, is certainly critical in maintaining ecosystems particularly under the ongoing rapid environmental transitions. © 2016 The Author(s).

Integrative self-assembly of functional hybrid nanoconstructs by inorganic wrapping of single biomolecules, biomolecule arrays and organic supramolecular assemblies.

PubMed

Patil, Avinash J; Li, Mei; Mann, Stephen

2013-08-21

Synthesis of functional hybrid nanoscale objects has been a core focus of the rapidly progressing field of nanomaterials science. In particular, there has been significant interest in the integration of evolutionally optimized biological systems such as proteins, DNA, virus particles and cells with functional inorganic building blocks to construct mesoscopic architectures and nanostructured materials. However, in many cases the fragile nature of the biomolecules seriously constrains their potential applications. As a consequence, there is an on-going quest for the development of novel strategies to modulate the thermal and chemical stabilities, and performance of biomolecules under adverse conditions. This feature article highlights new methods of "inorganic molecular wrapping" of single or multiple protein molecules, individual double-stranded DNA helices, lipid bilayer vesicles and self-assembled organic dye superstructures using inorganic building blocks to produce bio-inorganic nanoconstructs with core-shell type structures. We show that spatial isolation of the functional biological nanostructures as "armour-plated" enzyme molecules or polynucleotide strands not only maintains their intact structure and biochemical properties, but also enables the fabrication of novel hybrid nanomaterials for potential applications in diverse areas of bionanotechnology.

The integrated effects of future climate and hydrologic uncertainty on sustainable flood risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steinschneider, S.; Wi, S.; Brown, C. M.

2013-12-01

Flood risk management performance is investigated within the context of integrated climate and hydrologic modeling uncertainty to explore system robustness. The research question investigated is whether structural and hydrologic parameterization uncertainties are significant relative to other uncertainties such as climate change when considering water resources system performance. Two hydrologic models are considered, a conceptual, lumped parameter model that preserves the water balance and a physically-based model that preserves both water and energy balances. In the conceptual model, parameter and structural uncertainties are quantified and propagated through the analysis using a Bayesian modeling framework with an innovative error model. Mean climate changes and internal climate variability are explored using an ensemble of simulations from a stochastic weather generator. The approach presented can be used to quantify the sensitivity of flood protection adequacy to different sources of uncertainty in the climate and hydrologic system, enabling the identification of robust projects that maintain adequate performance despite the uncertainties. The method is demonstrated in a case study for the Coralville Reservoir on the Iowa River, where increased flooding over the past several decades has raised questions about potential impacts of climate change on flood protection adequacy.

Rare species contribute disproportionately to the functional structure of species assemblages

PubMed Central

Zuanon, Jansen; Williams, Stephen E.; Baraloto, Christopher; Mendonça, Fernando P.

2016-01-01

There is broad consensus that the diversity of functional traits within species assemblages drives several ecological processes. It is also widely recognized that rare species are the first to become extinct following human-induced disturbances. Surprisingly, however, the functional importance of rare species is still poorly understood, particularly in tropical species-rich assemblages where the majority of species are rare, and the rate of species extinction can be high. Here, we investigated the consequences of local and regional extinctions on the functional structure of species assemblages. We used three extensive datasets (stream fish from the Brazilian Amazon, rainforest trees from French Guiana, and birds from the Australian Wet Tropics) and built an integrative measure of species rarity versus commonness, combining local abundance, geographical range, and habitat breadth. Using different scenarios of species loss, we found a disproportionate impact of rare species extinction for the three groups, with significant reductions in levels of functional richness, specialization, and originality of assemblages, which may severely undermine the integrity of ecological processes. The whole breadth of functional abilities within species assemblages, which is disproportionately supported by rare species, is certainly critical in maintaining ecosystems particularly under the ongoing rapid environmental transitions. PMID:27053754

49 CFR 192.915 - What knowledge and training must personnel have to carry out an integrity management program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

...: MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management § 192.915 What knowledge... to the integrity management program possesses and maintains a thorough knowledge of the integrity... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false What knowledge and training must personnel have to...

49 CFR 192.915 - What knowledge and training must personnel have to carry out an integrity management program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

...: MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management § 192.915 What knowledge... to the integrity management program possesses and maintains a thorough knowledge of the integrity... 49 Transportation 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false What knowledge and training must personnel have to...

49 CFR 192.915 - What knowledge and training must personnel have to carry out an integrity management program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

...: MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management § 192.915 What knowledge... to the integrity management program possesses and maintains a thorough knowledge of the integrity... 49 Transportation 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false What knowledge and training must personnel have to...

49 CFR 192.915 - What knowledge and training must personnel have to carry out an integrity management program?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

...: MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management § 192.915 What knowledge... to the integrity management program possesses and maintains a thorough knowledge of the integrity... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false What knowledge and training must personnel have to...

Off-Balance: The Integration of Physical Education Content Learning and Irish Language Learning in English-Medium Primary Schools in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ní Chróinín, Déirdre; Ní Mhurchú, Siobhán; Ó Ceallaigh, T. J.

2016-01-01

Increased attention to integrated approaches has resulted from demands to prioritise literacy learning while maintaining a balanced curriculum in primary schools. Limited empirical evidence to support integrated approaches to teaching physical education (PE) exists. This study explored the integration of PE content learning and the learning of…

Application of Hanging Drop Technique for Kidney Tissue Culture.

PubMed

Wang, Shaohui; Wang, Ximing; Boone, Jasmine; Wie, Jin; Yip, Kay-Pong; Zhang, Jie; Wang, Lei; Liu, Ruisheng

2017-01-01

The hanging drop technique is a well-established method used in culture of animal tissues. However, this method has not been used in adult kidney tissue culture yet. This study was to explore the feasibility of using this technique for culturing adult kidney cortex to study the time course of RNA viability in the tubules and vasculature, as well as the tissue structural integrity. In each Petri dish with the plate covered with sterile buffer, a section of mouse renal cortex was cultured within a drop of DMEM culture medium on the inner surface of the lip facing downward. The tissue were then harvested at each specific time points for Real-time PCR analysis and histological studies. The results showed that the mRNA level of most Na+ related transporters and cotransporters were stably maintained within 6 hours in culture, and that the mRNA level of most receptors found in the vasculature and glomeruli were stably maintained for up to 9 days in culture. Paraffin sections of the cultured renal cortex indicated that the tubules began to lose tubular integrity after 6 hours, but the glomeruli and vasculatures were still recognizable up to 9 days in culture. We concluded that adult kidney tissue culture by hanging drop method can be used to study gene expressions in vasculature and glomeruli. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

A systematic review of integrative oncology programs

PubMed Central

Seely, D.M.; Weeks, L.C.; Young, S.

2012-01-01

Objective This systematic review set out to summarize the research literature describing integrative oncology programs. Methods Searches were conducted of 9 electronic databases, relevant journals (hand searched), and conference abstracts, and experts were contacted. Two investigators independently screened titles and abstracts for reports describing examples of programs that combine complementary and conventional cancer care. English-, French-, and German-language articles were included, with no date restriction. From the articles located, descriptive data were extracted according to 6 concepts: description of article, description of clinic, components of care, administrative structure, process of care, and measurable outcomes used. Results Of the 29 programs included, most were situated in the United States (n = 12, 41%) and England (n = 10, 34%). More than half (n = 16, 55%) operate within a hospital, and 7 (24%) are community-based. Clients come through patient self-referral (n = 15, 52%) and by referral from conventional health care providers (n = 9, 31%) and from cancer agencies (n = 7, 24%). In 12 programs (41%), conventional care is provided onsite; 7 programs (24%) collaborate with conventional centres to provide integrative care. Programs are supported financially through donations (n = 10, 34%), cancer agencies or hospitals (n = 7, 24%), private foundations (n = 6, 21%), and public funds (n = 3, 10%). Nearly two thirds of the programs maintain a research (n = 18, 62%) or evaluation (n = 15, 52%) program. Conclusions The research literature documents a growing number of integrative oncology programs. These programs share a common vision to provide whole-person, patient-centred care, but each program is unique in terms of its structure and operational model. PMID:23300368

An integrated framework for high level design of high performance signal processing circuits on FPGAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benkrid, K.; Belkacemi, S.; Sukhsawas, S.

2005-06-01

This paper proposes an integrated framework for the high level design of high performance signal processing algorithms' implementations on FPGAs. The framework emerged from a constant need to rapidly implement increasingly complicated algorithms on FPGAs while maintaining the high performance needed in many real time digital signal processing applications. This is particularly important for application developers who often rely on iterative and interactive development methodologies. The central idea behind the proposed framework is to dynamically integrate high performance structural hardware description languages with higher level hardware languages in other to help satisfy the dual requirement of high level design and high performance implementation. The paper illustrates this by integrating two environments: Celoxica's Handel-C language, and HIDE, a structural hardware environment developed at the Queen's University of Belfast. On the one hand, Handel-C has been proven to be very useful in the rapid design and prototyping of FPGA circuits, especially control intensive ones. On the other hand, HIDE, has been used extensively, and successfully, in the generation of highly optimised parameterisable FPGA cores. In this paper, this is illustrated in the construction of a scalable and fully parameterisable core for image algebra's five core neighbourhood operations, where fully floorplanned efficient FPGA configurations, in the form of EDIF netlists, are generated automatically for instances of the core. In the proposed combined framework, highly optimised data paths are invoked dynamically from within Handel-C, and are synthesized using HIDE. Although the idea might seem simple prima facie, it could have serious implications on the design of future generations of hardware description languages.

Academic Integrity: Information Systems Education Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McHaney, Roger; Cronan, Timothy Paul; Douglas, David E.

2016-01-01

Academic integrity receives a great deal of attention in institutions of higher education. Universities and colleges provide specific honor codes or have administrative units to promote good behaviors and resolve dishonesty allegations. Students, faculty, and staff have stakes in maintaining high levels of academic integrity to ensure their…

Site systems engineering fiscal year 1999 multi-year work plan (MYWP) update for WBS 1.8.2.2

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

GRYGIEL, M.L.

1998-10-08

Manage the Site Systems Engineering process to provide a traceable integrated requirements-driven, and technically defensible baseline. Through the Site Integration Group(SIG), Systems Engineering ensures integration of technical activities across all site projects. Systems Engineering's primary interfaces are with the RL Project Managers, the Project Direction Office and with the Project Major Subcontractors, as well as with the Site Planning organization. Systems Implementation: (1) Develops, maintains, and controls the site integrated technical baseline, ensures the Systems Engineering interfaces between projects are documented, and maintain the Site Environmental Management Specification. (2) Develops and uses dynamic simulation models for verification of the baselinemore » and analysis of alternatives. (3) Performs and documents fictional and requirements analyses. (4) Works with projects, technology management, and the SIG to identify and resolve technical issues. (5) Supports technical baseline information for the planning and budgeting of the Accelerated Cleanup Plan, Multi-Year Work Plans, Project Baseline Summaries as well as performance measure reporting. (6) Works with projects to ensure the quality of data in the technical baseline. (7) Develops, maintains and implements the site configuration management system.« less

Improving depiction of temporal bone anatomy with low-radiation dose CT by an integrated circuit detector in pediatric patients: a preliminary study.

PubMed

He, Jingzhen; Zu, Yuliang; Wang, Qing; Ma, Xiangxing

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance of low-dose computed tomography (CT) scanning with integrated circuit (IC) detector in defining fine structures of temporal bone in children by comparing with the conventional detector. The study was performed with the approval of our institutional review board and the patients' anonymity was maintained. A total of 86 children<3 years of age underwent imaging of temporal bone with low-dose CT (80 kV/150 mAs) equipped with either IC detector or conventional discrete circuit (DC) detector. The image noise was measured for quantitative analysis. Thirty-five structures of temporal bone were further assessed and rated by 2 radiologists for qualitative analysis. κ Statistics were performed to determine the agreement reached between the 2 radiologists on each image. Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the difference in image quality between the 2 detector systems. Objective analysis showed that the image noise was significantly lower (P<0.001) with the IC detector than with the DC detector. The κ values for qualitative assessment of the 35 fine anatomical structures revealed high interobserver agreement. The delineation for 30 of the 35 landmarks (86%) with the IC detector was superior to that with the conventional DC detector (P<0.05) although there were no differences in the delineation of the remaining 5 structures (P>0.05). The low-dose CT images acquired with the IC detector provide better depiction of fine osseous structures of temporal bone than that with the conventional DC detector.

β-Boomerang Antimicrobial and Antiendotoxic Peptides: Lipidation and Disulfide Bond Effects on Activity and Structure

PubMed Central

Mohanram, Harini; Bhattacharjya, Surajit

2014-01-01

Drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens and endotoxin- or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated inflammations are among some of the most prominent health issues globally. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are eminent molecules that can kill drug-resistant strains and neutralize LPS toxicity. LPS, the outer layer of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria safeguards cell integrity against hydrophobic compounds, including antibiotics and AMPs. Apart from maintaining structural integrity, LPS, when released into the blood stream, also induces inflammatory pathways leading to septic shock. In previous works, we have reported the de novo design of a set of 12-amino acid long cationic/hydrophobic peptides for LPS binding and activity. These peptides adopt β-boomerang like conformations in complex with LPS. Structure-activity studies demonstrated some critical features of the β-boomerang scaffold that may be utilized for the further development of potent analogs. In this work, β-boomerang lipopeptides were designed and structure-activity correlation studies were carried out. These lipopeptides were homo-dimerized through a disulfide bridge to stabilize conformations and for improved activity. The designed peptides exhibited potent antibacterial activity and efficiently neutralized LPS toxicity under in vitro assays. NMR structure of C4YI13C in aqueous solution demonstrated the conserved folding of the lipopeptide with a boomerang aromatic lock stabilized with disulfide bond at the C-terminus and acylation at the N-terminus. These lipo-peptides displaying bacterial sterilization and low hemolytic activity may be useful for future applications as antimicrobial and antiendotoxin molecules. PMID:24756162

Podoplanin maintains high endothelial venule integrity by interacting with platelet CLEC-2

PubMed Central

Herzog, Brett H.; Fu, Jianxin; Wilson, Stephen J.; Hess, Paul R.; Sen, Aslihan; McDaniel, J. Michael; Pan, Yanfang; Sheng, Minjia; Yago, Tadayuki; Silasi-Mansat, Robert; McGee, Samuel; May, Frauke; Nieswandt, Bernhard; Morris, Andrew J.; Lupu, Florea; Coughlin, Shaun R.; McEver, Rodger P.; Chen, Hong; Kahn, Mark L.; Xia, Lijun

2013-01-01

Circulating lymphocytes continuously enter lymph nodes (LNs) for immune surveillance through specialised blood vessels named high endothelial venules (HEVs)1–5, a process that increases dramatically during immune responses. How HEVs permit lymphocyte transmigration while maintaining vascular integrity is unknown. Here, we report a role for the transmembrane O-glycoprotein podoplanin (PDPN, also known as gp38 and T1α)6–8 in maintaining HEV barrier function. Mice with postnatal deletion of PDPN lost HEV integrity and exhibited spontaneous bleeding in mucosal LNs, and bleeding in the draining peripheral LN after immunisation. Blocking lymphocyte homing rescued bleeding, indicating that PDPN is required to protect the barrier function of HEVs during lymphocyte trafficking. Further analyses demonstrated that PDPN expressed on fibroblastic reticular cells (FRCs)7, which surround HEVs, functions as an activating ligand for platelet C-type lectin-like receptor 2 (CLEC-2)9,10. Mice lacking FRC PDPN or platelet CLEC-2 exhibited significantly reduced levels of VE-cadherin (VE-cad), which is essential for overall vascular integrity11,12, on HEVs. Infusion of wild-type (WT) platelets restored HEV integrity in CLEC-2-deficient mice. Activation of CLEC-2 induced release of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)13,14 from platelets, which promoted expression of VE-cad on HEVs ex vivo. Furthermore, draining peripheral LNs of immunised mice lacking S1P had impaired HEV integrity similar to PDPN- and CLEC-2-deficient mice. These data demonstrate that local S1P release after PDPN-CLEC-2-mediated platelet activation is critical for HEV integrity during immune responses. PMID:23995678

Efficacy and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Evidence-Based Nursing Interventions to Maintain Tissue Integrity to Prevent Pressure Ulcers and Incontinence-Associated Dermatitis.

PubMed

Avşar, Pınar; Karadağ, Ayişe

2018-02-01

A reduction in tissue tolerance promotes the development of pressure ulcers (PUs) and incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD). To determine the cost-effectiveness and efficacy of evidence-based (EB) nursing interventions on increasing tissue tolerance by maintaining tissue integrity. The study involved 154 patients in two intensive care units (77 patients, control group; 77 patients, intervention group). Data were collected using the following: patient characteristics form, Braden PU risk assessment scale, tissue integrity monitoring form, PU identification form, IAD and severity scale, and a cost table of the interventions. Patients in the intervention group were cared for by nurses trained in the use of the data collection tools and in EB practices to improve tissue tolerance. Routine nursing care was given to the patients in the control group. The researcher observed all patients in terms of tissue integrity and recorded the care-related costs. Deterioration of tissue integrity was observed in 18.2% patients in the intervention group compared to 54.5% in the control group (p < .05). The average cost to increase tissue tolerance prevention in the intervention and control groups was X¯ = $204.34 ± 41.07 and X¯ = $138.90 ± 1.70, respectively. It is recommended that EB policies and procedures are developed to improve tissue tolerance by maintaining tissue integrity. Although the cost of EB preventive initiatives is relatively high compared to those that are not EB, the former provide a significant reduction in the prevalence of tissue integrity deterioration. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Spatial variability in fish species assemblage and community structure in four subtropical lagoons of the Okavango Delta, Botswana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosepele, K.; Mosepele, B.; Bokhutlo, T.; Amutenya, K.

The species assemblage and community structure of four lagoons was assessed through time series data collected between 2001 and 2005 in the Okavango Delta. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of lagoons as fish habitats in the Delta. Therefore, this study assessed the importance of these habitats through determining fish species diversity, composition, relative abundance, and community structure between the lagoons. Forty six species belonging to 11 families and five orders were collected over the study period. Main results showed that Cichlidae was the most important family and had the highest species richness in the lagoons. Significant differences ( p < 0.05) were observed in species richness, faunal composition, and diversity among some of the lagoons. Moreover, there were also variations in species composition, and also significant differences in mean length and weight of some selected fish species in the four lagoons. This study showed that lagoons are important repositories of food fish to local communities. Moreover, a management of the fish stocks based on restricting fishing in some lagoons as protected areas is not feasible because of these significant differences in species assemblages between lagoons. Furthermore, lagoons are subject to multiple where most of the lodges are constructed, which makes subsequently makes them vulnerable to pollution. Therefore, the integrity of lagoon habitats needs to be maintained so that their ecosystem functioning (i.e. fish repositories) is maintained.

HIV promoter integration site primarily modulates transcriptional burst size rather than frequency.

PubMed

Skupsky, Ron; Burnett, John C; Foley, Jonathan E; Schaffer, David V; Arkin, Adam P

2010-09-30

Mammalian gene expression patterns, and their variability across populations of cells, are regulated by factors specific to each gene in concert with its surrounding cellular and genomic environment. Lentiviruses such as HIV integrate their genomes into semi-random genomic locations in the cells they infect, and the resulting viral gene expression provides a natural system to dissect the contributions of genomic environment to transcriptional regulation. Previously, we showed that expression heterogeneity and its modulation by specific host factors at HIV integration sites are key determinants of infected-cell fate and a possible source of latent infections. Here, we assess the integration context dependence of expression heterogeneity from diverse single integrations of a HIV-promoter/GFP-reporter cassette in Jurkat T-cells. Systematically fitting a stochastic model of gene expression to our data reveals an underlying transcriptional dynamic, by which multiple transcripts are produced during short, infrequent bursts, that quantitatively accounts for the wide, highly skewed protein expression distributions observed in each of our clonal cell populations. Interestingly, we find that the size of transcriptional bursts is the primary systematic covariate over integration sites, varying from a few to tens of transcripts across integration sites, and correlating well with mean expression. In contrast, burst frequencies are scattered about a typical value of several per cell-division time and demonstrate little correlation with the clonal means. This pattern of modulation generates consistently noisy distributions over the sampled integration positions, with large expression variability relative to the mean maintained even for the most productive integrations, and could contribute to specifying heterogeneous, integration-site-dependent viral production patterns in HIV-infected cells. Genomic environment thus emerges as a significant control parameter for gene expression variation that may contribute to structuring mammalian genomes, as well as be exploited for survival by integrating viruses.

PRSEUS Structural Concept Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Velicki, Alex; Jegley, Dawn

2014-01-01

A lighter, more robust airframe is one of the key technological advancements necessary for the successful launch of any large next-generation transport aircraft. Such a premise dictates that considerable improvements beyond current state-of-the-art aluminum structures is needed, and that improvements of this magnitude will require an extensive use of composite materials that are not only lightweight, but also economical to produce. To address this challenge, researchers at NASA and The Boeing Company are developing a novel structural concept called the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS) under the Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project. It is an integrally stiffened panel concept that is stitched together and designed to maintain residual load-carrying capabilities under a variety of damage scenarios. In addition to improved structural performance, an important facet of this unique arrangement of stitched carbon fibers is its innovative manufacturing method that has the potential to lower fabrication costs by eliminating fasteners and autoclave cures. The rationale and development status for this new approach forms the basis of the work described in this paper. The test specimens described herein were fabricated, or are currently being fabricated, by The Boeing Company, while the structural analyses and testing tasks are being performed by NASA and Boeing personnel.

Tooling Foam for Structural Composite Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeLay, Tom; Smith, Brett H.; Ely, Kevin; MacArthur, Doug

1998-01-01

Tooling technology applications for composite structures fabrication have been expanded at MSFC's Productivity Enhancement Complex (PEC). Engineers from NASA/MSFC and Lockheed Martin Corporation have developed a tooling foam for use in composite materials processing and manufacturing that exhibits superior thermal and mechanical properties in comparison with other tooling foam materials. This tooling foam is also compatible with most preimpregnated composite resins such as epoxy, bismaleimide, phenolic and their associated cure cycles. MARCORE tooling foam has excellent processability for applications requiring either integral or removable tooling. It can also be tailored to meet the requirements for composite processing of parts with unlimited cross sectional area. A shelf life of at least six months is easily maintained when components are stored between 50F - 70F. The MARCORE tooling foam system is a two component urethane-modified polyisocyanurate, high density rigid foam with zero ozone depletion potential. This readily machineable, lightweight tooling foam is ideal for composite structures fabrication and is dimensionally stable at temperatures up to 350F and pressures of 100 psi.

Super-elastic and fatigue resistant carbon material with lamellar multi-arch microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Huai-Ling; Zhu, Yin-Bo; Mao, Li-Bo; Wang, Feng-Chao; Luo, Xi-Sheng; Liu, Yang-Yi; Lu, Yang; Pan, Zhao; Ge, Jin; Shen, Wei; Zheng, Ya-Rong; Xu, Liang; Wang, Lin-Jun; Xu, Wei-Hong; Wu, Heng-An; Yu, Shu-Hong

2016-09-01

Low-density compressible materials enable various applications but are often hindered by structure-derived fatigue failure, weak elasticity with slow recovery speed and large energy dissipation. Here we demonstrate a carbon material with microstructure-derived super-elasticity and high fatigue resistance achieved by designing a hierarchical lamellar architecture composed of thousands of microscale arches that serve as elastic units. The obtained monolithic carbon material can rebound a steel ball in spring-like fashion with fast recovery speed (~580 mm s-1), and demonstrates complete recovery and small energy dissipation (~0.2) in each compress-release cycle, even under 90% strain. Particularly, the material can maintain structural integrity after more than 106 cycles at 20% strain and 2.5 × 105 cycles at 50% strain. This structural material, although constructed using an intrinsically brittle carbon constituent, is simultaneously super-elastic, highly compressible and fatigue resistant to a degree even greater than that of previously reported compressible foams mainly made from more robust constituents.

Biologically inspired flexible quasi-single-mode random laser: an integration of Pieris canidia butterfly wing and semiconductors.

PubMed

Wang, Cih-Su; Chang, Tsung-Yuan; Lin, Tai-Yuan; Chen, Yang-Fang

2014-10-23

Quasi-periodic structures of natural biomaterial membranes have great potentials to serve as resonance cavities to generate ecological friendly optoelectronic devices with low cost. To achieve the first attempt for the illustration of the underlying principle, the Pieris canidia butterfly wing was embedded with ZnO nanoparticles. Quite interestingly, it is found that the bio-inspired quasi-single-mode random laser can be achieved by the assistance of the skeleton of the membrane, in which ZnO nanoparticles act as emitting gain media. Such unique characteristics can be interpreted well by the Fabry-Perot resonance existing in the window-like quasi-periodic structure of butterfly wing. Due to the inherently promising flexibility of butterfly wing membrane, the laser action can still be maintained during the bending process. Our demonstrated approach not only indicates that the natural biological structures can provide effective scattering feedbacks but also pave a new avenue towards designing bio-controlled photonic devices.

Biologically inspired flexible quasi-single-mode random laser: An integration of Pieris canidia butterfly wing and semiconductors

PubMed Central

Wang, Cih-Su; Chang, Tsung-Yuan; Lin, Tai-Yuan; Chen, Yang-Fang

2014-01-01

Quasi-periodic structures of natural biomaterial membranes have great potentials to serve as resonance cavities to generate ecological friendly optoelectronic devices with low cost. To achieve the first attempt for the illustration of the underlying principle, the Pieris canidia butterfly wing was embedded with ZnO nanoparticles. Quite interestingly, it is found that the bio-inspired quasi-single-mode random laser can be achieved by the assistance of the skeleton of the membrane, in which ZnO nanoparticles act as emitting gain media. Such unique characteristics can be interpreted well by the Fabry-Perot resonance existing in the window-like quasi-periodic structure of butterfly wing. Due to the inherently promising flexibility of butterfly wing membrane, the laser action can still be maintained during the bending process. Our demonstrated approach not only indicates that the natural biological structures can provide effective scattering feedbacks but also pave a new avenue towards designing bio-controlled photonic devices. PMID:25338507

A Prototype Actuator Concept for Membrane Boundary Vibration Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solter, Micah J.

2005-01-01

In conjunction with the research in ultra-lightweight deployable spacecraft and membrane structures is an underlying need for shape and vibration control. For thin film membrane structures, fundamental modes of vibration for the membrane can be excited through station keeping, attitude adjustments, orbital maneuvers, or contact with space junk or micrometeorites. In order to maintain structural integrity as well as surface shape contour, which may be essential for inflatable antennas, reflective surfaces, or solar sails; vibration damping is a necessary component. This paper discusses development of an actuator attached at the membrane boundary, containing two types of piezoelectric elements, which can be used to perform active control of vibration from the boundary of a membrane. The actuator is designed to control the membrane out-of-plane displacement and in-plane tension by varying the boundary conditions. Results from an initial experimental evaluation of the concept are presented with bench tests of the actuator alone, and with the actuator connected to a large membrane.

Methyl Transfer by Substrate Signaling from a Knotted Protein Fold

PubMed Central

Christian, Thomas; Sakaguchi, Reiko; Perlinska, Agata P.; Lahoud, Georges; Ito, Takuhiro; Taylor, Erika A.; Yokoyama, Shigeyuki; Sulkowska, Joanna I.; Hou, Ya-Ming

2017-01-01

Proteins with knotted configurations are restricted in conformational space relative to unknotted proteins. Little is known if knotted proteins have sufficient dynamics to communicate between spatially separated substrate-binding sites. In bacteria, TrmD is a methyl transferase that uses a knotted protein fold to catalyze methyl transfer from S-adenosyl methionine (AdoMet) to G37-tRNA. The product m1G37-tRNA is essential for life as a determinant to maintain protein synthesis reading-frame. Using an integrated approach of structure, kinetic, and computational analysis, we show here that the structurally constrained TrmD knot is required for its catalytic activity. Unexpectedly, the TrmD knot has complex internal movements that respond to AdoMet binding and signaling. Most of the signaling propagates the free energy of AdoMet binding to stabilize tRNA binding and to assemble the active site. This work demonstrates new principles of knots as an organized structure that captures the free energies of substrate binding to facilitate catalysis. PMID:27571175

Predictive processing of novel compounds: evidence from Japanese.

PubMed

Hirose, Yuki; Mazuka, Reiko

2015-03-01

Our study argues that pre-head anticipatory processing operates at a level below the level of the sentence. A visual-world eye-tracking study demonstrated that, in processing of Japanese novel compounds, the compound structure can be constructed prior to the head if the prosodic information on the preceding modifier constituent signals that the Compound Accent Rule (CAR) is being applied. This prosodic cue rules out the single head analysis of the modifier noun, which would otherwise be a natural and economical choice. Once the structural representation for the head is computed in advance, the parser becomes faster in identifying the compound meaning. This poses a challenge to models maintaining that structural integration and word recognition are separate processes. At the same time, our results, together with previous findings, suggest the possibility that there is some degree of staging during the processing of different sources of information during the comprehension of compound nouns. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The methodology of multi-viewpoint clustering analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Mala; Wild, Chris

1993-01-01

One of the greatest challenges facing the software engineering community is the ability to produce large and complex computer systems, such as ground support systems for unmanned scientific missions, that are reliable and cost effective. In order to build and maintain these systems, it is important that the knowledge in the system be suitably abstracted, structured, and otherwise clustered in a manner which facilitates its understanding, manipulation, testing, and utilization. Development of complex mission-critical systems will require the ability to abstract overall concepts in the system at various levels of detail and to consider the system from different points of view. Multi-ViewPoint - Clustering Analysis MVP-CA methodology has been developed to provide multiple views of large, complicated systems. MVP-CA provides an ability to discover significant structures by providing an automated mechanism to structure both hierarchically (from detail to abstract) and orthogonally (from different perspectives). We propose to integrate MVP/CA into an overall software engineering life cycle to support the development and evolution of complex mission critical systems.

A low-threshold nanolaser based on hybrid plasmonic waveguides at the deep subwavelength scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhi-Quan; Piao, Rui-Qi; Zhao, Jing-Jing; Meng, Xiao-Yun; Tong, Kai

2015-07-01

A novel nanolaser structure based on a hybrid plasmonic waveguide is proposed and investigated. The coupling between the metal nanowire and the high-index semiconductor nanowire with optical gain leads to a strong field enhancement in the air gap region and low propagation loss, which enables the realization of lasing at the deep subwavelength scale. By optimizing the geometric parameters of the structure, a minimal lasing threshold is achieved while maintaining the capacity of ultra-deep subwavelength mode confinement. Compared with the previous coupled nanowire pair based hybrid plasmonic structure, a lower threshold can be obtained with the same geometric parameters. The proposed nanolaser can be integrated into a miniature chip as a nanoscale light source and has the potential to be widely used in optical communication and optical sensing technology. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61172044) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (Grant No. F2014501150).

Biologically inspired flexible quasi-single-mode random laser: An integration of Pieris canidia butterfly wing and semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Cih-Su; Chang, Tsung-Yuan; Lin, Tai-Yuan; Chen, Yang-Fang

2014-10-01

Quasi-periodic structures of natural biomaterial membranes have great potentials to serve as resonance cavities to generate ecological friendly optoelectronic devices with low cost. To achieve the first attempt for the illustration of the underlying principle, the Pieris canidia butterfly wing was embedded with ZnO nanoparticles. Quite interestingly, it is found that the bio-inspired quasi-single-mode random laser can be achieved by the assistance of the skeleton of the membrane, in which ZnO nanoparticles act as emitting gain media. Such unique characteristics can be interpreted well by the Fabry-Perot resonance existing in the window-like quasi-periodic structure of butterfly wing. Due to the inherently promising flexibility of butterfly wing membrane, the laser action can still be maintained during the bending process. Our demonstrated approach not only indicates that the natural biological structures can provide effective scattering feedbacks but also pave a new avenue towards designing bio-controlled photonic devices.

Sandwich Panels Evaluated With Ultrasonic Spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cosgriff, Laura M.

2004-01-01

Enhanced, lightweight material systems, such as 17-4PH stainless steel sandwich panels are being developed for use as fan blades and fan containment systems for next-generation engines. The bond strength between the core and face sheets is critical in maintaining the structural integrity of the sandwich structure. To improve the inspection and production of these systems, researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center are using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques, such as ultrasonic spectroscopy, to evaluate the brazing quality between the face plates and the metallic foam core. The capabilities and limitations of a swept-frequency approach to ultrasonic spectroscopy were evaluated with respect to these sandwich structures. This report discusses results from three regions of a sandwich panel representing different levels of brazing quality between the outer face plates and a metallic foam core. Each region was investigated with ultrasonic spectroscopy. Then, on the basis of the NDE results, three shear specimens sectioned from the sandwich panel to contain each of these regions were mechanically tested.

Dna2 nuclease-helicase structure, mechanism and regulation by Rpa.

PubMed

Zhou, Chun; Pourmal, Sergei; Pavletich, Nikola P

2015-11-02

The Dna2 nuclease-helicase maintains genomic integrity by processing DNA double-strand breaks, Okazaki fragments and stalled replication forks. Dna2 requires ssDNA ends, and is dependent on the ssDNA-binding protein Rpa, which controls cleavage polarity. Here we present the 2.3 Å structure of intact mouse Dna2 bound to a 15-nucleotide ssDNA. The nuclease active site is embedded in a long, narrow tunnel through which the DNA has to thread. The helicase domain is required for DNA binding but not threading. We also present the structure of a flexibly-tethered Dna2-Rpa interaction that recruits Dna2 to Rpa-coated DNA. We establish that a second Dna2-Rpa interaction is mutually exclusive with Rpa-DNA interactions and mediates the displacement of Rpa from ssDNA. This interaction occurs at the nuclease tunnel entrance and the 5' end of the Rpa-DNA complex. Hence, it only displaces Rpa from the 5' but not 3' end, explaining how Rpa regulates cleavage polarity.

A high-throughput differential filtration assay to screen and select detergents for membrane proteins

PubMed Central

Vergis, James M.; Purdy, Michael D.; Wiener, Michael C.

2015-01-01

Structural studies on integral membrane proteins are routinely performed on protein–detergent complexes (PDCs) consisting of purified protein solubilized in a particular detergent. Of all the membrane protein crystal structures solved to date, a subset of only four detergents has been used in more than half of these structures. Unfortunately, many membrane proteins are not well behaved in these four detergents and/or fail to yield well-diffracting crystals. Identification of detergents that maintain the solubility and stability of a membrane protein is a critical step and can be a lengthy and “protein-expensive” process. We have developed an assay that characterizes the stability and size of membrane proteins exchanged into a panel of 94 commercially available and chemically diverse detergents. This differential filtration assay (DFA), using a set of filtered microplates, requires sub-milligram quantities of purified protein and small quantities of detergents and other reagents and is performed in its entirety in several hours. PMID:20667442

TOKEN DESEGREGATION AND BEYOND.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MORLAND, J. KENNETH

TOKEN INTEGRATION IN THE SOUTH HAD ESSENTIALLY THE SAME GOAL THAT MASSIVE RESISTANCE HAD, IT TRIED TO PRESERVE THE ALREADY ESTABLISHED SEGREGATION. THOUGH IT MET THE DEMANDS OF THE SUPREME COURT BY ALLOWING SOME INTEGRATION, IT STILL MAINTAINED DE FACTO SEGREGATION. METHODS OF KEEPING SCHOOL INTEGRATION AT A TOKEN LEVEL INCLUDED PUPIL PLACEMENT…

Biological condition gradient: Applying a framework for determining the biological integrity of coral reefs

EPA Science Inventory

The goals of the U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) are to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of water resources. Although clean water is a goal, another is to safeguard biological communities by defining levels of biological integrity to protect aquatic...

Large image microscope array for the compilation of multimodality whole organ image databases.

PubMed

Namati, Eman; De Ryk, Jessica; Thiesse, Jacqueline; Towfic, Zaid; Hoffman, Eric; Mclennan, Geoffrey

2007-11-01

Three-dimensional, structural and functional digital image databases have many applications in education, research, and clinical medicine. However, to date, apart from cryosectioning, there have been no reliable means to obtain whole-organ, spatially conserving histology. Our aim was to generate a system capable of acquiring high-resolution images, featuring microscopic detail that could still be spatially correlated to the whole organ. To fulfill these objectives required the construction of a system physically capable of creating very fine whole-organ sections and collecting high-magnification and resolution digital images. We therefore designed a large image microscope array (LIMA) to serially section and image entire unembedded organs while maintaining the structural integrity of the tissue. The LIMA consists of several integrated components: a novel large-blade vibrating microtome, a 1.3 megapixel peltier cooled charge-coupled device camera, a high-magnification microscope, and a three axis gantry above the microtome. A custom control program was developed to automate the entire sectioning and automated raster-scan imaging sequence. The system is capable of sectioning unembedded soft tissue down to a thickness of 40 microm at specimen dimensions of 200 x 300 mm to a total depth of 350 mm. The LIMA system has been tested on fixed lung from sheep and mice, resulting in large high-quality image data sets, with minimal distinguishable disturbance in the delicate alveolar structures. Copyright 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Network integration and limits to social inheritance in vervet monkeys.

PubMed

Jarrett, Jonathan D; Bonnell, Tyler R; Young, Christopher; Barrett, Louise; Henzi, S Peter

2018-04-11

Social networks can be adaptive for members and a recent model (Ilany and Akçay 2016 Nat. Comm. 7 , 12084 (doi:10.1038/ncomms12084)) has demonstrated that network structure can be maintained by a simple process of social inheritance. Here, we ask how juvenile vervet monkeys integrate into their adult grooming networks, using the model to test whether observed grooming patterns replicate network structure. Female juveniles, who are philopatric, increased their grooming effort towards adults more than males, although this was not reciprocated by the adults themselves. While more consistent maternal grooming networks, together with maternal network strength, predicted increasing similarity in the patterning of mother-daughter grooming allocations, daughters' grooming networks generally did not match closely those of their mothers. However, maternal networks themselves were not very consistent across time, thus presenting youngsters with a moving target that may be difficult to match. Observed patterns of juvenile female grooming did not replicate the adult network, for which increased association with adults not groomed by their mothers would be necessary. These results suggest that network flexibility, not stability, characterizes our groups and that juveniles are exposed to, and must learn to cope with, temporal shifts in network structure. We hypothesize that this may lead to individual variation in behavioural flexibility, which in turn may help explain why and how variation in sociability influences fitness. © 2018 The Author(s).

High-Throughput Screening of Vascular Endothelium-Destructive or Protective Microenvironments: Cooperative Actions of Extracellular Matrix Composition, Stiffness, and Structure.

PubMed

Ding, Yonghui; Floren, Michael; Tan, Wei

2017-06-01

Pathological modification of the subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) has closely been associated with endothelial activation and subsequent cardiovascular disease progression. To understand regulatory mechanisms of these matrix modifications, the majority of previous efforts have focused on the modulation of either chemical composition or matrix stiffness on 2D smooth surfaces without simultaneously probing their cooperative effects on endothelium function on in vivo like 3D fibrous matrices. To this end, a high-throughput, combinatorial microarray platform on 2D and 3D hydrogel settings to resemble the compositions, stiffness, and structure of healthy and diseased subendothelial ECM has been established, and further their respective and combined effects on endothelial attachment, proliferation, inflammation, and junctional integrity have been investigated. For the first time, the results demonstrate that 3D fibrous structure resembling native ECM is a critical endothelium-protective microenvironmental factor by maintaining the stable, quiescent endothelium with strong resistance to proinflammatory stimuli. It is also revealed that matrix stiffening, in concert with chemical compositions resembling diseased ECM, particularly collagen III, could aggravate activation of nuclear factor kappa B, disruption of endothelium integrity, and susceptibility to proinflammatory stimuli. This study elucidates cooperative effects of various microenvironmental factors on endothelial activation and sheds light on new in vitro model for cardiovascular diseases. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

15 CFR 4.33 - General exemptions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... knowledge of criminal activity and the evidentiary bases of possible enforcement actions, and to maintain... knowledge of criminal activity and the evidentiary bases of possible enforcement actions, and to maintain... the integrity of the law enforcement process, to avoid premature disclosure of the knowledge of...

36 CFR 1008.6 - Assuring integrity of records.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... subject to the Privacy Act be maintained with appropriate administrative, technical and physical...) Records security. Whether maintained in physical or electronic form, records subject to the Privacy Act... the system of records. The Privacy Act Officer will periodically review these security measures to...

PHARMACEUTICALS AS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS: ISSUES REGARDING ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

The Clean Water Act (CWA) provides the legislative mandate for the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Quality Program to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. Therefore, a common goal is to maintain water...

Mutations in the putative calcium-binding domain of polyomavirus VP1 affect capsid assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haynes, J. I. 2nd; Chang, D.; Consigli, R. A.; Spooner, B. S. (Principal Investigator)

1993-01-01

Calcium ions appear to play a major role in maintaining the structural integrity of the polyomavirus and are likely involved in the processes of viral uncoating and assembly. Previous studies demonstrated that a VP1 fragment extending from Pro-232 to Asp-364 has calcium-binding capabilities. This fragment contains an amino acid stretch from Asp-266 to Glu-277 which is quite similar in sequence to the amino acids that make up the calcium-binding EF hand structures found in many proteins. To assess the contribution of this domain to polyomavirus structural integrity, the effects of mutations in this region were examined by transfecting mutated viral DNA into susceptible cells. Immunofluorescence studies indicated that although viral protein synthesis occurred normally, infective viral progeny were not produced in cells transfected with polyomavirus genomes encoding either a VP1 molecule lacking amino acids Thr-262 through Gly-276 or a VP1 molecule containing a mutation of Asp-266 to Ala. VP1 molecules containing the deletion mutation were unable to bind 45Ca in an in vitro assay. Upon expression in Escherichia coli and purification by immunoaffinity chromatography, wild-type VP1 was isolated as pentameric, capsomere-like structures which could be induced to form capsid-like structures upon addition of CaCl2, consistent with previous studies. However, although VP1 containing the point mutation was isolated as pentamers which were indistinguishable from wild-type VP1 pentamers, addition of CaCl2 did not result in their assembly into capsid-like structures. Immunogold labeling and electron microscopy studies of transfected mammalian cells provided in vivo evidence that a mutation in this region affects the process of viral assembly.

The organizational structure and governing principles of the Food and Drug Administration's Mini-Sentinel pilot program.

PubMed

Forrow, Susan; Campion, Daniel M; Herrinton, Lisa J; Nair, Vinit P; Robb, Melissa A; Wilson, Marcus; Platt, Richard

2012-01-01

The US Food and Drug Administration's Mini-Sentinel pilot program is developing an organizational structure as well as principles and policies to govern its operations. These will inform the structure and function of the eventual Sentinel System. Mini-Sentinel is a collaboration that includes 25 participating institutions. We describe the program's current organizational structure and its major principles and policies. The organization includes a coordinating center with program leadership provided by a principal investigator; a planning board and subcommittees; an operations center; and data, methods, and protocol cores. Ad hoc workgroups are created as needed. A privacy panel advises about protection of individual health information. Principles and policies are intended to ensure that Mini-Sentinel conforms to the principles of fair information practices, protects the privacy of individual health information, maintains the security and integrity of data, assures the confidentiality of proprietary information, provides accurate and timely communications, prevents or manages conflicts of interest, and preserves respect for intellectual property rights. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In Vitro Propagation and Branching Morphogenesis from Single Ureteric Bud Cells.

PubMed

Yuri, Shunsuke; Nishikawa, Masaki; Yanagawa, Naomi; Jo, Oak D; Yanagawa, Norimoto

2017-02-14

A method to maintain and rebuild ureteric bud (UB)-like structures from UB cells in vitro could provide a useful tool for kidney regeneration. We aimed in our present study to establish a serum-free culture system that enables the expansion of UB progenitor cells, i.e., UB tip cells, and reconstruction of UB-like structures. We found that fibroblast growth factors or retinoic acid (RA) was sufficient for the survival of UB cells in serum-free condition, while the proliferation and maintenance of UB tip cells required glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor together with signaling from either WNT-β-catenin pathway or RA. The activation of WNT-β-catenin signaling in UB cells by endogenous WNT proteins required R-spondins. Together with Rho kinase inhibitor, our culture system facilitated the expansion of UB tip cells to form UB-like structures from dispersed single cells. The UB-like structures thus formed retained the original UB characteristics and integrated into the native embryonic kidneys. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct deposit laminate nanocomposites with enhanced propellent properties.

PubMed

Li, Xiangyu; Guerieri, Philip; Zhou, Wenbo; Huang, Chuan; Zachariah, Michael R

2015-05-06

One of the challenges in the use of energetic nanoparticles within a polymer matrix for propellant applications is obtaining high particle loading (high energy density) while maintaining mechanical integrity and reactivity. In this study, we explore a new strategy that utilizes laminate structures. Here, a laminate of alternating layers of aluminum nanoparticle (Al-NPs)/copper oxide nanoparticle (CuO-NPs) thermites in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) reactive binder, with a spacer layer of PVDF was fabricated by a electrospray layer-by-layer deposition method. The deposited layers containing up to 60 wt % Al-NPs/CuO-NPs thermite are found to be uniform and mechanically flexible. Both the reactive and mechanical properties of laminate significantly outperformed the single-layer structure with the same material composition. These results suggest that deploying a multilayer laminate structure enables the incorporation of high loadings of energetic materials and, in some cases, enhances the reactive properties over the corresponding homogeneous structure. These results imply that an additive manufacturing approach may yield significant advantages in developing a tailored architecture for advanced propulsion systems.

Sympatric bromeliad species (Pitcairnia spp.) facilitate tests of mechanisms involved in species cohesion and reproductive isolation in Neotropical inselbergs.

PubMed

Palma-Silva, C; Wendt, T; Pinheiro, F; Barbará, T; Fay, Michael F; Cozzolino, S; Lexer, C

2011-08-01

The roles of intra- and interspecific gene flow in speciation and species evolution are topics of great current interest in molecular ecology and evolutionary biology. Recent modelling studies call for new empirical data to test hypotheses arising from the recent shift from a 'whole-genome reproductive isolation' view to a 'genic' view of species and speciation. Particularly scarce (and thus of particular interest) are molecular genetic data on recently radiated, naturally hybridizing species in strongly structured and species-rich environments. Here, we studied four sympatric plant species (Pitcairnia spp.; Bromeliaceae) adapted to Neotropical inselbergs (isolated outcrops resembling habitat 'islands' in tropical rainforests) using nuclear and plastid DNA. Patterns of plastid DNA haplotype sharing and nuclear genomic admixture suggest the presence of both, incomplete lineage sorting and interspecific gene flow over extended periods of time. Integrity and cohesion of inselberg species of Pitcairnia are maintained despite introgression and in the face of extremely low within-species migration rates (N(e)m < 1 migrant per generation). Cross-evaluation of our genetic data against published pollination experiments indicate that species integrity is maintained by the simultaneous action of multiple prezygotic barriers, including flowering phenology, pollinator isolation and divergent mating systems. Postzygotic Bateson-Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities appear to contribute to isolation, as suggested by asymmetric introgression rates of single loci. Our results suggest that incomplete lineage sorting, hybridization and introgression form integral aspects of adaptive radiation in Neotropical inselberg 'archipelagos'. Inselbergs with multiple closely related co-occurring species should be of special interest to students of speciation in mountain systems, and to ongoing conservation programmes in the Atlantic Rainforest biodiversity hotspot. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Colonization and effector functions of innate lymphoid cells in mucosal tissues.

PubMed

Kim, Myunghoo; Kim, Chang H

2016-10-01

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) protect mucosal barrier tissues to fight infection and maintain tissue integrity. ILCs and their progenitors are developmentally programmed to migrate, differentiate and populate various mucosal tissues and associated lymphoid tissues. Functionally mature ILC subsets respond to diverse pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites in subset-specific manners. In this review, we will discuss how ILCs populate mucosal tissues and regulate immune responses to distinct pathogens to protect the host and maintain tissue integrity. Copyright © 2016 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Energy Systems Integration News - October 2016 | Energy Systems Integration

Science.gov Websites

SuperModels Game," a sophisticated game model developed by the National Association of Regulatory Utility maintain reliability, affordability, and utility company competitiveness. Those not invited to the game

Magnesium in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and sudden death.

PubMed

Singh, R B; Singh, V P; Cameron, E A

1981-01-01

Magnesium ions are important for maintaining the functional and structural integrity of the myocardium. Epidemiologic studies suggest that myocardial hypomagnecytia can predispose to sudden cardiac death and that hard water protective factor preventing heart attack could be magnesium. Recent studies show that infarcted portion of the myocardium has lowered magnesium content as compared to noninfarcted segment. Magnesium deficiency sensitises the myocardium to the toxic effect of various drugs, hypoxia etc. and magnesium administration is protective. The metabolic, biochemical and electrophysiologic effects of magnesium appear to be significant in treatment of myocardial ischaemia. Magnesium is a metal-coenzyme and activates adenosine-triphosphatase which may be inhibited by nonglucose fuels like lactate and free fatty acids. Magnesium deficiency may be responsible for the chronic electrical instability of the myocardium predisposing to sudden cardiac death. The acute precipitating stress dependent trigger which lie in the brain may also be related to magnesium. In addition to fast Na and Ca channels there could be a Mg-carrying transport system maintaining the electrical activity of the myocardium. There is sufficient evidence to suggest the use of magnesium salts against ischaemic heart disease and sudden cardiac death. Magnesium is cardioprotective and influences action potential duration, membrane potential and perhaps maintains the fast response. The therapeutic and prophylactic value of magnesium needs further assessment.

Advanced Technology Composite Fuselage - Repair and Damage Assessment Supporting Maintenance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flynn, B. W.; Bodine, J. B.; Dopker, B.; Finn, S. R.; Griess, K. H.; Hanson, C. T.; Harris, C. G.; Nelson, K. M.; Walker, T. H.; Kennedy, T. C.;

Process optimization for ultrasonic vibration assisted polishing of micro-structured surfaces on super hard material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhiyuan; Guo, Bing; Rao, Zhimin; Zhao, Qingliang

2014-08-01

In consideration of the excellent property of SiC, the ground micro-structured surface quality is hard to meet the requirement - consequently the ultrasonic vibration assisted polishing (UVAP) of micro-structures of molds is proposed in this paper. Through the orthogonal experiment, the parameters of UVAP of micro-structures were optimized. The experimental results show that, abrasive polishing process, the effect of the workpiece feed rate on the surface roughness (Ra), groove tip radius (R) and material removal rate (MRR) of micro-structures is significant. While, the UVAP, the most significant effect factor for Ra, R and MRR is the ultrasonic amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration. In addition, within the scope of the polishing process parameters selected by preliminary experiments, ultrasonic amplitude of 2.5μm, polishing force of 0.5N, workpiece feed rate of 5 mm·min-1, polishing wheel rotational speed of 50rpm, polishing time of 35min, abrasive size of 100nm and the polishing liquid concentration of 15% is the best technology of UVAP of micro-structures. Under the optimal parameters, the ground traces on the micro-structured surface were removed efficiently and the integrity of the edges of the micro-structure after grinding was maintained efficiently.

How might flukes and tapeworms maintain genome integrity without a canonical piRNA pathway?

PubMed Central

Skinner, Danielle E.; Rinaldi, Gabriel; Koziol, Uriel; Brehm, Klaus; Brindley, Paul J.

2014-01-01

Surveillance by RNA interference is central to controlling the mobilization of transposable elements (TEs). In stem cells, Piwi argonaute (Ago) proteins and associated proteins repress mobilization of TEs to maintain genome integrity. This defense mechanism targeting TEs is termed the Piwi-interacting RNA (Piwi-piRNA) pathway. In this Opinion, we draw attention to the situation that the genomes of cestodes and trematodes have lost the piwi and vasa genes that are hallmark characters of the germline multipotency program. This absence of Piwi-like Agos and Vasa helicases prompts the question: how does the germline of these flatworms withstand mobilization of TEs? Here we present an interpretation of mechanisms likely to defend the germline integrity of parasitic flatworms. PMID:24485046

Design and implementation of digital controllers for smart structures using field-programmable gate arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Jamie S.; Bowman, Hiroshi C.; Rao, Vittal S.; Pottinger, Hardy J.

1997-06-01

Implementation issues represent an unfamiliar challenge to most control engineers, and many techniques for controller design ignore these issues outright. Consequently, the design of controllers for smart structural systems usually proceeds without regard for their eventual implementation, thus resulting either in serious performance degradation or in hardware requirements that squander power, complicate integration, and drive up cost. The level of integration assumed by the Smart Patch further exacerbates these difficulties, and any design inefficiency may render the realization of a single-package sensor-controller-actuator system infeasible. The goal of this research is to automate the controller implementation process and to relieve the design engineer of implementation concerns like quantization, computational efficiency, and device selection. We specifically target Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) as our hardware platform because these devices are highly flexible, power efficient, and reprogrammable. The current study develops an automated implementation sequence that minimizes hardware requirements while maintaining controller performance. Beginning with a state space representation of the controller, the sequence automatically generates a configuration bitstream for a suitable FPGA implementation. MATLAB functions optimize and simulate the control algorithm before translating it into the VHSIC hardware description language. These functions improve power efficiency and simplify integration in the final implementation by performing a linear transformation that renders the controller computationally friendly. The transformation favors sparse matrices in order to reduce multiply operations and the hardware necessary to support them; simultaneously, the remaining matrix elements take on values that minimize limit cycles and parameter sensitivity. The proposed controller design methodology is implemented on a simple cantilever beam test structure using FPGA hardware. The experimental closed loop response is compared with that of an automated FPGA controller implementation. Finally, we explore the integration of FPGA based controllers into a multi-chip module, which we believe represents the next step towards the realization of the Smart Patch.

Method of fabricating free-form, high-aspect ratio components for high-current, high-speed microelectrics

DOEpatents

Maxwell, James L; Rose, Chris R; Black, Marcie R; Springer, Robert W

2014-03-11

Microelectronic structures and devices, and method of fabricating a three-dimensional microelectronic structure is provided, comprising passing a first precursor material for a selected three-dimensional microelectronic structure into a reaction chamber at temperatures sufficient to maintain said precursor material in a predominantly gaseous state; maintaining said reaction chamber under sufficient pressures to enhance formation of a first portion of said three-dimensional microelectronic structure; applying an electric field between an electrode and said microelectronic structure at a desired point under conditions whereat said first portion of a selected three-dimensional microelectronic structure is formed from said first precursor material; positionally adjusting either said formed three-dimensional microelectronic structure or said electrode whereby further controlled growth of said three-dimensional microelectronic structure occurs; passing a second precursor material for a selected three-dimensional microelectronic structure into a reaction chamber at temperatures sufficient to maintain said precursor material in a predominantly gaseous state; maintaining said reaction chamber under sufficient pressures whereby a second portion of said three-dimensional microelectronic structure formation is enhanced; applying an electric field between an electrode and said microelectronic structure at a desired point under conditions whereat said second portion of a selected three-dimensional microelectronic structure is formed from said second precursor material; and, positionally adjusting either said formed three-dimensional microelectronic structure or said electrode whereby further controlled growth of said three-dimensional microelectronic structure occurs.

Partial corrosion casting to assess cochlear vasculature in mouse models of presbycusis and CMV infection.

PubMed

Carraro, Mattia; Park, Albert H; Harrison, Robert V

2016-02-01

Some forms of sensorineural hearing loss involve damage or degenerative changes to the stria vascularis and/or other vascular structures in the cochlea. In animal models, many methods for anatomical assessment of cochlear vasculature exist, each with advantages and limitations. One methodology, corrosion casting, has proved useful in some species, however in the mouse model this technique is difficult to achieve because digestion of non vascular tissue results in collapse of the delicate cast specimen. We have developed a partial corrosion cast method that allows visualization of vasculature along much of the cochlear length but maintains some structural integrity of the specimen. We provide a detailed step-by-step description of this novel technique. We give some illustrative examples of the use of the method in mouse models of presbycusis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pathophysiology of keratinization

PubMed Central

Deo, Priya Nimish; Deshmukh, Revati

2018-01-01

Cytoskeleton of a cell is made up of microfilaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments. Keratins are diverse proteins. These intermediate filaments maintain the structural integrity of the keratinocytes. The word keratin covers these intermediate filament-forming proteins within the keratinocytes. They are expressed in a specific pattern and according to the stage of cellular differentiation. They always occur in pairs. Mutations in the genes which regulate the expression of keratin proteins are associated with a number of disorders which show defects in both skin and mucosa. In addition, there are a number of disorders which are seen because of abnormal keratinization. These keratins and keratin-associated proteins have become important markers in diagnostic pathology. This review article discusses the classification, structure, functions, the stains used for the demonstration of keratin and associated pathology. The review describes the physiology of keratinization, pathology behind abnormal keratin formation and various keratin disorders. PMID:29731562

Molecular dynamics simulations and statistical coupling analysis reveal functional coevolution network of oncogenic mutations in the CDKN2A-CDK6 complex.

PubMed

Wang, Jingwen; Zhao, Yuqi; Wang, Yanjie; Huang, Jingfei

2013-01-16

Coevolution between proteins is crucial for understanding protein-protein interaction. Simultaneous changes allow a protein complex to maintain its overall structural-functional integrity. In this study, we combined statistical coupling analysis (SCA) and molecular dynamics simulations on the CDK6-CDKN2A protein complex to evaluate coevolution between proteins. We reconstructed an inter-protein residue coevolution network, consisting of 37 residues and 37 interactions. It shows that most of the coevolved residue pairs are spatially proximal. When the mutations happened, the stable local structures were broken up and thus the protein interaction was decreased or inhibited, with a following increased risk of melanoma. The identification of inter-protein coevolved residues in the CDK6-CDKN2A complex can be helpful for designing protein engineering experiments. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mapping Metals Incorporation of a Whole Single Catalyst Particle Using Element Specific X-ray Nanotomography

DOE PAGES

Meirer, Florian; Morris, Darius T.; Kalirai, Sam; ...

2015-01-02

Full-field transmission X-ray microscopy has been used to determine the 3D structure of a whole individual fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) particle at high spatial resolution and in a fast, noninvasive manner, maintaining the full integrity of the particle. Using X-ray absorption mosaic imaging to combine multiple fields of view, computed tomography was performed to visualize the macropore structure of the catalyst and its availability for mass transport. We mapped the relative spatial distributions of Ni and Fe using multiple-energy tomography at the respective X-ray absorption K-edges and correlated these distributions with porosity and permeability of an equilibrated catalyst (E-cat) particle.more » Both metals were found to accumulate in outer layers of the particle, effectively decreasing porosity by clogging of pores and eventually restricting access into the FCC particle.« less

The sarcomeric cytoskeleton: from molecules to motion.

PubMed

Gautel, Mathias; Djinović-Carugo, Kristina

2016-01-01

Highly ordered organisation of striated muscle is the prerequisite for the fast and unidirectional development of force and motion during heart and skeletal muscle contraction. A group of proteins, summarised as the sarcomeric cytoskeleton, is essential for the ordered assembly of actin and myosin filaments into sarcomeres, by combining architectural, mechanical and signalling functions. This review discusses recent cell biological, biophysical and structural insight into the regulated assembly of sarcomeric cytoskeleton proteins and their roles in dissipating mechanical forces in order to maintain sarcomere integrity during passive extension and active contraction. α-Actinin crosslinks in the Z-disk show a pivot-and-rod structure that anchors both titin and actin filaments. In contrast, the myosin crosslinks formed by myomesin in the M-band are of a ball-and-spring type and may be crucial in providing stable yet elastic connections during active contractions, especially eccentric exercise. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Negotiating biomedical and traditional Chinese medicine treatments among elderly Chinese Singaporean women.

PubMed

Chang, Leanne; Basnyat, Iccha

2015-02-01

In this article we examine how elderly Chinese Singaporean women navigated between biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine in their practices of maintaining well-being. We interviewed 36 elderly women to understand their negotiation of medical choices in the interplay of structure, culture, and personal agency. Our findings show that participants made situational decisions under structural and cultural influences, such as family members' changing expectations and interpretations of medical practices, institutional preferences for biomedicine, and the patients' negotiating position between biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Participants demonstrated their capacity to enact agency through their examination of the effects and side effects of each medical system and through their integrative use of different medical treatments, depending on the purpose. Through our findings, we unveil contextual meanings of health among elderly women and the unique coexistence of traditional and modern medical practices within the context of Singapore. © The Author(s) 2014.

Canadian Activities in Space Debris Mitigation Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikanpour, Darius; Jiang, Xin Xiang; Goroshin, Samuel; Haddad, Emile; Kruzelecky, Roman; Hoa, Suong; Merle, Philippe; Kleiman, Jacob; Gendron, Stephane; Higgins, Andrew; Jamroz, Wes

The space environment, and in particular the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), is becoming increasingly populated with space debris which include fragments of dysfunctional spacecraft parts and materials traveling at speeds up to 15 km per second. These pose an escalating potential threat to LEO spacecraft, the international space station, and manned missions. This paper presents the Canadian activities to address the concerns over space debris in terms of debris mitigation measures and technologies; these include novel spacecraft demise technologies to safely decommission the spacecraft at the end of the mission, integrated self-healing material technologies for spacecraft structures to facilitate self-repair and help maintain the spacecraft structural and thermal performance, hypervelocity ground test capability to predict the impact of space debris on spacecraft performance, and ways of raising awareness within the space community through participation in targeted Science and Technology conferences and international forums.

The structural and health policy environment for delivering integrated HIV and substance use disorder treatments in Puerto Rico.

PubMed

Leff, Jared A; Hernández, Diana; Teixeira, Paul A; Castellón, Pedro C; Feaster, Daniel J; Rodriguez, Allan E; Santana-Bagur, Jorge L; De León, Sandra Miranda; Vidot, José Vargas; Metsch, Lisa R; Schackman, Bruce R

2017-03-23

HIV prevalence in Puerto Rico is nearly twice that of the mainland United States, a level that was substantially fueled by injection drug use. Puerto Rico has a longstanding history of health provision by the public sector that directly affects how HIV and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services are provided and funded. As part of pre-implementation research for a randomized trial of a community-level intervention to enhance HIV care access for substance users in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we sought to understand the structural and health policy environment for providing HIV and SUD treatments. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 8) with government and program administrators in English and Spanish. Data were analyzed to identify dominant and recurrent themes. Participants discussed how lack of integration among medical and mental health service providers, lack of public transportation, and turnover in appointed government officials were barriers to integrated HIV and SUD treatment. Federal funding for support services for HIV patients was a facilitator. The Affordable Care Act has limited impact in Puerto Rico because provisions related to health insurance reform do not apply to U.S. territories. Implications for intervention design include the need to provide care coordination for services from multiple providers, who are often physically separated and working in different reimbursement systems, and the potential for mobile and patient transportation services to bridge these gaps. Continuous interaction with political leaders is needed to maintain current facilitators. These findings are relevant as the current economic crisis in Puerto Rico affects funding, and may be relevant for other settings with substance use-driven epidemics.