Incorporating parametric uncertainty into population viability analysis models

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGowan, Conor P.; Runge, Michael C.; Larson, Michael A.

2011-01-01

Uncertainty in parameter estimates from sampling variation or expert judgment can introduce substantial uncertainty into ecological predictions based on those estimates. However, in standard population viability analyses, one of the most widely used tools for managing plant, fish and wildlife populations, parametric uncertainty is often ignored in or discarded from model projections. We present a method for explicitly incorporating this source of uncertainty into population models to fully account for risk in management and decision contexts. Our method involves a two-step simulation process where parametric uncertainty is incorporated into the replication loop of the model and temporal variance is incorporated into the loop for time steps in the model. Using the piping plover, a federally threatened shorebird in the USA and Canada, as an example, we compare abundance projections and extinction probabilities from simulations that exclude and include parametric uncertainty. Although final abundance was very low for all sets of simulations, estimated extinction risk was much greater for the simulation that incorporated parametric uncertainty in the replication loop. Decisions about species conservation (e.g., listing, delisting, and jeopardy) might differ greatly depending on the treatment of parametric uncertainty in population models.

Application of the Deming management method to equipment-inspection processes.

PubMed

Campbell, C A

1996-01-01

The Biomedical Engineering staff at the Washington Hospital Center has designed an inspection process that optimizes timely completion of scheduled equipment inspections. The method used to revise the process was primarily Deming, but certainly the method incorporates the re-engineering concept of questioning the basic assumptions around which the original process was designed. This effort involved a review of the existing process in its entirety by task groups made up of representatives from all involved departments. Complete success in all areas has remained elusive. However, the lower variability of inspection completion ratios follows Deming's description of a successfully revised process. Further CQI efforts targeted at specific areas with low completion ratios will decrease this variability even further.

Integrating Multiple Teaching Methods into a General Chemistry Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Francisco, Joseph S.; Nicoll, Gayle; Trautmann, Marcella

1998-02-01

In addition to the traditional lecture format, three other teaching strategies (class discussions, concept maps, and cooperative learning) were incorporated into a freshman level general chemistry course. Student perceptions of their involvement in each of the teaching methods, as well as their perceptions of the utility of each method were used to assess the effectiveness of the integration of the teaching strategies as received by the students. Results suggest that each strategy serves a unique purpose for the students and increased student involvement in the course. These results indicate that the multiple teaching strategies were well received by the students and that all teaching strategies are necessary for students to get the most out of the course.

Love and Involvement in Romantic Relationships.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddex, Barbara E.

This study investigates the effects of predictability, perceived similarity, trust and love on each other and involvement in romantic relationships by developing and testing (by path analysis) two models. One model incorporated involvement in romantic relationships as a dependent variable; the second model incorporated involvement as an…

Simple & Rapid Generation of Complex DNA Profiles for the Undergraduate Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kass, David H.

2007-01-01

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiles can be generated by a variety of techniques incorporating different types of DNA markers. Simple methods are commonly utilized in the undergraduate laboratory, but with certain drawbacks. In this article, the author presents an advancement of the "Alu" dimorphism technique involving two tetraplex polymerase…

Psychosocial and Cognitive Functioning of Children with Specific Profiles of Maltreatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pears, Katherine C.; Kim, Hyoun K.; Fisher, Philip A.

2008-01-01

Objective: Up to 90% of child welfare system cases involve multiple types of maltreatment; however, studies have rarely incorporated multiple dimensions of maltreatment. The present study employed a latent profile analysis to identify naturally occurring subgroups of children who had experienced maltreatment. Methods: Reports of maltreatment…

Effectiveness of Using Games in Tertiary-Level Mathematics Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afari, Ernest; Aldridge, Jill M.; Fraser, Barry J.

2012-01-01

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of games when used in tertiary-level mathematics classes in the United Arab Emirates. Our study incorporated a mixed-method approach that involved surveys (to assess students' perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes towards mathematics), interviews, observations of…

Ecological Development and Validation of a Music Performance Rating Scale for Five Instrument Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wrigley, William J.; Emmerson, Stephen B.

2013-01-01

This study investigated ways to improve the quality of music performance evaluation in an effort to address the accountability imperative in tertiary music education. An enhanced scientific methodology was employed incorporating ecological validity and using recognized qualitative methods involving grounded theory and quantitative methods…

A toolkit for incorporating genetics into mainstream medical services: Learning from service development pilots in England

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background As advances in genetics are becoming increasingly relevant to mainstream healthcare, a major challenge is to ensure that these are integrated appropriately into mainstream medical services. In 2003, the Department of Health for England announced the availability of start-up funding for ten 'Mainstreaming Genetics' pilot services to develop models to achieve this. Methods Multiple methods were used to explore the pilots' experiences of incorporating genetics which might inform the development of new services in the future. A workshop with project staff, an email questionnaire, interviews and a thematic analysis of pilot final reports were carried out. Results Seven themes relating to the integration of genetics into mainstream medical services were identified: planning services to incorporate genetics; the involvement of genetics departments; the establishment of roles incorporating genetic activities; identifying and involving stakeholders; the challenges of working across specialty boundaries; working with multiple healthcare organisations; and the importance of cultural awareness of genetic conditions. Pilots found that the planning phase often included the need to raise awareness of genetic conditions and services and that early consideration of organisational issues such as clinic location was essential. The formal involvement of genetics departments was crucial to success; benefits included provision of clinical and educational support for staff in new roles. Recruitment and retention for new roles outside usual career pathways sometimes proved difficult. Differences in specialties' working practices and working with multiple healthcare organisations also brought challenges such as the 'genetic approach' of working with families, incompatible record systems and different approaches to health professionals' autonomous practice. 'Practice points' have been collated into a Toolkit which includes resources from the pilots, including job descriptions and clinical tools. These can be customised for reuse by other services. Conclusions Healthcare services need to translate advances in genetics into benefits for patients. Consideration of the issues presented here when incorporating genetics into mainstream medical services will help ensure that new service developments build on the body of experience gained by the pilots, to provide high quality services for patients with or at risk of genetic conditions. PMID:20470377

Computational fluid dynamics combustion analysis evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Y. M.; Shang, H. M.; Chen, C. P.; Ziebarth, J. P.

1992-01-01

This study involves the development of numerical modelling in spray combustion. These modelling efforts are mainly motivated to improve the computational efficiency in the stochastic particle tracking method as well as to incorporate the physical submodels of turbulence, combustion, vaporization, and dense spray effects. The present mathematical formulation and numerical methodologies can be casted in any time-marching pressure correction methodologies (PCM) such as FDNS code and MAST code. A sequence of validation cases involving steady burning sprays and transient evaporating sprays will be included.

Conceptual transitions in methods of skull-photo superimposition that impact the reliability of identification: a review.

PubMed

Jayaprakash, Paul T

2015-01-01

Establishing identification during skull-photo superimposition relies on correlating the salient morphological features of an unidentified skull with those of a face-image of a suspected dead individual using image overlay processes. Technical progression in the process of overlay has included the incorporation of video cameras, image-mixing devices and software that enables real-time vision-mixing. Conceptual transitions occur in the superimposition methods that involve 'life-size' images, that achieve orientation of the skull to the posture of the face in the photograph and that assess the extent of match. A recent report on the reliability of identification using the superimposition method adopted the currently prevalent methods and suggested an increased rate of failures when skulls were compared with related and unrelated face images. The reported reduction in the reliability of the superimposition method prompted a review of the transition in the concepts that are involved in skull-photo superimposition. The prevalent popular methods for visualizing the superimposed images at less than 'life-size', overlaying skull-face images by relying on the cranial and facial landmarks in the frontal plane when orienting the skull for matching and evaluating the match on a morphological basis by relying on mix-mode alone are the major departures in the methodology that may have reduced the identification reliability. The need to reassess the reliability of the method that incorporates the concepts which have been considered appropriate by the practitioners is stressed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deriving a Typology of Web 2.0 Learning Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Matt

2016-01-01

This paper presents the methods and outcomes of a typological analysis of Web 2.0 technologies. A comprehensive review incorporating over 2000 links led to identification of over 200 Web 2.0 technologies that were suitable for learning and teaching purposes. The typological analysis involved development of relevant Web 2.0 dimensions, grouping…

Island Explorations: Discovering Effects of Environmental Research-Based Lab Activities on Analytical Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomasik, Janice Hall; LeCaptain, Dale; Murphy, Sarah; Martin, Mary; Knight, Rachel M.; Harke, Maureen A.; Burke, Ryan; Beck, Kara; Acevedo-Polakovich, I. David

2014-01-01

Motivating students in analytical chemistry can be challenging, in part because of the complexity and breadth of topics involved. Some methods that help encourage students and convey real-world relevancy of the material include incorporating environmental issues, research-based lab experiments, and service learning projects. In this paper, we…

A new quasi-relativistic approach for density functional theory based on the normalized elimination of the small component

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filatov, Michael; Cremer, Dieter

2002-01-01

A recently developed variationally stable quasi-relativistic method, which is based on the low-order approximation to the method of normalized elimination of the small component, was incorporated into density functional theory (DFT). The new method was tested for diatomic molecules involving Ag, Cd, Au, and Hg by calculating equilibrium bond lengths, vibrational frequencies, and dissociation energies. The method is easy to implement into standard quantum chemical programs and leads to accurate results for the benchmark systems studied.

Incorporation of web-based applications and online resources in undergraduate medical education in the Irish Republic. Can new changes be incorporated in the current medical curriculum?

PubMed Central

Dhatt, Karanvir Singh; Kaliaperumal, Chandrasekaran

2014-01-01

Background/Aim: Significant change has been happening in the introduction of technology in medical teaching all over the world. We aim to determine if the undergraduate medical students and teachers are open to incorporating changes in the current medical curriculum or if there is a need for the same in the Republic of Ireland. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 202 participants of whom 152 were medical students and 50 medical professionals (teachers and hospital doctors) were carried out involving three different medical universities namely; University College Cork (UCC), University College Dublin (UCD), and National University of Ireland in Galway (NUIG). Participants were requested to answer a series of 15 questions designed incorporating various fields of technology necessary for the study. The data was collected and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to determine statistical significance. Results: The participants overall had a positive attitude toward the utility of modern technology and web-based applications in current medical curriculum. Ninety-one percent of the participants preferred the introduction of modern technology into medical education and 7% were against the idea and a further 2% of them remained undecided. Conclusion: There seems to be a “technology gap” in the current undergraduate medical curriculum in Ireland. A large-scale study involving more participants from all the medical schools in Ireland is recommended. We believe, changes can be brought into the current medical teaching and learning to make the process more fruitful and successful. PMID:25097432

Developing consumer involvement in rural HIV primary care programmes.

PubMed

Mamary, Edward M; Toevs, Kim; Burnworth, Karla B; Becker, Lin

2004-06-01

As part of a broader medical and psychosocial needs assessment in a rural region of northern California, USA, five focus groups were conducted to explore innovative approaches to creating a system of consumer involvement in the delivery of HIV primary care services in the region. A total of five focus groups (n = 30) were conducted with clients from three of five counties in the region with the highest number of HIV patients receiving primary care. Participants were recruited by their HIV case managers. They were adults living with HIV, who were receiving health care, and who resided in a rural mountain region of northern California. Group discussions explored ideas for new strategies and examined traditional methods of consumer involvement, considering ways they could be adapted for a rural environment. Recommendations for consumer involvement included a multi-method approach consisting of traditional written surveys, a formal advisory group, and monthly consumer led social support/informal input groups. Specific challenges discussed included winter weather conditions, transportation barriers, physical limitations, confidentiality concerns, and needs for social support and education. A multiple-method approach would ensure more comprehensive consumer involvement in the programme planning process. It is also evident that methods for incorporating consumer involvement must be adapted to the specific context and circumstances of a given programme.

The Place of Writing in Preserving an Oral Language.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Ruth; Mattz, Pam; Jackson, Silish; Campbell, Harold

This paper shows how a traditional story can be used to teach an indigenous language, and how the inclusion of writing can help students learn the language effectively. Hupa people have told Coyote stories for thousands of years. Such Hupa stories are incorporated in Hupa language instruction using the Language Proficiency Method, which involves a…

Aiming to Complete the Matrix: Eye-Movement Analysis of Processing Strategies in Children's Relational Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Zhe; Honomichl, Ryan; Kennedy, Diane; Tan, Enda

2016-01-01

The present study examines 5- to 8-year-old children's relation reasoning in solving matrix completion tasks. This study incorporates a componential analysis, an eye-tracking method, and a microgenetic approach, which together allow an investigation of the cognitive processing strategies involved in the development and learning of children's…

Instructor and peer bullying in college students: Distinct typologies based on Latent Class Analysis.

PubMed

Marraccini, Marisa E; Brick, Leslie Ann D; Weyandt, Lisa L

2018-03-22

Although bullying is traditionally considered within the context of primary and secondary school, recent evidence suggests that bullying continues into college and workplace settings. Participants/Method: Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to classify college bullying involvement typologies among 325 college students attending a northeastern university. Four classes concerning bullying involvement were revealed: Non-involved (36%); Instructor victim (30%); Peer bully-victim (22%); and Peer bully-victim/ Instructor victim (12%). Findings from this study, which classified college bullying experiences by incorporating both peer and instructor (teacher and professor) bullying, add substantially to the literature by providing insight into patterns of relatively unexplored bullying behaviors.

A modified Wright-Fisher model that incorporates Ne: A variant of the standard model with increased biological realism and reduced computational complexity.

PubMed

Zhao, Lei; Gossmann, Toni I; Waxman, David

2016-03-21

The Wright-Fisher model is an important model in evolutionary biology and population genetics. It has been applied in numerous analyses of finite populations with discrete generations. It is recognised that real populations can behave, in some key aspects, as though their size that is not the census size, N, but rather a smaller size, namely the effective population size, Ne. However, in the Wright-Fisher model, there is no distinction between the effective and census population sizes. Equivalently, we can say that in this model, Ne coincides with N. The Wright-Fisher model therefore lacks an important aspect of biological realism. Here, we present a method that allows Ne to be directly incorporated into the Wright-Fisher model. The modified model involves matrices whose size is determined by Ne. Thus apart from increased biological realism, the modified model also has reduced computational complexity, particularly so when Ne⪡N. For complex problems, it may be hard or impossible to numerically analyse the most commonly-used approximation of the Wright-Fisher model that incorporates Ne, namely the diffusion approximation. An alternative approach is simulation. However, the simulations need to be sufficiently detailed that they yield an effective size that is different to the census size. Simulations may also be time consuming and have attendant statistical errors. The method presented in this work may then be the only alternative to simulations, when Ne differs from N. We illustrate the straightforward application of the method to some problems involving allele fixation and the determination of the equilibrium site frequency spectrum. We then apply the method to the problem of fixation when three alleles are segregating in a population. This latter problem is significantly more complex than a two allele problem and since the diffusion equation cannot be numerically solved, the only other way Ne can be incorporated into the analysis is by simulation. We have achieved good accuracy in all cases considered. In summary, the present work extends the realism and tractability of an important model of evolutionary biology and population genetics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel partial volume effects correction technique integrating deconvolution associated with denoising within an iterative PET image reconstruction

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

Merlin, Thibaut, E-mail: thibaut.merlin@telecom-bretagne.eu; Visvikis, Dimitris; Fernandez, Philippe

2015-02-15

Purpose: Partial volume effect (PVE) plays an important role in both qualitative and quantitative PET image accuracy, especially for small structures. A previously proposed voxelwise PVE correction method applied on PET reconstructed images involves the use of Lucy–Richardson deconvolution incorporating wavelet-based denoising to limit the associated propagation of noise. The aim of this study is to incorporate the deconvolution, coupled with the denoising step, directly inside the iterative reconstruction process to further improve PVE correction. Methods: The list-mode ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm has been modified accordingly with the application of the Lucy–Richardson deconvolution algorithm to the current estimationmore » of the image, at each reconstruction iteration. Acquisitions of the NEMA NU2-2001 IQ phantom were performed on a GE DRX PET/CT system to study the impact of incorporating the deconvolution inside the reconstruction [with and without the point spread function (PSF) model] in comparison to its application postreconstruction and to standard iterative reconstruction incorporating the PSF model. The impact of the denoising step was also evaluated. Images were semiquantitatively assessed by studying the trade-off between the intensity recovery and the noise level in the background estimated as relative standard deviation. Qualitative assessments of the developed methods were additionally performed on clinical cases. Results: Incorporating the deconvolution without denoising within the reconstruction achieved superior intensity recovery in comparison to both standard OSEM reconstruction integrating a PSF model and application of the deconvolution algorithm in a postreconstruction process. The addition of the denoising step permitted to limit the SNR degradation while preserving the intensity recovery. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating the Lucy–Richardson deconvolution associated with a wavelet-based denoising in the reconstruction process to better correct for PVE. Future work includes further evaluations of the proposed method on clinical datasets and the use of improved PSF models.« less

Patient Education on Oral Anticoagulation.

PubMed

Hawes, Emily M

2018-04-20

Given the potential harm associated with anticoagulant use, patient education is often provided as a standard of care and emphasized across healthcare settings. Effective anticoagulation education involves face-to-face interaction with a trained professional who ensures that the patient understands the risks involved, the precautions that should be taken, and the need for regular monitoring. The teaching should be tailored to each patient, accompanied with written resources and utilize the teach-back method. It can be incorporated in a variety of pharmacy practice settings, including in ambulatory care clinics, hospitals, and community pharmacies.

Rate and topography of peptidoglycan synthesis during cell division in Escherichia coli: Concept of a leading edge

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

Wientjes, F.B.; Nanninga, N.

1989-06-01

The rate at which the peptidoglycan of Escherichia coli is synthesized during the division cycle was studied with two methods. One method involved synchronization of E. coli MC4100 lysA cultures by centrifugal elutriation and subsequent pulse-labeling of the synchronously growing cultures with (meso-{sup 3}H)diaminopimelic acid (({sup 3}H)Dap). The second method was autoradiography of cells pulse-labeled with ({sup 3}H)Dap. It was found that the peptidoglycan is synthesized at a more or less exponentially increasing rate during the division cycle with a slight acceleration in this rate as the cells start to constrict. Apparently, polar cap formation requires synthesis of extra surfacemore » components, presumably to accommodate for a change in the surface-to-volume ratio. Furthermore, it was found that the pool size of Dap was constant during the division cycle. Close analysis of the topography of ({sup 3}H)Dap incorporation at the constriction site revealed that constriction proceeded by synthesis of peptidoglycan at the leading edge of the invaginating cell envelope. During constriction, no reallocation of incorporation occurred, i.e., the incorporation at the leading edge remained high throughout the process of constriction. Impairment of penicillin-binding protein 3 by mutation or by the specific {beta}-lactam antibiotic furazlocillin did not affect ({sup 3}H)Dap incorporation during initiation of constriction. However, the incorporation at the constriction site was inhibited in later stages of the constriction process. It is concluded that during division at least two peptidoglycan-synthesizing systems are operating sequentially.« less

LC-MS/MS methods for albendazole analysis in feed and its metabolite residues in fish fillet and a leaching study in feed after an alternative procedure for drug incorporation.

PubMed

Busatto, Zenaís; da Silva, Agnaldo Fernando Baldo; de Freitas, Osvaldo; Paschoal, Jonas Augusto Rizzato

2017-04-01

This paper describes the development of analytical methods for the quantification of albendazole (ABZ) in fish feed and ABZ and its main known metabolites (albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole sulfone and albendazole aminosulfone) in fish fillet employing LC-MS/MS. In order to assess the reliability of the analytical methods, evaluation was undertaken as recommended by related guides proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture for analytical method validation. The calibration curve for ABZ quantification in feed showed adequate linearity (r > 0.99), precision (CV < 1.03%) and trueness ranging from 99% to 101%. The method for ABZ residues in fish fillet involving the QuEChERS technique for sample extraction had adequate linearity (r > 0.99) for all analytes, precision (CV < 13%) and trueness around 100%, with CCα < 122 ng g - 1 and CCβ < 145 ng g - 1 . Besides, by aiming to avoid the risk of ABZ leaching from feed into the aquatic environment during fish medication via the oral route, a promising procedure for drug incorporation in the feed involving coating feed pellets with ethyl cellulose polymer containing ABZ was also evaluated. The medicated feed had good homogeneity (CV < 3%) and a lower release of ABZ (< 0.2%) from feed to water when the medicated feed stayed in the water for up to 15 min.

An automated repair method of water pipe infrastructure using carbon fiber bundles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wisotzkey, Sean; Carr, Heath; Fyfe, Ed

2011-04-01

The United States water pipe infrastructure is made up of over 2 million miles of pipe. Due to age and deterioration, a large portion of this pipe is in need of repair to prevent catastrophic failures. Current repair methods generally involve intrusive techniques that can be time consuming and costly, but also can cause major societal impacts. A new automated repair method incorporating innovative carbon fiber technology is in development. This automated method would eliminate the need for trenching and would vastly cut time and labor costs, providing a much more economical pipe repair solution.

Conversion of Weinreb amides into benzene rings incorporating the amide carbonyl carbon.

PubMed

Clive, Derrick L J; Pham, Mai P

2009-02-20

Esters, acids and acid chlorides can be converted via the intermediacy of their corresponding Weinreb amides into benzene derivatives that incorporate the original carbonyl carbon as part of the benzene ring. The process involves treatment of the derived Weinreb amides with 3-butenylmagnesium bromide and an allylic Grignard reagent, followed by ring-closing metathesis, dehydration and dehydrogenation. The dehydration-dehydrogenation can be done under acidic conditions with a mixture of TsOH x H(2)O and DDQ or in two steps with SOCl(2)/pyridine, followed by treatment with DDQ. Application of the method to carbohydrates provides a convenient route to C-5 aryl pyranosides.

Of pacemakers and statistics: the actuarial method extended.

PubMed

Dussel, J; Wolbarst, A B; Scott-Millar, R N; Obel, I W

1980-01-01

Pacemakers cease functioning because of either natural battery exhaustion (nbe) or component failure (cf). A study of four series of pacemakers shows that a simple extension of the actuarial method, so as to incorporate Normal statistics, makes possible a quantitative differentiation between the two modes of failure. This involves the separation of the overall failure probability density function PDF(t) into constituent parts pdfnbe(t) and pdfcf(t). The approach should allow a meaningful comparison of the characteristics of different pacemaker types.

Detection of an enzootic plague focus by serological methods

PubMed Central

Cavanaugh, D. C.; Thorpe, B. D.; Bushman, J. B.; Nicholes, P. S.; Rust, J. H.

1965-01-01

Complement-fixation and haemagglutination tests, utilizing a highly purified, specific Fraction 1 antigen of Pasteurella pestis, have been employed to detect specific plague antibody in the sera of rodents resident in a sylvatic plague focus. The data show that while the isolation of P. pestis is seasonal and rather rare, antibodies can be detected for long periods of time and with great frequency in rodents surviving infection. The authors recommend that serological methods be incorporated into epidemiological surveys and control programmes involving rodent plague. PMID:14310906

DETECTION OF AN ENZOOTIC PLAGUE FOCUS BY SEROLOGICAL METHODS.

PubMed

CAVANAUGH, D C; THORPE, B D; BUSHMAN, J B; NICHOLES, P S; RUST, J H

1965-01-01

Complement-fixation and haemagglutination tests, utilizing a highly purified, specific Fraction 1 antigen of Pasteurella pestis, have been employed to detect specific plague antibody in the sera of rodents resident in a sylvatic plague focus. The data show that while the isolation of P. pestis is seasonal and rather rare, antibodies can be detected for long periods of time and with great frequency in rodents surviving infection. The authors recommend that serological methods be incorporated into epidemiological surveys and control programmes involving rodent plague.

Integrating Terrain Maps Into a Reactive Navigation Strategy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Ayanna; Werger, Barry; Seraji, Homayoun

2006-01-01

An improved method of processing information for autonomous navigation of a robotic vehicle across rough terrain involves the integration of terrain maps into a reactive navigation strategy. Somewhat more precisely, the method involves the incorporation, into navigation logic, of data equivalent to regional traversability maps. The terrain characteristic is mapped using a fuzzy-logic representation of the difficulty of traversing the terrain. The method is robust in that it integrates a global path-planning strategy with sensor-based regional and local navigation strategies to ensure a high probability of success in reaching a destination and avoiding obstacles along the way. The sensor-based strategies use cameras aboard the vehicle to observe the regional terrain, defined as the area of the terrain that covers the immediate vicinity near the vehicle to a specified distance a few meters away.

Preparation and Photocatalytic Activity of Potassium-Incorporated Titanium Oxide Nanostructures Produced by the Wet Corrosion Process Using Various Titanium Alloys

PubMed Central

Lee, So Yoon; Lee, Choong Hyun; Kim, Do Yun; Locquet, Jean-Pierre; Seo, Jin Won

2015-01-01

Nanostructured potassium-incorporated Ti-based oxides have attracted much attention because the incorporated potassium can influence their structural and physico-chemical properties. With the aim of tuning the structural and physical properties, we have demonstrated the wet corrosion process (WCP) as a simple method for nanostructure fabrication using various Ti-based materials, namely Ti–6Al–4V alloy (TAV), Ti–Ni (TN) alloy and pure Ti, which have 90%, 50% and 100% initial Ti content, respectively. We have systematically investigated the relationship between the Ti content in the initial metal and the precise condition of WCP to control the structural and physical properties of the resulting nanostructures. The WCP treatment involved various concentrations of KOH solutions. The precise conditions for producing K-incorporated nanostructured titanium oxide films (nTOFs) were strongly dependent on the Ti content of the initial metal. Ti and TAV yielded one-dimensional nanowires of K-incorporated nTOFs after treatment with 10 mol/L-KOH solution, whereas TN required a higher concentration (20 mol/L-KOH solution) to produce comparable nanostructures. The obtained nanostructures revealed a blue-shift in UV absorption spectra due to the quantum confinement effects. A significant enhancement of the photocatalytic activity was observed via the chromomeric change and the intermediate formation of methylene blue molecules under UV irradiation. This study demonstrates the WCP as a simple, versatile and scalable method for the production of nanostructured K-incorporated nTOFs to be used as high-performance photocatalysts for environmental and energy applications. PMID:28347071

Involving junior doctors in medical article publishing: is it an effective method of teaching?

PubMed

Oyibo, Samson O

2017-01-01

Having peer-reviewed articles published in medical journals is important for career progression in many medical specialties. Despite this, only a minority of junior doctors have the skills in the area of medical article publishing. The aim of this study was to assess junior doctors' views concerning being involved in medical article publishing and whether they perceive involvement as an effective method of teaching. A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of doctors who had been involved in medical article publishing. Questions concerned training and involvement in publishing as junior doctors, effects on education and training, is it an effective method of teaching and should publishing be part of their education and training program. Questions used the 5-point Likert scale. Of the 39 doctors, 37 (94.9%) doctors responded. Only one-third of respondents agreed that they had adequate training or involvement in medical article publishing during their undergraduate medical training. Many (78.4%) agreed that it was difficult to get published as a junior doctor. Publishing as a junior doctor improved knowledge about publishing, understanding of the topic and interest in the field of study for 92, 92 and 73% of respondents, respectively. Many (89%) agreed that publishing made them eager to publish more. Most (76%) agreed that it was likely to encourage interest in a postgraduate career in that field of study. A majority (92%) felt that involvement in medical article publishing is an effective method of teaching and it should be a part of the junior doctors' education and training program. Junior doctors feel that involvement in medical article publishing contributes to learning and education and is an effective method of teaching. This supports the need to incorporate such training into the junior doctors' education and training program.

Paraquat administration in Drosophila for use in metabolic studies of oxidative stress.

PubMed

Rzezniczak, T Z; Douglas, L A; Watterson, J H; Merritt, T J S

2011-12-15

Paraquat (PQ) is widely used in the laboratory to induce in vivo oxidative stress, particularly in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. PQ administration to the fly traditionally involves feeding in a 1% sucrose solution; however, a diet high in sucrose can itself be stressful. We examined a novel method of PQ administration: incorporation into the fly's standard cornmeal-sucrose-yeast diet. This method successfully delivers PQ to the fly at concentrations similar to those of the traditional method but with fewer possibly confounding complications. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preliminary evaluation of a coping strategy enhancement method of preparation for labour.

PubMed

Escott, Diane; Slade, Pauline; Spiby, Helen; Fraser, Robert B

2005-09-01

To compare the use and effects of enhanced pre-existing coping strategies with the use and effects of coping strategies usually taught in National Health Service (NHS) antenatal education on women's experience of pain and emotions during labour. A between-group comparison of women who chose to attend NHS antenatal education where courses of preparation were randomly assigned to include either a new method of coping strategy enhancement (CSE) or standard taught coping strategies. Two large maternity units in one city in the North of England. 20 women participated in antenatal classes incorporating the CSE method and 21 women participated in antenatal classes incorporating the standard approach to developing coping strategies for labour. Women who attended CSE classes used enhanced coping strategies for a larger proportion of their labour than women who attended standard classes who used taught coping strategies. Birth companions were more involved in women's use of enhanced than taught strategies. Self-efficacy for use of coping strategies and subsequent experiences of pain and emotions during labour were equivalent between groups. An approach based on enhancing pre-existing coping strategies was associated with greater coping strategy use and involvement from the birth companion, and provided benefits to women's overall experience of labour at least equivalent to that associated with standard preparation. Further research should explore this novel approach in larger groups, and for women who may choose not to attend group antenatal preparation.

A Framework Incorporating Community Preferences in Use ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The report is intended to assist water quality officials, watershed managers, members of stakeholder groups, and other interested individuals in fully evaluating ecological and socioeconomic objectives and the gains and losses that often are involved in use attainment decisions. In addition, this report enables local, state, and tribal managers to better understand the benefits, as well as the costs, of attaining high water quality, and to incorporate community preferences in decision-making. Specific objectives are (1) to provide an introduction to the CWA and WQS regulation and analyses related to setting or changing designated uses; (2) create a basis for understanding the relationship between use-attainment decisions and the effects on ecosystems, ecosystem services, and ecological benefits; (3) serve as reference for methods that elicit or infer preferences for benefits and costs related to attaining uses and (4) present process for incorporating new approaches in water quality decisions.

The economics of project analysis: Optimal investment criteria and methods of study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scriven, M. C.

1979-01-01

Insight is provided toward the development of an optimal program for investment analysis of project proposals offering commercial potential and its components. This involves a critique of economic investment criteria viewed in relation to requirements of engineering economy analysis. An outline for a systems approach to project analysis is given Application of the Leontief input-output methodology to analysis of projects involving multiple processes and products is investigated. Effective application of elements of neoclassical economic theory to investment analysis of project components is demonstrated. Patterns of both static and dynamic activity levels are incorporated.

Immobilization of antibacterial metallic cations (Ga3+, Zn2+ and Co2+) in a polypyrrole coating formed on Nitinol.

PubMed

Saugo, M; Brugnoni, L I; Flamini, D O; Saidman, S B

2018-05-01

Gallium, zinc and cobalt species were immobilized in hollow rectangular-sectioned microtubes of polypyrrole (PPy) electrosynthesized on Nitinol (NiTi) alloy by means of two different methods. One of them involved the immobilization after the PPy electropolymerization and the other one during the electrosynthesis process. The antibacterial activity of the coating against Escherichia coli (E. coli) was evaluated and the best results were obtained with gallium species. Characterization results demonstrated that gallium is incorporated into the PPy matrix as Ga 3+ ions. The PPy film with gallium species incorporated during the electropolymerization exhibited a good corrosion protection performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface hopping with a manifold of electronic states. I. Incorporating surface-leaking to capture lifetimes

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

Ouyang, Wenjun; Dou, Wenjie; Subotnik, Joseph E., E-mail: subotnik@sas.upenn.edu

2015-02-28

We investigate the incorporation of the surface-leaking (SL) algorithm into Tully’s fewest-switches surface hopping (FSSH) algorithm to simulate some electronic relaxation induced by an electronic bath in conjunction with some electronic transitions between discrete states. The resulting SL-FSSH algorithm is benchmarked against exact quantum scattering calculations for three one-dimensional model problems. The results show excellent agreement between SL-FSSH and exact quantum dynamics in the wide band limit, suggesting the potential for a SL-FSSH algorithm. Discrepancies and failures are investigated in detail to understand the factors that will limit the reliability of SL-FSSH, especially the wide band approximation. Considering the easinessmore » of implementation and the low computational cost, we expect this method to be useful in studying processes involving both a continuum of electronic states (where electronic dynamics are probabilistic) and processes involving only a few electronic states (where non-adiabatic processes cannot ignore short-time coherence)« less

Methods for understanding super-efficient data envelopment analysis results with an application to hospital inpatient surgery.

PubMed

O'Neill, Liam; Dexter, Franklin

2005-11-01

We compare two techniques for increasing the transparency and face validity of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) results for managers at a single decision-making unit: multifactor efficiency (MFE) and non-radial super-efficiency (NRSE). Both methods incorporate the slack values from the super-efficient DEA model to provide a more robust performance measure than radial super-efficiency scores. MFE and NRSE are equivalent for unique optimal solutions and a single output. MFE incorporates the slack values from multiple output variables, whereas NRSE does not. MFE can be more transparent to managers since it involves no additional optimization steps beyond the DEA, whereas NRSE requires several. We compare results for operating room managers at an Iowa hospital evaluating its growth potential for multiple surgical specialties. In addition, we address the problem of upward bias of the slack values of the super-efficient DEA model.

Analyzing the dependence of oxygen incorporation current density on overpotential and oxygen partial pressure in mixed conducting oxide electrodes.

PubMed

Guan, Zixuan; Chen, Di; Chueh, William C

2017-08-30

The oxygen incorporation reaction, which involves the transformation of an oxygen gas molecule to two lattice oxygen ions in a mixed ionic and electronic conducting solid, is a ubiquitous and fundamental reaction in solid-state electrochemistry. To understand the reaction pathway and to identify the rate-determining step, near-equilibrium measurements have been employed to quantify the exchange coefficients as a function of oxygen partial pressure and temperature. However, because the exchange coefficient contains contributions from both forward and reverse reaction rate constants and depends on both oxygen partial pressure and oxygen fugacity in the solid, unique and definitive mechanistic assessment has been challenging. In this work, we derive a current density equation as a function of both oxygen partial pressure and overpotential, and consider both near and far from equilibrium limits. Rather than considering specific reaction pathways, we generalize the multi-step oxygen incorporation reaction into the rate-determining step, preceding and following quasi-equilibrium steps, and consider the number of oxygen ions and electrons involved in each. By evaluating the dependence of current density on oxygen partial pressure and overpotential separately, one obtains the reaction orders for oxygen gas molecules and for solid-state species in the electrode. We simulated the oxygen incorporation current density-overpotential curves for praseodymium-doped ceria for various candidate rate-determining steps. This work highlights a promising method for studying the exchange kinetics far away from equilibrium.

Connecting families and high schools through interactive homework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandya, Katrina

2008-10-01

The current study analyzed the effectiveness of integrating parents in the education of their children through interactive homework (IH). More specifically, the research questions of the study examined the effectiveness, feasibility, and usefulness of parental involvement in increasing academic performance within high school science classes. Using a mixed method design with a single IH treatment group, a convenience sample of 84 anatomy and biology students was assessed over a 6-week period. Although Spearman correlations failed to reveal any associations linking hours of parental IH involvement with student outcomes, related-samples t tests of pre/post student performance indicated significant increases in homework, test scores and overall grades, with greatest improvement observed in test scores. Exit questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews were coded for emergent themes that in turn were analyzed for common patterns. These qualitative data revealed positive feedback related to specific program components and a general interest for program continuation. The results indicated that it is possible to successfully incorporate parents at the high school level, even in technical subject areas. The research may be of particular interest to families and educators due to the positive scholastic effects of incorporating parents in high school academics. Social change is generated by incorporating parents into the educational process which strengthens the school-home bond and contributes to student achievement and motivation.

Light fluorous-tagged traceless one-pot synthesis of benzimidazoles facilitated by microwave irradiation.

PubMed

Tseng, Chih-Chung; Tasi, Cheng-Hsun; Sun, Chung-Ming

2012-06-01

A novel protocol for rapid assemble of benzimidazole framework has been demonstrated. This method incorporated with light fluorous-tag provides a convenient method for diversification of benzimidazoles and for easy purification via fluorous solid-phase extraction (F-SPE) in a parallel manner. The key transformation of this study involves in situ reduction of aromatic nitro compound, amide formation, cyclization and aromatization promoted by microwave irradiation in a one-pot fashion. The strategy is envisaged to be applied for the establishment of drug-like small molecule libraries for high throughput screening.

How stakeholder participation can contribute to systematic reviews of complex interventions

PubMed Central

Harris, J; Croot, L; Thompson, J; Springett, J

2016-01-01

Although patient and public involvement in research is a requirement for research funding in many countries, the knowledge base for how to effectively involve people—and evidence of the effectiveness of involvement—is weak. This article describes how methods used in participatory health research were used to involve patients, clients, providers and community health workers across all stages of a realist review. Sustained involvement enabled better identification of the components of the complex intervention of community-based peer support. It also challenged assumptions of how peer support is constructed, leading the review team to question whether the process of designing and implementing interventions has more influence on effectiveness than previously recognised in empirical studies. We conclude with a discussion on when sustained involvement should be used, and the challenges of incorporating it into the traditional researcher-led approach to systematic reviews. PMID:26475921

Reliability improvement methods for sapphire fiber temperature sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schietinger, C.; Adams, B.

1991-08-01

Mechanical, optical, electrical, and software design improvements can be brought to bear in the enhancement of fiber-optic sapphire-fiber temperature measurement tool reliability in harsh environments. The optical fiber thermometry (OFT) equipment discussed is used in numerous process industries and generally involves a sapphire sensor, an optical transmission cable, and a microprocessor-based signal analyzer. OFT technology incorporating sensors for corrosive environments, hybrid sensors, and two-wavelength measurements, are discussed.

Functionalized Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composites and Interactions with Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shofner, Meisha (Inventor); Pulikkathara, Merlyn X. (Inventor); Wilkins, Richard (Inventor); Barrera, Enrique V. (Inventor); Vaidyanathan, Ranjii (Inventor)

2014-01-01

The present invention involves the interaction of radiation with functionalized carbon nanotubes that have been incorporated into various host materials, particularly polymeric ones. The present invention is directed to chemistries, methods, and apparatuses which exploit this type of radiation interaction, and to the materials which result from such interactions. The present invention is also directed toward the time dependent behavior of functionalized carbon nanotubes in such composite systems.

Effect of compounding approaches on fiber dispersion and performance of poly(lactic acid)/cellulose nanocrystal composite blown films

Treesearch

Sonal S. Karkhanis; Laurent M. Matuana; Nicole M. Stark; Ronald C. Sabo

2017-01-01

This study was aimed to identify the best approach for incorporating cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) into a poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix by examining two different CNC addition approaches. The first approach consisted of melt blending PLA and CNCs in a three-piece internal mixer whereas the second method involved the direct dry mixing of PLA and CNCs. The prepared...

Functionalized carbon nanotube-polymer composites and interactions with radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrera, Enrique V. (Inventor); Wilkins, Richard (Inventor); Shofner, Meisha (Inventor); Pulikkathara, Merlyn X. (Inventor); Vaidyanathan, Ranjii (Inventor)

2008-01-01

The present invention involves the interaction of radiation with functionalized carbon nanotubes that have been incorporated into various host materials, particularly polymeric ones. The present invention is directed to chemistries, methods, and apparatuses which exploit this type of radiation interaction, and to the materials which result from such interactions. The present invention is also directed toward the time dependent behavior of functionalized carbon nanotubes in such composite systems.

An eigenvalue approach to quantum plasmonics based on a self-consistent hydrodynamics method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Kun; Chan, C. T.

2018-02-01

Plasmonics has attracted much attention not only because it has useful properties such as strong field enhancement, but also because it reveals the quantum nature of matter. To handle quantum plasmonics effects, ab initio packages or empirical Feibelman d-parameters have been used to explore the quantum correction of plasmonic resonances. However, most of these methods are formulated within the quasi-static framework. The self-consistent hydrodynamics model offers a reliable approach to study quantum plasmonics because it can incorporate the quantum effect of the electron gas into classical electrodynamics in a consistent manner. Instead of the standard scattering method, we formulate the self-consistent hydrodynamics method as an eigenvalue problem to study quantum plasmonics with electrons and photons treated on the same footing. We find that the eigenvalue approach must involve a global operator, which originates from the energy functional of the electron gas. This manifests the intrinsic nonlocality of the response of quantum plasmonic resonances. Our model gives the analytical forms of quantum corrections to plasmonic modes, incorporating quantum electron spill-out effects and electrodynamical retardation. We apply our method to study the quantum surface plasmon polariton for a single flat interface.

A toolkit for incorporating genetics into mainstream medical services: Learning from service development pilots in England.

PubMed

Bennett, Catherine L; Burke, Sarah E; Burton, Hilary; Farndon, Peter A

2010-05-14

As advances in genetics are becoming increasingly relevant to mainstream healthcare, a major challenge is to ensure that these are integrated appropriately into mainstream medical services. In 2003, the Department of Health for England announced the availability of start-up funding for ten 'Mainstreaming Genetics' pilot services to develop models to achieve this. Multiple methods were used to explore the pilots' experiences of incorporating genetics which might inform the development of new services in the future. A workshop with project staff, an email questionnaire, interviews and a thematic analysis of pilot final reports were carried out. Seven themes relating to the integration of genetics into mainstream medical services were identified: planning services to incorporate genetics; the involvement of genetics departments; the establishment of roles incorporating genetic activities; identifying and involving stakeholders; the challenges of working across specialty boundaries; working with multiple healthcare organisations; and the importance of cultural awareness of genetic conditions. Pilots found that the planning phase often included the need to raise awareness of genetic conditions and services and that early consideration of organisational issues such as clinic location was essential. The formal involvement of genetics departments was crucial to success; benefits included provision of clinical and educational support for staff in new roles. Recruitment and retention for new roles outside usual career pathways sometimes proved difficult. Differences in specialties' working practices and working with multiple healthcare organisations also brought challenges such as the 'genetic approach' of working with families, incompatible record systems and different approaches to health professionals' autonomous practice. 'Practice points' have been collated into a Toolkit which includes resources from the pilots, including job descriptions and clinical tools. These can be customised for reuse by other services. Healthcare services need to translate advances in genetics into benefits for patients. Consideration of the issues presented here when incorporating genetics into mainstream medical services will help ensure that new service developments build on the body of experience gained by the pilots, to provide high quality services for patients with or at risk of genetic conditions.

Proteopolymersomes: in vitro production of a membrane protein in polymersome membranes.

PubMed

Nallani, Madhavan; Andreasson-Ochsner, Mirjam; Tan, Cherng-Wen Darren; Sinner, Eva-Kathrin; Wisantoso, Yudi; Geifman-Shochat, Susana; Hunziker, Walter

2011-12-01

Polymersomes are stable self-assembled architectures which mimic cell membranes. For characterization, membrane proteins can be incorporated into such bio-mimetic membranes by reconstitution methods, leading to so-called proteopolymersomes. In this work, we demonstrate the direct incorporation of a membrane protein into polymersome membranes by a cell-free expression system. Firstly, we demonstrate pore formation in the preformed polymersome membrane using α-hemolysin. Secondly, we use claudin-2, a protein involved in cell-cell interactions, to demonstrate the in vitro expression of a membrane protein into these polymersomes. Surface plasmon resonance (Biacore) binding studies with the claudin-2 proteopolymersomes and claudin-2 specific antibodies are performed to show the presence of the in vitro expressed protein in polymersome membranes.

Incorporating climate change into ecosystem service assessments and decisions: a review.

PubMed

Runting, Rebecca K; Bryan, Brett A; Dee, Laura E; Maseyk, Fleur J F; Mandle, Lisa; Hamel, Perrine; Wilson, Kerrie A; Yetka, Kathleen; Possingham, Hugh P; Rhodes, Jonathan R

2017-01-01

Climate change is having a significant impact on ecosystem services and is likely to become increasingly important as this phenomenon intensifies. Future impacts can be difficult to assess as they often involve long timescales, dynamic systems with high uncertainties, and are typically confounded by other drivers of change. Despite a growing literature on climate change impacts on ecosystem services, no quantitative syntheses exist. Hence, we lack an overarching understanding of the impacts of climate change, how they are being assessed, and the extent to which other drivers, uncertainties, and decision making are incorporated. To address this, we systematically reviewed the peer-reviewed literature that assesses climate change impacts on ecosystem services at subglobal scales. We found that the impact of climate change on most types of services was predominantly negative (59% negative, 24% mixed, 4% neutral, 13% positive), but varied across services, drivers, and assessment methods. Although uncertainty was usually incorporated, there were substantial gaps in the sources of uncertainty included, along with the methods used to incorporate them. We found that relatively few studies integrated decision making, and even fewer studies aimed to identify solutions that were robust to uncertainty. For management or policy to ensure the delivery of ecosystem services, integrated approaches that incorporate multiple drivers of change and account for multiple sources of uncertainty are needed. This is undoubtedly a challenging task, but ignoring these complexities can result in misleading assessments of the impacts of climate change, suboptimal management outcomes, and the inefficient allocation of resources for climate adaptation. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Biosphere Reserve for All: Potentials for Involving Underrepresented Age Groups in the Development of a Biosphere Reserve through Intergenerational Practice.

PubMed

Mitrofanenko, Tamara; Snajdr, Julia; Muhar, Andreas; Penker, Marianne; Schauppenlehner-Kloyber, Elisabeth

2018-05-22

Stakeholder participation is of high importance in UNESCO biosphere reserves as model regions for sustainable development; however, certain groups remain underrepresented. The paper proposes Intergenerational Practice (IP) as a means of involving youth and elderly women and explores its options and barriers, using the example of the Salzburger Lungau and Kärntner Nockberge Biosphere Reserve in Austria. Case study analysis is used involving mixed methods. The results reveal obstacles and motivations to participating in biosphere reserve implementation and intergenerational activities for the youth and the elderly women and imply that much potential for IP exists in the biosphere reserve region. The authors propose suitable solutions from the intergenerational field to overcome identified participation obstacles and suggest benefits of incorporating IP as a management tool into biosphere reserve activities. Suggestions for future research include evaluating applications of IP in the context of protected areas, testing of methods used in other contexts, and contribution to theory development.

a Weather Monitoring System for Application to Apple and Corn Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stirm, Walter Leroy

Many crop management decisions are based on weather -crop development relationships. Daily weather data is currently used in most crop development research and applied models. Present weather and computer technology now makes possible monitoring of crop development on a realtime basis. This research tests a method of computing crop sensitive temperatures for corn and apple using standard hourly meteorological data. The method also makes use of detailed plant physiological stage measurements to determine timing of vital cultural operations tied to the observed weather conditions. The sensitive temperature method incorporates very short term weather variability accounting for changes in the cloud cover, radiation rates, evaporative cooling and other factors involved in the plant's energy balance. The relationship of plant and weather measurements are also used to determine corn emergence, corn grain drydown rate and fruit harvest duration. The monitoring system also incorporates a crop growth unit forecast technique employing short and medium range temperature forecasts of the National Weather Service. The projections of growth units are made for five and ten days into the future. Predicted growth unit accumulations are compared to historical growth unit accumulations to determine the forecast stage. The sensitive temperature crop monitoring system removes some of the error involved in evaluation of growth units by average daily temperature. Carry over maximum and minimums, extended duration of warm or cool periods within the day and disruption of diurnal temperature curve by passage of fronts are eliminated.

Exploiting Genome Structure in Association Analysis

PubMed Central

Kim, Seyoung

2014-01-01

Abstract A genome-wide association study involves examining a large number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify SNPs that are significantly associated with the given phenotype, while trying to reduce the false positive rate. Although haplotype-based association methods have been proposed to accommodate correlation information across nearby SNPs that are in linkage disequilibrium, none of these methods directly incorporated the structural information such as recombination events along chromosome. In this paper, we propose a new approach called stochastic block lasso for association mapping that exploits prior knowledge on linkage disequilibrium structure in the genome such as recombination rates and distances between adjacent SNPs in order to increase the power of detecting true associations while reducing false positives. Following a typical linear regression framework with the genotypes as inputs and the phenotype as output, our proposed method employs a sparsity-enforcing Laplacian prior for the regression coefficients, augmented by a first-order Markov process along the sequence of SNPs that incorporates the prior information on the linkage disequilibrium structure. The Markov-chain prior models the structural dependencies between a pair of adjacent SNPs, and allows us to look for association SNPs in a coupled manner, combining strength from multiple nearby SNPs. Our results on HapMap-simulated datasets and mouse datasets show that there is a significant advantage in incorporating the prior knowledge on linkage disequilibrium structure for marker identification under whole-genome association. PMID:21548809

Environmental and economic comparisons of manure application methods in farming systems.

PubMed

Rotz, C A; Kleinman, P J A; Dell, C J; Veith, T L; Beegle, D B

2011-01-01

Alternative methods for applying livestock manure to no-till soils involve environmental and economic trade-offs. A process-level farm simulation model (Integrated Farm System Model) was used to evaluate methods for applying liquid dairy (Bos taurus L.) and swine (Sus scrofa L.) manure, including no application, broadcast spreading with and without incorporation by tillage, band application with soil aeration, and shallow disk injection. The model predicted ammonia emissions, nitrate leaching, and phosphorus (P) runoff losses similar to those measured over 4 yr of field trials. Each application method was simulated over 25 yr of weather on three Pennsylvania farms. On a swine and cow-calf beef operation under grass production, shallow disk injection increased profit by $340 yr(-1) while reducing ammonia nitrogen and soluble P losses by 48 and 70%, respectively. On a corn (Zea mays L.)-and-grass-based grazing dairy farm, shallow disk injection reduced ammonia loss by 21% and soluble P loss by 76% with little impact on farm profit. Incorporation by tillage and band application with aeration provided less environmental benefit with a net decrease in farm profit. On a large corn-and-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-based dairy farm where manure nutrients were available in excess of crop needs, incorporation methods were not economically beneficial, but they provided environmental benefits with relatively low annual net costs ($13 to $18 cow). In all farming systems, shallow disk injection provided the greatest environmental benefit at the least cost or greatest profit for the producer. With these results, producers are better informed when selecting manure application equipment.

Coalescent methods for estimating phylogenetic trees.

PubMed

Liu, Liang; Yu, Lili; Kubatko, Laura; Pearl, Dennis K; Edwards, Scott V

2009-10-01

We review recent models to estimate phylogenetic trees under the multispecies coalescent. Although the distinction between gene trees and species trees has come to the fore of phylogenetics, only recently have methods been developed that explicitly estimate species trees. Of the several factors that can cause gene tree heterogeneity and discordance with the species tree, deep coalescence due to random genetic drift in branches of the species tree has been modeled most thoroughly. Bayesian approaches to estimating species trees utilizes two likelihood functions, one of which has been widely used in traditional phylogenetics and involves the model of nucleotide substitution, and the second of which is less familiar to phylogeneticists and involves the probability distribution of gene trees given a species tree. Other recent parametric and nonparametric methods for estimating species trees involve parsimony criteria, summary statistics, supertree and consensus methods. Species tree approaches are an appropriate goal for systematics, appear to work well in some cases where concatenation can be misleading, and suggest that sampling many independent loci will be paramount. Such methods can also be challenging to implement because of the complexity of the models and computational time. In addition, further elaboration of the simplest of coalescent models will be required to incorporate commonly known issues such as deviation from the molecular clock, gene flow and other genetic forces.

Multibeam Altimeter Navigation Update Using Faceted Shape Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bayard, David S.; Brugarolas, Paul; Broschart, Steve

2008-01-01

A method of incorporating information, acquired by a multibeam laser or radar altimeter system, pertaining to the distance and direction between the system and a nearby target body, into an estimate of the state of a vehicle upon which the system is mounted, involves the use of a faceted model to represent the shape of the target body. Fundamentally, what one seeks to measure is the distance from the vehicle to the target body.

Physical Oceanography Program Science Abstracts.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-01

substantial part of the database used by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. National Weather Service to generate, in real-time, subsurface tempera- ture maps...quality, 1ST database which incorporates GTS bathymessagss and on-sbip recordings from the Pacific for the period 1979 through 1983. Access to these data...Investigator: Stanley M. FlattE Frank S. Henyey INTERNAL-WAVE NONLINEAR INTERACTIONS BY THE EIKONAL METHOD We have been involved in the study of

[3H]Leucine incorporation method as a tool to measure secondary production by periphytic bacteria associated to the roots of floating aquatic macrophyte.

PubMed

Miranda, M R; Guimarães, J R D; Coelho-Souza, A S

2007-10-01

The present study assessed the application of [(3)H]Leucine incorporation into protein by periphytic bacteria associated with the roots of the floating aquatic macrophyte Eichornia crassipes. Basic assumptions underlying the method, such as linearity of leucine incorporation, saturation level of incorporation rates, incorporation into other macromolecules, specificity of incorporation for bacterial assemblages and [(3)H]Leucine degradation during samples storage were tested, and two procedures for extracting the incorporated leucine were compared. Both methods gave the same results, however, the hot TCA extraction method was less time consuming than the alkaline extraction method. Incorporation of [(3)H]Leucine was linear for up to 40 min. Saturation concentration of [(3)H]Leucine incorporation into protein was 1500 nM. An experiment with prokaryotic and eukaryotic inhibitors showed no significant [(3)H]Leucine incorporation into eukaryotes even in high leucine concentrations. No significant amounts of radiolabel were incorporated into other macromolecules. The maximum time of sample storage after the incubation is 15 days. The leucine incorporation method can be a reliable tool to measure bacterial production in the periphyton root-associated bacteria.

Sulphur-bound steroid and phytane carbon skeletons in geomacromolecules: Implications for the mechanism of incorporation of sulphur into organic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohnen, Math E. L.; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.; Baas, Marianne; Dalen, A. C. Kock-van; de Leeuw, Jan W.

1993-06-01

Sulphur-bound steroid and phytane moieties in macromolecules present in the polar fractions of six immature samples (both crude oils and sediment extracts) have been analyzed using S-selective chemolysis methods and analytical pyrolysis. The identifications of the methylthioethers released from the macromolecule-containing fractions after MeLi/MeI treatment are based on comparison of mass spectral data and chromatographic data with those for synthesized methylthioethers. Evidence is presented that di- or polysulphide linkages are present in geomacromolecules in both sediments and oils and that the location of di- or polysulphide linkages in macromolecularly S-bound moieties is the same as that of monosulphide linkages. Macromolecularly S-bound phytanyl moieties are chiefly bound with S linkages located at the tertiary positions of their carbon skeletons, which indicates that the S incorporation mechanism(s) involve(s) intermediate carbocations. The macromolecularly S-bound steroids are bound with S linkages located mainly at C-2, C-3, C-4, or C-5 of their carbon skeletons, which indicates that the S incorporation took place into sterenes or steradienes - the dehydration products of stanols and stenols, respectively. However, it remains possible that the macromolecularly S-bound steroids with an axial S linkage at C-3 are, in part, resulting from a S N2 reaction of inorganic S species with steryl esters or stanols.

Correlated Topic Vector for Scene Classification.

PubMed

Wei, Pengxu; Qin, Fei; Wan, Fang; Zhu, Yi; Jiao, Jianbin; Ye, Qixiang

2017-07-01

Scene images usually involve semantic correlations, particularly when considering large-scale image data sets. This paper proposes a novel generative image representation, correlated topic vector, to model such semantic correlations. Oriented from the correlated topic model, correlated topic vector intends to naturally utilize the correlations among topics, which are seldom considered in the conventional feature encoding, e.g., Fisher vector, but do exist in scene images. It is expected that the involvement of correlations can increase the discriminative capability of the learned generative model and consequently improve the recognition accuracy. Incorporated with the Fisher kernel method, correlated topic vector inherits the advantages of Fisher vector. The contributions to the topics of visual words have been further employed by incorporating the Fisher kernel framework to indicate the differences among scenes. Combined with the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) features and Gibbs sampling solution, correlated topic vector shows great potential when processing large-scale and complex scene image data sets. Experiments on two scene image data sets demonstrate that correlated topic vector improves significantly the deep CNN features, and outperforms existing Fisher kernel-based features.

Progressive damage, fracture predictions and post mortem correlations for fiber composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

Lewis Research Center is involved in the development of computational mechanics methods for predicting the structural behavior and response of composite structures. In conjunction with the analytical methods development, experimental programs including post failure examination are conducted to study various factors affecting composite fracture such as laminate thickness effects, ply configuration, and notch sensitivity. Results indicate that the analytical capabilities incorporated in the CODSTRAN computer code are effective in predicting the progressive damage and fracture of composite structures. In addition, the results being generated are establishing a data base which will aid in the characterization of composite fracture.

Incorporation and the Farm Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salamon, Sonya; Markan, Kathleen K.

1984-01-01

Studied Illinois farm households (N=13), some already incorporated from five to ten years, regarding ethnic values and intergenerational land transfers. Concluded that farm families need to question whether the tax savings involved with incorporation are worth the potential complications such as estate settlement, marital satisfaction, migration,…

Biosocial Conservation: Integrating Biological and Ethnographic Methods to Study Human-Primate Interactions.

PubMed

Setchell, Joanna M; Fairet, Emilie; Shutt, Kathryn; Waters, Siân; Bell, Sandra

2017-01-01

Biodiversity conservation is one of the grand challenges facing society. Many people interested in biodiversity conservation have a background in wildlife biology. However, the diverse social, cultural, political, and historical factors that influence the lives of people and wildlife can be investigated fully only by incorporating social science methods, ideally within an interdisciplinary framework. Cultural hierarchies of knowledge and the hegemony of the natural sciences create a barrier to interdisciplinary understandings. Here, we review three different projects that confront this difficulty, integrating biological and ethnographic methods to study conservation problems. The first project involved wildlife foraging on crops around a newly established national park in Gabon. Biological methods revealed the extent of crop loss, the species responsible, and an effect of field isolation, while ethnography revealed institutional and social vulnerability to foraging wildlife. The second project concerned great ape tourism in the Central African Republic. Biological methods revealed that gorilla tourism poses risks to gorillas, while ethnography revealed why people seek close proximity to gorillas. The third project focused on humans and other primates living alongside one another in Morocco. Incorporating shepherds in the coproduction of ecological knowledge about primates built trust and altered attitudes to the primates. These three case studies demonstrate how the integration of biological and social methods can help us to understand the sustainability of human-wildlife interactions, and thus promote coexistence. In each case, an integrated biosocial approach incorporating ethnographic data produced results that would not otherwise have come to light. Research that transcends conventional academic boundaries requires the openness and flexibility to move beyond one's comfort zone to understand and acknowledge the legitimacy of "other" kinds of knowledge. It is challenging but crucial if we are to address conservation problems effectively.

75 FR 51148 - Notice of Solicitation of Public Comment on Consideration of Incorporating IFRS Into the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-18

... plan on consideration of the incorporation of IFRS, involve the impact of such incorporation on: U.S... in that company? To what extent are investors aware of the potential impact of incorporation of IFRS... impact of accounting standards, whether IFRS or U.S. GAAP, on the companies that they currently, or may...

High efficiency processing for reduced amplitude zones detection in the HRECG signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dugarte, N.; Álvarez, A.; Balacco, J.; Mercado, G.; Gonzalez, A.; Dugarte, E.; Olivares, A.

2016-04-01

Summary - This article presents part of a more detailed research proposed in the medium to long term, with the intention of establishing a new philosophy of electrocardiogram surface analysis. This research aims to find indicators of cardiovascular disease in its early stage that may go unnoticed with conventional electrocardiography. This paper reports the development of a software processing which collect some existing techniques and incorporates novel methods for detection of reduced amplitude zones (RAZ) in high resolution electrocardiographic signal (HRECG).The algorithm consists of three stages, an efficient processing for QRS detection, averaging filter using correlation techniques and a step for RAZ detecting. Preliminary results show the efficiency of system and point to incorporation of techniques new using signal analysis with involving 12 leads.

High bandwidth magnetically isolated signal transmission circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Repp, John Donald (Inventor)

2005-01-01

Many current electronic systems incorporate expensive or sensitive electrical components. Because electrical energy is often generated or transmitted at high voltages, the power supplies to these electronic systems must be carefully designed. Power supply design must ensure that the electrical system being supplied with power is not exposed to excessive voltages or currents. In order to isolate power supplies from electrical equipment, many methods have been employed. These methods typically involve control systems or signal transfer methods. However, these methods are not always suitable because of their drawbacks. The present invention relates to transmitting information across an interface. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for transmitting both AC and DC information across a high bandwidth magnetic interface with low distortion.

Quantification of biofilm in microtiter plates: overview of testing conditions and practical recommendations for assessment of biofilm production by staphylococci.

PubMed

Stepanović, Srdjan; Vuković, Dragana; Hola, Veronika; Di Bonaventura, Giovanni; Djukić, Slobodanka; Cirković, Ivana; Ruzicka, Filip

2007-08-01

The details of all steps involved in the quantification of biofilm formation in microtiter plates are described. The presented protocol incorporates information on assessment of biofilm production by staphylococci, gained both by direct experience as well as by analysis of methods for assaying biofilm production. The obtained results should simplify quantification of biofilm formation in microtiter plates, and make it more reliable and comparable among different laboratories.

The Electrostatic Gavimeter: An Alternative Way of Measuring Gravitational Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashinski, David

2005-03-01

In the past, Earth’s gravitational acceleration g has been measured in many ways, including the use of a pendulum as well as other models involving the use of a mass and a spring. We have designed a new method incorporating a spring with a capacitor and a voltmeter. This capacitor model still uses a hanging mass on a spring, but alters the method of determining the change in position of the spring due to the gravitational acceleration. We relate the change in position to the potential difference across the capacitor needed to cause a discharge through parallel plates. By relating this voltage directly to the gravitaional acceleration,a new method of measuring g is obtained.

Incorporation of Socio-Economic Features' Ranking in Multicriteria Analysis Based on Ecosystem Services for Marine Protected Area Planning

PubMed Central

Portman, Michelle E.; Shabtay-Yanai, Ateret; Zanzuri, Asaf

2016-01-01

Developed decades ago for spatial choice problems related to zoning in the urban planning field, multicriteria analysis (MCA) has more recently been applied to environmental conflicts and presented in several documented cases for the creation of protected area management plans. Its application is considered here for the development of zoning as part of a proposed marine protected area management plan. The case study incorporates specially-explicit conservation features while considering stakeholder preferences, expert opinion and characteristics of data quality. It involves the weighting of criteria using a modified analytical hierarchy process. Experts ranked physical attributes which include socio-economically valued physical features. The parameters used for the ranking of (physical) attributes important for socio-economic reasons are derived from the field of ecosystem services assessment. Inclusion of these feature values results in protection that emphasizes those areas closest to shore, most likely because of accessibility and familiarity parameters and because of data biases. Therefore, other spatial conservation prioritization methods should be considered to supplement the MCA and efforts should be made to improve data about ecosystem service values farther from shore. Otherwise, the MCA method allows incorporation of expert and stakeholder preferences and ecosystem services values while maintaining the advantages of simplicity and clarity. PMID:27183224

Incorporation of Socio-Economic Features' Ranking in Multicriteria Analysis Based on Ecosystem Services for Marine Protected Area Planning.

PubMed

Portman, Michelle E; Shabtay-Yanai, Ateret; Zanzuri, Asaf

2016-01-01

Developed decades ago for spatial choice problems related to zoning in the urban planning field, multicriteria analysis (MCA) has more recently been applied to environmental conflicts and presented in several documented cases for the creation of protected area management plans. Its application is considered here for the development of zoning as part of a proposed marine protected area management plan. The case study incorporates specially-explicit conservation features while considering stakeholder preferences, expert opinion and characteristics of data quality. It involves the weighting of criteria using a modified analytical hierarchy process. Experts ranked physical attributes which include socio-economically valued physical features. The parameters used for the ranking of (physical) attributes important for socio-economic reasons are derived from the field of ecosystem services assessment. Inclusion of these feature values results in protection that emphasizes those areas closest to shore, most likely because of accessibility and familiarity parameters and because of data biases. Therefore, other spatial conservation prioritization methods should be considered to supplement the MCA and efforts should be made to improve data about ecosystem service values farther from shore. Otherwise, the MCA method allows incorporation of expert and stakeholder preferences and ecosystem services values while maintaining the advantages of simplicity and clarity.

Multi-criteria clinical decision support: A primer on the use of multiple criteria decision making methods to promote evidence-based, patient-centered healthcare.

PubMed

Dolan, James G

2010-01-01

Current models of healthcare quality recommend that patient management decisions be evidence-based and patient-centered. Evidence-based decisions require a thorough understanding of current information regarding the natural history of disease and the anticipated outcomes of different management options. Patient-centered decisions incorporate patient preferences, values, and unique personal circumstances into the decision making process and actively involve both patients along with health care providers as much as possible. Fundamentally, therefore, evidence-based, patient-centered decisions are multi-dimensional and typically involve multiple decision makers.Advances in the decision sciences have led to the development of a number of multiple criteria decision making methods. These multi-criteria methods are designed to help people make better choices when faced with complex decisions involving several dimensions. They are especially helpful when there is a need to combine "hard data" with subjective preferences, to make trade-offs between desired outcomes, and to involve multiple decision makers. Evidence-based, patient-centered clinical decision making has all of these characteristics. This close match suggests that clinical decision support systems based on multi-criteria decision making techniques have the potential to enable patients and providers to carry out the tasks required to implement evidence-based, patient-centered care effectively and efficiently in clinical settings.The goal of this paper is to give readers a general introduction to the range of multi-criteria methods available and show how they could be used to support clinical decision-making. Methods discussed include the balance sheet, the even swap method, ordinal ranking methods, direct weighting methods, multi-attribute decision analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP).

Multi-criteria clinical decision support: A primer on the use of multiple criteria decision making methods to promote evidence-based, patient-centered healthcare

PubMed Central

Dolan, James G.

2010-01-01

Current models of healthcare quality recommend that patient management decisions be evidence-based and patient-centered. Evidence-based decisions require a thorough understanding of current information regarding the natural history of disease and the anticipated outcomes of different management options. Patient-centered decisions incorporate patient preferences, values, and unique personal circumstances into the decision making process and actively involve both patients along with health care providers as much as possible. Fundamentally, therefore, evidence-based, patient-centered decisions are multi-dimensional and typically involve multiple decision makers. Advances in the decision sciences have led to the development of a number of multiple criteria decision making methods. These multi-criteria methods are designed to help people make better choices when faced with complex decisions involving several dimensions. They are especially helpful when there is a need to combine “hard data” with subjective preferences, to make trade-offs between desired outcomes, and to involve multiple decision makers. Evidence-based, patient-centered clinical decision making has all of these characteristics. This close match suggests that clinical decision support systems based on multi-criteria decision making techniques have the potential to enable patients and providers to carry out the tasks required to implement evidence-based, patient-centered care effectively and efficiently in clinical settings. The goal of this paper is to give readers a general introduction to the range of multi-criteria methods available and show how they could be used to support clinical decision-making. Methods discussed include the balance sheet, the even swap method, ordinal ranking methods, direct weighting methods, multi-attribute decision analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) PMID:21394218

Supervised multiblock sparse multivariable analysis with application to multimodal brain imaging genetics.

PubMed

Kawaguchi, Atsushi; Yamashita, Fumio

2017-10-01

This article proposes a procedure for describing the relationship between high-dimensional data sets, such as multimodal brain images and genetic data. We propose a supervised technique to incorporate the clinical outcome to determine a score, which is a linear combination of variables with hieratical structures to multimodalities. This approach is expected to obtain interpretable and predictive scores. The proposed method was applied to a study of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We propose a diagnostic method for AD that involves using whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), and we select effective brain regions for the diagnostic probability and investigate the genome-wide association with the regions using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The two-step dimension reduction method, which we previously introduced, was considered applicable to such a study and allows us to partially incorporate the proposed method. We show that the proposed method offers classification functions with feasibility and reasonable prediction accuracy based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and reasonable regions of the brain and genomes. Our simulation study based on the synthetic structured data set showed that the proposed method outperformed the original method and provided the characteristic for the supervised feature. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Inversion of the strain-life and strain-stress relationships for use in metal fatigue analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manson, S. S.

1979-01-01

The paper presents closed-form solutions (collocation method and spline-function method) for the constants of the cyclic fatigue life equation so that they can be easily incorporated into cumulative damage analysis. The collocation method involves conformity with the experimental curve at specific life values. The spline-function method is such that the basic life relation is expressed as a two-part function, one applicable at strains above the transition strain (strain at intersection of elastic and plastic lines), the other below. An illustrative example is treated by both methods. It is shown that while the collocation representation has the advantage of simplicity of form, the spline-function representation can be made more accurate over a wider life range, and is simpler to use.

A comprehensive and sensitive method for hair analysis in drug-facilitated crimes and incorporation of zolazepam and tiletamine into hair after a single exposure.

PubMed

Kim, Jihyun; Yum, Hyesun; Jang, Moonhee; Shin, Ilchung; Yang, Wonkyung; Baeck, Seungkyung; Suh, Joon Hyuk; Lee, Sooyeun; Han, Sang Beom

2016-01-01

Hair is a highly relevant specimen that is used to verify drug exposure in victims of drug-facilitated crime (DFC) cases. In the present study, a new analytical method involving ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed for determining the presence of model drugs, including zolazepam and tiletamine and their metabolites in hair specimens from DFCs. The incorporation of zolazepam and tiletamine into hair after a single exposure was investigated in Long-Evans rats with the ratio of the hair concentration to the area under the curve. For rapid and simple sample preparation, methanol extraction and protein precipitation were performed for hair and plasma, respectively. No interference was observed in drug-free hair or plasma, except for hair-derived diphenhydramine in blank hair. The coefficients of variance of the matrix effects were below 12%, and the recoveries of the analytes exceeded 70% in all of the matrices. The precision and accuracy results were satisfactory. The limits of quantification ranged from 20 to 50 pg in 10 mg of hair. The drug incorporation rates were 0.03 ± 0.01% for zolazepam and 2.09 ± 0.51% for tiletamine in pigmented hair. We applied the present method to real hair samples in order to determine the drug that was used in seven cases. These results suggest that this comprehensive and sensitive hair analysis method can successfully verify a drug after a single exposure in crimes and can be applied in forensic and clinical toxicology laboratories.

Emerging and recurrent issues in drug development.

PubMed

Anello, C

This paper reviews several emerging and recurrent issues relating to the drug development process. These emerging issues include changes to the FDA regulatory environment, internationalization of drug development, advances in computer technology and visualization tools, and efforts to incorporate meta-analysis methodology. Recurrent issues include: renewed interest in statistical methods for handling subgroups in the design and analysis of clinical trials; renewed interest in alternatives to the 'intention-to-treat' analysis in the presence of non-compliance in randomized clinical trials; renewed interest in methodology to address the multiplicities resulting from a variety of sources inherent in the drug development process, and renewed interest in methods to assure data integrity. These emerging and recurrent issues provide a continuing challenge to the international community of statisticians involved in drug development. Moreover, the involvement of statisticians with different perspectives continues to enrich the field and contributes to improvement in the public health.

Assessing the Public’s Views in Research Ethics Controversies: Deliberative Democracy and Bioethics as Natural Allies

PubMed Central

Kim, Scott Y. H.; Wall, Ian F.; Stanczyk, Aimee; Vries, Raymond De

2010-01-01

In a Liberal Democracy, Policy Decisions regarding ethical controversies, including those in research ethics, should incorporate the opinions of its citizens. Eliciting informed and well-considered ethical opinions can be challenging. The issues may not be widely familiar and they may involve complex scientific, legal, historical, and ethical dimensions. Traditional surveys risk eliciting superficial and uninformed opinions that may be of dubious quality for policy formation. We argue that the theory and practice of deliberative democracy (DD) is especially useful in overcoming such inadequacies. We explain DD theory and practice, discuss the rationale for using DD methods in research ethics, and illustrate in depth the use of a DD method for a long-standing research ethics controversy involving research based on surrogate consent. The potential pitfalls of DD and the means of minimizing them as well as future research directions are also discussed. PMID:19919315

Assessing the public's views in research ethics controversies: deliberative democracy and bioethics as natural allies.

PubMed

Kim, Scott Y H; Wall, Ian F; Stanczyk, Aimee; De Vries, Raymond

2009-12-01

In a liberal democracy, policy decisions regarding ethical controversies, including those in research ethics, should incorporate the opinions of its citizens. Eliciting informed and well-considered ethical opinions can be challenging. The issues may not be widely familiar and they may involve complex scientific, legal, historical, and ethical dimensions. Traditional surveys risk eliciting superficial and uninformed opinions that may be of dubious quality for policy formation. We argue that the theory and practice of deliberative democracy (DD) is especially useful in overcoming such inadequacies. We explain DD theory and practice, discuss the rationale for using DD methods in research ethics, and illustrate in depth the use of a DD method for a longstanding research ethics controversy involving research based on surrogate consent. The potential pitfalls of DD and the means of minimizing them as well as future research directions are also discussed.

Classification of Anticipatory Signals for Grasp and Release from Surface Electromyography.

PubMed

Siu, Ho Chit; Shah, Julie A; Stirling, Leia A

2016-10-25

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a technique for recording natural muscle activation signals, which can serve as control inputs for exoskeletons and prosthetic devices. Previous experiments have incorporated these signals using both classical and pattern-recognition control methods in order to actuate such devices. We used the results of an experiment incorporating grasp and release actions with object contact to develop an intent-recognition system based on Gaussian mixture models (GMM) and continuous-emission hidden Markov models (HMM) of sEMG data. We tested this system with data collected from 16 individuals using a forearm band with distributed sEMG sensors. The data contain trials with shifted band alignments to assess robustness to sensor placement. This study evaluated and found that pattern-recognition-based methods could classify transient anticipatory sEMG signals in the presence of shifted sensor placement and object contact. With the best-performing classifier, the effect of label lengths in the training data was also examined. A mean classification accuracy of 75.96% was achieved through a unigram HMM method with five mixture components. Classification accuracy on different sub-movements was found to be limited by the length of the shortest sub-movement, which means that shorter sub-movements within dynamic sequences require larger training sets to be classified correctly. This classification of user intent is a potential control mechanism for a dynamic grasping task involving user contact with external objects and noise. Further work is required to test its performance as part of an exoskeleton controller, which involves contact with actuated external surfaces.

Classification of Anticipatory Signals for Grasp and Release from Surface Electromyography

PubMed Central

Siu, Ho Chit; Shah, Julie A.; Stirling, Leia A.

2016-01-01

Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a technique for recording natural muscle activation signals, which can serve as control inputs for exoskeletons and prosthetic devices. Previous experiments have incorporated these signals using both classical and pattern-recognition control methods in order to actuate such devices. We used the results of an experiment incorporating grasp and release actions with object contact to develop an intent-recognition system based on Gaussian mixture models (GMM) and continuous-emission hidden Markov models (HMM) of sEMG data. We tested this system with data collected from 16 individuals using a forearm band with distributed sEMG sensors. The data contain trials with shifted band alignments to assess robustness to sensor placement. This study evaluated and found that pattern-recognition-based methods could classify transient anticipatory sEMG signals in the presence of shifted sensor placement and object contact. With the best-performing classifier, the effect of label lengths in the training data was also examined. A mean classification accuracy of 75.96% was achieved through a unigram HMM method with five mixture components. Classification accuracy on different sub-movements was found to be limited by the length of the shortest sub-movement, which means that shorter sub-movements within dynamic sequences require larger training sets to be classified correctly. This classification of user intent is a potential control mechanism for a dynamic grasping task involving user contact with external objects and noise. Further work is required to test its performance as part of an exoskeleton controller, which involves contact with actuated external surfaces. PMID:27792155

Bias in diet determination: incorporating traditional methods in Bayesian mixing models.

PubMed

Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Drago, Massimiliano; Riet-Sapriza, Federico G; Parnell, Andrew; Frau, Rosina; Inchausti, Pablo

2013-01-01

There are not "universal methods" to determine diet composition of predators. Most traditional methods are biased because of their reliance on differential digestibility and the recovery of hard items. By relying on assimilated food, stable isotope and Bayesian mixing models (SIMMs) resolve many biases of traditional methods. SIMMs can incorporate prior information (i.e. proportional diet composition) that may improve the precision in the estimated dietary composition. However few studies have assessed the performance of traditional methods and SIMMs with and without informative priors to study the predators' diets. Here we compare the diet compositions of the South American fur seal and sea lions obtained by scats analysis and by SIMMs-UP (uninformative priors) and assess whether informative priors (SIMMs-IP) from the scat analysis improved the estimated diet composition compared to SIMMs-UP. According to the SIMM-UP, while pelagic species dominated the fur seal's diet the sea lion's did not have a clear dominance of any prey. In contrast, SIMM-IP's diets compositions were dominated by the same preys as in scat analyses. When prior information influenced SIMMs' estimates, incorporating informative priors improved the precision in the estimated diet composition at the risk of inducing biases in the estimates. If preys isotopic data allow discriminating preys' contributions to diets, informative priors should lead to more precise but unbiased estimated diet composition. Just as estimates of diet composition obtained from traditional methods are critically interpreted because of their biases, care must be exercised when interpreting diet composition obtained by SIMMs-IP. The best approach to obtain a near-complete view of predators' diet composition should involve the simultaneous consideration of different sources of partial evidence (traditional methods, SIMM-UP and SIMM-IP) in the light of natural history of the predator species so as to reliably ascertain and weight the information yielded by each method.

46 CFR 160.176-4 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... and Elongation, Breaking of Woven Cloth; Grab Method, incorporation by reference approved for § 160.176-13. (ii) Method 5132, Strength of Cloth, Tearing; Falling-Pendulum Method, incorporation by reference approved for § 160.176-13. (iii) Method 5134, Strength of Cloth, Tearing; Tongue Method...

46 CFR 160.176-4 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... and Elongation, Breaking of Woven Cloth; Grab Method, incorporation by reference approved for § 160.176-13. (ii) Method 5132, Strength of Cloth, Tearing; Falling-Pendulum Method, incorporation by reference approved for § 160.176-13. (iii) Method 5134, Strength of Cloth, Tearing; Tongue Method...

High internal free volume compositions for low-k dielectric and other applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bouffard, Jean (Inventor); Swager, Timothy M. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

The present invention provides materials, devices, and methods involving new heterocyclic, shape-persistent monomeric units with internal free volume. In some cases, materials the present invention may comprise monomers, oligomers, or polymers that incorporate a heterocyclic, shape-persistent iptycene. The present invention may provide materials having low dielectric constants and improved stability at high operating temperatures due to the electron-poor character of materials. In addition, compositions of the invention may be easily synthesized and readily modified to suit a particular application.

Physics and chemistry of antimicrobial behavior of ion-exchanged silver in glass.

PubMed

Borrelli, N F; Senaratne, W; Wei, Y; Petzold, O

2015-02-04

The results of a comprehensive study involving the antimicrobial activity in a silver ion-exchanged glass are presented. The study includes the glass composition, the method of incorporating silver into the glass, the effective concentration of the silver available at the glass surface, and the effect of the ambient environment. A quantitative kinetic model that includes the above factors in predicting the antimicrobial activity is proposed. Finally, experimental data demonstrating antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with correlation to the predicted model is shown.

Addition of CF3 across unsaturated moieties: a powerful functionalization tool

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In the last few years, the efficient introduction of trifluoromethyl groups in organic molecules has become a major research focus. This review highlights the recent developments enabling the incorporation of CF3 groups across unsaturated moieties, preferentially alkenes, and the mechanistic scenarios governing these transformations. We have specially focused on methods involving the simultaneous formation of C–CF3 and C–C or C–heteroatom bonds by formal addition reactions across π-systems, as such difunctionalization processes hold valuable synthetic potential. PMID:24789472

Combination of doxorubicin and low-intensity ultrasound causes a synergistic enhancement in cell killing and an additive enhancement in apoptosis induction in human lymphoma U937 cells.

PubMed

Yoshida, Toru; Kondo, Takashi; Ogawa, Ryohei; Feril, Loreto B; Zhao, Qing-Li; Watanabe, Akihiko; Tsukada, Kazuhiro

2008-04-01

Potential clinical use of ultrasound (US) in enhancing the effects of anticancer drugs in the treatment of cancers has been highlighted in previous reports. Increased uptake of drugs by the cancer cells due to US has been suggested as a mechanism. However, the precise mechanism of the enhancement has not yet been elucidated. Here, the combined effects of low-intensity pulsed US and doxorubicin (DOX) on cell killing and apoptosis induction of U937 cells, and mechanisms involved were investigated. Human myelomonocytic lymphoma U937 cells were used for the experiments. Experiments were conducted in 4 groups: (1) non-treated, (2) DOX treated (DOX), (3) US treated (US), and (4) combined (DOX + US). In DOX +US, cells were exposed to 5 microM DOX for 30 min and sonicated by 1 MHz pulsed US (PRF 100 Hz, DF 10%) at intensities of 0.2-0.5 W/cm(2) for 60 s. The cells were washed and incubated for 6 h. The viability was evaluated by Trypan blue dye exclusion test and apoptosis and incorporation of DOX was assessed by flow cytometry. Involvement of sonoporation in molecular incorporation was evaluated using FITC-dextran, hydroxyl radical formation was measured by electron paramagnetic resonance-spin trapping, membrane alteration including lipid peroxidation and membrane fluidity by DOX was evaluated using cis-parinaric acid and perylene fluorescence polarization method, respectively. Synergistic enhancement in cell killing and additive enhancement in induction of apoptosis were observed at and above 0.3 W/cm(2). No enhancement was observed at 0.2 W/cm(2) in cell killing and induction of apoptosis. Hydroxyl radicals formation was detected at and above 0.3 W/cm(2). The radicals were produced more in the DOX + US than US alone. Incorporation of DOX was increased 13% in DOX + US (vs. DOX) at 0.5 W/cm(2). Involvement of sonoporation for increase of drug uptake was suggested by experiment using FITC-labeled dextran. We made the hypothesis that DOX treatment made the cells weaken against the mechanical effect of the US. Although treatment of DOX at 5 microM for 30 min did not affect lipid peroxidation and fluidity of cell membrane significantly, higher concentration and longer treatment of DOX induced the significant alteration of cell membrane. Mechanisms of enhancements could be (1) increase in incorporation of the DOX by US involved with sonoporation, (2) enhancement of the cavitation by DOX. Cavitation is required for the enhancement of the effect of DOX. Although the precise involvement of the membrane modifications by DOX in the enhancement remains to be elucidated, they could be involved in the latent effects.

Dynamical downscaling inter-comparison for high resolution climate reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, J.; Rocha, A.; Castanheira, J. M.; Carvalho, A. C.

2012-04-01

In the scope of the project: "High-resolution Rainfall EroSivity analysis and fORecasTing - RESORT", an evaluation of various methods of dynamic downscaling is presented. The methods evaluated range from the classic method of nesting a regional model results in a global model, in this case the ECMWF reanalysis, to more recently proposed methods, which consist in using Newtonian relaxation methods in order to nudge the results of the regional model to the reanalysis. The method with better results involves using a system of variational data assimilation to incorporate observational data with results from the regional model. The climatology of a simulation of 5 years using this method is tested against observations on mainland Portugal and the ocean in the area of the Portuguese Continental Shelf, which shows that the method developed is suitable for the reconstruction of high resolution climate over continental Portugal.

Method of making alkyl esters

DOEpatents

Elliott, Brian

2010-09-14

Methods of making alkyl esters are described herein. The methods are capable of using raw, unprocessed, low-cost feedstocks and waste grease. Generally, the method involves converting a glyceride source to a fatty acid composition and esterifying the fatty acid composition to make alkyl esters. In an embodiment, a method of making alkyl esters comprises providing a glyceride source. The method further comprises converting the glyceride source to a fatty acid composition comprising free fatty acids and less than about 1% glyceride by mass. Moreover, the method comprises esterifying the fatty acid composition in the presence of a solid acid catalyst at a temperature ranging firm about 70.degree. C. to about 120.degree. C. to produce alkyl esters, such that at least 85% of the free fatty acids are converted to alkyl esters. The method also incorporates the use of packed bed reactors for glyceride conversion and/or fatty acid esterification to make alkyl esters.

Hpm of Estrogen Model on the Dynamics of Breast Cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Govindarajan, A.; Balamuralitharan, S.; Sundaresan, T.

2018-04-01

We enhance a deterministic mathematical model involving universal dynamics on breast cancer with immune response. This is population model so includes Normal cells class, Tumor cells, Immune cells and Estrogen. The eects regarding Estrogen are below incorporated in the model. The effects show to that amount the arrival of greater Estrogen increases the danger over growing breast cancer. Furthermore, approximate solution regarding nonlinear differential equations is arrived by Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM). Hes HPM is good and correct technique after solve nonlinear differential equation directly. Approximate solution learnt with the support of that method is suitable same as like the actual results in accordance with this models.

An Output Approach to Incentive Reimbursement for Hospitals

PubMed Central

Ro, Kong-kyun; Auster, Richard

1969-01-01

A method of incentive reimbursement for health care institutions is described that is designed to stimulate the providers' efficiency. The two main features are: (1) reimbursement based on a weighted average of actual cost and mean cost plus or minus an appropriate number of standard deviations; (2) output defined as episodes of illness given adequate treatment instead of days of hospitalization. It is suggested that despite the operational difficulties involved in a method of payment based on an output approach, the flexibility incorporated into the determination of reimbursement by use of the properties of a normal frequency distribution would make the system workable. PMID:5349002

LC-MS/MS methods for sulfadimethoxine and ormetoprim analysis in feed and fish fillet and a leaching study for feed after alternative procedures for the incorporation of drugs.

PubMed

Fais, Ana Paula; Franco, Rodolfo Scarpino Barboza; da Silva, Agnaldo Fernando Baldo; de Freitas, Osvaldo; Paschoal, Jonas Augusto Rizzato

2017-04-01

This paper describes the method development for sulfadimethoxine (SDM) and ormetoprim (OMP) quantitation in fish feed and fish fillet employing LC-MS/MS. In order to assess the reliability of the analytical method, valuation was undertaken as recommended by guidelines proposed by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The calibration curve for the quantification of both drugs in feed showed adequate linearity (r > 0.99), precision (CV < 12%) and trueness ranging from 97% to 100%. The method for the determination of SDM and OMP residues in fish fillet involved a simple sample preparation procedure that had adequate linearity (r > 0.99), precision (CV < 16%) and trueness around 100%, with CCα < 100.2 ng g - 1 and CCβ < 100.4 ng g - 1 . With a goal of avoiding the risk of drug leaching from feed into the aquatic environment during fish medication via the oral route, different procedures for drug incorporation into feed were evaluated. Coating feed pellets with ethyl cellulose polymer containing the drug showed promising results. In this case, medicated feed released drugs to water at a level below 6% when the medicated feed stayed in the water for up to 15 min.

Bias in Diet Determination: Incorporating Traditional Methods in Bayesian Mixing Models

PubMed Central

Franco-Trecu, Valentina; Drago, Massimiliano; Riet-Sapriza, Federico G.; Parnell, Andrew; Frau, Rosina; Inchausti, Pablo

2013-01-01

There are not “universal methods” to determine diet composition of predators. Most traditional methods are biased because of their reliance on differential digestibility and the recovery of hard items. By relying on assimilated food, stable isotope and Bayesian mixing models (SIMMs) resolve many biases of traditional methods. SIMMs can incorporate prior information (i.e. proportional diet composition) that may improve the precision in the estimated dietary composition. However few studies have assessed the performance of traditional methods and SIMMs with and without informative priors to study the predators’ diets. Here we compare the diet compositions of the South American fur seal and sea lions obtained by scats analysis and by SIMMs-UP (uninformative priors) and assess whether informative priors (SIMMs-IP) from the scat analysis improved the estimated diet composition compared to SIMMs-UP. According to the SIMM-UP, while pelagic species dominated the fur seal’s diet the sea lion’s did not have a clear dominance of any prey. In contrast, SIMM-IP’s diets compositions were dominated by the same preys as in scat analyses. When prior information influenced SIMMs’ estimates, incorporating informative priors improved the precision in the estimated diet composition at the risk of inducing biases in the estimates. If preys isotopic data allow discriminating preys’ contributions to diets, informative priors should lead to more precise but unbiased estimated diet composition. Just as estimates of diet composition obtained from traditional methods are critically interpreted because of their biases, care must be exercised when interpreting diet composition obtained by SIMMs-IP. The best approach to obtain a near-complete view of predators’ diet composition should involve the simultaneous consideration of different sources of partial evidence (traditional methods, SIMM-UP and SIMM-IP) in the light of natural history of the predator species so as to reliably ascertain and weight the information yielded by each method. PMID:24224031

Integral equation methods for computing likelihoods and their derivatives in the stochastic integrate-and-fire model.

PubMed

Paninski, Liam; Haith, Adrian; Szirtes, Gabor

2008-02-01

We recently introduced likelihood-based methods for fitting stochastic integrate-and-fire models to spike train data. The key component of this method involves the likelihood that the model will emit a spike at a given time t. Computing this likelihood is equivalent to computing a Markov first passage time density (the probability that the model voltage crosses threshold for the first time at time t). Here we detail an improved method for computing this likelihood, based on solving a certain integral equation. This integral equation method has several advantages over the techniques discussed in our previous work: in particular, the new method has fewer free parameters and is easily differentiable (for gradient computations). The new method is also easily adaptable for the case in which the model conductance, not just the input current, is time-varying. Finally, we describe how to incorporate large deviations approximations to very small likelihoods.

The CHESS method of forensic opinion formulation: striving to checkmate bias.

PubMed

Wills, Cheryl D

2008-01-01

Expert witnesses use various methods to render dispassionate opinions. Some forensic psychiatrists acknowledge bias up front; other experts use principles endorsed by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law or other professional organizations. This article introduces CHESS, a systematic method for reducing bias in expert opinions. The CHESS method involves identifying a Claim or preliminary opinion; developing a Hierarchy of supporting evidence; examining the evidence for weaknesses or areas of Exposure; Studying and revising the claim and supporting evidence; and Synthesizing a revised opinion. Case examples illustrate how the CHESS method may help experts reduce bias while strengthening opinions. The method also helps experts prepare for court by reminding them to anticipate questions that may be asked during cross-examination. The CHESS method provides a framework for formulating, revising, and identifying limitations of opinions, which allows experts to incorporate neutrality into forensic opinions.

A high-accuracy algorithm for solving nonlinear PDEs with high-order spatial derivatives in 1 + 1 dimensions

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

Yao, Jian Hua; Gooding, R.J.

1994-06-01

We propose an algorithm to solve a system of partial differential equations of the type u[sub t](x,t) = F(x, t, u, u[sub x], u[sub xx], u[sub xxx], u[sub xxxx]) in 1 + 1 dimensions using the method of lines with piecewise ninth-order Hermite polynomials, where u and F and N-dimensional vectors. Nonlinear boundary conditions are easily incorporated with this method. We demonstrate the accuracy of this method through comparisons of numerically determine solutions to the analytical ones. Then, we apply this algorithm to a complicated physical system involving nonlinear and nonlocal strain forces coupled to a thermal field. 4 refs.,more » 5 figs., 1 tab.« less

Nanofluid Types, Their Synthesis, Properties and Incorporation in Direct Solar Thermal Collectors: A Review

PubMed Central

Chamsa-ard, Wisut; Brundavanam, Sridevi; Fung, Chun Che; Fawcett, Derek; Poinern, Gerrard

2017-01-01

The global demand for energy is increasing and the detrimental consequences of rising greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and environmental degradation present major challenges. Solar energy offers a clean and viable renewable energy source with the potential to alleviate the detrimental consequences normally associated with fossil fuel-based energy generation. However, there are two inherent problems associated with conventional solar thermal energy conversion systems. The first involves low thermal conductivity values of heat transfer fluids, and the second involves the poor optical properties of many absorbers and their coating. Hence, there is an imperative need to improve both thermal and optical properties of current solar conversion systems. Direct solar thermal absorption collectors incorporating a nanofluid offers the opportunity to achieve significant improvements in both optical and thermal performance. Since nanofluids offer much greater heat absorbing and heat transfer properties compared to traditional working fluids. The review summarizes current research in this innovative field. It discusses direct solar absorber collectors and methods for improving their performance. This is followed by a discussion of the various types of nanofluids available and the synthesis techniques used to manufacture them. In closing, a brief discussion of nanofluid property modelling is also presented. PMID:28561802

Nanofluid Types, Their Synthesis, Properties and Incorporation in Direct Solar Thermal Collectors: A Review.

PubMed

Chamsa-Ard, Wisut; Brundavanam, Sridevi; Fung, Chun Che; Fawcett, Derek; Poinern, Gerrard

2017-05-31

The global demand for energy is increasing and the detrimental consequences of rising greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and environmental degradation present major challenges. Solar energy offers a clean and viable renewable energy source with the potential to alleviate the detrimental consequences normally associated with fossil fuel-based energy generation. However, there are two inherent problems associated with conventional solar thermal energy conversion systems. The first involves low thermal conductivity values of heat transfer fluids, and the second involves the poor optical properties of many absorbers and their coating. Hence, there is an imperative need to improve both thermal and optical properties of current solar conversion systems. Direct solar thermal absorption collectors incorporating a nanofluid offers the opportunity to achieve significant improvements in both optical and thermal performance. Since nanofluids offer much greater heat absorbing and heat transfer properties compared to traditional working fluids. The review summarizes current research in this innovative field. It discusses direct solar absorber collectors and methods for improving their performance. This is followed by a discussion of the various types of nanofluids available and the synthesis techniques used to manufacture them. In closing, a brief discussion of nanofluid property modelling is also presented.

Genetic data and electronic health records: a discussion of ethical, logistical and technological considerations

PubMed Central

Shoenbill, Kimberly; Fost, Norman; Tachinardi, Umberto; Mendonca, Eneida A

2014-01-01

Objective The completion of sequencing the human genome in 2003 has spurred the production and collection of genetic data at ever increasing rates. Genetic data obtained for clinical purposes, as is true for all results of clinical tests, are expected to be included in patients’ medical records. With this explosion of information, questions of what, when, where and how to incorporate genetic data into electronic health records (EHRs) have reached a critical point. In order to answer these questions fully, this paper addresses the ethical, logistical and technological issues involved in incorporating these data into EHRs. Materials and methods This paper reviews journal articles, government documents and websites relevant to the ethics, genetics and informatics domains as they pertain to EHRs. Results and discussion The authors explore concerns and tasks facing health information technology (HIT) developers at the intersection of ethics, genetics, and technology as applied to EHR development. Conclusions By ensuring the efficient and effective incorporation of genetic data into EHRs, HIT developers will play a key role in facilitating the delivery of personalized medicine. PMID:23771953

Incorporating modern neuroscience findings to improve brain-computer interfaces: tracking auditory attention.

PubMed

Wronkiewicz, Mark; Larson, Eric; Lee, Adrian Kc

2016-10-01

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology allows users to generate actions based solely on their brain signals. However, current non-invasive BCIs generally classify brain activity recorded from surface electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, which can hinder the application of findings from modern neuroscience research. In this study, we use source imaging-a neuroimaging technique that projects EEG signals onto the surface of the brain-in a BCI classification framework. This allowed us to incorporate prior research from functional neuroimaging to target activity from a cortical region involved in auditory attention. Classifiers trained to detect attention switches performed better with source imaging projections than with EEG sensor signals. Within source imaging, including subject-specific anatomical MRI information (instead of using a generic head model) further improved classification performance. This source-based strategy also reduced accuracy variability across three dimensionality reduction techniques-a major design choice in most BCIs. Our work shows that source imaging provides clear quantitative and qualitative advantages to BCIs and highlights the value of incorporating modern neuroscience knowledge and methods into BCI systems.

Flux-Based Deadbeat Control of Induction-Motor Torque

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Barbara H.; Lorenz, Robert D.

2003-01-01

An improved method and prior methods of deadbeat direct torque control involve the use of pulse-width modulation (PWM) of applied voltages. The prior methods are based on the use of stator flux and stator current as state variables, leading to mathematical solutions of control equations in forms that do not lend themselves to clear visualization of solution spaces. In contrast, the use of rotor and stator fluxes as the state variables in the present improved method lends itself to graphical representations that aid in understanding possible solutions under various operating conditions. In addition, the present improved method incorporates the superposition of high-frequency carrier signals for use in a motor-self-sensing technique for estimating the rotor shaft angle at any speed (including low or even zero speed) without need for additional shaft-angle-measuring sensors.

GalaxyGPCRloop: Template-Based and Ab Initio Structure Sampling of the Extracellular Loops of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors.

PubMed

Won, Jonghun; Lee, Gyu Rie; Park, Hahnbeom; Seok, Chaok

2018-06-07

The second extracellular loops (ECL2s) of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are often involved in GPCR functions, and their structures have important implications in drug discovery. However, structure prediction of ECL2 is difficult because of its long length and the structural diversity among different GPCRs. In this study, a new ECL2 conformational sampling method involving both template-based and ab initio sampling was developed. Inspired by the observation of similar ECL2 structures of closely related GPCRs, a template-based sampling method employing loop structure templates selected from the structure database was developed. A new metric for evaluating similarity of the target loop to templates was introduced for template selection. An ab initio loop sampling method was also developed to treat cases without highly similar templates. The ab initio method is based on the previously developed fragment assembly and loop closure method. A new sampling component that takes advantage of secondary structure prediction was added. In addition, a conserved disulfide bridge restraining ECL2 conformation was predicted and analytically incorporated into sampling, reducing the effective dimension of the conformational search space. The sampling method was combined with an existing energy function for comparison with previously reported loop structure prediction methods, and the benchmark test demonstrated outstanding performance.

Involvement of adolescents in decision making for heart transplants.

PubMed

Sinclair, Sarah J

2009-01-01

Every year, hundreds of children and adolescents are faced with the need for heart transplantation to survive end-stage cardiac disease. This experience extends far beyond the surgical intervention, for it begins with a waiting period that may involve invasive and distressing interventions, and proceeds through a lifetime of lifestyle changes and complicated ongoing medical management. Adolescents may wish to forgo heart transplantation, even at the expense of their own lives. Such refusals leave patients, parents, and healthcare professionals grappling with complex ethical issues. It is incumbent upon professionals to allow adolescents a role in making this important decision; this requires that nurses understand ethical concepts including autonomy, competence, and assent. Because autonomy develops over time, an evaluation of the adolescent's maturity and competence is necessary. By incorporating the concepts of child development and measures of competence developed to govern pediatric involvement in research, a structured and ethically sound method for involving adolescents in this process can be put into practice.

Incorporation of Consumer Products in the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lieu, Van T.; Kalbus, Gene E.

1988-01-01

Describes eight experiments involving the use of common consumer products that could be incorporated into quantitative and instrumental analysis laboratories. Discusses these activities in terms of illustration of principles, awareness, and critical thinking. (CW)

Protein (multi-)location prediction: using location inter-dependencies in a probabilistic framework

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Motivation Knowing the location of a protein within the cell is important for understanding its function, role in biological processes, and potential use as a drug target. Much progress has been made in developing computational methods that predict single locations for proteins. Most such methods are based on the over-simplifying assumption that proteins localize to a single location. However, it has been shown that proteins localize to multiple locations. While a few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations of proteins, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, they typically treat locations as independent and do not attempt to utilize possible inter-dependencies among locations. Our hypothesis is that directly incorporating inter-dependencies among locations into both the classifier-learning and the prediction process can improve location prediction performance. Results We present a new method and a preliminary system we have developed that directly incorporates inter-dependencies among locations into the location-prediction process of multiply-localized proteins. Our method is based on a collection of Bayesian network classifiers, where each classifier is used to predict a single location. Learning the structure of each Bayesian network classifier takes into account inter-dependencies among locations, and the prediction process uses estimates involving multiple locations. We evaluate our system on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins (the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available, derived from the DBMLoc dataset). Our results, obtained by incorporating inter-dependencies, are significantly higher than those obtained by classifiers that do not use inter-dependencies. The performance of our system on multi-localized proteins is comparable to a top performing system (YLoc+), without being restricted only to location-combinations present in the training set. PMID:24646119

Protein (multi-)location prediction: using location inter-dependencies in a probabilistic framework.

PubMed

Simha, Ramanuja; Shatkay, Hagit

2014-03-19

Knowing the location of a protein within the cell is important for understanding its function, role in biological processes, and potential use as a drug target. Much progress has been made in developing computational methods that predict single locations for proteins. Most such methods are based on the over-simplifying assumption that proteins localize to a single location. However, it has been shown that proteins localize to multiple locations. While a few recent systems attempt to predict multiple locations of proteins, their performance leaves much room for improvement. Moreover, they typically treat locations as independent and do not attempt to utilize possible inter-dependencies among locations. Our hypothesis is that directly incorporating inter-dependencies among locations into both the classifier-learning and the prediction process can improve location prediction performance. We present a new method and a preliminary system we have developed that directly incorporates inter-dependencies among locations into the location-prediction process of multiply-localized proteins. Our method is based on a collection of Bayesian network classifiers, where each classifier is used to predict a single location. Learning the structure of each Bayesian network classifier takes into account inter-dependencies among locations, and the prediction process uses estimates involving multiple locations. We evaluate our system on a dataset of single- and multi-localized proteins (the most comprehensive protein multi-localization dataset currently available, derived from the DBMLoc dataset). Our results, obtained by incorporating inter-dependencies, are significantly higher than those obtained by classifiers that do not use inter-dependencies. The performance of our system on multi-localized proteins is comparable to a top performing system (YLoc+), without being restricted only to location-combinations present in the training set.

Symmetrized density matrix renormalization group algorithm for low-lying excited states of conjugated carbon systems: Application to 1,12-benzoperylene and polychrysene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prodhan, Suryoday; Ramasesha, S.

2018-05-01

The symmetry adapted density matrix renormalization group (SDMRG) technique has been an efficient method for studying low-lying eigenstates in one- and quasi-one-dimensional electronic systems. However, the SDMRG method had bottlenecks involving the construction of linearly independent symmetry adapted basis states as the symmetry matrices in the DMRG basis were not sparse. We have developed a modified algorithm to overcome this bottleneck. The new method incorporates end-to-end interchange symmetry (C2) , electron-hole symmetry (J ) , and parity or spin-flip symmetry (P ) in these calculations. The one-to-one correspondence between direct-product basis states in the DMRG Hilbert space for these symmetry operations renders the symmetry matrices in the new basis with maximum sparseness, just one nonzero matrix element per row. Using methods similar to those employed in the exact diagonalization technique for Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) models, developed in the 1980s, it is possible to construct orthogonal SDMRG basis states while bypassing the slow step of the Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization procedure. The method together with the PPP model which incorporates long-range electronic correlations is employed to study the correlated excited-state spectra of 1,12-benzoperylene and a narrow mixed graphene nanoribbon with a chrysene molecule as the building unit, comprising both zigzag and cove-edge structures.

Beyond utilitarianism: a method for analyzing competing ethical principles in a decision analysis of liver transplantation.

PubMed

Volk, Michael L; Lok, Anna S F; Ubel, Peter A; Vijan, Sandeep

2008-01-01

The utilitarian foundation of decision analysis limits its usefulness for many social policy decisions. In this study, the authors examine a method to incorporate competing ethical principles in a decision analysis of liver transplantation for a patient with acute liver failure (ALF). A Markov model was constructed to compare the benefit of transplantation for a patient with ALF versus the harm caused to other patients on the waiting list and to determine the lowest acceptable 5-y posttransplant survival for the ALF patient. The weighting of the ALF patient and other patients was then adjusted using a multiattribute variable incorporating utilitarianism, urgency, and other principles such as fair chances. In the base-case analysis, the strategy of transplanting the ALF patient resulted in a 0.8% increase in the risk of death and a utility loss of 7.8 quality-adjusted days of life for each of the other patients on the waiting list. These harms cumulatively outweighed the benefit of transplantation for an ALF patient having a posttransplant survival of less than 48% at 5 y. However, the threshold for an acceptable posttransplant survival for the ALF patient ranged from 25% to 56% at 5 y, depending on the ethical principles involved. The results of the decision analysis vary depending on the ethical perspective. This study demonstrates how competing ethical principles can be numerically incorporated in a decision analysis.

Incorporating perceptual decision-making training into high-intensity interval training for Australian football umpires.

PubMed

Kittel, Aden; Elsworthy, Nathan; Spittle, Michael

2018-05-30

Existing methods for developing decision-making skill for Australian football umpires separate the physical and perceptual aspects of their performance. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of incorporating video-based decision-making training during high-intensity interval training sessions, specific for Australian football umpires. 20 amateur Australian football umpires volunteered to participate in a randomised control trial. Participants completed an 8-week training intervention in a conditioning only (CON; n=7), combined video-based training and conditioning (COM; n=7), or separated conditioning and video-based training (SEP; n=6) group. Preliminary and post-testing involved a Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Yo-YoIR1), and 10x300m run test with an Australian football specific video-based decision-making task. Overall, changes in decision-making accuracy following the intervention were unclear between groups. SEP was possibly beneficial compared to COM in Yo-YoIR1 performance, whereas CON was likely beneficial compared to COM in 10x300m sprint performance. There was no additional benefit to completing video-based training, whether combined with, or separate to physical training, suggesting that this was not an optimal training method. For video-based training to be an effective decision-making tool, detailed feedback should be incorporated into training. It is recommended that longer conditioning and video-based training interventions be implemented to determine training effectiveness.

Species Specific Bacterial Spore Detection Using Lateral-Flow Immunoassay with DPA-Triggered Tb Luminescence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponce, Adrian

2003-01-01

A method of detecting bacterial spores incorporates (1) A method of lateral-flow immunoassay in combination with (2) A method based on the luminescence of Tb3+ ions to which molecules of dipicolinic acid (DPA) released from the spores have become bound. The present combination of lateral-flow immunoassay and DPA-triggered Tb luminescence was developed as a superior alternative to a prior lateral-flow immunoassay method in which detection involves the visual observation and/or measurement of red light scattered from colloidal gold nanoparticles. The advantage of the present combination method is that it affords both (1) High selectivity for spores of the species of bacteria that one seeks to detect (a characteristic of lateral-flow immunoassay in general) and (2) Detection sensitivity much greater (by virtue of the use of DPA-triggered Tb luminescence instead of gold nanoparticles) than that of the prior lateral-flow immunoassay method

[Study on incorporation of "management and guidance of home-visiting by a pharmacist" into a care plan -observation based on a survey of care managers-].

PubMed

Nanaumi, Yoko; Onda, Mitsuko; Sakurai, Hidehiko; Tanaka, Rie; Tsubota, Kenichi; Matoba, Shunya; Mukai, Yusuke; Arakawa, Yukio; Hayase, Yukitoshi

2010-11-01

A survey of care managers ("CMs") was conducted to identify top priority issues in promoting the management and guidance of home-visiting by a pharmacist ("management and guidance") by focusing on the experience in incorporating the management and guidance into a care plan and its relevant factors. Major survey items included (1) number of years working as a CM, (2) basic occupation, (3) experience in incorporating the management and guidance into care plans, (4) understanding the management and guidance content, and (5) an awareness of the need for pharmacists' involvement in care plans. A χ² test was conducted to determine if the experience in incorporating the management and guidance into care plans caused a difference in the distribution of the number of years as a CM, the basic occupation, understanding of the management and guidance content, and an awareness of the need for pharmacists' involvement in care plans. A regression analysis was conducted to determine the degree of association between the incorporation experience and each item. The numbers of years working as a CM, the basic occupation, understanding of the management and guidance content, and an awareness of the need for pharmacists' involvement in care plans, were found to be associated with the experience in incorporating the management and guidance into care plans. Understanding of the management and guidance content was most closely associated. To promote pharmacists' management and guidance for home-based care, CMs need to deepen their understanding of this service.

Some Progress in Large-Eddy Simulation using the 3-D Vortex Particle Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winckelmans, G. S.

1995-01-01

This two-month visit at CTR was devoted to investigating possibilities in LES modeling in the context of the 3-D vortex particle method (=vortex element method, VEM) for unbounded flows. A dedicated code was developed for that purpose. Although O(N(sup 2)) and thus slow, it offers the advantage that it can easily be modified to try out many ideas on problems involving up to N approx. 10(exp 4) particles. Energy spectrums (which require O(N(sup 2)) operations per wavenumber) are also computed. Progress was realized in the following areas: particle redistribution schemes, relaxation schemes to maintain the solenoidal condition on the particle vorticity field, simple LES models and their VEM extension, possible new avenues in LES. Model problems that involve strong interaction between vortex tubes were computed, together with diagnostics: total vorticity, linear and angular impulse, energy and energy spectrum, enstrophy. More work is needed, however, especially regarding relaxation schemes and further validation and development of LES models for VEM. Finally, what works well will eventually have to be incorporated into the fast parallel tree code.

A Discovered Ducal Seal Does Not Belong to the Incorporation Charter for the City of Krakow Solving the Mystery Using Genetic Methods.

PubMed

Lech, Tomasz

2016-01-01

The Incorporation Charter for the city of Krakow, the former capital of Poland, is one of the most valuable documents stored in the National Archives in Krakow. The document, which was written in 1257 on parchment, grants Krakow the Magdeburg rights and regulates its legal, statutory, economic and settlement-related aspects. The Charter was placed in the National Register of the Memory of the World UNESCO programme in 2014. A ducal seal, considered to be the lost seal detached from the Incorporation Charter, was found in the sphragistic collection after nearly 500 years. Unfortunately, it was uncertain whether the seal in question was indeed the missing part of the document. The aim of the study presented below was to solve this mystery. For this purpose, the parchment on which the Incorporation Charter was written was compared with the fragment of the parchment attached to the discovered seal. The study involved the analysis of selected mitochondrial DNA sequences and additional analysis at the level of nuclear DNA using microsatellite markers in the form of 11 STR (Short Tandem Repeat) loci, to identify the species and individual whose skin had been used to make the parchment. This analysis revealed that seal and parchment was from different individuals and thereby discovered that the seal was never a part of the Incorporation Charter. The study is further an example of informative DNA preservation in cultural heritage objects.

Comparison of mixed-mode stress-intensity factors obtained through displacement correlation, J-integral formulation, and modified crack-closure integral

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bittencourt, Tulio N.; Barry, Ahmabou; Ingraffea, Anthony R.

This paper presents a comparison among stress-intensity factors for mixed-mode two-dimensional problems obtained through three different approaches: displacement correlation, J-integral, and modified crack-closure integral. All mentioned procedures involve only one analysis step and are incorporated in the post-processor page of a finite element computer code for fracture mechanics analysis (FRANC). Results are presented for a closed-form solution problem under mixed-mode conditions. The accuracy of these described methods then is discussed and analyzed in the framework of their numerical results. The influence of the differences among the three methods on the predicted crack trajectory of general problems is also discussed.

Renewed roles for librarians in problem-based learning in the medical curriculum.

PubMed

Mi, Misa

2011-01-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching-learning process or method of instruction that is widely used in medical education curricula. Librarians play important roles as facilitators for PBL as well as guides for information resources. Involvement in PBL activities presents unique opportunities to incorporate library resources and instruction into the medical curriculum. This article reviews the problem-based learning method within the conceptual framework of the learning theory of constructivism. It describes how a medical librarian at a U.S. medical school used emerging technologies to facilitate PBL small group case discussions, guide students to quality information resources, and enhance the learning environment for the PBL process.

Use of dye to distinguish salt and protein crystals under microcrystallization conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cosenza, Larry (Inventor); Gester, Thomas E. (Inventor); Bray, Terry L. (Inventor); DeLucas, Lawrence J. (Inventor); Hamrick, David T. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

An improved method of screening crystal growth conditions is provided wherein molecules are crystallized from solutions containing dyes. These dyes are selectively incorporated or associated with crystals of particular character thereby rendering crystals of particular character colored and improving detection of the dyed crystals. A preferred method involves use of dyes in protein solutions overlayed by oil. Use of oil allows the use of small volumes of solution and facilitates the screening of large numbers of crystallization conditions in arrays using automated devices that dispense appropriate solutions to generate crystallization trials, overlay crystallization trials with an oil, provide appropriate conditions conducive to crystallization and enhance detection of dyed (colored) or undyed (uncolored) crystals that result.

Social representations of nurses about professional autonomy and the use of technologies in the care of patients with wounds.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Érick Igor; Grativol Aguiar Dias de Oliveira, Jéssica

2016-06-01

To identify the social representations by nurses about professional autonomy in the care of patients with wounds and analyze their interfaces with the constant incorporation of technologies in this care. This is a qualitative research, outlined from the Theory and method of social representations in its procedural approach and performed with 31 nurses. The interviews were submitted to thematic content analysis software NVivo instrumentalized by 10. The representational content on autonomy is linked mainly to the level of knowledge, power of decision, vocational training and institutional factors. The subjects are positioned favorably to the incorporation of care technologies in professional practice, which involves elements such as cost-effective structure, training, and other resources. It is concluded that autonomy is configured as a prerequisite for the full use of technology and technology is configured as a facilitator for nurses to become more autonomous.

Hidden Markov models incorporating fuzzy measures and integrals for protein sequence identification and alignment.

PubMed

Bidargaddi, Niranjan P; Chetty, Madhu; Kamruzzaman, Joarder

2008-06-01

Profile hidden Markov models (HMMs) based on classical HMMs have been widely applied for protein sequence identification. The formulation of the forward and backward variables in profile HMMs is made under statistical independence assumption of the probability theory. We propose a fuzzy profile HMM to overcome the limitations of that assumption and to achieve an improved alignment for protein sequences belonging to a given family. The proposed model fuzzifies the forward and backward variables by incorporating Sugeno fuzzy measures and Choquet integrals, thus further extends the generalized HMM. Based on the fuzzified forward and backward variables, we propose a fuzzy Baum-Welch parameter estimation algorithm for profiles. The strong correlations and the sequence preference involved in the protein structures make this fuzzy architecture based model as a suitable candidate for building profiles of a given family, since the fuzzy set can handle uncertainties better than classical methods.

Representing ductile damage with the dual domain material point method

DOE PAGES

Long, C. C.; Zhang, D. Z.; Bronkhorst, C. A.; ...

2015-12-14

In this study, we incorporate a ductile damage material model into a computational framework based on the Dual Domain Material Point (DDMP) method. As an example, simulations of a flyer plate experiment involving ductile void growth and material failure are performed. The results are compared with experiments performed on high purity tantalum. We also compare the numerical results obtained from the DDMP method with those obtained from the traditional Material Point Method (MPM). Effects of an overstress model, artificial viscosity, and physical viscosity are investigated. Our results show that a physical bulk viscosity and overstress model are important in thismore » impact and failure problem, while physical shear viscosity and artificial shock viscosity have negligible effects. A simple numerical procedure with guaranteed convergence is introduced to solve for the equilibrium plastic state from the ductile damage model.« less

Advanced Methods for Determining Prediction Uncertainty in Model-Based Prognostics with Application to Planetary Rovers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daigle, Matthew J.; Sankararaman, Shankar

2013-01-01

Prognostics is centered on predicting the time of and time until adverse events in components, subsystems, and systems. It typically involves both a state estimation phase, in which the current health state of a system is identified, and a prediction phase, in which the state is projected forward in time. Since prognostics is mainly a prediction problem, prognostic approaches cannot avoid uncertainty, which arises due to several sources. Prognostics algorithms must both characterize this uncertainty and incorporate it into the predictions so that informed decisions can be made about the system. In this paper, we describe three methods to solve these problems, including Monte Carlo-, unscented transform-, and first-order reliability-based methods. Using a planetary rover as a case study, we demonstrate and compare the different methods in simulation for battery end-of-discharge prediction.

Temperature Profiles of Different Cooling Methods in Porcine Pancreas Procurement

PubMed Central

Weegman, Brad P.; Suszynski, Thomas M.; Scott, William E.; Ferrer, Joana; Avgoustiniatos, Efstathios S.; Anazawa, Takayuki; O’Brien, Timothy D.; Rizzari, Michael D.; Karatzas, Theodore; Jie, Tun; Sutherland, David ER.; Hering, Bernhard J.; Papas, Klearchos K.

2014-01-01

Background Porcine islet xenotransplantation is a promising alternative to human islet allotransplantation. Porcine pancreas cooling needs to be optimized to reduce the warm ischemia time (WIT) following donation after cardiac death, which is associated with poorer islet isolation outcomes. Methods This study examines the effect of 4 different cooling Methods on core porcine pancreas temperature (n=24) and histopathology (n=16). All Methods involved surface cooling with crushed ice and chilled irrigation. Method A, which is the standard for porcine pancreas procurement, used only surface cooling. Method B involved an intravascular flush with cold solution through the pancreas arterial system. Method C involved an intraductal infusion with cold solution through the major pancreatic duct, and Method D combined all 3 cooling Methods. Results Surface cooling alone (Method A) gradually decreased core pancreas temperature to < 10 °C after 30 minutes. Using an intravascular flush (Method B) improved cooling during the entire duration of procurement, but incorporating an intraductal infusion (Method C) rapidly reduced core temperature 15–20 °C within the first 2 minutes of cooling. Combining all methods (Method D) was the most effective at rapidly reducing temperature and providing sustained cooling throughout the duration of procurement, although the recorded WIT was not different between Methods (p=0.36). Histological scores were different between the cooling Methods (p=0.02) and the worst with Method A. There were differences in histological scores between Methods A and C (p=0.02) and Methods A and D (p=0.02), but not between Methods C and D (p=0.95), which may highlight the importance of early cooling using an intraductal infusion. Conclusions In conclusion, surface cooling alone cannot rapidly cool large (porcine or human) pancreata. Additional cooling with an intravascular flush and intraductal infusion results in improved core porcine pancreas temperature profiles during procurement and histopathology scores. These data may also have implications on human pancreas procurement since use of an intraductal infusion is not common practice. PMID:25040217

Micro-machined calorimetric biosensors

DOEpatents

Doktycz, Mitchel J.; Britton, Jr., Charles L.; Smith, Stephen F.; Oden, Patrick I.; Bryan, William L.; Moore, James A.; Thundat, Thomas G.; Warmack, Robert J.

2002-01-01

A method and apparatus are provided for detecting and monitoring micro-volumetric enthalpic changes caused by molecular reactions. Micro-machining techniques are used to create very small thermally isolated masses incorporating temperature-sensitive circuitry. The thermally isolated masses are provided with a molecular layer or coating, and the temperature-sensitive circuitry provides an indication when the molecules of the coating are involved in an enthalpic reaction. The thermally isolated masses may be provided singly or in arrays and, in the latter case, the molecular coatings may differ to provide qualitative and/or quantitative assays of a substance.

Local/non-local regularized image segmentation using graph-cuts: application to dynamic and multispectral MRI.

PubMed

Hanson, Erik A; Lundervold, Arvid

2013-11-01

Multispectral, multichannel, or time series image segmentation is important for image analysis in a wide range of applications. Regularization of the segmentation is commonly performed using local image information causing the segmented image to be locally smooth or piecewise constant. A new spatial regularization method, incorporating non-local information, was developed and tested. Our spatial regularization method applies to feature space classification in multichannel images such as color images and MR image sequences. The spatial regularization involves local edge properties, region boundary minimization, as well as non-local similarities. The method is implemented in a discrete graph-cut setting allowing fast computations. The method was tested on multidimensional MRI recordings from human kidney and brain in addition to simulated MRI volumes. The proposed method successfully segment regions with both smooth and complex non-smooth shapes with a minimum of user interaction.

Modeling hemoglobin at optical frequency using the unconditionally stable fundamental ADI-FDTD method.

PubMed

Heh, Ding Yu; Tan, Eng Leong

2011-04-12

This paper presents the modeling of hemoglobin at optical frequency (250 nm - 1000 nm) using the unconditionally stable fundamental alternating-direction-implicit finite-difference time-domain (FADI-FDTD) method. An accurate model based on complex conjugate pole-residue pairs is proposed to model the complex permittivity of hemoglobin at optical frequency. Two hemoglobin concentrations at 15 g/dL and 33 g/dL are considered. The model is then incorporated into the FADI-FDTD method for solving electromagnetic problems involving interaction of light with hemoglobin. The computation of transmission and reflection coefficients of a half space hemoglobin medium using the FADI-FDTD validates the accuracy of our model and method. The specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution of human capillary at optical frequency is also shown. While maintaining accuracy, the unconditionally stable FADI-FDTD method exhibits high efficiency in modeling hemoglobin.

Modeling hemoglobin at optical frequency using the unconditionally stable fundamental ADI-FDTD method

PubMed Central

Heh, Ding Yu; Tan, Eng Leong

2011-01-01

This paper presents the modeling of hemoglobin at optical frequency (250 nm – 1000 nm) using the unconditionally stable fundamental alternating-direction-implicit finite-difference time-domain (FADI-FDTD) method. An accurate model based on complex conjugate pole-residue pairs is proposed to model the complex permittivity of hemoglobin at optical frequency. Two hemoglobin concentrations at 15 g/dL and 33 g/dL are considered. The model is then incorporated into the FADI-FDTD method for solving electromagnetic problems involving interaction of light with hemoglobin. The computation of transmission and reflection coefficients of a half space hemoglobin medium using the FADI-FDTD validates the accuracy of our model and method. The specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution of human capillary at optical frequency is also shown. While maintaining accuracy, the unconditionally stable FADI-FDTD method exhibits high efficiency in modeling hemoglobin. PMID:21559129

Immediate and delayed incorporations of events into dreams: further replication and implications for dream function.

PubMed

Nielsen, Tore A; Kuiken, Don; Alain, Geneviève; Stenstrom, Philippe; Powell, Russell A

2004-12-01

The incorporation of memories into dreams is characterized by two types of temporal effects: the day-residue effect, involving immediate incorporations of events from the preceding day, and the dream-lag effect, involving incorporations delayed by about a week. This study was designed to replicate these two effects while controlling several prior methodological problems and to provide preliminary information about potential functions of delayed event incorporations. Introductory Psychology students were asked to recall dreams at home for 1 week. Subsequently, they were instructed to select a single dream and to retrieve past events related to it that arose from one of seven randomly determined days prior to the dream (days 1-7). They then rated both their confidence in recall of events and the extent of correspondence between events and dreams. Judges evaluated qualities of the reported events using scales derived from theories about the function of delayed incorporations. Average ratings of correspondences between dreams and events were high for predream days 1 and 2, low for days 3 and 4 and high again for days 5-7, but only for participants who rated their confidence in recall of events as high and only for females. Delayed incorporations were more likely than immediate incorporations to refer to events characterized by interpersonal interactions, spatial locations, resolved problems and positive emotions. The findings are consistent with the possibility that processes with circaseptan (about 7 days) morphology underlie dream incorporation and that these processes subserve the functions of socio-emotional adaptation and memory consolidation.

Mesoscopic Modeling of Blood Clotting: Coagulation Cascade and Platelets Adhesion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazdani, Alireza; Li, Zhen; Karniadakis, George

2015-11-01

The process of clot formation and growth at a site on a blood vessel wall involve a number of multi-scale simultaneous processes including: multiple chemical reactions in the coagulation cascade, species transport and flow. To model these processes we have incorporated advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) of multiple species into an extended version of Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) method which is considered as a coarse-grained Molecular Dynamics method. At the continuum level this is equivalent to the Navier-Stokes equation plus one advection-diffusion equation for each specie. The chemistry of clot formation is now understood to be determined by mechanisms involving reactions among many species in dilute solution, where reaction rate constants and species diffusion coefficients in plasma are known. The role of blood particulates, i.e. red cells and platelets, in the clotting process is studied by including them separately and together in the simulations. An agonist-induced platelet activation mechanism is presented, while platelets adhesive dynamics based on a stochastic bond formation/dissociation process is included in the model.

Identifying Unstable Regions of Proteins Involved in Misfolding Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guest, Will; Cashman, Neil; Plotkin, Steven

2009-05-01

Protein misfolding is a necessary step in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS). Identifying unstable structural elements in their causative proteins elucidates the early events of misfolding and presents targets for inhibition of the disease process. An algorithm was developed to calculate the Gibbs free energy of unfolding for all sequence-contiguous regions of a protein using three methods to parameterize energy changes: a modified G=o model, changes in solvent-accessible surface area, and all-atoms molecular dynamics. The entropic effects of disulfide bonds and post-translational modifications are treated analytically. It incorporates a novel method for finding local dielectric constants inside a protein to accurately handle charge effects. We have predicted the unstable parts of prion protein and superoxide dismutase 1, the proteins involved in CJD and fALS respectively, and have used these regions as epitopes to prepare antibodies that are specific to the misfolded conformation and show promise as therapeutic agents.

pSumo-CD: predicting sumoylation sites in proteins with covariance discriminant algorithm by incorporating sequence-coupled effects into general PseAAC.

PubMed

Jia, Jianhua; Zhang, Liuxia; Liu, Zi; Xiao, Xuan; Chou, Kuo-Chen

2016-10-15

Sumoylation is a post-translational modification (PTM) process, in which small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) is attaching by covalent bonds to substrate protein. It is critical to many different biological processes such as replicating genome, expressing gene, localizing and stabilizing proteins; unfortunately, it is also involved with many major disorders including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Therefore, for both basic research and drug development, it is important to identify the sumoylation sites in proteins. To address such a problem, we developed a predictor called pSumo-CD by incorporating the sequence-coupled information into the general pseudo-amino acid composition (PseAAC) and introducing the covariance discriminant (CD) algorithm, in which a bias-adjustment term, which has the function to automatically adjust the errors caused by the bias due to the imbalance of training data, had been incorporated. Rigorous cross-validations indicated that the new predictor remarkably outperformed the existing state-of-the-art prediction method for the same purpose. For the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for pSumo-CD has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/pSumo-CD, by which users can easily obtain their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematical equations involved. jjia@gordonlifescience.org, xxiao@gordonlifescience.org or kcchou@gordonlifescience.orgSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

MEvoLib v1.0: the first molecular evolution library for Python.

PubMed

Álvarez-Jarreta, Jorge; Ruiz-Pesini, Eduardo

2016-10-28

Molecular evolution studies involve many different hard computational problems solved, in most cases, with heuristic algorithms that provide a nearly optimal solution. Hence, diverse software tools exist for the different stages involved in a molecular evolution workflow. We present MEvoLib, the first molecular evolution library for Python, providing a framework to work with different tools and methods involved in the common tasks of molecular evolution workflows. In contrast with already existing bioinformatics libraries, MEvoLib is focused on the stages involved in molecular evolution studies, enclosing the set of tools with a common purpose in a single high-level interface with fast access to their frequent parameterizations. The gene clustering from partial or complete sequences has been improved with a new method that integrates accessible external information (e.g. GenBank's features data). Moreover, MEvoLib adjusts the fetching process from NCBI databases to optimize the download bandwidth usage. In addition, it has been implemented using parallelization techniques to cope with even large-case scenarios. MEvoLib is the first library for Python designed to facilitate molecular evolution researches both for expert and novel users. Its unique interface for each common task comprises several tools with their most used parameterizations. It has also included a method to take advantage of biological knowledge to improve the gene partition of sequence datasets. Additionally, its implementation incorporates parallelization techniques to enhance computational costs when handling very large input datasets.

Self-organization and feedback effects in the shock compressed media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khantuleva, Tatyana

2005-07-01

New theoretical approach to the transport in condensed matter far from equilibrium combines methods of statistical mechanics and cybernetic physics in order to construct closed mathematical model of a system with self-organization and self-regulation. Mesoscopic effects are considered as a result of the structure formation and the feedback effects in an open system under dynamic loading. Nonequilibrium state equations had been involved to incorporate the velocity dispersion. Integrodifferential balance equations describe both wave and dissipative transport properties. Boundary conditions determine the internal scale spectra. The model is completed by the feedback that introduces the structure evolution basing the methods of cybernetic physics. The obtained results open a wide prospective for the control methods in applications to new technologies, intellectual systems and prediction of catastrophic phenomena.

Inter-laboratory validation of the modified murine local lymph node assay based on 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation.

PubMed

Kojima, Hajime; Takeyoshi, Masahiro; Sozu, Takashi; Awogi, Takumi; Arima, Kazunori; Idehara, Kenji; Ikarashi, Yoshiaki; Kanazawa, Yukiko; Maki, Eiji; Omori, Takashi; Yuasa, Atsuko; Yoshimura, Isao

2011-01-01

The murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) is a well-established alternative to the guinea pig maximization test (GPMT) or Buehler test (BT) for the assessment of the skin sensitizing ability of a drug, cosmetic material, pesticide or industrial chemical. Instead of radioisotope using in this method, Takeyoshi M. et al. (2001) has developed a modified LLNA based on the 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation (LLNA:BrdU-ELISA). The LLNA:BrdU-ELISA is practically identical to the LLNA methodology excluding the use of BrdU, for which a single intraperitoneal injection of BrdU is made on day 4, and colorimetric detection of cell turnover. We conducted the validation study to evaluate the reliability and relevance of LLNA:BrdU-ELISA. The experiment involved 7 laboratories, wherein 10 chemicals were examined under blinded conditions. In this study, 3 chemicals were examined in all laboratories and the remaining 7 were examined in 3 laboratories. The data were expressed as the BrdU incorporation using an ELISA method for each group, and the stimulation index (SI) for each chemical-treated group was determined as the increase in the BrdU incorporation relative to the concurrent vehicle control group. An SI of 2 was set as the cut-off value for exhibiting skin sensitization activity. The results obtained in the experiments conducted for all 10 chemicals were sufficiently consistent with small variations in their SI values. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of LLNA:BrdU-ELISA against those of GPMT/BT were 7/7 (100%), 3/3 (100%), and 10/10 (100%), respectively. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

46 CFR 154.1 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Liquefied Gases in Bulk, 1976 Medical First Aid Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods... COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SAFETY STANDARDS FOR SELF-PROPELLED VESSELS CARRYING BULK LIQUEFIED GASES General § 154.1 Incorporation by reference...

Issues in the incorporation of economic perspectives and evidence into Cochrane reviews

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Methods for systematic reviews of the effects of health interventions have focused mainly on addressing the question of 'What works?’ or 'Is this intervention effective in achieving one or more specific outcomes?’ Addressing the question 'Is it worth it given the resources available?’ has received less attention. This latter question can be addressed by applying an economic lens to the systematic review process. This paper reflects on the value and desire for the consideration by end users for coverage of an economic perspective in a Cochrane review and outlines two potential approaches and future directions. Methods Two frameworks to guide review authors who are seeking to include an economic perspective are outlined. The first involves conducting a full systematic review of economic evaluations that is integrated into a review of intervention effects. The second involves developing a brief economic commentary. The two approaches share a set of common stages but allow the tailoring of the economic component of the Cochrane review to the skills and resources available to the review team. Results The number of studies using the methods outlined in the paper is limited, and further examples are needed both to explore the value of these approaches and to further develop them. The rate of progress will hinge on the organisational leadership, capacity and resources available to the CCEMG, author teams and other Cochrane entities. Particular methodological challenges to overcome relate to understanding the key economic trade-offs and casual relationships for a given decision problem and informing the development of evaluations designed to support local decision-makers. Conclusions Methods for incorporating economic perspectives and evidence into Cochrane intervention reviews are established. Their role is not to provide a precise estimate of 'cost-effectiveness’ but rather to help end-users of Cochrane reviews to determine the implications of the economic components of reviews for their own specific decisions. PMID:24050504

Rapid incorporation kinetics and improved fidelity of a novel class of 3'-OH unblocked reversible terminators.

PubMed

Gardner, Andrew F; Wang, Jinchun; Wu, Weidong; Karouby, Jennifer; Li, Hong; Stupi, Brian P; Jack, William E; Hersh, Megan N; Metzker, Michael L

2012-08-01

Recent developments of unique nucleotide probes have expanded our understanding of DNA polymerase function, providing many benefits to techniques involving next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. The cyclic reversible termination (CRT) method depends on efficient base-selective incorporation of reversible terminators by DNA polymerases. Most terminators are designed with 3'-O-blocking groups but are incorporated with low efficiency and fidelity. We have developed a novel class of 3'-OH unblocked nucleotides, called Lightning Terminators™, which have a terminating 2-nitrobenzyl moiety attached to hydroxymethylated nucleobases. A key structural feature of this photocleavable group displays a 'molecular tuning' effect with respect to single-base termination and improved nucleotide fidelity. Using Therminator DNA polymerase, we demonstrate that these 3'-OH unblocked terminators exhibit superior enzymatic performance compared to two other reversible terminators, 3'-O-amino-TTP and 3'-O-azidomethyl-TTP. Lightning Terminators show maximum incorporation rates (k(pol)) that range from 35 to 45 nt/s, comparable to the fastest NGS chemistries, yet with catalytic efficiencies (k(pol)/K(D)) comparable to natural nucleotides. Pre-steady-state kinetic studies of thymidine analogs revealed that the major determinant for improved nucleotide selectivity is a significant reduction in k(pol) by >1000-fold over TTP misincorporation. These studies highlight the importance of structure-function relationships of modified nucleotides in dictating polymerase performance.

Incorporating a guanidine-modified cytosine base into triplex-forming PNAs for the recognition of a C-G pyrimidine–purine inversion site of an RNA duplex

PubMed Central

Toh, Desiree-Faye Kaixin; Devi, Gitali; Patil, Kiran M.; Qu, Qiuyu; Maraswami, Manikantha; Xiao, Yunyun; Loh, Teck Peng; Zhao, Yanli; Chen, Gang

2016-01-01

RNA duplex regions are often involved in tertiary interactions and protein binding and thus there is great potential in developing ligands that sequence-specifically bind to RNA duplexes. We have developed a convenient synthesis method for a modified peptide nucleic acid (PNA) monomer with a guanidine-modified 5-methyl cytosine base. We demonstrated by gel electrophoresis, fluorescence and thermal melting experiments that short PNAs incorporating the modified residue show high binding affinity and sequence specificity in the recognition of an RNA duplex containing an internal inverted Watson-Crick C-G base pair. Remarkably, the relatively short PNAs show no appreciable binding to DNA duplexes or single-stranded RNAs. The attached guanidine group stabilizes the base triple through hydrogen bonding with the G base in a C-G pair. Selective binding towards an RNA duplex over a single-stranded RNA can be rationalized by the fact that alkylation of the amine of a 5-methyl C base blocks the Watson–Crick edge. PNAs incorporating multiple guanidine-modified cytosine residues are able to enter HeLa cells without any transfection agent. PMID:27596599

Implementation of an effective hybrid GA for large-scale traveling salesman problems.

PubMed

Nguyen, Hung Dinh; Yoshihara, Ikuo; Yamamori, Kunihito; Yasunaga, Moritoshi

2007-02-01

This correspondence describes a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) to find high-quality solutions for the traveling salesman problem (TSP). The proposed method is based on a parallel implementation of a multipopulation steady-state GA involving local search heuristics. It uses a variant of the maximal preservative crossover and the double-bridge move mutation. An effective implementation of the Lin-Kernighan heuristic (LK) is incorporated into the method to compensate for the GA's lack of local search ability. The method is validated by comparing it with the LK-Helsgaun method (LKH), which is one of the most effective methods for the TSP. Experimental results with benchmarks having up to 316228 cities show that the proposed method works more effectively and efficiently than LKH when solving large-scale problems. Finally, the method is used together with the implementation of the iterated LK to find a new best tour (as of June 2, 2003) for a 1904711-city TSP challenge.

Mathematical modeling and pharmaceutical pricing: analyses used to inform in-licensing and developmental go/No-Go decisions.

PubMed

Vernon, John A; Hughen, W Keener; Johnson, Scott J

2005-05-01

In the face of significant real healthcare cost inflation, pressured budgets, and ongoing launches of myriad technology of uncertain value, payers have formalized new valuation techniques that represent a barrier to entry for drugs. Cost-effectiveness analysis predominates among these methods, which involves differencing a new technological intervention's marginal costs and benefits with a comparator's, and comparing the resulting ratio to a payer's willingness-to-pay threshold. In this paper we describe how firms are able to model the feasible range of future product prices when making in-licensing and developmental Go/No-Go decisions by considering payers' use of the cost-effectiveness method. We illustrate this analytic method with a simple deterministic example and then incorporate stochastic assumptions using both analytic and simulation methods. Using this strategic approach, firms may reduce product development and in-licensing risk.

Estimation of vegetation cover at subpixel resolution using LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jasinski, Michael F.; Eagleson, Peter S.

1986-01-01

The present report summarizes the various approaches relevant to estimating canopy cover at subpixel resolution. The approaches are based on physical models of radiative transfer in non-homogeneous canopies and on empirical methods. The effects of vegetation shadows and topography are examined. Simple versions of the model are tested, using the Taos, New Mexico Study Area database. Emphasis has been placed on using relatively simple models requiring only one or two bands. Although most methods require some degree of ground truth, a two-band method is investigated whereby the percent cover can be estimated without ground truth by examining the limits of the data space. Future work is proposed which will incorporate additional surface parameters into the canopy cover algorithm, such as topography, leaf area, or shadows. The method involves deriving a probability density function for the percent canopy cover based on the joint probability density function of the observed radiances.

A computationally efficient modelling of laminar separation bubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maughmer, Mark D.

1988-01-01

The goal of this research is to accurately predict the characteristics of the laminar separation bubble and its effects on airfoil performance. To this end, a model of the bubble is under development and will be incorporated in the analysis section of the Eppler and Somers program. As a first step in this direction, an existing bubble model was inserted into the program. It was decided to address the problem of the short bubble before attempting the prediction of the long bubble. In the second place, an integral boundary-layer method is believed more desirable than a finite difference approach. While these two methods achieve similar prediction accuracy, finite-difference methods tend to involve significantly longer computer run times than the integral methods. Finally, as the boundary-layer analysis in the Eppler and Somers program employs the momentum and kinetic energy integral equations, a short-bubble model compatible with these equations is most preferable.

Plasmonics simulations including nonlocal effects using a boundary element method approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trügler, Andreas; Hohenester, Ulrich; García de Abajo, F. Javier

2017-09-01

Spatial nonlocality in the photonic response of metallic nanoparticles is actually known to produce near-field quenching and significant plasmon frequency shifts relative to local descriptions. As the control over size and morphology of fabricated nanostructures is truly reaching the nanometer scale, understanding and accounting for nonlocal phenomena is becoming increasingly important. Recent advances clearly point out the need to go beyond the local theory. We here present a general formalism for incorporating spatial dispersion effects through the hydrodynamic model and generalizations for arbitrary surface morphologies. Our method relies on the boundary element method, which we supplement with a nonlocal interaction potential. We provide numerical examples in excellent agreement with the literature for individual and paired gold nanospheres, and critically examine the accuracy of our approach. The present method involves marginal extra computational cost relative to local descriptions and facilitates the simulation of spatial dispersion effects in the photonic response of complex nanoplasmonic structures.

IMPACCT Kids’ Care: a real-world example of stakeholder involvement in comparative effectiveness research

PubMed Central

Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Harding, Rose L; Cottrell, Erika K; Cohen, Deborah J; Nelson, Christine A; Burdick, Timothy E; Wallace, Lorraine S; Gallia, Charles; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2015-01-01

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has accelerated conversations about the importance of actively engaging stakeholders in all aspects of comparative effectiveness research (CER). Other scientific disciplines have a history of stakeholder engagement, yet few empirical examples exist of how these stakeholders can inform and enrich CER. Here we present a case study which includes the methods used to engage stakeholders, what we learned from them, and how we incorporated their ideas in a CER project. We selected stakeholders from key groups, built relationships with them and collected their feedback through interviews, observation and ongoing meetings during the four research process phases: proposal development, adapting study methods, understanding the context and information technology tool design and refinement. PMID:26274796

A method for using solid modeling CAD software to create an implant library for the fabrication of a custom abutment.

PubMed

Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Rimei; Ren, Guanghui; Zhang, Xiaojie

2017-02-01

This article describes a method that incorporates the solid modeling CAD software Solidworks with a dental milling machine to fabricate individual abutments in house. This process involves creating an implant library with 3-dimensional (3D) models and manufacturing a base, scan element, abutment, and crown anatomy. The 3D models can be imported into any dental computer-aided design and computer-aided (CAD-CAM) manufacturing system. This platform increases abutment design flexibility, as the base and scan elements can be designed to fit several shapes as needed to meet clinical requirements. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IMPACCT Kids' Care: a real-world example of stakeholder involvement in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Likumahuwa-Ackman, Sonja; Angier, Heather; Sumic, Aleksandra; Harding, Rose L; Cottrell, Erika K; Cohen, Deborah J; Nelson, Christine A; Burdick, Timothy E; Wallace, Lorraine S; Gallia, Charles; DeVoe, Jennifer E

2015-08-01

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has accelerated conversations about the importance of actively engaging stakeholders in all aspects of comparative effectiveness research (CER). Other scientific disciplines have a history of stakeholder engagement, yet few empirical examples exist of how these stakeholders can inform and enrich CER. Here we present a case study which includes the methods used to engage stakeholders, what we learned from them, and how we incorporated their ideas in a CER project. We selected stakeholders from key groups, built relationships with them and collected their feedback through interviews, observation and ongoing meetings during the four research process phases: proposal development, adapting study methods, understanding the context and information technology tool design and refinement.

Moisture uptake of polyoxyethylene glycol glycerides used as matrices for drug delivery: kinetic modelling and practical implications.

PubMed

Qi, Sheng; Belton, Peter; McAuley, William; Codoni, Doroty; Darji, Neerav

2013-04-01

Gelucire 50/13, a polyoxyethylene glycol glyceride mixture, has been widely used in drug delivery, but its moisture uptake behaviour is still poorly understood. In this study, the effects of relative humidity, temperature, and drug incorporation on the moisture uptake of Gelucire are reported in relation to their practical implications for preparation of solid dispersions using this material. DVS combined with kinetics modelling was used as the main experimental method to study the moisture uptake behaviour of Gelucire. Thermal and microscopic methods were employed to investigate the effect of moisture uptake on the physical properties of the material and drug loaded solid dispersions. The moisture uptake by Gelucire 50/13 is temperature and relative humidity dependent. At low temperatures and low relative humidities, moisture sorption follows a GAB model. The model fitting indicated that at high relative humidities the sorption is a complex process, potentially involving PEG being dissolved and the PEG solution acting as solvent to dissolve other components. Careful control of the storage and processing environmental conditions are required when using Gelucire 50/13. The incorporation of model drugs not only influences the moisture uptake capacity of Gelucire 50/13 but also the solidification behaviour.

Numerical Simulation of Dynamic Contact Angles and Contact Lines in Multiphase Flows using Level Set Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pendota, Premchand

Many physical phenomena and industrial applications involve multiphase fluid flows and hence it is of high importance to be able to simulate various aspects of these flows accurately. The Dynamic Contact Angles (DCA) and the contact lines at the wall boundaries are a couple of such important aspects. In the past few decades, many mathematical models were developed for predicting the contact angles of the inter-face with the wall boundary under various flow conditions. These models are used to incorporate the physics of DCA and contact line motion in numerical simulations using various interface capturing/tracking techniques. In the current thesis, a simple approach to incorporate the static and dynamic contact angle boundary conditions using the level set method is developed and implemented in multiphase CFD codes, LIT (Level set Interface Tracking) (Herrmann (2008)) and NGA (flow solver) (Desjardins et al (2008)). Various DCA models and associated boundary conditions are reviewed. In addition, numerical aspects such as the occurrence of a stress singularity at the contact lines and grid convergence of macroscopic interface shape are dealt with in the context of the level set approach.

System diagnostics using qualitative analysis and component functional classification

DOEpatents

Reifman, J.; Wei, T.Y.C.

1993-11-23

A method for detecting and identifying faulty component candidates during off-normal operations of nuclear power plants involves the qualitative analysis of macroscopic imbalances in the conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum in thermal-hydraulic control volumes associated with one or more plant components and the functional classification of components. The qualitative analysis of mass and energy is performed through the associated equations of state, while imbalances in momentum are obtained by tracking mass flow rates which are incorporated into a first knowledge base. The plant components are functionally classified, according to their type, as sources or sinks of mass, energy and momentum, depending upon which of the three balance equations is most strongly affected by a faulty component which is incorporated into a second knowledge base. Information describing the connections among the components of the system forms a third knowledge base. The method is particularly adapted for use in a diagnostic expert system to detect and identify faulty component candidates in the presence of component failures and is not limited to use in a nuclear power plant, but may be used with virtually any type of thermal-hydraulic operating system. 5 figures.

System diagnostics using qualitative analysis and component functional classification

DOEpatents

Reifman, Jaques; Wei, Thomas Y. C.

1993-01-01

A method for detecting and identifying faulty component candidates during off-normal operations of nuclear power plants involves the qualitative analysis of macroscopic imbalances in the conservation equations of mass, energy and momentum in thermal-hydraulic control volumes associated with one or more plant components and the functional classification of components. The qualitative analysis of mass and energy is performed through the associated equations of state, while imbalances in momentum are obtained by tracking mass flow rates which are incorporated into a first knowledge base. The plant components are functionally classified, according to their type, as sources or sinks of mass, energy and momentum, depending upon which of the three balance equations is most strongly affected by a faulty component which is incorporated into a second knowledge base. Information describing the connections among the components of the system forms a third knowledge base. The method is particularly adapted for use in a diagnostic expert system to detect and identify faulty component candidates in the presence of component failures and is not limited to use in a nuclear power plant, but may be used with virtually any type of thermal-hydraulic operating system.

"The Incorporation of National Emission Inventories into Version 2 of the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants Inventory"

EPA Science Inventory

EPA’s National Emission Inventory has been incorporated into the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research-Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants (EDGAR-HTAP) version 2. This work involves the creation of a detailed mapping of EPA Source Classification Codes (SCC) to the...

Teaching Engineering Ethics with Sustainability as Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrne, Edmond P.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the engagement and response of students to the teaching of engineering ethics incorporating a macro ethical framework whereby sustainability is viewed as context to professional practice. This involves incorporating a broader conception of engineering than is typically applied in conventional…

Designing and Introducing Ethical Dilemmas into Computer-Based Business Simulations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schumann, Paul L.; Scott, Timothy W.; Anderson, Philip H.

2006-01-01

This article makes two contributions to the teaching of business ethics literature. First, it describes the steps involved in developing effective ethical dilemmas to incorporate into a computer-based business simulation. Second, it illustrates these steps by presenting two ethical dilemmas that an instructor can incorporate into any business…

Prodromal disease: Immune responses of the host macrophage system to humoral factors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Criswell, B. S.; Knight, V.

1973-01-01

A composite is presented of nine studies, each yielding information contributing toward an understanding of methods designed to detect disease during the prodromal stages. The data further point to new areas of study that might be useful in early diagnoses. Five of the none experiments were done in mice. Four of these involved acute infectious disease states and one involved a chronic autoimmune type disease. Of the numerous perimeters studied of the acute diseases, the uptake of H3- thymidine by peripheral blood lymphocytes appeared to yield the earliest indication of disease. This test was not useful in studying the chronic disease state. Four of the nine studies involved application of diagnostic technics to human disease. A normal baseline for H3-thymidine incorporation by human lymphocytes was determined. A subject with severe combined immunodeficiency disease was studied. A human volunteer study was done using Influenza A live attenuated vaccine. Finally, a human volunteer study of subjects infected with Influenza A was done.

Thrombin-dependent Incorporation of von Willebrand Factor into a Fibrin Network*

PubMed Central

Miszta, Adam; Pelkmans, Leonie; Lindhout, Theo; Krishnamoorthy, Ganeshram; de Groot, Philip G.; Hemker, Coenraad H.; Heemskerk, Johan W. M.; Kelchtermans, Hilde; de Laat, Bas

2014-01-01

Attachment of platelets from the circulation onto a growing thrombus is a process involving multiple platelet receptors, endothelial matrix components, and coagulation factors. It has been indicated previously that during a transglutaminase reaction activated factor XIII (FXIIIa) covalently cross-links von Willebrand factor (VWF) to polymerizing fibrin. Bound VWF further recruits and activates platelets via interactions with the platelet receptor complex glycoprotein Ib (GPIb). In the present study we found proof for binding of VWF to a fibrin monomer layer during the process of fibrinogen-to-fibrin conversion in the presence of thrombin, arvin, or a snake venom from Crotalus atrox. Using a domain deletion mutant we demonstrated the involvement of the C domains of VWF in this binding. Substantial binding of VWF to fibrin monomers persisted in the presence of the FXIIIa inhibitor K9-DON, illustrating that cross-linking via factor XIII is not essential for this phenomenon and suggesting the identification of a second mechanism through which VWF multimers incorporate into a fibrin network. Under high shear conditions, platelets were shown to adhere to fibrin only if VWF had been incorporated. In conclusion, our experiments show that the C domains of VWF and the E domain of fibrin monomers are involved in the incorporation of VWF during the polymerization of fibrin and that this incorporation fosters binding and activation of platelets. Fibrin thus is not an inert end product but partakes in further thrombus growth. Our findings help to elucidate the mechanism of thrombus growth and platelet adhesion under conditions of arterial shear rate. PMID:25381443

A Novel Method for Characterization of Superconductors: Physical Measurements and Modeling of Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, B. F.; Moorjani, K.; Phillips, T. E.; Adrian, F. J.; Bohandy, J.; Dolecek, Q. E.

1993-01-01

A method for characterization of granular superconducting thin films has been developed which encompasses both the morphological state of the sample and its fabrication process parameters. The broad scope of this technique is due to the synergism between experimental measurements and their interpretation using numerical simulation. Two novel technologies form the substance of this system: the magnetically modulated resistance method for characterizing superconductors; and a powerful new computer peripheral, the Parallel Information Processor card, which provides enhanced computing capability for PC computers. This enhancement allows PC computers to operate at speeds approaching that of supercomputers. This makes atomic scale simulations possible on low cost machines. The present development of this system involves the integration of these two technologies using mesoscale simulations of thin film growth. A future stage of development will incorporate atomic scale modeling.

On processed splitting methods and high-order actions in path-integral Monte Carlo simulations.

PubMed

Casas, Fernando

2010-10-21

Processed splitting methods are particularly well adapted to carry out path-integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) simulations: since one is mainly interested in estimating traces of operators, only the kernel of the method is necessary to approximate the thermal density matrix. Unfortunately, they suffer the same drawback as standard, nonprocessed integrators: kernels of effective order greater than two necessarily involve some negative coefficients. This problem can be circumvented, however, by incorporating modified potentials into the composition, thus rendering schemes of higher effective order. In this work we analyze a family of fourth-order schemes recently proposed in the PIMC setting, paying special attention to their linear stability properties, and justify their observed behavior in practice. We also propose a new fourth-order scheme requiring the same computational cost but with an enlarged stability interval.

Segmentation and clustering as complementary sources of information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dale, Michael B.; Allison, Lloyd; Dale, Patricia E. R.

2007-03-01

This paper examines the effects of using a segmentation method to identify change-points or edges in vegetation. It identifies coherence (spatial or temporal) in place of unconstrained clustering. The segmentation method involves change-point detection along a sequence of observations so that each cluster formed is composed of adjacent samples; this is a form of constrained clustering. The protocol identifies one or more models, one for each section identified, and the quality of each is assessed using a minimum message length criterion, which provides a rational basis for selecting an appropriate model. Although the segmentation is less efficient than clustering, it does provide other information because it incorporates textural similarity as well as homogeneity. In addition it can be useful in determining various scales of variation that may apply to the data, providing a general method of small-scale pattern analysis.

Measurements of Gluconeogenesis and Glycogenolysis: A Methodological Review

PubMed Central

Chung, Stephanie T.; Chacko, Shaji K.; Sunehag, Agneta L.

2015-01-01

Gluconeogenesis is a complex metabolic process that involves multiple enzymatic steps regulated by myriad factors, including substrate concentrations, the redox state, activation and inhibition of specific enzyme steps, and hormonal modulation. At present, the most widely accepted technique to determine gluconeogenesis is by measuring the incorporation of deuterium from the body water pool into newly formed glucose. However, several techniques using radioactive and stable-labeled isotopes have been used to quantitate the contribution and regulation of gluconeogenesis in humans. Each method has its advantages, methodological assumptions, and set of propagated errors. In this review, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of the most commonly used stable isotopes methods to measure gluconeogenesis in vivo. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and summarize the applicability of these measurements in understanding normal and pathophysiological conditions. PMID:26604176

Light manipulation with flat and conformal inhomogeneous dispersive impedance sheets: an efficient FDTD modeling.

PubMed

Jafar-Zanjani, Samad; Cheng, Jierong; Mosallaei, Hossein

2016-04-10

An efficient auxiliary differential equation method for incorporating 2D inhomogeneous dispersive impedance sheets in the finite-difference time-domain solver is presented. This unique proposed method can successfully solve optical problems of current interest involving 2D sheets. It eliminates the need for ultrafine meshing in the thickness direction, resulting in a significant reduction of computation time and memory requirements. We apply the method to characterize a novel broad-beam leaky-wave antenna created by cascading three sinusoidally modulated reactance surfaces and also to study the effect of curvature on the radiation characteristic of a conformal impedance sheet holographic antenna. Considerable improvement in the simulation time based on our technique in comparison with the traditional volumetric model is reported. Both applications are of great interest in the field of antennas and 2D sheets.

Particle Filtering Methods for Incorporating Intelligence Updates

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

methodology for incorporating intelligence updates into a stochastic model for target tracking. Due to the non -parametric assumptions of the PF...samples are taken with replacement from the remaining non -zero weighted particles at each iteration. With this methodology , a zero-weighted particle is...incorporation of information updates. A common method for incorporating information updates is Kalman filtering. However, given the probable nonlinear and non

Multiplex PCR for the detection and identification of dairy bacteriophages in milk.

PubMed

del Rio, B; Binetti, A G; Martín, M C; Fernández, M; Magadán, A H; Alvarez, M A

2007-02-01

Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria are a serious risk in the dairy industry. Phage infection can lead to slow lactic acid production or even the total failure of fermentation. The associated economic losses can be substantial. Rapid and sensitive methods are therefore required to detect and identify phages at all stages of the manufacture of fermented dairy products. This study describes a simple and rapid multiplex PCR method that, in a single reaction, detects the presence of bacteriophages infecting Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii, plus three genetically distinct 'species' of Lactococcus lactis phages commonly found in dairy plants (P335, 936 and c2). Available bacteriophage genome sequences were examined and the conserved regions used to design five pairs of primers, one for each of the above bacteriophage species. These primers were designed to generate specific fragments of different size depending on the species. Since this method can detect the above phages in untreated milk and can be easily incorporated into dairy industry routines, it might be readily used to earmark contaminated milk for use in processes that do not involve susceptible starter organisms or for use in those that involve phage-deactivating conditions.

Fluid-structure interaction involving large deformations: 3D simulations and applications to biological systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Fang-Bao; Dai, Hu; Luo, Haoxiang; Doyle, James F.; Rousseau, Bernard

2014-02-01

Three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction (FSI) involving large deformations of flexible bodies is common in biological systems, but accurate and efficient numerical approaches for modeling such systems are still scarce. In this work, we report a successful case of combining an existing immersed-boundary flow solver with a nonlinear finite-element solid-mechanics solver specifically for three-dimensional FSI simulations. This method represents a significant enhancement from the similar methods that are previously available. Based on the Cartesian grid, the viscous incompressible flow solver can handle boundaries of large displacements with simple mesh generation. The solid-mechanics solver has separate subroutines for analyzing general three-dimensional bodies and thin-walled structures composed of frames, membranes, and plates. Both geometric nonlinearity associated with large displacements and material nonlinearity associated with large strains are incorporated in the solver. The FSI is achieved through a strong coupling and partitioned approach. We perform several validation cases, and the results may be used to expand the currently limited database of FSI benchmark study. Finally, we demonstrate the versatility of the present method by applying it to the aerodynamics of elastic wings of insects and the flow-induced vocal fold vibration.

Fluid–structure interaction involving large deformations: 3D simulations and applications to biological systems

PubMed Central

Tian, Fang-Bao; Dai, Hu; Luo, Haoxiang; Doyle, James F.; Rousseau, Bernard

2013-01-01

Three-dimensional fluid–structure interaction (FSI) involving large deformations of flexible bodies is common in biological systems, but accurate and efficient numerical approaches for modeling such systems are still scarce. In this work, we report a successful case of combining an existing immersed-boundary flow solver with a nonlinear finite-element solid-mechanics solver specifically for three-dimensional FSI simulations. This method represents a significant enhancement from the similar methods that are previously available. Based on the Cartesian grid, the viscous incompressible flow solver can handle boundaries of large displacements with simple mesh generation. The solid-mechanics solver has separate subroutines for analyzing general three-dimensional bodies and thin-walled structures composed of frames, membranes, and plates. Both geometric nonlinearity associated with large displacements and material nonlinearity associated with large strains are incorporated in the solver. The FSI is achieved through a strong coupling and partitioned approach. We perform several validation cases, and the results may be used to expand the currently limited database of FSI benchmark study. Finally, we demonstrate the versatility of the present method by applying it to the aerodynamics of elastic wings of insects and the flow-induced vocal fold vibration. PMID:24415796

Methods for Gene Transfer to the Central Nervous System

PubMed Central

Kantor, Boris; Bailey, Rachel M.; Wimberly, Keon; Kalburgi, Sahana N.; Gray, Steven J.

2015-01-01

Gene transfer is an increasingly utilized approach for research and clinical applications involving the central nervous system (CNS). Vectors for gene transfer can be as simple as an unmodified plasmid, but more commonly involve complex modifications to viruses to make them suitable gene delivery vehicles. This chapter will explain how tools for CNS gene transfer have been derived from naturally occurring viruses. The current capabilities of plasmid, retroviral, adeno-associated virus, adenovirus, and herpes simplex virus vectors for CNS gene delivery will be described. These include both focal and global CNS gene transfer strategies, with short- or long-term gene expression. As is described in this chapter, an important aspect of any vector is the cis-acting regulatory elements incorporated into the vector genome that control when, where, and how the transgene is expressed. PMID:25311922

Biomineralization in foraminifera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nooijer, L. D.; Toyofuku, T.; Bijma, J.; Reichart, G. J.

2015-12-01

Foraminifera are popular tools in paleoceanography since incorporation of minor/ major elements and fractionation of stable isotopes into their carbonate shells depend on environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, salinity, pH). Their shell chemistry is markedly different from that of inorganically precipitated CaCO3, reflecting that calcification is a process under strong biological control. The cellular components responsible for calcification are only partly identified in foraminifera and include the involvement of organic templates, trans-membrane ion transporters and selective ion removal. Recent results suggest that transmembrane exchange of H+ for Ca2+ is directly responsible for calcification. The resulting high pH inside and lowered pH outside the foraminifer results in an efficient CO2 'trap' after which carbon dioxide is converted to carbonate prior to calcification. Amongst others, this explains how some foraminifera are able to calcify in undersaturated seawater and may explain their moderate response to ocean acidification. Minor and trace metals incorporated into test carbonate reflect the processes involved in biomineralization and can thus be used to unravel the different factors and processes involved. Still, a more detailed understanding of the processes involved in foraminiferal calcification is needed to explain observed (inter-species) differences in partition coefficients for the incorporation of minor and trace metals and isotopic fractionation.

Identification and evaluation of educational uses and users for the STS. Educational planning for utilization of space shuttle ED-PLUSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engle, H. A.; Christensen, D. L.

1974-01-01

A planning and feasibility study to identify and document a methodology needed to incorporate educational programs into future missions and operations of the space transportation system was conducted. Six tasks were identified and accomplished during the study. The task statements are as follows: (1) potential user identification, (2) a review of space education programs, (3) development of methodology for user involvement, (4) methods to encourage user awareness, (5) compilation of follow-on ideas, and (6) response to NASA questions. Specific recommendations for improving the educational coverage of space activities are provided.

Lithography With Metallo-Organic Resists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor, A. C.; Pastor, R. C.; Braunstein, M.; Tangonan, G. L.

1981-02-01

Photolithography with metallo-organic resists is a relatively new addition to photo-engraving technology, and involves the chemical incorporation of inorganic constituents into photopolymerizable organic compounds, so that the photoresist functions not merely as a masking material, as in conventional photolithography, but also as the mass transference vehicle itself. The deposition of thin structured films of metal oxides with this method has been accomplished, the metal-doped resist in each case being the metal acrylate in acrylic acid, except in those cases where the metal acrylate was insoluble. Polymerization was effected with uv irradiation. The criteria for depositing other classes of inorganic compounds are outlined.

Affinity+: Semi-Structured Brainstorming on Large Displays

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

Burtner, Edwin R.; May, Richard A.; Scarberry, Randall E.

2013-04-27

Affinity diagraming is a powerful method for encouraging and capturing lateral thinking in a group environment. The Affinity+ Concept was designed to improve the collaborative brainstorm process through the use of large display surfaces in conjunction with mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. The system works by capturing the ideas digitally and allowing users to sort and group them on a large touch screen manually. Additionally, Affinity+ incorporates theme detection, topic clustering, and other processing algorithms that help bring structured analytic techniques to the process without requiring explicit leadership roles and other overhead typically involved in these activities.

Nonlinear behavior of shells of revolution under cyclic loading.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, H. S.; Armen, H., Jr.; Winter, R.; Pifko, A.

1973-01-01

A large deflection elastic-plastic analysis is presented applicable to orthotropic axisymmetric plates and shells of revolution subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. The analysis is based on the finite-element method. It employs a new higher order, fully compatible, doubly curved orthotropic shell-of-revolution element using cubic Hermitian expansions for both meridional and normal displacements. Both perfectly plastic and strain hardening behavior are considered. Strain hardening is incorporated through use of the Prager-Ziegler kinematic hardening theory, which predicts an ideal Bauschinger effect. Numerous sample problems involving monotonic and cyclic loading conditions are analyzed.

Low-disturbance manure application methods in a corn silage-rye cover crop system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Incorporation of manure by tillage can conserve manure N by reducing ammonia volatilization losses, but tillage also incorporates crop residue, which increases erosion potential. This study compared several low-disturbance manure application methods, designed to incorporate manure while still mainta...

Quantifying errors without random sampling.

PubMed

Phillips, Carl V; LaPole, Luwanna M

2003-06-12

All quantifications of mortality, morbidity, and other health measures involve numerous sources of error. The routine quantification of random sampling error makes it easy to forget that other sources of error can and should be quantified. When a quantification does not involve sampling, error is almost never quantified and results are often reported in ways that dramatically overstate their precision. We argue that the precision implicit in typical reporting is problematic and sketch methods for quantifying the various sources of error, building up from simple examples that can be solved analytically to more complex cases. There are straightforward ways to partially quantify the uncertainty surrounding a parameter that is not characterized by random sampling, such as limiting reported significant figures. We present simple methods for doing such quantifications, and for incorporating them into calculations. More complicated methods become necessary when multiple sources of uncertainty must be combined. We demonstrate that Monte Carlo simulation, using available software, can estimate the uncertainty resulting from complicated calculations with many sources of uncertainty. We apply the method to the current estimate of the annual incidence of foodborne illness in the United States. Quantifying uncertainty from systematic errors is practical. Reporting this uncertainty would more honestly represent study results, help show the probability that estimated values fall within some critical range, and facilitate better targeting of further research.

Promising Partnerships: Ways to Involve Parents in Their Children's Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harpin, Lisa J.

2010-01-01

The research on parent involvement in education indicates that, in most cases, when parents play an active role in their children's education, academic achievement improves. As a result, schools are now mandated to incorporate parent involvement in the educational process. Educators are faced with the challenge of creating ways to engage parents…

The role of the user within the medical device design and development process: medical device manufacturers' perspectives

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Academic literature and international standards bodies suggest that user involvement, via the incorporation of human factors engineering methods within the medical device design and development (MDDD) process, offer many benefits that enable the development of safer and more usable medical devices that are better suited to users' needs. However, little research has been carried out to explore medical device manufacturers' beliefs and attitudes towards user involvement within this process, or indeed what value they believe can be added by doing so. Methods In-depth interviews with representatives from 11 medical device manufacturers are carried out. We ask them to specify who they believe the intended users of the device to be, who they consult to inform the MDDD process, what role they believe the user plays within this process, and what value (if any) they believe users add. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the fully transcribed interview data, to gain insight into medical device manufacturers' beliefs and attitudes towards user involvement within the MDDD process. Results A number of high-level themes emerged, relating who the user is perceived to be, the methods used, the perceived value and barriers to user involvement, and the nature of user contributions. The findings reveal that despite standards agencies and academic literature offering strong support for the employment formal methods, manufacturers are still hesitant due to a range of factors including: perceived barriers to obtaining ethical approval; the speed at which such activity may be carried out; the belief that there is no need given the 'all-knowing' nature of senior health care staff and clinical champions; a belief that effective results are achievable by consulting a minimal number of champions. Furthermore, less senior health care practitioners and patients were rarely seen as being able to provide valuable input into the process. Conclusions Medical device manufacturers often do not see the benefit of employing formal human factors engineering methods within the MDDD process. Research is required to better understand the day-to-day requirements of manufacturers within this sector. The development of new or adapted methods may be required if user involvement is to be fully realised. PMID:21356097

The incorporation of the US national emission inventory into version 2 of the Hemispheric Transport of air Pollutants inventory

EPA Science Inventory

EPA's 2008 national emission inventory has been incorporated into version 2 of the Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants Inventory. This work involves the creation of a detailed mapping of EPA Source Classification Codes (SCC) to the International Nomenclature for Reporting Sy...

Implementation of the evidence review on best practice for confirming the correct placement of nasogastric tube in patients in an acute care hospital.

PubMed

Tho, Poh Chi; Mordiffi, Siti; Ang, Emily; Chen, Helen

2011-03-01

Nasogastric (NG) tube is a device passed through the gastrointestinal tract of patients for the purpose of feeding, gastric decompression and medication administration. However, a small risk involved in the process is that the tube may be misplaced into the trachea during insertion or may get displaced at a later stage, leading to disastrous results. Recent adverse incidences arising out of the misplacement of NG tube raised concerns among the nursing and medical community and the Patient Safety Officer of the hospital. The Evidence Based Nursing Unit, in collaboration with some of the key nursing leaders in nursing administration, was tasked to explore and institute the current best practice in confirming the correct placement of NG tube. The aim of this project was to institute the best practice to confirm the correct placement of NG tube in patients in an acute care hospital setting. The project comprised of a few stages. The first stage involved reviewing the existing recommendations and guidelines on the methods for checking correct NG tube placement. The second stage involved incorporation of the change of practice into the clinical setting. The final stage was to monitor and evaluate the impact of the new practice on the patients, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Evidence search from guidelines and journals supported the test that used pH indicator instead of the litmus test. There is no evidence that supports the method of auscultation and bubbling to confirm correct NG tube placement in the absence of aspirate. Radiology remains the 'gold standard' for checking correct NG tube placement. The revised method of NG tube placement and workflow was incorporated in the revised Standard Operating Procedures. A total of 17 roadshows were conducted to create awareness regarding the new method amongst the nurses, and the implementation of the revised method and workflow was commenced on 3 November 2008. The initial audit conducted 1 month after the practice change was implemented reported 26 (50%) observations of NG tube feeding in 26 audit wards. The key areas of practice change in feeding when tube placement was confirmed (84.6%) and proper testing of aspirate (76.9%) showed good compliance. The implementation of the change in the practice of confirming the correct placement of the NG tube in patients requires good coordination and a multidisciplinary team approach. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare © 2011 The Joanna Briggs Institute.

Pareto frontier analyses based decision making tool for transportation of hazardous waste.

PubMed

Das, Arup; Mazumder, T N; Gupta, A K

2012-08-15

Transportation of hazardous wastes through a region poses immense threat on the development along its road network. The risk to the population, exposed to such activities, has been documented in the past. However, a comprehensive framework for routing hazardous wastes has often been overlooked. A regional Hazardous Waste Management scheme should incorporate a comprehensive framework for hazardous waste transportation. This framework would incorporate the various stakeholders involved in decision making. Hence, a multi-objective approach is required to safeguard the interest of all the concerned stakeholders. The objective of this study is to design a methodology for routing of hazardous wastes between the generating units and the disposal facilities through a capacity constrained network. The proposed methodology uses posteriori method with multi-objective approach to find non-dominated solutions for the system consisting of multiple origins and destinations. A case study of transportation of hazardous wastes in Kolkata Metropolitan Area has also been provided to elucidate the methodology. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Garg, L.C.; McArdle, S.; Crews, F.T.

The release of inositol phosphates (IP) from phosphoinositides (PI) by carbachol was studied in the tissue slices from cortex (C), outer medulla (OM) and inner medulla (IM) of rabbit kidneys. The method involved the incubation of the slices with (/sup 3/H)inositol for its incorporation into the PI and measurement of the release of IP in presence of lithium which prevents dephosphorylation of IP. The results of (/sup 3/H)IP formation are expressed as % of total (/sup 3/H)inositol incorporation in the tissue. No significant effect of carbachol was found on the release of IP in the C. The drug produced amore » 48% increase in IP release in the OM. In the IM, carbachol produced a concentration dependent increase in IP release with a maximum of 772% at 1 mM. The release of IP in the IM by 1 mM carbachol was completely blocked by 1 ..mu..M atropine. Our results indicate that IP release by carbachol is due to activation of muscarinic receptors in the IM of the rabbit kidney.« less

Time-to-event continual reassessment method incorporating treatment cycle information with application to an oncology phase I trial.

PubMed

Huang, Bo; Kuan, Pei Fen

2014-11-01

Delayed dose limiting toxicities (i.e. beyond first cycle of treatment) is a challenge for phase I trials. The time-to-event continual reassessment method (TITE-CRM) is a Bayesian dose-finding design to address the issue of long observation time and early patient drop-out. It uses a weighted binomial likelihood with weights assigned to observations by the unknown time-to-toxicity distribution, and is open to accrual continually. To avoid dosing at overly toxic levels while retaining accuracy and efficiency for DLT evaluation that involves multiple cycles, we propose an adaptive weight function by incorporating cyclical data of the experimental treatment with parameters updated continually. This provides a reasonable estimate for the time-to-toxicity distribution by accounting for inter-cycle variability and maintains the statistical properties of consistency and coherence. A case study of a First-in-Human trial in cancer for an experimental biologic is presented using the proposed design. Design calibrations for the clinical and statistical parameters are conducted to ensure good operating characteristics. Simulation results show that the proposed TITE-CRM design with adaptive weight function yields significantly shorter trial duration, does not expose patients to additional risk, is competitive against the existing weighting methods, and possesses some desirable properties. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improved Electrostatic Embedding for Fragment-Based Chemical Shift Calculations in Molecular Crystals.

PubMed

Hartman, Joshua D; Balaji, Ashwin; Beran, Gregory J O

2017-12-12

Fragment-based methods predict nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shielding tensors in molecular crystals with high accuracy and computational efficiency. Such methods typically employ electrostatic embedding to mimic the crystalline environment, and the quality of the results can be sensitive to the embedding treatment. To improve the quality of this embedding environment for fragment-based molecular crystal property calculations, we borrow ideas from the embedded ion method to incorporate self-consistently polarized Madelung field effects. The self-consistent reproduction of the Madelung potential (SCRMP) model developed here constructs an array of point charges that incorporates self-consistent lattice polarization and which reproduces the Madelung potential at all atomic sites involved in the quantum mechanical region of the system. The performance of fragment- and cluster-based 1 H, 13 C, 14 N, and 17 O chemical shift predictions using SCRMP and density functionals like PBE and PBE0 are assessed. The improved embedding model results in substantial improvements in the predicted 17 O chemical shifts and modest improvements in the 15 N ones. Finally, the performance of the model is demonstrated by examining the assignment of the two oxygen chemical shifts in the challenging γ-polymorph of glycine. Overall, the SCRMP-embedded NMR chemical shift predictions are on par with or more accurate than those obtained with the widely used gauge-including projector augmented wave (GIPAW) model.

Temperature profiles of different cooling methods in porcine pancreas procurement.

PubMed

Weegman, Bradley P; Suszynski, Thomas M; Scott, William E; Ferrer Fábrega, Joana; Avgoustiniatos, Efstathios S; Anazawa, Takayuki; O'Brien, Timothy D; Rizzari, Michael D; Karatzas, Theodore; Jie, Tun; Sutherland, David E R; Hering, Bernhard J; Papas, Klearchos K

2014-01-01

Porcine islet xenotransplantation is a promising alternative to human islet allotransplantation. Porcine pancreas cooling needs to be optimized to reduce the warm ischemia time (WIT) following donation after cardiac death, which is associated with poorer islet isolation outcomes. This study examines the effect of four different cooling Methods on core porcine pancreas temperature (n = 24) and histopathology (n = 16). All Methods involved surface cooling with crushed ice and chilled irrigation. Method A, which is the standard for porcine pancreas procurement, used only surface cooling. Method B involved an intravascular flush with cold solution through the pancreas arterial system. Method C involved an intraductal infusion with cold solution through the major pancreatic duct, and Method D combined all three cooling Methods. Surface cooling alone (Method A) gradually decreased core pancreas temperature to <10 °C after 30 min. Using an intravascular flush (Method B) improved cooling during the entire duration of procurement, but incorporating an intraductal infusion (Method C) rapidly reduced core temperature 15-20 °C within the first 2 min of cooling. Combining all methods (Method D) was the most effective at rapidly reducing temperature and providing sustained cooling throughout the duration of procurement, although the recorded WIT was not different between Methods (P = 0.36). Histological scores were different between the cooling Methods (P = 0.02) and the worst with Method A. There were differences in histological scores between Methods A and C (P = 0.02) and Methods A and D (P = 0.02), but not between Methods C and D (P = 0.95), which may highlight the importance of early cooling using an intraductal infusion. In conclusion, surface cooling alone cannot rapidly cool large (porcine or human) pancreata. Additional cooling with an intravascular flush and intraductal infusion results in improved core porcine pancreas temperature profiles during procurement and histopathology scores. These data may also have implications on human pancreas procurement as use of an intraductal infusion is not common practice. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The study on serum and urine of renal interstitial fibrosis rats induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction based on metabonomics and network analysis methods.

PubMed

Xiang, Zheng; Sun, Hao; Cai, Xiaojun; Chen, Dahui

2016-04-01

Transmission of biological information is a biochemical process of multistep cascade from genes/proteins to metabolites. However, because most metabolites reflect the terminal information of the biochemical process, it is difficult to describe the transmission process of disease information in terms of the metabolomics strategy. In this paper, by incorporating network and metabolomics methods, an integrated approach was proposed to systematically investigate and explain the molecular mechanism of renal interstitial fibrosis. Through analysis of the network, the cascade transmission process of disease information starting from genes/proteins to metabolites was putatively identified and uncovered. The results indicated that renal fibrosis was involved in metabolic pathways of glycerophospholipid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and arachidonic acid metabolism, riboflavin metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. These pathways involve kidney disease genes such as TGF-β1 and P2RX7. Our results showed that combining metabolomics and network analysis can provide new strategies and ideas for the interpretation of pathogenesis of disease with full consideration of "gene-protein-metabolite."

Cofilin promotes stimulus-induced lamellipodium formation by generating an abundant supply of actin monomers

PubMed Central

Kiuchi, Tai; Ohashi, Kazumasa; Kurita, Souichi; Mizuno, Kensaku

2007-01-01

Cofilin stimulates actin filament disassembly and accelerates actin filament turnover. Cofilin is also involved in stimulus-induced actin filament assembly during lamellipodium formation. However, it is not clear whether this occurs by replenishing the actin monomer pool, through filament disassembly, or by creating free barbed ends, through its severing activity. Using photoactivatable Dronpa-actin, we show that cofilin is involved in producing more than half of all cytoplasmic actin monomers and that the rate of actin monomer incorporation into the tip of the lamellipodium is dependent on the size of this actin monomer pool. Finally, in cofilin-depleted cells, stimulus-induced actin monomer incorporation at the cell periphery is attenuated, but the incorporation of microinjected actin monomers is not. We propose that cofilin contributes to stimulus-induced actin filament assembly and lamellipodium extension by supplying an abundant pool of cytoplasmic actin monomers. PMID:17470633

Meeting report: ‘How do I incorporate research into my family practice?’: Reflections on experiences of and solutions for young family doctors

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Background Family doctors (FDs) focus on biopsychosocial components of health during consultations. However, much of the evidence employed by these doctors is produced by researchers who are not routinely involved in family practice. Family doctors competent in both clinical practice and research are essential to addressing this gap. With the growing recognition of family medicine as the specialty of choice for many young doctors, there is a scarcity of literature that describes their experiences in combining research and daily family practice. Aim Members from Young Doctor Movements (YDMs) under the auspices of the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA) sought to address this knowledge gap by reflecting on their experiences towards becoming researchers. With the assistance of senior doctors, they explored solutions that can help young FDs incorporate research into their family practice. Methods Following an online YDM meeting, a summary of the experiences of young FDs as well as strategies useful for incorporating research into their everyday practice as FDs was prepared. Result Nine thematic areas were derived, including experiences and motivation towards regular research, culture and environment of practice, relevance and gains of research, teamwork and mentorship. Conclusion Family practices can incorporate research by promoting a personal and organisational research culture, highlighting gains and relevance of making it part of the profession and fostering teamwork, supportive networks and mentorship while making it enjoyable. PMID:29781695

Incorporation of lean methodology into pharmacy residency programs.

PubMed

John, Natalie; Snider, Holly; Edgerton, Lisa; Whalin, Laurie

2017-03-15

The implementation of lean methodology into pharmacy residency programs at a community teaching hospital is described. New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a community teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina, fully adopted a lean culture in 2010. Given the success of lean strategies organizationally, this methodology was used to assist with the evaluation and development of its pharmacy residency programs in 2014. Lean tools and activities have also been incorporated into residency requirements and rotation learning activities. The majority of lean events correspond to the required competency areas evaluating leadership and management, teaching, and education. These events have included participation in and facilitation of various lean problem-solving and communication tools. The application of the 4 rules of lean has resulted in enhanced management of the programs and provides a set of tools by which continual quality improvement can be ensured. Regular communication and direct involvement of all invested parties have been critical in developing and sustaining new improvements. In addition to program enhancements, lean methodology offers novel methods by which residents may be incorporated into leadership activities. The incorporation of lean methodology into pharmacy residency programs has translated into a variety of realized and potential benefits for the programs, the preceptors and residents, and the health system. Specific areas of growth have included quality-improvement processes, the expansion of leadership opportunities for residents, and improved communication among program directors, preceptors, and residents. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex Trade Involvement in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Toronto, Canada: Narratives of Social Exclusion and Fragmented Identities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kidd, Sean A.; Liborio, Renata Maria Coimbra

2011-01-01

An extensive international literature has been developed regarding the risk trajectories of sex trade-involved children and youth. This literature has not, however, substantially incorporated the narratives of youths regarding their experiences. In this article, the contemporary literature on child and youth sex trade-involvement is reviewed and…

Conclusions: The Future of Family Involvement in Schools in African-American Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Juhasz, Anne

2004-01-01

This article talks about the future of family involvement in schools in African-American communities. The future of family involvement in the schools rests with today's teachers and parents who will take what they learned from the past, establish the philosophical foundations to guide their interactions, incorporate child and family theory and…

Issues in the incorporation of economic perspectives and evidence into Cochrane reviews.

PubMed

Shemilt, Ian; McDaid, David; Marsh, Kevin; Henderson, Catherine; Bertranou, Evelina; Mallander, Jacqueline; Drummond, Mike; Mugford, Miranda; Vale, Luke

2013-09-20

Methods for systematic reviews of the effects of health interventions have focused mainly on addressing the question of 'What works?' or 'Is this intervention effective in achieving one or more specific outcomes?' Addressing the question 'Is it worth it given the resources available?' has received less attention. This latter question can be addressed by applying an economic lens to the systematic review process.This paper reflects on the value and desire for the consideration by end users for coverage of an economic perspective in a Cochrane review and outlines two potential approaches and future directions. Two frameworks to guide review authors who are seeking to include an economic perspective are outlined. The first involves conducting a full systematic review of economic evaluations that is integrated into a review of intervention effects. The second involves developing a brief economic commentary. The two approaches share a set of common stages but allow the tailoring of the economic component of the Cochrane review to the skills and resources available to the review team. The number of studies using the methods outlined in the paper is limited, and further examples are needed both to explore the value of these approaches and to further develop them. The rate of progress will hinge on the organisational leadership, capacity and resources available to the CCEMG, author teams and other Cochrane entities. Particular methodological challenges to overcome relate to understanding the key economic trade-offs and casual relationships for a given decision problem and informing the development of evaluations designed to support local decision-makers. Methods for incorporating economic perspectives and evidence into Cochrane intervention reviews are established. Their role is not to provide a precise estimate of 'cost-effectiveness' but rather to help end-users of Cochrane reviews to determine the implications of the economic components of reviews for their own specific decisions.

SU-E-T-622: Planning Technique for Passively-Scattered Involved-Node Proton Therapy of Mediastinal Lymphoma with Consideration of Cardiac Motion

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

Flampouri, S; Li, Z; Hoppe, B

2015-06-15

Purpose: To develop a treatment planning method for passively-scattered involved-node proton therapy of mediastinal lymphoma robust to breathing and cardiac motions. Methods: Beam-specific planning treatment volumes (bsPTV) are calculated for each proton field to incorporate pertinent uncertainties. Geometric margins are added laterally to each beam while margins for range uncertainty due to setup errors, breathing, and calibration curve uncertainties are added along each beam. The calculation of breathing motion and deformation effects on proton range includes all 4DCT phases. The anisotropic water equivalent margins are translated to distances on average 4DCT. Treatment plans are designed so each beam adequately coversmore » the corresponding bsPTV. For targets close to the heart, cardiac motion effects on dosemaps are estimated by using a library of anonymous ECG-gated cardiac CTs (cCT). The cCT, originally contrast-enhanced, are partially overridden to allow meaningful proton dose calculations. Targets similar to the treatment targets are drawn on one or more cCT sets matching the anatomy of the patient. Plans based on the average cCT are calculated on individual phases, then deformed to the average and accumulated. When clinically significant dose discrepancies occur between planned and accumulated doses, the patient plan is modified to reduce the cardiac motion effects. Results: We found that bsPTVs as planning targets create dose distributions similar to the conventional proton planning distributions, while they are a valuable tool for visualization of the uncertainties. For large targets with variability in motion and depth, integral dose was reduced because of the anisotropic margins. In most cases, heart motion has a clinically insignificant effect on target coverage. Conclusion: A treatment planning method was developed and used for proton therapy of mediastinal lymphoma. The technique incorporates bsPTVs compensating for all common sources of uncertainties and estimation of the effects of cardiac motion not commonly performed.« less

Spatial access priority mapping (SAPM) with fishers: a quantitative GIS method for participatory planning.

PubMed

Yates, Katherine L; Schoeman, David S

2013-01-01

Spatial management tools, such as marine spatial planning and marine protected areas, are playing an increasingly important role in attempts to improve marine management and accommodate conflicting needs. Robust data are needed to inform decisions among different planning options, and early inclusion of stakeholder involvement is widely regarded as vital for success. One of the biggest stakeholder groups, and the most likely to be adversely impacted by spatial restrictions, is the fishing community. In order to take their priorities into account, planners need to understand spatial variation in their perceived value of the sea. Here a readily accessible, novel method for quantitatively mapping fishers' spatial access priorities is presented. Spatial access priority mapping, or SAPM, uses only basic functions of standard spreadsheet and GIS software. Unlike the use of remote-sensing data, SAPM actively engages fishers in participatory mapping, documenting rather than inferring their priorities. By so doing, SAPM also facilitates the gathering of other useful data, such as local ecological knowledge. The method was tested and validated in Northern Ireland, where over 100 fishers participated in a semi-structured questionnaire and mapping exercise. The response rate was excellent, 97%, demonstrating fishers' willingness to be involved. The resultant maps are easily accessible and instantly informative, providing a very clear visual indication of which areas are most important for the fishers. The maps also provide quantitative data, which can be used to analyse the relative impact of different management options on the fishing industry and can be incorporated into planning software, such as MARXAN, to ensure that conservation goals can be met at minimum negative impact to the industry. This research shows how spatial access priority mapping can facilitate the early engagement of fishers and the ready incorporation of their priorities into the decision-making process in a transparent, quantitative way.

Budget impact from the incorporation of positron emission tomography – computed tomography for staging lung cancers

PubMed Central

Biz, Aline Navega; Caetano, Rosângela

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE To estimate the budget impact from the incorporation of positron emission tomography (PET) in mediastinal and distant staging of non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS The estimates were calculated by the epidemiological method for years 2014 to 2018. Nation-wide data were used about the incidence; data on distribution of the disease´s prevalence and on the technologies’ accuracy were from the literature; data regarding involved costs were taken from a micro-costing study and from Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) database. Two strategies for using PET were analyzed: the offer to all newly-diagnosed patients, and the restricted offer to the ones who had negative results in previous computed tomography (CT) exams. Univariate and extreme scenarios sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the influence from sources of uncertainties in the parameters used. RESULTS The incorporation of PET-CT in SUS would imply the need for additional resources of 158.1 BRL (98.2 USD) million for the restricted offer and 202.7 BRL (125.9 USD) million for the inclusive offer in five years, with a difference of 44.6 BRL (27.7 USD) million between the two offer strategies within that period. In absolute terms, the total budget impact from its incorporation in SUS, in five years, would be 555 BRL (345 USD) and 600 BRL (372.8 USD) million, respectively. The costs from the PET-CT procedure were the most influential parameter in the results. In the most optimistic scenario, the additional budget impact would be reduced to 86.9 BRL (54 USD) and 103.8 BRL (64.5 USD) million, considering PET-CT for negative CT and PET-CT for all, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The incorporation of PET in the clinical staging of non-small cell lung cancer seems to be financially feasible considering the high budget of the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The potential reduction in the number of unnecessary surgeries may cause the available resources to be more efficiently allocated. PMID:26274871

Effects of low-disturbance manure application methods on N2O and NH3 emissions in a silage corn - rye cover crop system

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Incorporation of manure by tillage can conserve manure N by reducing ammonia volatilization losses, but tillage also incorporates crop residue, which may increase erosion potential. This study compared several low-disturbance manure application methods, designed to incorporate manure while maintaini...

Preconditioning of the background error covariance matrix in data assimilation for the Caspian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arcucci, Rossella; D'Amore, Luisa; Toumi, Ralf

2017-06-01

Data Assimilation (DA) is an uncertainty quantification technique used for improving numerical forecasted results by incorporating observed data into prediction models. As a crucial point into DA models is the ill conditioning of the covariance matrices involved, it is mandatory to introduce, in a DA software, preconditioning methods. Here we present first studies concerning the introduction of two different preconditioning methods in a DA software we are developing (we named S3DVAR) which implements a Scalable Three Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation model for assimilating sea surface temperature (SST) values collected into the Caspian Sea by using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) with observations provided by the Group of High resolution sea surface temperature (GHRSST). We also present the algorithmic strategies we employ.

Compromise decision support problems for hierarchical design involving uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vadde, S.; Allen, J. K.; Mistree, F.

1994-08-01

In this paper an extension to the traditional compromise Decision Support Problem (DSP) formulation is presented. Bayesian statistics is used in the formulation to model uncertainties associated with the information being used. In an earlier paper a compromise DSP that accounts for uncertainty using fuzzy set theory was introduced. The Bayesian Decision Support Problem is described in this paper. The method for hierarchical design is demonstrated by using this formulation to design a portal frame. The results are discussed and comparisons are made with those obtained using the fuzzy DSP. Finally, the efficacy of incorporating Bayesian statistics into the traditional compromise DSP formulation is discussed and some pending research issues are described. Our emphasis in this paper is on the method rather than the results per se.

Advances in spatial epidemiology and geographic information systems.

PubMed

Kirby, Russell S; Delmelle, Eric; Eberth, Jan M

2017-01-01

The field of spatial epidemiology has evolved rapidly in the past 2 decades. This study serves as a brief introduction to spatial epidemiology and the use of geographic information systems in applied research in epidemiology. We highlight technical developments and highlight opportunities to apply spatial analytic methods in epidemiologic research, focusing on methodologies involving geocoding, distance estimation, residential mobility, record linkage and data integration, spatial and spatio-temporal clustering, small area estimation, and Bayesian applications to disease mapping. The articles included in this issue incorporate many of these methods into their study designs and analytical frameworks. It is our hope that these studies will spur further development and utilization of spatial analysis and geographic information systems in epidemiologic research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of cohort studies with multivariate and partially observed disease classification data.

PubMed

Chatterjee, Nilanjan; Sinha, Samiran; Diver, W Ryan; Feigelson, Heather Spencer

2010-09-01

Complex diseases like cancers can often be classified into subtypes using various pathological and molecular traits of the disease. In this article, we develop methods for analysis of disease incidence in cohort studies incorporating data on multiple disease traits using a two-stage semiparametric Cox proportional hazards regression model that allows one to examine the heterogeneity in the effect of the covariates by the levels of the different disease traits. For inference in the presence of missing disease traits, we propose a generalization of an estimating equation approach for handling missing cause of failure in competing-risk data. We prove asymptotic unbiasedness of the estimating equation method under a general missing-at-random assumption and propose a novel influence-function-based sandwich variance estimator. The methods are illustrated using simulation studies and a real data application involving the Cancer Prevention Study II nutrition cohort.

Study of Nonlinear MHD Tribological Squeeze Film at Generalized Magnetic Reynolds Numbers Using DTM.

PubMed

Rashidi, Mohammad Mehdi; Freidoonimehr, Navid; Momoniat, Ebrahim; Rostami, Behnam

2015-01-01

In the current article, a combination of the differential transform method (DTM) and Padé approximation method are implemented to solve a system of nonlinear differential equations modelling the flow of a Newtonian magnetic lubricant squeeze film with magnetic induction effects incorporated. Solutions for the transformed radial and tangential momentum as well as solutions for the radial and tangential induced magnetic field conservation equations are determined. The DTM-Padé combined method is observed to demonstrate excellent convergence, stability and versatility in simulating the magnetic squeeze film problem. The effects of involved parameters, i.e. squeeze Reynolds number (N1), dimensionless axial magnetic force strength parameter (N2), dimensionless tangential magnetic force strength parameter (N3), and magnetic Reynolds number (Rem) are illustrated graphically and discussed in detail. Applications of the study include automotive magneto-rheological shock absorbers, novel aircraft landing gear systems and biological prosthetics.

Reducing the complexity of the software design process with object-oriented design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuler, M. P.

1991-01-01

Designing software is a complex process. How object-oriented design (OOD), coupled with formalized documentation and tailored object diagraming techniques, can reduce the complexity of the software design process is described and illustrated. The described OOD methodology uses a hierarchical decomposition approach in which parent objects are decomposed into layers of lower level child objects. A method of tracking the assignment of requirements to design components is also included. Increases in the reusability, portability, and maintainability of the resulting products are also discussed. This method was built on a combination of existing technology, teaching experience, consulting experience, and feedback from design method users. The discussed concepts are applicable to hierarchal OOD processes in general. Emphasis is placed on improving the design process by documenting the details of the procedures involved and incorporating improvements into those procedures as they are developed.

Study of Nonlinear MHD Tribological Squeeze Film at Generalized Magnetic Reynolds Numbers Using DTM

PubMed Central

Rashidi, Mohammad Mehdi; Freidoonimehr, Navid; Momoniat, Ebrahim; Rostami, Behnam

2015-01-01

In the current article, a combination of the differential transform method (DTM) and Padé approximation method are implemented to solve a system of nonlinear differential equations modelling the flow of a Newtonian magnetic lubricant squeeze film with magnetic induction effects incorporated. Solutions for the transformed radial and tangential momentum as well as solutions for the radial and tangential induced magnetic field conservation equations are determined. The DTM-Padé combined method is observed to demonstrate excellent convergence, stability and versatility in simulating the magnetic squeeze film problem. The effects of involved parameters, i.e. squeeze Reynolds number (N 1), dimensionless axial magnetic force strength parameter (N 2), dimensionless tangential magnetic force strength parameter (N 3), and magnetic Reynolds number (Re m) are illustrated graphically and discussed in detail. Applications of the study include automotive magneto-rheological shock absorbers, novel aircraft landing gear systems and biological prosthetics. PMID:26267247

Developing a job-exposure matrix with exposure uncertainty from expert elicitation and data modeling.

PubMed

Fischer, Heidi J; Vergara, Ximena P; Yost, Michael; Silva, Michael; Lombardi, David A; Kheifets, Leeka

2017-01-01

Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are tools used to classify exposures for job titles based on general job tasks in the absence of individual level data. However, exposure uncertainty due to variations in worker practices, job conditions, and the quality of data has never been quantified systematically in a JEM. We describe a methodology for creating a JEM which defines occupational exposures on a continuous scale and utilizes elicitation methods to quantify exposure uncertainty by assigning exposures probability distributions with parameters determined through expert involvement. Experts use their knowledge to develop mathematical models using related exposure surrogate data in the absence of available occupational level data and to adjust model output against other similar occupations. Formal expert elicitation methods provided a consistent, efficient process to incorporate expert judgment into a large, consensus-based JEM. A population-based electric shock JEM was created using these methods, allowing for transparent estimates of exposure.

Composite membranes from photochemical synthesis of ultrathin polymer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chao; Martin, Charles R.

1991-07-01

THERE has recently been a resurgence of interest in synthetic membranes and membrane-based processes1-12. This is motivated by a wide variety of technological applications, such as chemical separations1-7, bioreactors and sensors8,9, energy conversion10,11 and drug-delivery systems12. Many of these technologies require the ability to prepare extremely thin, defect-free synthetic (generally polymeric) films, which are supported on microporous supports to form composite membranes. Here we describe a method for producing composite membranes of this sort that incorporate high-quality polymer films less than 50-nm thick. The method involves interfacial photopolymerization of a thin polymer film on the surface of the microporous substrate. We have been able to use this technique to synthesize a variety of functionalized ultrathin films based on electroactive, photoactive and ion-exchange polymers. We demonstrate the method here with composite membranes that show exceptional gas-transport properties.

Experience-based learning on determining the frictional coefficients of thermoset polymers incorporated with silicon carbide whiskers and chopped carbon fibers at different temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Edward; Alamir, Mohammed; Alzahrani, Naif; Asmatulu, Ramazan

2017-04-01

High temperature applications of materials have been increasing for various industrial applications, such as automobile brakes, clutches and thrust pads. The big portion of these materials are made out of the polymeric materials with various reinforcements. In the present study, high temperature polymeric materials were incorporated with SiC whiskers and chopped carbon fibers at 0, 5, 10 and 20wt.% and molded into desired size and shape prior to the curing process. These inclusions were selected because of their high mechanical strengths and thermal conductivity values to easily dissipate the frictional heat energy and sustain more external loads. The method of testing involves a metal ramp with an adjustable incline to find the coefficients of static and kinetic frictions by recording time and the angle of movement at various temperatures (e.g., -10°C and 50°C). The test results indicated that increasing the inclusions made drastic improvements on the coefficients of static and kinetic frictions. The undergraduate students were involved in the project and observed all the details of the process during the laboratory studies, as well as data collection, analysis and presentation. This study will be useful for the future trainings of the undergraduate engineering students on the composite, automobile and other manufacturing industries.

A mixed-penalty biphasic finite element formulation incorporating viscous fluids and material interfaces.

PubMed

Chan, B; Donzelli, P S; Spilker, R L

2000-06-01

The fluid viscosity term of the fluid phase constitutive equation and the interface boundary conditions between biphasic, solid and fluid domains have been incorporated into a mixed-penalty finite element formulation of the linear biphasic theory for hydrated soft tissue. The finite element code can now model a single-phase viscous incompressible fluid, or a single-phase elastic solid, as limiting cases of a biphasic material. Interface boundary conditions allow the solution of problems involving combinations of biphasic, fluid and solid regions. To incorporate these conditions, the volume-weighted mixture velocity is introduced as a degree of freedom at interface nodes so that the kinematic continuity conditions are satisfied by conventional finite element assembly techniques. Results comparing our numerical method with an independent, analytic solution for the problem of Couette flow over rigid and deformable porous biphasic layers show that the finite element code accurately predicts the viscous fluid flows and deformation in the porous biphasic region. Thus, the analysis can be used to model the interface between synovial fluid and articular cartilage in diarthrodial joints. This is an important step toward modeling and understanding the mechanisms of joint lubrication and another step toward fully modeling the in vivo behavior of a diarthrodial joint.

Incorporating Active Learning and Student Inquiry into an Introductory Merchandising Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Hyun-Hwa; Hines, Jean D.

2012-01-01

Many educators believe that student learning is enhanced when they are actively involved in classroom activities that require student inquiry. The purpose of this paper is to report on three student inquiry projects that were incorporated into a merchandising class with the focus on making students responsible for their learning, rather than the…

Name that Gene: A Meaningful Computer-Based Genetics Classroom Activity that Incorporates Tolls Used by Real Research Scientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wefer, Stephen H.

2003-01-01

"Name That Gene" is a simple classroom activity that incorporates bioinformatics (available biological information) into the classroom using "Basic Logical Alignment Search Tool (BLAST)." An excellent classroom activity involving bioinformatics and "BLAST" has been previously explored using sequences from bacteria, but it is tailored for college…

Getting Students Excited about Learning: Incorporating Digital Tools to Support the Writing Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saulsburry, Rachel; Kilpatrick, Jennifer Renée; Wolbers, Kimberly A.; Dostal, Hannah

2015-01-01

Technology--in the form of digital tools incorporated into writing instruction--can help teachers motivate and engage young children, and it may be especially critical for students who do everything they can to avoid writing. Technology may bolster student involvement, foster the engagement of reluctant or struggling writers, and support writing…

Risk communication and human biomonitoring: which practical lessons from the Belgian experience are of use for the EU perspective?

PubMed Central

Keune, Hans; Morrens, Bert; Loots, Ilse

2008-01-01

Background In order to investigate and monitor environmental health in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium), the Flemish government funded the Centre of Expertise for Environment and Health, which started a human biomonitoring campaign in 2001. In addition to environmental health experts measuring environmental pollutants and health effects in human beings, social scientific experts at the Centre focus on risk communication associated with the human biomonitoring campaign. Methods In the literature about risk communication an evolution can be traced from traditional, one-way communication, restricted to the dissemination of information from experts to the public, to more modern, two-way risk communication, with a focus on participation and cooperation between scientists, policy-makers and the public. Within the Centre of Expertise for Environment and Health this discourse was first translated into some general principles and guidelines for external communication, at a 'Ten Commandments level'. These principles needed to be incorporated in the day-to-day practice of human biomonitoring research. Results The social scientific experts at the Centre developed a combined risk communication strategy. On the one hand the strategy consists of traditional risk communication for external communication purposes, for example information meetings and digital newsletters. On the other hand it consists of a step by step approach of incorporating more modern risk communication, for example a risk perception questionnaire, dialogical experiments for involving local stakeholders, and an action-plan for interpreting results for policy making. Conclusion With a parallel strategy of traditional and modern communication, of external and internal reflection, and through different social scientific projects, the Flemish Centre of Expertise of Environment and Health incorporates risk communication in the day-to-day practice of human biomonitoring research. A direct and continuous involvement of the social scientist, an openness between all colleagues involved, and the awareness of a fine balance between quality and practicability are important success factors. These lessons may be helpful and inspirational for a European human biomonitoring project. PMID:18541065

Mechanism of Rifampicin Inactivation in Nocardia farcinica

PubMed Central

Abdelwahab, Heba; Martin Del Campo, Julia S.; Dai, Yumin; Adly, Camelia; El-Sohaimy, Sohby; Sobrado, Pablo

2016-01-01

A novel mechanism of rifampicin (Rif) resistance has recently been reported in Nocardia farcinica. This new mechanism involves the activity of rifampicin monooxygenase (RifMO), a flavin-dependent monooxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of Rif, which is the first step in the degradation pathway. Recombinant RifMO was overexpressed and purified for biochemical analysis. Kinetic characterization revealed that Rif binding is necessary for effective FAD reduction. RifMO exhibits only a 3-fold coenzyme preference for NADPH over NADH. RifMO catalyzes the incorporation of a single oxygen atom forming an unstable intermediate that eventually is converted to 2′-N-hydroxy-4-oxo-Rif. Stable C4a-hydroperoxyflavin was not detected by rapid kinetics methods, which is consistent with only 30% of the activated oxygen leading to product formation. These findings represent the first reported detailed biochemical characterization of a flavin-monooxygenase involved in antibiotic resistance. PMID:27706151

Hydropower Modeling Challenges

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

Stoll, Brady; Andrade, Juan; Cohen, Stuart

Hydropower facilities are important assets for the electric power sector and represent a key source of flexibility for electric grids with large amounts of variable generation. As variable renewable generation sources expand, understanding the capabilities and limitations of the flexibility from hydropower resources is important for grid planning. Appropriately modeling these resources, however, is difficult because of the wide variety of constraints these plants face that other generators do not. These constraints can be broadly categorized as environmental, operational, and regulatory. This report highlights several key issues involving incorporating these constraints when modeling hydropower operations in terms of production costmore » and capacity expansion. Many of these challenges involve a lack of data to adequately represent the constraints or issues of model complexity and run time. We present several potential methods for improving the accuracy of hydropower representation in these models to allow for a better understanding of hydropower's capabilities.« less

Oxidative 1,2-carboamination of alkenes with alkyl nitriles and amines toward γ-amino alkyl nitriles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan-Yun; Yang, Xu-Heng; Song, Ren-Jie; Luo, Shenglian; Li, Jin-Heng

2017-04-01

Difunctionalization of alkenes has become a powerful tool for quickly increasing molecular complexity in synthesis. Despite significant progress in the area of alkene difunctionalization involving the incorporation of a nitrogen atom across the C-C double bonds, approaches for the direct 1,2-carboamination of alkenes to produce linear N-containing molecules are scarce and remain a formidable challenge. Here we describe a radical-mediated oxidative intermolecular 1,2-alkylamination of alkenes with alkyl nitriles and amines involving C(sp3)-H oxidative functionalization catalysed by a combination of Ag2CO3 with iron Lewis acids. This three-component alkene 1,2-alkylamination method is initiated by the C(sp3)-H oxidative radical functionalization, which enables one-step formation of two new chemical bonds, a C-C bond and a C-N bond, to selectively produce γ-amino alkyl nitriles.

Luciferase Protein Complementation Assays for Bioluminescence Imaging of Cells and Mice

PubMed Central

Luker, Gary D.; Luker, Kathryn E.

2015-01-01

Summary Protein fragment complementation assays (PCAs) with luciferase reporters currently are the preferred method for detecting and quantifying protein-protein interactions in living animals. At the most basic level, PCAs involve fusion of two proteins of interest to enzymatically inactive fragments of luciferase. Upon association of the proteins of interest, the luciferase fragments are capable of reconstituting enzymatic activity to generate luminescence in vivo. In addition to bi-molecular luciferase PCAs, unimolecular biosensors for hormones, kinases, and proteases also have been developed using target peptides inserted between inactive luciferase fragments. Luciferase PCAs offer unprecedented opportunities to quantify dynamics of protein-protein interactions in intact cells and living animals, but successful use of luciferase PCAs in cells and mice involves careful consideration of many technical factors. This chapter discusses the design of luciferase PCAs appropriate for animal imaging, including construction of reporters, incorporation of reporters into cells and mice, imaging techniques, and data analysis. PMID:21153371

Participatory Design in Gerontechnology: A Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Merkel, Sebastian; Kucharski, Alexander

2018-05-19

Participatory design (PD) is widely used within gerontechnology but there is no common understanding about which methods are used for what purposes. This review aims to examine what different forms of PD exist in the field of gerontechnology and how these can be categorized. We conducted a systematic literature review covering several databases. The search strategy was based on 3 elements: (1) participatory methods and approaches with (2) older persons aiming at developing (3) technology for older people. Our final review included 26 studies representing a variety of technologies designed/developed and methods/instruments applied. According to the technologies, the publications reviewed can be categorized in 3 groups: Studies that (1) use already existing technology with the aim to find new ways of use; (2) aim at creating new devices; (3) test and/or modify prototypes. The implementation of PD depends on the questions: Why a participatory approach is applied, who is involved as future user(s), when those future users are involved, and how they are incorporated into the innovation process. There are multiple ways, methods, and instruments to integrate users into the innovation process. Which methods should be applied, depends on the context. However, most studies do not evaluate if participatory approaches will lead to a better acceptance and/or use of the co-developed products. Therefore, participatory design should follow a comprehensive strategy, starting with the users' needs and ending with an evaluation if the applied methods have led to better results.

Dynamic and Structural Gas Turbine Engine Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turso, James A.

2003-01-01

Model the interactions between the structural dynamics and the performance dynamics of a gas turbine engine. Generally these two aspects are considered separate, unrelated phenomena and are studied independently. For diagnostic purposes, it is desirable to bring together as much information as possible, and that involves understanding how performance is affected by structural dynamics (if it is) and vice versa. This can involve the relationship between thrust response and the excitation of structural modes, for instance. The job will involve investigating and characterizing these dynamical relationships, generating a model that incorporates them, and suggesting and/or developing diagnostic and prognostic techniques that can be incorporated in a data fusion system. If no coupling is found, at the least a vibration model should be generated that can be used for diagnostics and prognostics related to blade loss, for instance.

10 CFR 431.444 - Test procedures for the measurement of energy efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the following test methods: (1) Single-phase small electric motors: either IEEE Std 114, (incorporated...) Polyphase small electric motors less than or equal to 1 horsepower (0.746 kW): IEEE Std 112 (incorporated by... (0.746 kW): IEEE Std 112 (incorporated by reference, see § 431.443), Test Method B. ...

Endodontic treatment enhances the regenerative potential of teeth with advanced periodontal disease with secondary endodontic involvement

PubMed Central

Kwon, Eun-Young; Cho, Yunjung; Lee, Ju-Youn; Kim, Sung-Jo

2013-01-01

Purpose The aim of this study was to identify a role for endodontic intervention in enhancing the regenerative potential of the periodontal ligament when combined with periodontal treatment in seriously involved teeth with a secondary endodontic component. Methods Patients who exhibited radiolucency extending to the periapical region, abnormal electric pulp testing values, and deep probing depth derived from primary periodontal disease with secondary endodontic involvement were included. Intentional root canal treatment was applied to those teeth in which the apical lesions were presumed to communicate with those of the periodontal lesion of the teeth that remained vital. In all three selected cases, regenerative periodontal therapy incorporating either bone graft or guided tissue regeneration was instituted 3 months after the endodontic intervention. Results Remarkable enhancement in radiographic density was noticeable around the affected teeth as evidenced by changes in radiopacity. There was a significant reduction in the probing pocket depth and gain in the clinical attachment level. Chewing discomfort gradually disappeared from the commencement of the combined treatment. Conclusions An intentional endodontic intervention may be a worthwhile approach for the sophisticated management of teeth suffering from serious attachment loss and alveolar bone destruction with concomitant secondary endodontic involvement. PMID:23837128

Incorporating Duration Information in Activity Recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaurasia, Priyanka; Scotney, Bryan; McClean, Sally; Zhang, Shuai; Nugent, Chris

Activity recognition has become a key issue in smart home environments. The problem involves learning high level activities from low level sensor data. Activity recognition can depend on several variables; one such variable is duration of engagement with sensorised items or duration of intervals between sensor activations that can provide useful information about personal behaviour. In this paper a probabilistic learning algorithm is proposed that incorporates episode, time and duration information to determine inhabitant identity and the activity being undertaken from low level sensor data. Our results verify that incorporating duration information consistently improves the accuracy.

Do Bayesian adaptive trials offer advantages for comparative effectiveness research? Protocol for the RE-ADAPT study

PubMed Central

Luce, Bryan R; Broglio, Kristine R; Ishak, K Jack; Mullins, C Daniel; Vanness, David J; Fleurence, Rachael; Saunders, Elijah; Davis, Barry R

2013-01-01

Background Randomized clinical trials, particularly for comparative effectiveness research (CER), are frequently criticized for being overly restrictive or untimely for health-care decision making. Purpose Our prospectively designed REsearch in ADAptive methods for Pragmatic Trials (RE-ADAPT) study is a ‘proof of concept’ to stimulate investment in Bayesian adaptive designs for future CER trials. Methods We will assess whether Bayesian adaptive designs offer potential efficiencies in CER by simulating a re-execution of the Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) study using actual data from ALLHAT. Results We prospectively define seven alternate designs consisting of various combinations of arm dropping, adaptive randomization, and early stopping and describe how these designs will be compared to the original ALLHAT design. We identify the one particular design that would have been executed, which incorporates early stopping and information-based adaptive randomization. Limitations While the simulation realistically emulates patient enrollment, interim analyses, and adaptive changes to design, it cannot incorporate key features like the involvement of data monitoring committee in making decisions about adaptive changes. Conclusion This article describes our analytic approach for RE-ADAPT. The next stage of the project is to conduct the re-execution analyses using the seven prespecified designs and the original ALLHAT data. PMID:23983160

A powerful and flexible approach to the analysis of RNA sequence count data.

PubMed

Zhou, Yi-Hui; Xia, Kai; Wright, Fred A

2011-10-01

A number of penalization and shrinkage approaches have been proposed for the analysis of microarray gene expression data. Similar techniques are now routinely applied to RNA sequence transcriptional count data, although the value of such shrinkage has not been conclusively established. If penalization is desired, the explicit modeling of mean-variance relationships provides a flexible testing regimen that 'borrows' information across genes, while easily incorporating design effects and additional covariates. We describe BBSeq, which incorporates two approaches: (i) a simple beta-binomial generalized linear model, which has not been extensively tested for RNA-Seq data and (ii) an extension of an expression mean-variance modeling approach to RNA-Seq data, involving modeling of the overdispersion as a function of the mean. Our approaches are flexible, allowing for general handling of discrete experimental factors and continuous covariates. We report comparisons with other alternate methods to handle RNA-Seq data. Although penalized methods have advantages for very small sample sizes, the beta-binomial generalized linear model, combined with simple outlier detection and testing approaches, appears to have favorable characteristics in power and flexibility. An R package containing examples and sample datasets is available at http://www.bios.unc.edu/research/genomic_software/BBSeq yzhou@bios.unc.edu; fwright@bios.unc.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Across-Platform Imputation of DNA Methylation Levels Incorporating Nonlocal Information Using Penalized Functional Regression.

PubMed

Zhang, Guosheng; Huang, Kuan-Chieh; Xu, Zheng; Tzeng, Jung-Ying; Conneely, Karen N; Guan, Weihua; Kang, Jian; Li, Yun

2016-05-01

DNA methylation is a key epigenetic mark involved in both normal development and disease progression. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have enabled genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation. However, DNA methylation profiling often employs different designs and platforms with varying resolution, which hinders joint analysis of methylation data from multiple platforms. In this study, we propose a penalized functional regression model to impute missing methylation data. By incorporating functional predictors, our model utilizes information from nonlocal probes to improve imputation quality. Here, we compared the performance of our functional model to linear regression and the best single probe surrogate in real data and via simulations. Specifically, we applied different imputation approaches to an acute myeloid leukemia dataset consisting of 194 samples and our method showed higher imputation accuracy, manifested, for example, by a 94% relative increase in information content and up to 86% more CpG sites passing post-imputation filtering. Our simulated association study further demonstrated that our method substantially improves the statistical power to identify trait-associated methylation loci. These findings indicate that the penalized functional regression model is a convenient and valuable imputation tool for methylation data, and it can boost statistical power in downstream epigenome-wide association study (EWAS). © 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Resolving the Antarctic contribution to sea-level rise: a hierarchical modelling framework.

PubMed

Zammit-Mangion, Andrew; Rougier, Jonathan; Bamber, Jonathan; Schön, Nana

2014-06-01

Determining the Antarctic contribution to sea-level rise from observational data is a complex problem. The number of physical processes involved (such as ice dynamics and surface climate) exceeds the number of observables, some of which have very poor spatial definition. This has led, in general, to solutions that utilise strong prior assumptions or physically based deterministic models to simplify the problem. Here, we present a new approach for estimating the Antarctic contribution, which only incorporates descriptive aspects of the physically based models in the analysis and in a statistical manner. By combining physical insights with modern spatial statistical modelling techniques, we are able to provide probability distributions on all processes deemed to play a role in both the observed data and the contribution to sea-level rise. Specifically, we use stochastic partial differential equations and their relation to geostatistical fields to capture our physical understanding and employ a Gaussian Markov random field approach for efficient computation. The method, an instantiation of Bayesian hierarchical modelling, naturally incorporates uncertainty in order to reveal credible intervals on all estimated quantities. The estimated sea-level rise contribution using this approach corroborates those found using a statistically independent method. © 2013 The Authors. Environmetrics Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Resolving the Antarctic contribution to sea-level rise: a hierarchical modelling framework†

PubMed Central

Zammit-Mangion, Andrew; Rougier, Jonathan; Bamber, Jonathan; Schön, Nana

2014-01-01

Determining the Antarctic contribution to sea-level rise from observational data is a complex problem. The number of physical processes involved (such as ice dynamics and surface climate) exceeds the number of observables, some of which have very poor spatial definition. This has led, in general, to solutions that utilise strong prior assumptions or physically based deterministic models to simplify the problem. Here, we present a new approach for estimating the Antarctic contribution, which only incorporates descriptive aspects of the physically based models in the analysis and in a statistical manner. By combining physical insights with modern spatial statistical modelling techniques, we are able to provide probability distributions on all processes deemed to play a role in both the observed data and the contribution to sea-level rise. Specifically, we use stochastic partial differential equations and their relation to geostatistical fields to capture our physical understanding and employ a Gaussian Markov random field approach for efficient computation. The method, an instantiation of Bayesian hierarchical modelling, naturally incorporates uncertainty in order to reveal credible intervals on all estimated quantities. The estimated sea-level rise contribution using this approach corroborates those found using a statistically independent method. © 2013 The Authors. Environmetrics Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:25505370

Identifying relevant data for a biological database: handcrafted rules versus machine learning.

PubMed

Sehgal, Aditya Kumar; Das, Sanmay; Noto, Keith; Saier, Milton H; Elkan, Charles

2011-01-01

With well over 1,000 specialized biological databases in use today, the task of automatically identifying novel, relevant data for such databases is increasingly important. In this paper, we describe practical machine learning approaches for identifying MEDLINE documents and Swiss-Prot/TrEMBL protein records, for incorporation into a specialized biological database of transport proteins named TCDB. We show that both learning approaches outperform rules created by hand by a human expert. As one of the first case studies involving two different approaches to updating a deployed database, both the methods compared and the results will be of interest to curators of many specialized databases.

Integration of Creative Expression into Community Based Participatory Research and Health Promotion with Native Americans

PubMed Central

Gray, Norma; Oré de Boehm, Christina; Farnsworth, Angela; Wolf, Denise

2010-01-01

Involvement in creative expression has the potential of engaging individuals in personal and community level change through reflection, empowerment, and the facilitation of connectedness. It is a process that can be a powerful component of community based participatory research as it can facilitate and support the principles of co-learning, egalitarian relationships, and respect for non-academic knowledge. It is also a valuable means of appreciating culture and strengthening identity, which enhances health. This article reviews and discusses methods and benefits of incorporating creative expression into health promotion programs and community based participatory research with Native Americans. PMID:20531099

Nonlinear behavior of shells of revolution under cyclic loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, H. S.; Armen, H., Jr.; Winter, R.; Pifko, A.

1972-01-01

A large deflection elastic-plastic analysis is presented, applicable to orthotropic axisymmetric plates and shells of revolution subjected to monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. The analysis is based on the finite-element method. It employs a new higher order, fully compatible, doubly curved orthotropic shell-of-revolution element using cubic Hermitian expansions for both meridional and normal displacements. Both perfectly plastic and strain hardening behavior are considered. Strain hardening is incorporated through use of the Prager-Ziegler kinematic hardening theory, which predicts an ideal Bauschinger effect. Numerous sample problems involving monotonic and cyclic loading conditions are analyzed. The monotonic results are compared with other theoretical solutions.

Microalloying of transition metal silicides by mechanical activation and field-activated reaction

DOEpatents

Munir, Zuhair A [Davis, CA; Woolman, Joseph N [Davis, CA; Petrovic, John J [Los Alamos, NM

2003-09-02

Alloys of transition metal suicides that contain one or more alloying elements are fabricated by a two-stage process involving mechanical activation as the first stage and densification and field-activated reaction as the second stage. Mechanical activation, preferably performed by high-energy planetary milling, results in the incorporation of atoms of the alloying element(s) into the crystal lattice of the transition metal, while the densification and field-activated reaction, preferably performed by spark plasma sintering, result in the formation of the alloyed transition metal silicide. Among the many advantages of the process are its ability to accommodate materials that are incompatible in other alloying methods.

Clinical librarian support for rapid review of clinical utility of cancer molecular biomarkers.

PubMed

Geng, Yimin; Fowler, Clara S; Fulton, Stephanie

2015-01-01

The clinical librarian used a restricted literature searching and quality-filtering approach to provide relevant clinical evidence for the use of cancer molecular biomarkers by institutional policy makers and clinicians in the rapid review process. The librarian-provided evidence was compared with the cited references in the institutional molecular biomarker algorithm. The overall incorporation rate of the librarian-provided references into the algorithm was above 80%. This study suggests the usefulness of clinical librarian expertise for clinical practice. The searching and filtering methods for high-level evidence can be adopted by information professionals who are involved in the rapid literature review.

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

Jain, Shweta; Sharma, Prerana; Kaothekar, Sachin

The thermal instability of an infinite homogeneous, thermally conducting, and rotating plasma, incorporating finite electrical resistivity, finite electron inertia, and an arbitrary radiative heat-loss function in the presence of finite Larmor radius corrections and Hall current, has been studied. Analysis has been made with the help of linearized magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) equations. A general dispersion relation is obtained using the normal mode analysis method, and the dispersion relation is discussed for longitudinal propagation and transverse propagation separately. The dispersion relation has been solved numerically to obtain the dependence of the growth rate on the various parameters involved. The conditions of modifiedmore » thermal instability and stability are discussed in the different cases of interest.« less

[A method for the implementation and promotion of access to comprehensive and complementary primary healthcare practices].

PubMed

Santos, Melissa Costa; Tesser, Charles Dalcanale

2012-11-01

The rendering of integrated and complementary practices in the Brazilian Unified Health System is fostered to increase the comprehensiveness of care and access to same, though it is a challenge to incorporate them into the services. Our objective is to provide a simple method of implementation of such practices in Primary Healthcare, derived from analysis of experiences in municipalities, using partial results of a master's thesis that employed research-action methodology. The method involves four stages: 1 - defininition of a nucleus responsible for implementation and consolidation thereof; 2 - situational analysis, with definition of the existing competent professionals; 3 - regulation, organization of access and legitimation; and 4 - implementation cycle: local plans, mentoring and ongoing education in health. The phases are described, justified and briefly discussed. The method encourages the development of rational and sustainable actions, sponsors participatory management, the creation of comprehensivenessand the broadening of care provided in Primary Healthcare by offering progressive and sustainable comprehensive and complementary practices.

From informed consent to dissemination: Using participatory visual methods with young people with long-term conditions at different stages of research.

PubMed

Vindrola-Padros, Cecilia; Martins, Ana; Coyne, Imelda; Bryan, Gemma; Gibson, Faith

2016-01-01

Research with young people suffering from a long-term illness has more recently incorporated the use of visual methods to foster engagement of research participants from a wide age range, capture the longitudinal and complex factors involved in young people's experiences of care, and allow young people to express their views in multiple ways. Despite its contributions, these methods are not always easy to implement and there is a possibility that they might not generate the results or engagement initially anticipated by researchers. We hope to expand on the emerging discussion on the use of participatory visual methods by presenting the practical issues we have faced while using this methodology during different stages of research: informed assent/consent, data collection, and the dissemination of findings. We propose a combination of techniques to make sure that the research design is flexible enough to allow research participants to shape the research process according to their needs and interests.

Normalized Temperature Contrast Processing in Infrared Flash Thermography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2016-01-01

The paper presents further development in normalized contrast processing used in flash infrared thermography method. Method of computing normalized image or pixel intensity contrast, and normalized temperature contrast are provided. Methods of converting image contrast to temperature contrast and vice versa are provided. Normalized contrast processing in flash thermography is useful in quantitative analysis of flash thermography data including flaw characterization and comparison of experimental results with simulation. Computation of normalized temperature contrast involves use of flash thermography data acquisition set-up with high reflectivity foil and high emissivity tape such that the foil, tape and test object are imaged simultaneously. Methods of assessing other quantitative parameters such as emissivity of object, afterglow heat flux, reflection temperature change and surface temperature during flash thermography are also provided. Temperature imaging and normalized temperature contrast processing provide certain advantages over normalized image contrast processing by reducing effect of reflected energy in images and measurements, therefore providing better quantitative data. Examples of incorporating afterglow heat-flux and reflection temperature evolution in flash thermography simulation are also discussed.

Semiclassical S-matrix for black holes

DOE PAGES

Bezrukov, Fedor; Levkov, Dmitry; Sibiryakov, Sergey

2015-12-01

In this study, we propose a semiclassical method to calculate S-matrix elements for two-stage gravitational transitions involving matter collapse into a black hole and evaporation of the latter. The method consistently incorporates back-reaction of the collapsing and emitted quanta on the metric. We illustrate the method in several toy models describing spherical self-gravitating shells in asymptotically flat and AdS space-times. We find that electrically neutral shells reflect via the above collapse-evaporation process with probability exp(–B), where B is the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the intermediate black hole. This is consistent with interpretation of exp(B) as the number of black hole states.more » The same expression for the probability is obtained in the case of charged shells if one takes into account instability of the Cauchy horizon of the intermediate Reissner-Nordström black hole. As a result, our semiclassical method opens a new systematic approach to the gravitational S-matrix in the non-perturbative regime.« less

Spectral Regression Discriminant Analysis for Hyperspectral Image Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Y.; Wu, J.; Huang, H.; Liu, J.

2012-08-01

Dimensionality reduction algorithms, which aim to select a small set of efficient and discriminant features, have attracted great attention for Hyperspectral Image Classification. The manifold learning methods are popular for dimensionality reduction, such as Locally Linear Embedding, Isomap, and Laplacian Eigenmap. However, a disadvantage of many manifold learning methods is that their computations usually involve eigen-decomposition of dense matrices which is expensive in both time and memory. In this paper, we introduce a new dimensionality reduction method, called Spectral Regression Discriminant Analysis (SRDA). SRDA casts the problem of learning an embedding function into a regression framework, which avoids eigen-decomposition of dense matrices. Also, with the regression based framework, different kinds of regularizes can be naturally incorporated into our algorithm which makes it more flexible. It can make efficient use of data points to discover the intrinsic discriminant structure in the data. Experimental results on Washington DC Mall and AVIRIS Indian Pines hyperspectral data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Auxiliary-field-based trial wave functions in quantum Monte Carlo calculations

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

Chang, Chia -Chen; Rubenstein, Brenda M.; Morales, Miguel A.

2016-12-19

Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) algorithms have long relied on Jastrow factors to incorporate dynamic correlation into trial wave functions. While Jastrow-type wave functions have been widely employed in real-space algorithms, they have seen limited use in second-quantized QMC methods, particularly in projection methods that involve a stochastic evolution of the wave function in imaginary time. Here we propose a scheme for generating Jastrow-type correlated trial wave functions for auxiliary-field QMC methods. The method is based on decoupling the two-body Jastrow into one-body projectors coupled to auxiliary fields, which then operate on a single determinant to produce a multideterminant trial wavemore » function. We demonstrate that intelligent sampling of the most significant determinants in this expansion can produce compact trial wave functions that reduce errors in the calculated energies. Lastly, our technique may be readily generalized to accommodate a wide range of two-body Jastrow factors and applied to a variety of model and chemical systems.« less

Incorporating Descriptive Assessment Results into the Design of a Functional Analysis: A Case Example Involving a Preschooler's Hand Mouthing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tiger, Jeffrey H.; Hanley, Gregory P.; Bessette, Kimberly K.

2006-01-01

Functional analysis methodology has become the hallmark of behavioral assessment, yielding a determination of behavioral function in roughly 96% of the cases published (Hanley, Iwata, & McCord, 2003). Some authors have suggested that incorporating the results of a descriptive assessment into the design of a functional analysis may be useful in…

Changing health behaviors with social marketing.

PubMed

Suarez-Almazor, M E

2011-08-01

Social marketing uses marketing techniques to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors. As in traditional marketing, the development and implementation of social marketing programs is based on the four P's: product, price, place, and promotion, but it also incorporates the partnership and participation of stakeholders to enhance public health and engage policy makers. The "product" in social marketing is generally a behavior, such as a change in lifestyle (e.g., diet) or an increase in a desired health practice (e.g., screening). In order for people to desire this product, it must offer a solution to a problem that is weighed with respect to the price to pay. The price is not just monetary, and it often involves giving something up, such as time (e.g., exercising) or a wanted, satisfying behavior (e.g., smoking). In its development phase, social marketing incorporates qualitative methods to create messages that are powerful and potentially effective. The implementation of the programs commonly involves mass campaigns with advertisement in various media. There have been a few social media campaigns targeting bone health that have been disseminated with substantial outreach. However, these have not been systematically evaluated, specifically with respect to change in behavior and health outcomes. Future campaigns should identify target behaviors that are amenable to change such as bone mass measurement screening or exercise. Audience segmentation will be crucial, since a message for young women to increase peak bone mass would be very different from a message for older individuals who have just experienced a fracture. Campaigns should involve key stakeholders, including policy makers, health providers, and the public. Finally, success must be carefully evaluated, not just by the outreach of the campaign, but also by a change in relevant behaviors and a decrease in deleterious health outcomes.

The Leucine Incorporation Method Estimates Bacterial Growth Equally Well in Both Oxic and Anoxic Lake Waters

PubMed Central

Bastviken, David; Tranvik, Lars

2001-01-01

Bacterial biomass production is often estimated from incorporation of radioactively labeled leucine into protein, in both oxic and anoxic waters and sediments. However, the validity of the method in anoxic environments has so far not been tested. We compared the leucine incorporation of bacterial assemblages growing in oxic and anoxic waters from three lakes differing in nutrient and humic contents. The method was modified to avoid O2 contamination by performing the incubation in syringes. Isotope saturation levels in oxic and anoxic waters were determined, and leucine incorporation rates were compared to microscopically observed bacterial growth. Finally, we evaluated the effects of O2 contamination during incubation with leucine, as well as the potential effects of a headspace in the incubation vessel. Isotope saturation occurred at a leucine concentration of above about 50 nM in both oxic and anoxic waters from all three lakes. Leucine incorporation rates were linearly correlated to observed growth, and there was no significant difference between oxic and anoxic conditions. O2 contamination of anoxic water during 1-h incubations with leucine had no detectable impact on the incorporation rate, while a headspace in the incubation vessel caused leucine incorporation to increase in both anoxic and O2-contaminated samples. The results indicate that the leucine incorporation method relates equally to bacterial growth rates under oxic and anoxic conditions and that incubation should be performed without a headspace. PMID:11425702

Are Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies Designed for All? Vulnerable Groups in Policy Documents of Four European Countries and Their Involvement in Policy Development

PubMed Central

Ivanova, Olena; Dræbel, Tania; Tellier, Siri

2015-01-01

Background: Health policies are important instruments for improving population health. However, experience suggests that policies designed for the whole population do not always benefit the most vulnerable. Participation of vulnerable groups in the policy-making process provides an opportunity for them to influence decisions related to their health, and also to exercise their rights. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored how vulnerable groups and principles of human rights are incorporated into national sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policies of 4 selected countries (Spain, Scotland, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine). It also aimed at discussing the involvement of vulnerable groups in SRH policy development from the perspective of policy-makers. Methods: Literature review, health policy analysis and 5 semi-structured interviews with policy-makers were carried out in this study. Content analysis of SRH policies was performed using the EquiFrame analytical framework. Results: The study revealed that vulnerable groups and core principles of human rights are differently addressed in SRH policies within 4 studied countries. The opinions of policy-makers on the importance of mentioning vulnerable groups in policy documents and the way they ought to be mentioned varied, but they agreed that a clear definition of vulnerability, practical examples, and evidences on health status of these groups have to be included. In addition, different approaches to vulnerable group’s involvement in policy development were identified during the interviews and the range of obstacles to this process was discussed by respondents. Conclusion: Incorporation of vulnerable groups in the SRH policies and their involvement in policy development were found to be important in addressing SRH of these groups and providing an opportunity for them to advocate for equal access to healthcare and exercise their rights. Future research on this topic should include representatives of vulnerable communities which could help to build a dialogue and present the problem from multiple perspectives. PMID:26673176

A Systems Analysis Role Play Case: We Sell Stuff, Inc.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitri, Michel; Cole, Carey

2007-01-01

Most systems development projects incorporate some sort of life cycle approach in their development. Whether the development methodology involves a traditional life cycle, prototyping, rapid application development, or some other approach, the first step usually involves a system investigation, which includes problem identification, feasibility…

76 FR 46849 - Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Curriculum Development for Women Offenders; Developing...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-03

...-involved women; (4) specific examples of expertise in directing project design, implementation... justice involved women. The curriculum will incorporate research-based information and will reflect adult... final product from this solicitation will reflect the emerging research and use a blended-learning...

PCR method for detection and identification of Lactobacillus casei/paracasei bacteriophages in dairy products.

PubMed

Binetti, Ana G; Capra, M Luján; Alvarez, Miguel A; Reinheimer, Jorge A

2008-05-31

Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) pose a serious risk to the dairy industry. Nowadays, the expanding use of valuable Lactobacillus strains as probiotic starters determines an increase in the frequency of specific bacteriophage infections in dairy plants. This work describes a simple and rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method that detects and identifies bacteriophages infecting Lactobacillus casei/paracasei, the main bacterial species used as probiotic. Based on a highly conserved region of the NTP-binding genes belonging to the replication module of L. casei phages phiA2 and phiAT3 (the only two whose genomes are completely sequenced), a pair of primers was designed to generate a specific fragment. Furthermore, this PCR detection method proved to be a useful tool for monitoring and identifying L. casei/paracasei phages in industrial samples since specific PCR signals were obtained from phage contaminated milk (detection limit: 10(4) PFU/mL milk) and other commercial samples (fermented milks and cheese whey) that include L. casei/paracasei as probiotic starter (detection limit: 10(6) PFU/mL fermented milk). Since this method can detect the above phages in industrial samples and can be easily incorporated into dairy industry routines, it might be readily used to earmark contaminated milk for use in processes that do not involve susceptible starter organisms, or processes which involve phage-deactivating conditions.

Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to multi-criteria decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohd, Wan Rosanisah Wan; Abdullah, Lazim

2017-11-01

A numerous approaches have been proposed in the literature to determine the criteria of weight. The weight of criteria is very significant in the process of decision making. One of the outstanding approaches that used to determine weight of criteria is analytic hierarchy process (AHP). This method involves decision makers (DMs) to evaluate the decision to form the pair-wise comparison between criteria and alternatives. In classical AHP, the linguistic variable of pairwise comparison is presented in terms of crisp value. However, this method is not appropriate to present the real situation of the problems because it involved the uncertainty in linguistic judgment. For this reason, AHP has been extended by incorporating the Pythagorean fuzzy sets. In addition, no one has found in the literature proposed how to determine the weight of criteria using AHP under Pythagorean fuzzy sets. In order to solve the MCDM problem, the Pythagorean fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is proposed to determine the criteria weight of the evaluation criteria. Using the linguistic variables, pairwise comparison for evaluation criteria are made to the weights of criteria using Pythagorean fuzzy numbers (PFNs). The proposed method is implemented in the evaluation problem in order to demonstrate its applicability. This study shows that the proposed method provides us with a useful way and a new direction in solving MCDM problems with Pythagorean fuzzy context.

The transition from microscopic to endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery: the experience at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

PubMed

Laws, Edward R; Barkhoudarian, Garni

2014-12-01

As interest and enthusiasm for the use of the endoscope in transsphenoidal anterior skull base and pituitary surgery increases, neurosurgeons are increasingly adopting endoscopic technology and associated novel concepts. Often this involves a transition from the standard operating microscope as the main means of visualization to the operating endoscope (2D or 3D) during surgery. The authors' experience with this transition is described, including the rationale, advantages and disadvantages of the two surgical techniques. The successful use of endoscopic surgery for a large variety of pathological problems involving the anterior skull base and the pituitary region is presented. Perceived advantages for the patient and the surgeon are described, as is the occasional need for transition back to the microscopic approach. The endoscopic approach and its allied technology are here to stay. They are useful and occasionally preferable methods for treating a variety of suitable lesions involving the anterior skull base. The importance of incorporating the basic principles of skull base surgery is emphasized. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biocompatible Er, Yb co-doped fluoroapatite upconversion nanoparticles for imaging applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anjana, R.; K. M., Kurias; M. K., Jayaraj

2017-08-01

Upconversion luminescence, visible emission on infra red (IR) excitation was achieved in a biocompatible material, fluoroapatite. Fluoroapatite crystals are well known biomaterials, which is a component of tooth enamel. Also it can be considered as an excellent host material for lanthanide doping since the ionic radii of lanthanide is similar to that of calcium ion(Ca2+) hence successful incorporation of dopants within the lattice is possible. Erbium (Er), Ytterbium (Yb) co-doped fluorapatite (FAp) nanoparticles were prepared by precipitation method. The particles show intense visible emission when excited with 980 nm laser. Since upconversion luminescence is a multiphoton process the excitation power dependence on emission will give number of photons involved in the emission of single photon. Excitation power dependence studies show that two photons are involved in the emission of single photons. The value of slope was different for different emission peak because of the difference in intermediate energy level involved. The crystal structure and morphology of the particle were determined using X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). These particles with surface functionalisation can be used for live cell imaging.

Topology optimization of hyperelastic structures using a level set method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feifei; Wang, Yiqiang; Wang, Michael Yu; Zhang, Y. F.

2017-12-01

Soft rubberlike materials, due to their inherent compliance, are finding widespread implementation in a variety of applications ranging from assistive wearable technologies to soft material robots. Structural design of such soft and rubbery materials necessitates the consideration of large nonlinear deformations and hyperelastic material models to accurately predict their mechanical behaviour. In this paper, we present an effective level set-based topology optimization method for the design of hyperelastic structures that undergo large deformations. The method incorporates both geometric and material nonlinearities where the strain and stress measures are defined within the total Lagrange framework and the hyperelasticity is characterized by the widely-adopted Mooney-Rivlin material model. A shape sensitivity analysis is carried out, in the strict sense of the material derivative, where the high-order terms involving the displacement gradient are retained to ensure the descent direction. As the design velocity enters into the shape derivative in terms of its gradient and divergence terms, we develop a discrete velocity selection strategy. The whole optimization implementation undergoes a two-step process, where the linear optimization is first performed and its optimized solution serves as the initial design for the subsequent nonlinear optimization. It turns out that this operation could efficiently alleviate the numerical instability and facilitate the optimization process. To demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method, three compliance minimization problems are studied and their optimized solutions present significant mechanical benefits of incorporating the nonlinearities, in terms of remarkable enhancement in not only the structural stiffness but also the critical buckling load.

Effects of Manufacturing Methods on Dissolution and Absorption of Ketoconazole in the Presence of Organic Acid as a pH Modifier.

PubMed

Adachi, Masashi; Hinatsu, Yuta; Kusamori, Kosuke; Katsumi, Hidemasa; Sakane, Toshiyasu; Nakatani, Manabu; Wada, Koichi; Yamamoto, Akira

2017-05-01

Poorly water-soluble compounds have a potential risk of low and variable bioavailability caused by incomplete dissolution. Incorporation of organic acids as pH modifiers is effective method for solubility enhancement of basic compounds and requires no special technique and equipment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of manufacturing method on the extent of drug solubility enhancement. We successfully prepared the granules and tablets containing ketoconazole (KZ), which is weakly basic, as a model compound and citric acid as a pH modifier using conventional wet and dry granulations. KZ solubility under non-sink condition was enhanced with supersaturation using both wet and dry granulations. High-shear granulation was the most effective method in terms of KZ dissolution enhancement, because both an intimate contact and strong bonding between KZ and incorporated acid were achieved. KZ dissolved amount from the granules prepared by high-shear granulation was about eight times higher than that from the granules without the acid. The granulation involved to suppress a diffusion of acid dissolved, leading to the effectively maintained supersaturation state. The bioavailability of KZ after oral administration to rats was improved by applying high-shear granulation with citric acid independent of gastrointestinal pH. The granules prepared by high-shear granulation showed the bioavailability about 1.7-fold higher than that of the physical mixture in rats with and without neutralization of stomach. As a result, both the dissolution and absorption rates of KZ after oral administration were enhanced using conventional manufacturing technology.

Influence on Learning of a Collaborative Learning Method Comprising the Jigsaw Method and Problem-based Learning (PBL).

PubMed

Takeda, Kayoko; Takahashi, Kiyoshi; Masukawa, Hiroyuki; Shimamori, Yoshimitsu

2017-01-01

Recently, the practice of active learning has spread, increasingly recognized as an essential component of academic studies. Classes incorporating small group discussion (SGD) are conducted at many universities. At present, assessments of the effectiveness of SGD have mostly involved evaluation by questionnaires conducted by teachers, by peer assessment, and by self-evaluation of students. However, qualitative data, such as open-ended descriptions by students, have not been widely evaluated. As a result, we have been unable to analyze the processes and methods involved in how students acquire knowledge in SGD. In recent years, due to advances in information and communication technology (ICT), text mining has enabled the analysis of qualitative data. We therefore investigated whether the introduction of a learning system comprising the jigsaw method and problem-based learning (PBL) would improve student attitudes toward learning; we did this by text mining analysis of the content of student reports. We found that by applying the jigsaw method before PBL, we were able to improve student attitudes toward learning and increase the depth of their understanding of the area of study as a result of working with others. The use of text mining to analyze qualitative data also allowed us to understand the processes and methods by which students acquired knowledge in SGD and also changes in students' understanding and performance based on improvements to the class. This finding suggests that the use of text mining to analyze qualitative data could enable teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of various methods employed to improve learning.

Marine Ecology Research Resource Units Grades 7-9. Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Contra Costa County Dept. of Education, Pleasant Hill, CA.

Project Marine Ecology Research (MER) is an ecological unit designed to involve secondary students in the study of the marine biome. The teachers are also involved with MER through inservice participation and materials preparation. The unit is designed to be incorporated within the existing science curriculum. Specifically, the activities concern…

Native Teacher Education in a Community Setting: The Mt. Currie Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyatt, June

1977-01-01

Describes the Mt. Currie Native Teacher Education Program, based in a small reserve community 100 miles from Vancouver, Canada. Five basic issues involved in the development of the program are community involvement at the local level, incorporation of native language and culture, decentralization, entrance requirements and paraprofessional…

DiaTreat: a new method of communication for better diagnosis and treatment of dental problems.

PubMed

Reddy, K Srinivas; Reddy, R Sunil Kumar; Sudheer, A; Reddy, R Vamshidhar; Rao, N Venugopal; Reddy, P Lakshmipathy

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to present a simple method of communication between two oral health professionals so that the problem can be conveyed easily and treatment options obtained equally easily and quickly, using current electronic communication technologies. Treatment of dental problems involves a thorough understanding of the underlying dental and medical conditions. The arena of dentistry being ever changing, with new specialties arising each year, it has become virtually impossible for an average dentist to keep track of all the treatment modalities available for various problems at a given time. It is the duty of a dentist, however, to treat his patients to the best of his ability. Professional ethics bind the other health professionals to render their opinion to the dentist so that the patient will ultimately get the best possible treatment. Method of communication is the only problem remaining in the path to achieving a total oral health care. DiaTreat is a unique method of clinical charting by which a dentist can incorporate all the ailments affecting his patient, and by withholding the patients name and address, can communicate with any of his colleagues for their opinion on the best treatment option for his patient. It is a new and innovative method of communication between a dentist and specialist. Even though it has some shortcomings of its own, on a wider range, the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks of the system. CLINICAL AND ACADEMIC SIGNIFICANCE: This can also be used by educational institutes for easy communication during interdisciplinary exchanges. Improvements need to be made yet to incorporate all the ailments known in dental discipline and make communication a comprehensive one.

Site-Specific Bioorthogonal Labeling for Fluorescence Imaging of Intracellular Proteins in Living Cells.

PubMed

Peng, Tao; Hang, Howard C

2016-11-02

Over the past years, fluorescent proteins (e.g., green fluorescent proteins) have been widely utilized to visualize recombinant protein expression and localization in live cells. Although powerful, fluorescent protein tags are limited by their relatively large sizes and potential perturbation to protein function. Alternatively, site-specific labeling of proteins with small-molecule organic fluorophores using bioorthogonal chemistry may provide a more precise and less perturbing method. This approach involves site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins via genetic code expansion, followed by bioorthogonal chemical labeling with small organic fluorophores in living cells. While this approach has been used to label extracellular proteins for live cell imaging studies, site-specific bioorthogonal labeling and fluorescence imaging of intracellular proteins in live cells is still challenging. Herein, we systematically evaluate site-specific incorporation of diastereomerically pure bioorthogonal UAAs bearing stained alkynes or alkenes into intracellular proteins for inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions with tetrazine-functionalized fluorophores for live cell labeling and imaging in mammalian cells. Our studies show that site-specific incorporation of axial diastereomer of trans-cyclooct-2-ene-lysine robustly affords highly efficient and specific bioorthogonal labeling with monosubstituted tetrazine fluorophores in live mammalian cells, which enabled us to image the intracellular localization and real-time dynamic trafficking of IFITM3, a small membrane-associated protein with only 137 amino acids, for the first time. Our optimized UAA incorporation and bioorthogonal labeling conditions also enabled efficient site-specific fluorescence labeling of other intracellular proteins for live cell imaging studies in mammalian cells.

Application of the Spectral Element Method to Acoustic Radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, James F.; Rizzi, Stephen A. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

This report summarizes research to develop a capability for analysis of interior noise in enclosed structures when acoustically excited by an external random source. Of particular interest was the application to the study of noise and vibration transmission in thin-walled structures as typified by aircraft fuselages. Three related topics are focused upon. The first concerns the development of a curved frame spectral element, the second shows how the spectral element method for wave propagation in folded plate structures is extended to problems involving curved segmented plates. These are of significance because by combining these curved spectral elements with previously presented flat spectral elements, the dynamic response of geometrically complex structures can be determined. The third topic shows how spectral elements, which incorporate the effect of fluid loading on the structure, are developed for analyzing acoustic radiation from dynamically loaded extended plates.

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

Fukuoka, T.

Many studies have been devoted to investigate how the maximum stress occurring in the bolted joint could be reduced. Patterson and Kenny suggest that a modified nut with a straight bevel at the bearing surface is effective. However, they only dealt with M30, and estimations on the nut geometry had not been necessarily sufficient. In this study, an extensive finite element approach for solving general multi-body contact problem is proposed by incorporating a regularization method into stiffness matrices with singularity involved; thus, numerical analyses are executed to accurately determine the optimal shape of the modified nut for various design factors.more » A modified nut with a curved bevel is also treated, and it is concluded that the modified nuts are significantly effective for bolts with larger nominal diameter and fine pitch, and are practically useful compared to pitch modification and tapered thread methods.« less

Attitude orientation control for a spinning satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frost, Gerald

The Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Space Systems Division, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are currently involved in litigation with Hughes Aircraft Company over the alledged infringement of the 'Williams patent,' which describes a method for attitude control of a spin-stabilized vehicle. Summarized here is pre-1960 RAND work on this subject and information obtained from RAND personnel knowledgeable on this subject. It was concluded that there is no RAND documentation that directly parallels the 'Williams patent' concept. Also, the TIROS II magnetic torque attitude control method is reviewed. The TIROS II meteorological satellite, launched on November 23, 1960, incorporated a magnetic actuation system for spin axis orientation control. The activation system was ground controlled to orient the satellite spin axis to obtain the desired pointing direction for optical and infrared sensor subsystems.

Use of an expert system data analysis manager for space shuttle main engine test evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abernethy, Ken

1988-01-01

The ability to articulate, collect, and automate the application of the expertise needed for the analysis of space shuttle main engine (SSME) test data would be of great benefit to NASA liquid rocket engine experts. This paper describes a project whose goal is to build a rule-based expert system which incorporates such expertise. Experiential expertise, collected directly from the experts currently involved in SSME data analysis, is used to build a rule base to identify engine anomalies similar to those analyzed previously. Additionally, an alternate method of expertise capture is being explored. This method would generate rules inductively based on calculations made using a theoretical model of the SSME's operation. The latter rules would be capable of diagnosing anomalies which may not have appeared before, but whose effects can be predicted by the theoretical model.

Anatomically-Aided PET Reconstruction Using the Kernel Method

PubMed Central

Hutchcroft, Will; Wang, Guobao; Chen, Kevin T.; Catana, Ciprian; Qi, Jinyi

2016-01-01

This paper extends the kernel method that was proposed previously for dynamic PET reconstruction, to incorporate anatomical side information into the PET reconstruction model. In contrast to existing methods that incorporate anatomical information using a penalized likelihood framework, the proposed method incorporates this information in the simpler maximum likelihood (ML) formulation and is amenable to ordered subsets. The new method also does not require any segmentation of the anatomical image to obtain edge information. We compare the kernel method with the Bowsher method for anatomically-aided PET image reconstruction through a simulated data set. Computer simulations demonstrate that the kernel method offers advantages over the Bowsher method in region of interest (ROI) quantification. Additionally the kernel method is applied to a 3D patient data set. The kernel method results in reduced noise at a matched contrast level compared with the conventional ML expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. PMID:27541810

Anatomically-aided PET reconstruction using the kernel method.

PubMed

Hutchcroft, Will; Wang, Guobao; Chen, Kevin T; Catana, Ciprian; Qi, Jinyi

2016-09-21

This paper extends the kernel method that was proposed previously for dynamic PET reconstruction, to incorporate anatomical side information into the PET reconstruction model. In contrast to existing methods that incorporate anatomical information using a penalized likelihood framework, the proposed method incorporates this information in the simpler maximum likelihood (ML) formulation and is amenable to ordered subsets. The new method also does not require any segmentation of the anatomical image to obtain edge information. We compare the kernel method with the Bowsher method for anatomically-aided PET image reconstruction through a simulated data set. Computer simulations demonstrate that the kernel method offers advantages over the Bowsher method in region of interest quantification. Additionally the kernel method is applied to a 3D patient data set. The kernel method results in reduced noise at a matched contrast level compared with the conventional ML expectation maximization algorithm.

Anatomically-aided PET reconstruction using the kernel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hutchcroft, Will; Wang, Guobao; Chen, Kevin T.; Catana, Ciprian; Qi, Jinyi

2016-09-01

This paper extends the kernel method that was proposed previously for dynamic PET reconstruction, to incorporate anatomical side information into the PET reconstruction model. In contrast to existing methods that incorporate anatomical information using a penalized likelihood framework, the proposed method incorporates this information in the simpler maximum likelihood (ML) formulation and is amenable to ordered subsets. The new method also does not require any segmentation of the anatomical image to obtain edge information. We compare the kernel method with the Bowsher method for anatomically-aided PET image reconstruction through a simulated data set. Computer simulations demonstrate that the kernel method offers advantages over the Bowsher method in region of interest quantification. Additionally the kernel method is applied to a 3D patient data set. The kernel method results in reduced noise at a matched contrast level compared with the conventional ML expectation maximization algorithm.

The future in Agricultural Engineering: news degrees in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartagena, M. Carmen; Tarquis, A. M.; Vázquez, J.; Serrano, A.; Arce, A.

2010-05-01

The Bologna process is to improve the quality of education, mobility, diversity and the competitiveness and involves three fundamental changes: transform of the structure of titles, changing in methods of teaching and implementation of the systems of quality assurance. Engineer Agronomist at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has been offered as a degree of five years with a total of 400 credits and seven optional orientations: Crop Production, Plant and Breeding Protection, Environment, Agricultural Economics, Animal Production, Rural Engineering and Food Technology. Actually, the Bologna plan creates three new degrees: Engineering and Science Agronomic, Food Engineering and Agro-Environmental Engineering, with 240 ECTS each one of them and with specific professional characteristics. The changes that involve the introduction of these new degrees is perhaps the largest occurred never at the Spanish university system, not only by the drastic transformation in the structure of titles, but also by the new changes that lie ahead in teaching methods. Among others we will comment the following ones: -A year decreased duration of studies and therefore incorporation into the market. - Elimination of the seven current guidelines to create three specific qualifications of degree. -Decrease of optional subjects and increase in credits for the basic subjects. - Inclusion of business practices. - Increase in the number of credits of final project. - Changes in methodologies and a higher involvement of teachers and students in the education.

PUBLIC AND PATIENT INVOLVEMENT IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION.

PubMed

Abelson, Julia; Wagner, Frank; DeJean, Deirdre; Boesveld, Sarah; Gauvin, Franςois-Pierre; Bean, Sally; Axler, Renata; Petersen, Stephen; Baidoobonso, Shamara; Pron, Gaylene; Giacomini, Mita; Lavis, John

2016-01-01

As health technology assessment (HTA) organizations in Canada and around the world seek to involve the public and patients in their activities, frameworks to guide decisions about whom to involve, through which mechanisms, and at what stages of the HTA process have been lacking. The aim of this study was to describe the development and outputs of a comprehensive framework for involving the public and patients in a government agency's HTA process. The framework was informed by a synthesis of international practice and published literature, a dialogue with local, national and international stakeholders, and the deliberations of a government agency's public engagement subcommittee in Ontario, Canada. The practice and literature synthesis failed to identify a single, optimal approach to involving the public and patients in HTA. Choice of methods should be considered in the context of each HTA stage, goals for incorporating societal and/or patient perspectives into the process, and relevant societal and/or patient values at stake. The resulting framework is structured around four actionable elements: (i) guiding principles and goals for public and patient involvement (PPI) in HTA, (ii) the establishment of a common language to support PPI efforts, (iii) a flexible array of PPI approaches, and (iv) on-going evaluation of PPI to inform adjustments over time. A public and patient involvement framework has been developed for implementation in a government agency's HTA process. Core elements of this framework may apply to other organizations responsible for HTA and health system quality improvement.

Radioiodinated cholesteryl ester analogs as residualizing tracers of lipoproteins disposition

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

DeForge, L.E.

1989-01-01

Due to the importance of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis, efforts were made to incorporate {sup 125}I-cholesteryl iopanoate ({sup 125}I-CI), a residualizing cholesteryl ester (CE) analog, into the lipid core of LDL. This preparation is potentially useful as a scintigraphically detectable tracer of LDL uptake into atheroma and tissues such as the adrenal and liver. Initial studies using a cholesterol-fed rabbit model of atherosclerosis validated the use of {sup 125}I-CI as a tracer of CE deposition. However, scintigraphy revealed considerable nonspecific {sup 125}I-CI uptake due to tissue cholesterol loading. An alternative animal model was the guineamore » pig, which responds moderately to cholesterol feeding and carries the plasma cholesterol predominantly as LDL. Dietary fat and cholesterol, coupled with chronic aortic injury caused by an indwelling catheter, resulted in lipid containing, smooth muscle cell proliferative lesions in many animals. However, further studies are necessary to fully characterize this model. In additional studies, in vitro methods for incorporating {sup 125}I-CI into LDL were examined. These included a reconstitution procedure described by Krieger et al. and a procedure involving incubation of detergent (Tween 20)-solubilized {sup 125}I-CI with plasma. Although both LDL preparations were taken up normally by cultured fibroblasts, the plasma clearance rate of reconstituted LDL was markedly abnormal in guinea pigs. In contrast, LDL labeled by the detergent method cleared from the plasma identically to a radioiodinated LDL control. Therefore, this latter procedure was also used to incorporate two novel radioiodinated cholesteryl ether analogs {sup 125}I-CI cholesteryl m-iodobenzyl ether ({sup 125}I-CIDE) and {sup 125}I-cholesteryl 12-(miodophenyl)dodecyl ether ({sup 125}I-CIDE) into LDL.« less

40 CFR 59.412 - Incorporations by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Organic Coatings at Room Temperature, incorporation by reference approved for § 59.401, Quick-dry enamel... Test Method for Chemical Resistance of Coatings Used in Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants, incorporation...

40 CFR 59.412 - Incorporations by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Organic Coatings at Room Temperature, incorporation by reference approved for § 59.401, Quick-dry enamel... Test Method for Chemical Resistance of Coatings Used in Light-Water Nuclear Power Plants, incorporation...

Arsenic incorporation into FeS 2 pyrite and its influence on dissolution: A DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanchard, Marc; Alfredsson, Maria; Brodholt, John; Wright, Kate; Catlow, C. Richard A.

2007-02-01

FeS 2 pyrite can incorporate large amounts of arsenic (up to ca. 10 wt%) and hence has a strong impact on the mobility of this toxic metalloid. Focussing on the lowest arsenic concentrations for which the incorporation occurs in solid solution, the substitution mechanisms involved have been investigated by assuming simple incorporation reactions in both oxidising and reducing conditions. The solution energies were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and we predict that the formation of AsS dianion groups is the most energetically favourable mechanism. The results also suggest that the presence of arsenic will accelerate the dissolution and thus the generation of acid drainage, when the crystal dissolves in oxidising conditions.

Incorporating external evidence in trial-based cost-effectiveness analyses: the use of resampling methods

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) that use patient-specific data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) are popular, yet such CEAs are criticized because they neglect to incorporate evidence external to the trial. A popular method for quantifying uncertainty in a RCT-based CEA is the bootstrap. The objective of the present study was to further expand the bootstrap method of RCT-based CEA for the incorporation of external evidence. Methods We utilize the Bayesian interpretation of the bootstrap and derive the distribution for the cost and effectiveness outcomes after observing the current RCT data and the external evidence. We propose simple modifications of the bootstrap for sampling from such posterior distributions. Results In a proof-of-concept case study, we use data from a clinical trial and incorporate external evidence on the effect size of treatments to illustrate the method in action. Compared to the parametric models of evidence synthesis, the proposed approach requires fewer distributional assumptions, does not require explicit modeling of the relation between external evidence and outcomes of interest, and is generally easier to implement. A drawback of this approach is potential computational inefficiency compared to the parametric Bayesian methods. Conclusions The bootstrap method of RCT-based CEA can be extended to incorporate external evidence, while preserving its appealing features such as no requirement for parametric modeling of cost and effectiveness outcomes. PMID:24888356

A Method to Measure and Estimate Normalized Contrast in Infrared Flash Thermography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshti, Ajay M.

2016-01-01

The paper presents further development in normalized contrast processing used in flash infrared thermography method. Method of computing normalized image or pixel intensity contrast, and normalized temperature contrast are provided. Methods of converting image contrast to temperature contrast and vice versa are provided. Normalized contrast processing in flash thermography is useful in quantitative analysis of flash thermography data including flaw characterization and comparison of experimental results with simulation. Computation of normalized temperature contrast involves use of flash thermography data acquisition set-up with high reflectivity foil and high emissivity tape such that the foil, tape and test object are imaged simultaneously. Methods of assessing other quantitative parameters such as emissivity of object, afterglow heat flux, reflection temperature change and surface temperature during flash thermography are also provided. Temperature imaging and normalized temperature contrast processing provide certain advantages over normalized image contrast processing by reducing effect of reflected energy in images and measurements, therefore providing better quantitative data. Examples of incorporating afterglow heat-flux and reflection temperature evolution in flash thermography simulation are also discussed.

General methods for sensitivity analysis of equilibrium dynamics in patch occupancy models

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David A.W.

2012-01-01

Sensitivity analysis is a useful tool for the study of ecological models that has many potential applications for patch occupancy modeling. Drawing from the rich foundation of existing methods for Markov chain models, I demonstrate new methods for sensitivity analysis of the equilibrium state dynamics of occupancy models. Estimates from three previous studies are used to illustrate the utility of the sensitivity calculations: a joint occupancy model for a prey species, its predators, and habitat used by both; occurrence dynamics from a well-known metapopulation study of three butterfly species; and Golden Eagle occupancy and reproductive dynamics. I show how to deal efficiently with multistate models and how to calculate sensitivities involving derived state variables and lower-level parameters. In addition, I extend methods to incorporate environmental variation by allowing for spatial and temporal variability in transition probabilities. The approach used here is concise and general and can fully account for environmental variability in transition parameters. The methods can be used to improve inferences in occupancy studies by quantifying the effects of underlying parameters, aiding prediction of future system states, and identifying priorities for sampling effort.

Genetic incorporation of recycled unnatural amino acids.

PubMed

Ko, Wooseok; Kim, Sanggil; Jo, Kyubong; Lee, Hyun Soo

2016-02-01

The genetic incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) into proteins has been a useful tool for protein engineering. However, most UAAs are expensive, and the method requires a high concentration of UAAs, which has been a drawback of the technology, especially for large-scale applications. To address this problem, a method to recycle cultured UAAs was developed. The method is based on recycling a culture medium containing the UAA, in which some of essential nutrients were resupplemented after each culture cycle, and induction of protein expression was controlled with glucose. Under optimal conditions, five UAAs were recycled for up to seven rounds of expression without a decrease in expression level, cell density, or incorporation fidelity. This method can generally be applied to other UAAs; therefore, it is useful for reducing the cost of UAAs for genetic incorporation and helpful for expanding the use of the technology to industrial applications.

Link importance incorporated failure probability measuring solution for multicast light-trees in elastic optical networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Zhang, Lu; Tang, Ying; Huang, Shanguo

2018-03-01

The light-tree-based optical multicasting (LT-OM) scheme provides a spectrum- and energy-efficient method to accommodate emerging multicast services. Some studies focus on the survivability technologies for LTs against a fixed number of link failures, such as single-link failure. However, a few studies involve failure probability constraints when building LTs. It is worth noting that each link of an LT plays different important roles under failure scenarios. When calculating the failure probability of an LT, the importance of its every link should be considered. We design a link importance incorporated failure probability measuring solution (LIFPMS) for multicast LTs under independent failure model and shared risk link group failure model. Based on the LIFPMS, we put forward the minimum failure probability (MFP) problem for the LT-OM scheme. Heuristic approaches are developed to address the MFP problem in elastic optical networks. Numerical results show that the LIFPMS provides an accurate metric for calculating the failure probability of multicast LTs and enhances the reliability of the LT-OM scheme while accommodating multicast services.

Bayesian superresolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isakson, Steve Wesley

2001-12-01

Well-known principles of physics explain why resolution restrictions occur in images produced by optical diffraction-limited systems. The limitations involved are present in all diffraction-limited imaging systems, including acoustical and microwave. In most circumstances, however, prior knowledge about the object and the imaging system can lead to resolution improvements. In this dissertation I outline a method to incorporate prior information into the process of reconstructing images to superresolve the object beyond the above limitations. This dissertation research develops the details of this methodology. The approach can provide the most-probable global solution employing a finite number of steps in both far-field and near-field images. In addition, in order to overcome the effects of noise present in any imaging system, this technique provides a weighted image that quantifies the likelihood of various imaging solutions. By utilizing Bayesian probability, the procedure is capable of incorporating prior information about both the object and the noise to overcome the resolution limitation present in many imaging systems. Finally I will present an imaging system capable of detecting the evanescent waves missing from far-field systems, thus improving the resolution further.

Simplified expressions that incorporate finite pulse effects into coherent two-dimensional optical spectra.

PubMed

Do, Thanh Nhut; Gelin, Maxim F; Tan, Howe-Siang

2017-10-14

We derive general expressions that incorporate finite pulse envelope effects into a coherent two-dimensional optical spectroscopy (2DOS) technique. These expressions are simpler and less computationally intensive than the conventional triple integral calculations needed to simulate 2DOS spectra. The simplified expressions involving multiplications of arbitrary pulse spectra with 2D spectral response function are shown to be exactly equal to the conventional triple integral calculations of 2DOS spectra if the 2D spectral response functions do not vary with population time. With minor modifications, they are also accurate for 2D spectral response functions with quantum beats and exponential decay during population time. These conditions cover a broad range of experimental 2DOS spectra. For certain analytically defined pulse spectra, we also derived expressions of 2D spectra for arbitrary population time dependent 2DOS spectral response functions. Having simpler and more efficient methods to calculate experimentally relevant 2DOS spectra with finite pulse effect considered will be important in the simulation and understanding of the complex systems routinely being studied by using 2DOS.

Socializing the human factors analysis and classification system: incorporating social psychological phenomena into a human factors error classification system.

PubMed

Paletz, Susannah B F; Bearman, Christopher; Orasanu, Judith; Holbrook, Jon

2009-08-01

The presence of social psychological pressures on pilot decision making was assessed using qualitative analyses of critical incident interviews. Social psychological phenomena have long been known to influence attitudes and behavior but have not been highlighted in accident investigation models. Using a critical incident method, 28 pilots who flew in Alaska were interviewed. The participants were asked to describe a situation involving weather when they were pilot in command and found their skills challenged. They were asked to describe the incident in detail but were not explicitly asked to identify social pressures. Pressures were extracted from transcripts in a bottom-up manner and then clustered into themes. Of the 28 pilots, 16 described social psychological pressures on their decision making, specifically, informational social influence, the foot-in-the-door persuasion technique, normalization of deviance, and impression management and self-consistency motives. We believe accident and incident investigations can benefit from explicit inclusion of common social psychological pressures. We recommend specific ways of incorporating these pressures into theHuman Factors Analysis and Classification System.

Incorporating a Wheeled Vehicle Model in a New Monocular Visual Odometry Algorithm for Dynamic Outdoor Environments

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yanhua; Xiong, Guangming; Chen, Huiyan; Lee, Dah-Jye

2014-01-01

This paper presents a monocular visual odometry algorithm that incorporates a wheeled vehicle model for ground vehicles. The main innovation of this algorithm is to use the single-track bicycle model to interpret the relationship between the yaw rate and side slip angle, which are the two most important parameters that describe the motion of a wheeled vehicle. Additionally, the pitch angle is also considered since the planar-motion hypothesis often fails due to the dynamic characteristics of wheel suspensions and tires in real-world environments. Linearization is used to calculate a closed-form solution of the motion parameters that works as a hypothesis generator in a RAndom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) scheme to reduce the complexity in solving equations involving trigonometric. All inliers found are used to refine the winner solution through minimizing the reprojection error. Finally, the algorithm is applied to real-time on-board visual localization applications. Its performance is evaluated by comparing against the state-of-the-art monocular visual odometry methods using both synthetic data and publicly available datasets over several kilometers in dynamic outdoor environments. PMID:25256109

Genetic and physiological characterization of the purine salvage pathway in the archaebacterium Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg.

PubMed Central

Worrell, V E; Nagle, D P

1990-01-01

The enzymes involved in the purine interconversion pathway of wild-type and purine analog-resistant strains of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum Marburg were assayed by radiometric and spectrophotometric methods. Wild-type cells incorporated labeled adenine, guanine, and hypoxanthine, whereas mutant strains varied in their ability to incorporate these bases. Adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine were activated by phosphoribosyltransferase activities present in wild-type cell extracts. Some mutant strains simultaneously lost the ability to convert both guanine and hypoxanthine to the respective nucleotide, suggesting that the same enzyme activates both bases. Adenosine, guanosine, and inosine phosphorylase activities were detected for the conversion of base to nucleoside. Adenine deaminase activity was detected at low levels. Guanine deaminase activity was not detected. Nucleoside kinase activities for the conversion of adenosine, guanosine, and inosine to the respective nucleotides were detected by a new assay. The nucleotide-interconverting enzymes AMP deaminase, succinyl-AMP synthetase, succinyl-AMP lyase, IMP dehydrogenase, and GMP synthetase were present in extracts; GMP reductase was not detected. The results indicate that this autotrophic methanogen has a complex system for the utilization of exogenous purines. PMID:2345148

Ionospheric refraction effects on orbit determination using the orbit determination error analysis system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yee, C. P.; Kelbel, D. A.; Lee, T.; Dunham, J. B.; Mistretta, G. D.

1990-01-01

The influence of ionospheric refraction on orbit determination was studied through the use of the Orbit Determination Error Analysis System (ODEAS). The results of a study of the orbital state estimate errors due to the ionospheric refraction corrections, particularly for measurements involving spacecraft-to-spacecraft tracking links, are presented. In current operational practice at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF), the ionospheric refraction effects on the tracking measurements are modeled in the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS) using the Bent ionospheric model. While GTDS has the capability of incorporating the ionospheric refraction effects for measurements involving ground-to-spacecraft tracking links, such as those generated by the Ground Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network (GSTDN), it does not have the capability to incorporate the refraction effects for spacecraft-to-spacecraft tracking links for measurements generated by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The lack of this particular capability in GTDS raised some concern about the achievable accuracy of the estimated orbit for certain classes of spacecraft missions that require high-precision orbits. Using an enhanced research version of GTDS, some efforts have already been made to assess the importance of the spacecraft-to-spacecraft ionospheric refraction corrections in an orbit determination process. While these studies were performed using simulated data or real tracking data in definitive orbit determination modes, the study results presented here were obtained by means of covariance analysis simulating the weighted least-squares method used in orbit determination.

iHyd-PseCp: Identify hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine in proteins by incorporating sequence-coupled effects into general PseAAC.

PubMed

Qiu, Wang-Ren; Sun, Bi-Qian; Xiao, Xuan; Xu, Zhao-Chun; Chou, Kuo-Chen

2016-07-12

Protein hydroxylation is a posttranslational modification (PTM), in which a CH group in Pro (P) or Lys (K) residue has been converted into a COH group, or a hydroxyl group (-OH) is converted into an organic compound. Closely associated with cellular signaling activities, this type of PTM is also involved in some major diseases, such as stomach cancer and lung cancer. Therefore, from the angles of both basic research and drug development, we are facing a challenging problem: for an uncharacterized protein sequence containing many residues of P or K, which ones can be hydroxylated, and which ones cannot? With the explosive growth of protein sequences in the post-genomic age, the problem has become even more urgent. To address such a problem, we have developed a predictor called iHyd-PseCp by incorporating the sequence-coupled information into the general pseudo amino acid composition (PseAAC) and introducing the "Random Forest" algorithm to operate the calculation. Rigorous jackknife tests indicated that the new predictor remarkably outperformed the existing state-of-the-art prediction method for the same purpose. For the convenience of most experimental scientists, a user-friendly web-server for iHyd-PseCp has been established at http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/iHyd-PseCp, by which users can easily obtain their desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematical equations involved.

Designing a Method with Physician Participation to Assess and Improve Quality of Healthcare in Otolaryngology.

PubMed

Arce, José M; Martín Cleary, Catalina; Cenjor, Carlos; Ramos, Ángel; Ortiz, Alberto

2017-04-01

Patient choice of healthcare centers to be treated for specific diseases is compromised by the low accessibility of understandable information. Physicians are rarely involved in healthcare quality assessment, despite their potentially valuable input. The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology for evaluating the quality of care that specifically incorporates advice from medical specialists and provides accessible information for patients in search of high-quality healthcare. A pilot Delphi study was conducted among 28 Spanish otolaryngology experts, seeking their opinion on the quality-of-care indicators and on their ability to recommend the most suitable department for the treatment of specific otolaryngologic diseases. The average acceptance rate was 91.9% for quality-of-care indicator and 96.5% for the resources needed for improving the quality of care. Furthermore, 93% experts reported that patients frequently ask for physician advice on which center provides better care for a specific disease, 92.6% experts believe they could recommend the best centers for specific otolaryngologic diseases, and 80% experts agreed that expert opinion on the quality of care offered by different centers would be a valuable addition to quality-of-care assessment. The incorporation of physician advice into healthcare quality assessment may improve the usefulness of healthcare quality indicators for patients. Assessment tools incorporating physician advice should be developed and validated.

Nitric oxide therapies for local inhibition of platelets' activitation on blood-contacting surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amoako, Kagya Agyeman

Blood-contacting devices interact with blood during their function much like the endothelium that modulates hemostasis. The surfaces of these devices however, lack endothelial-like properties, and consequently, upon blood contact, activate clotting factors to form clots. Systemic heparinization for inhibiting clot formation can cause bleeding and surface coatings show insignificant benefits. This research investigated nitric oxide (NO) production mimicry of the endothehum on artificial lungs (ALs) and pediatric catheters. Their surfaces were functionalized either by (1) entrapping NO donors inside their bulk, (2) incorporating catalysts to generate NO from NO-donors or (3) supplementing NO into sweep gas of artificial lungs. Pediatric catheters functionalized with NO-donor thin coats using method 1 is limited by short NO release duration. Method 2 has not been applied to large surface-area, low-flow devices like the AL. In this work NO-generating silicone membranes were synthesized and characterized to determine the relationship between surface properties, NO flux, and blood clotting time. These outcomes helped develop and optimize NO-generating gas-exchange silicone fibers that represent the majority of ALs surface area. The first NO-generating AL prototypes, using those fibers, were manufactured, incorporated into NO-generating circuits and tested for their non-thrombogenicity. To test for NO-release duration and non-thrombogenicity, catheters were fabricated to incorporate NO-donors inside their walls, characterized for NO flux and release duration by chemilumincscence, and tested for patency using a thrombogenicity model in rabbits. Methods 1-2 involve material modification using complicated and expensive chemical formulations and/or manufacturing. Method 3 however, functionalizes ALs by only adding NO into sweep gas. Decade-long anti-clotting testing using a wide range of NO concentrations has been conducted without knowledge of what concentration yields endothelial NO flux levels in the AL. This concentration was determined for the MC3 Biolung and the Terumo capiox rx25 ALs in vitro. All these ideas have shown positive results in short-term studies, and each may play a necessary role in inhibiting clot formation in future ALs. The sufficiency however, of each idea or of a combination for clot inhibition in long-term ALs remains to be determined.

Concurrent protein synthesis is required for in vivo chitin synthesis in postmolt blue crabs

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

Horst, M.N.

1990-12-01

Chitin synthesis in crustaceans involves the deposition of a protein-polysaccharide complex at the apical surface of epithelial cells which secrete the cuticle or exoskeleton. The present study involves an examination of in vivo incorporation of radiolabeled amino acids and amino sugars into the cuticle of postmolt blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus. Rates of incorporation of both 3H leucine and 3H threonine were linear with respect to time of incubation. Incorporation of 3H threonine into the endocuticle was inhibited greater than 90% in the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitor, puromycin. Linear incorporation of 14C glucosamine into the cuticle was also demonstrated;more » a significant improvement of radiolabeling was achieved by using 14C-N-acetylglucosamine as the labeled precursor. Incorporation of 3H-N-acetylglucosamine into the cuticle of postmolt blue crabs was inhibited 89% by puromycin, indicating that concurrent protein synthesis is required for the deposition of chitin in the blue crab. Autoradiographic analysis of control vs. puromycin-treated crabs indicates that puromycin totally blocks labeling of the new endocuticle with 3H glucosamine. These results are consistent with the notion that crustacean chitin is synthesized as a protein-polysaccharide complex. Analysis of the postmolt and intermolt blue crab cuticle indicates that the exoskeleton contains about 60% protein and 40% chitin. The predominant amino acids are arginine, glutamic acid, alanine, aspartic acid, and threonine.« less

Pennies and Eggs: Initiation into Inquiry Learning for Preservice Elementary Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wink, Donald J.; Hwang-Choe, Jeong Hye

2008-01-01

Two labs incorporating the Science Writing Heuristic are described that introduce scientific inquiry in a course for preservice students majoring in elementary education. One lab adapts a previously described discovery learning opportunity involving the change in composition and mass of pennies in 1982. The other involves the use of flotation…

Queer & Ally Youth Involvement in the Fair Wisconsin Campaign

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stiegler, Sam

2008-01-01

This article discusses the role and experience of queer youth and allies in the Fair Wisconsin campaign that fought against the marriage amendment to that state's constitution. It illustrates how LGBT and ally youth involvement can be incorporated into other organizations. Following an explanation of the campaign, are narratives of two…

Sensing/actuating materials made from carbon nanotube polymer composites and methods for making same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ounaies, Zoubeida (Inventor); Park, Cheol (Inventor); Harrison, Joycelyn S. (Inventor); Holloway, Nancy M. (Inventor); Draughon, Gregory K. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

An electroactive sensing or actuating material comprises a composite made from a polymer with polarizable moieties and an effective amount of carbon nanotubes incorporated in the polymer for a predetermined electromechanical operation of the composite when such composite is affected by an external stimulus. In another embodiment, the composite comprises a third component of micro-sized to nano-sized particles of an electroactive ceramic that is also incorporated in the polymer matrix. The method for making the three-phase composite comprises either incorporating the carbon nanotubes in the polymer matrix before incorporation of the particles of ceramic or mixing the carbon nanotubes and particles of ceramic together in a solution before incorporation in the polymer matrix.

Method of Making an Electroactive Sensing/Actuating Material for Carbon Nanotube Polymer Composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ounaies, Zoubeida (Inventor); Park, Cheol (Inventor); Harrison, Joycelyn S. (Inventor); Holloway, Nancy M. (Inventor); Draughon, Gregory K. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

An electroactive sensing or actuating material comprises a composite made from a polymer with polarizable moieties and an effective amount of carbon nanotubes incorporated in the polymer for a predetermined electromechanical operation of the composite when such composite is affected by an external stimulus. In another embodiment, the composite comprises a, third component of micro -sized to nano-sized particles of an electroactive ceramic that is also incorporated in the polymer matrix. The method for making the three-phase composite comprises either incorporating the carbon nanotubes in the polymer matrix before incorporation of the particles of ceramic or mixing the carbon nanotubes and particles of ceramic together in a solution before incorporation in the polymer matrix.

An Enzymatic Clinical Chemistry Laboratory Experiment Incorporating an Introduction to Mathematical Method Comparison Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duxbury, Mark

2004-01-01

An enzymatic laboratory experiment based on the analysis of serum is described that is suitable for students of clinical chemistry. The experiment incorporates an introduction to mathematical method-comparison techniques in which three different clinical glucose analysis methods are compared using linear regression and Bland-Altman difference…

Going Beyond the Norm: The Case for Incorporating Evaluative Mediation into Department of Defense Employment Discrimination Complaints

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

Incorporating Evaluative Mediation into Department of Defense Employment Discrimination Complaints By Thomas A...to resolve the dispute and does not evaluate the actual merits of a complaint. This can be problematic when an employee has filed a workplace...complaint based on illegal discrimination with the Equal Opportunity Office. Evaluative mediation involves having a mediator with expertise in labor and

Process for depositing an oxide epitaxially onto a silicon substrate and structures prepared with the process

DOEpatents

McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick J.

1993-01-01

A process and structure involving a silicon substrate utilizes an ultra high vacuum and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) methods to grow an epitaxial oxide film upon a surface of the substrate. As the film is grown, the lattice of the compound formed at the silicon interface becomes stabilized, and a base layer comprised of an oxide having a sodium chloride-type lattice structure grows epitaxially upon the compound so as to cover the substrate surface. A perovskite may then be grown epitaxially upon the base layer to render a product which incorporates silicon, with its electronic capabilities, with a perovskite having technologically-significant properties of its own.

Competencies for the provision of comprehensive medication management services in an experiential learning project

PubMed Central

de Freitas, Erika Lourenço; Ramalho de Oliveira, Djenane

2017-01-01

Objective To understand students’ and tutors’ perceptions of the development of clinical competencies for the delivery of comprehensive medication management services in an experiential learning project linked to a Brazilian school of pharmacy. Methods An autoethnographic qualitative study was carried out based on participant observation, focus groups and individual interviews with students and tutors involved in an experiential learning project. Results The study revealed the development of competencies related to the philosophy of practice, the pharmacotherapy workup of drug therapy and interprofessional relationships. Conclusions The experiential learning project contributed to the professional development of pharmacy students in pharmaceutical care practice, pointing to its potential benefits for incorporation into professional pharmacy curricula. PMID:28950021

Wavelength calibration of arc spectra using intensity modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balona, L. A.

2010-12-01

Wavelength calibration for astronomical spectra usually involves the use of different arc lamps for different resolving powers to reduce the problem of line blending. We present a technique which eliminates the necessity of different lamps. A lamp producing a very rich spectrum, normally used only at high resolving powers, can be used at the lowest resolving power as well. This is accomplished by modelling the observed arc spectrum and solving for the wavelength calibration as part of the modelling procedure. Line blending is automatically incorporated as part of the model. The method has been implemented and successfully tested on spectra taken with the Robert Stobie spectrograph of the Southern African Large Telescope.

Collaborative action research: implementation of cooperative learning.

PubMed

Smith-Stoner, Marilyn; Molle, Mary E

2010-06-01

Nurse educators must continually improve their teaching skills through innovation. However, research about the process used by faculty members to transform their teaching methods is limited. This collaborative study uses classroom action research to describe, analyze, and address problems encountered in implementing cooperative learning in two undergraduate nursing courses. After four rounds of action and reflection, the following themes emerged: students did not understand the need for structured cooperative learning; classroom structure and seating arrangement influenced the effectiveness of activities; highly structured activities engaged the students; and short, targeted activities that involved novel content were most effective. These findings indicate that designing specific activities to prepare students for class is critical to cooperative learning. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Incorporating external evidence in trial-based cost-effectiveness analyses: the use of resampling methods.

PubMed

Sadatsafavi, Mohsen; Marra, Carlo; Aaron, Shawn; Bryan, Stirling

2014-06-03

Cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) that use patient-specific data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) are popular, yet such CEAs are criticized because they neglect to incorporate evidence external to the trial. A popular method for quantifying uncertainty in a RCT-based CEA is the bootstrap. The objective of the present study was to further expand the bootstrap method of RCT-based CEA for the incorporation of external evidence. We utilize the Bayesian interpretation of the bootstrap and derive the distribution for the cost and effectiveness outcomes after observing the current RCT data and the external evidence. We propose simple modifications of the bootstrap for sampling from such posterior distributions. In a proof-of-concept case study, we use data from a clinical trial and incorporate external evidence on the effect size of treatments to illustrate the method in action. Compared to the parametric models of evidence synthesis, the proposed approach requires fewer distributional assumptions, does not require explicit modeling of the relation between external evidence and outcomes of interest, and is generally easier to implement. A drawback of this approach is potential computational inefficiency compared to the parametric Bayesian methods. The bootstrap method of RCT-based CEA can be extended to incorporate external evidence, while preserving its appealing features such as no requirement for parametric modeling of cost and effectiveness outcomes.

Method for incorporating radioactive phosphoric acid solutions in concrete

DOEpatents

Wolf, G.A.; Smith, J.W.; Ihle, N.C.

1982-07-08

A method for incorporating radioactive phosphoric acid solutions in concrete is described wherein the phosphoric acid is reacted with Ca(OH)/sub 2/ to form a precipitate of hydroxyapatite and the hydroxyapatite is mixed with Portland cement to form concrete.

Method for incorporating radioactive phosphoric acid solutions in concrete

DOEpatents

Wolf, Gary A [Kennewick, WA; Smith, Jeffrey W [Lancaster, OH; Ihle, Nathan C [Walla Walla, WA

1984-01-01

A method for incorporating radioactive phosphoric acid solutions in concrete is described wherein the phosphoric acid is reacted with Ca(OH).sub.2 to form a precipitate of hydroxyapatite and the hydroxyapatite is mixed with portland cement to form concrete.

9 CFR 77.1 - Material incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AGRICULTURE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TUBERCULOSIS General Provisions § 77.1 Material incorporated by reference. Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication. The Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication (January 22, 1999, edition) has...

Genetic transformation in citrus: Thinking outside the box

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Conventional breeding methods to incorporate resistance in citrus are very slow, due to extended juvenility from seedling trees and multiple generations needed to incorporate resistance from distant relatives. Use of transgenic methods may provide disease resistance in less time. Published protocols...

9 CFR 77.1 - Material incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AGRICULTURE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TUBERCULOSIS General Provisions § 77.1 Material incorporated by reference. Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication. The Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication (January 22, 1999, edition) has...

9 CFR 77.1 - Material incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AGRICULTURE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TUBERCULOSIS General Provisions § 77.1 Material incorporated by reference. Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication. The Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication (January 22, 1999, edition) has...

9 CFR 77.1 - Material incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AGRICULTURE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TUBERCULOSIS General Provisions § 77.1 Material incorporated by reference. Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication. The Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication (January 22, 1999, edition) has...

9 CFR 77.1 - Material incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AGRICULTURE INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF ANIMALS (INCLUDING POULTRY) AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS TUBERCULOSIS General Provisions § 77.1 Material incorporated by reference. Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication. The Uniform Methods and Rules—Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication (January 22, 1999, edition) has...

Analysis of Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method of Landfill Site Selection for Municipal Solid Waste Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, Habiba Ibrahim; Majid, Zulkepli; Yusof, Norhakim Bin; Bello Yamusa, Yamusa

2018-03-01

Landfilling remains the most common systematic technique of solid waste disposal in most of the developed and developing countries. Finding a suitable site for landfill is a very challenging task. Landfill site selection process aims to provide suitable areas that will protect the environment and public health from pollution and hazards. Therefore, various factors such as environmental, physical, socio-economic, and geological criteria must be considered before siting any landfill. This makes the site selection process vigorous and tedious because it involves the processing of large amount of spatial data, rules and regulations from different agencies and also policy from decision makers. This allows the incorporation of conflicting objectives and decision maker preferences into spatial decision models. This paper particularly analyzes the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method of landfill site selection for solid waste management by means of literature reviews and surveys. The study will help the decision makers and waste management authorities to choose the most effective method when considering landfill site selection.

Numerical Modelling of Three-Fluid Flow Using The Level-set Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hongying; Lou, Jing; Shang, Zhi

2014-11-01

This work presents a numerical model for simulation of three-fluid flow involving two different moving interfaces. These interfaces are captured using the level-set method via two different level-set functions. A combined formulation with only one set of conservation equations for the whole physical domain, consisting of the three different immiscible fluids, is employed. Numerical solution is performed on a fixed mesh using the finite volume method. Surface tension effect is incorporated using the Continuum Surface Force model. Validation of the present model is made against available results for stratified flow and rising bubble in a container with a free surface. Applications of the present model are demonstrated by a variety of three-fluid flow systems including (1) three-fluid stratified flow, (2) two-fluid stratified flow carrying the third fluid in the form of drops and (3) simultaneous rising and settling of two drops in a stationary third fluid. The work is supported by a Thematic and Strategic Research from A*STAR, Singapore (Ref. #: 1021640075).

Remote Operations of the Deep Space Network Radio Science Subsystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caetta, J.; Asmar, S.; Abbate, S.; Connally, M.; Goltz, G.

1998-04-01

The capability for scientists to remotely control systems located at the Deep Space Network facilities only recently has been incorporated in the design and implementation of new equipment. However, time lines for the implementation, distribution, and operational readiness of such systems can extend much farther into the future than the users can wait. The Radio Science Systems Group was faced with just that circumstance; new hardware was not scheduled to become operational for several years, but the increasing number of experiments and configurations for Cassini, Galileo, Mars missions, and other flight projects made that time frame impractical because of the associated increasing risk of not acquiring critical data. Therefore, a method of interfacing with the current radio science subsystem has been developed and used with a high degree of success, although with occasional problems due to this capability not having been originally designed into the system. This article discusses both the method and the problems involved in integrating this new (remote) method of control with a legacy system.

Measurements of Gluconeogenesis and Glycogenolysis: A Methodological Review.

PubMed

Chung, Stephanie T; Chacko, Shaji K; Sunehag, Agneta L; Haymond, Morey W

2015-12-01

Gluconeogenesis is a complex metabolic process that involves multiple enzymatic steps regulated by myriad factors, including substrate concentrations, the redox state, activation and inhibition of specific enzyme steps, and hormonal modulation. At present, the most widely accepted technique to determine gluconeogenesis is by measuring the incorporation of deuterium from the body water pool into newly formed glucose. However, several techniques using radioactive and stable-labeled isotopes have been used to quantitate the contribution and regulation of gluconeogenesis in humans. Each method has its advantages, methodological assumptions, and set of propagated errors. In this review, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of the most commonly used stable isotopes methods to measure gluconeogenesis in vivo. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and summarize the applicability of these measurements in understanding normal and pathophysiological conditions. © 2015 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

Covalent Chemical 5'-Functionalization of RNA with Diazo Reagents.

PubMed

Gampe, Christian M; Hollis-Symynkywicz, Micah; Zécri, Frédéric

2016-08-22

Functionalization of RNA at the 5'-terminus is important for analytical and therapeutic purposes. Currently, these RNAs are synthesized de novo starting with a chemically functionalized 5'-nucleotide, which is incorporated into RNA using chemical synthesis or biochemical techniques. Methods for direct chemical modification of native RNA would provide an attractive alternative but are currently underexplored. Herein, we report that diazo compounds can be used to selectively alkylate the 5'-phosphate of ribo(oligo)nucleotides to give RNA labelled through a native phosphate ester bond. We applied this method to functionalize oligonucleotides with biotin and an orthosteric inhibitor of the eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), an enzyme involved in mRNA recognition. The modified RNA binds to eIF4E, demonstrating the utility of this labelling technique to modulate biological activity of RNA. This method complements existing techniques and may be used to chemically introduce a broad range of functional handles at the 5'-end of RNA. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Routinely collected data as a strategic resource for research: priorities for methods and workforce.

PubMed

Jorm, Louisa

2015-09-30

In the era of 'big data', research using routinely collected data offers greater potential than ever before to drive health system effectiveness and efficiency, and population health improvement. In Australia, the policy environment, and emerging frameworks and processes for data governance and access, increasingly support the use of routinely collected data for research. Capitalising on this strategic resource requires investment in both research methods and research workforce. Priorities for methods development include validation studies, techniques for analysing complex longitudinal data, exploration of bias introduced through linkage error, and a robust toolkit to evaluate policies and programs using 'natural experiments'. Priorities for workforce development include broadening the skills base of the existing research workforce, and the formation of new, larger, interdisciplinary research teams to incorporate capabilities in computer science, partnership research, research translation and the 'business' aspects of research. Large-scale, long-term partnership approaches involving government, industry and researchers offer the most promising way to maximise returns on investment in research using routinely collected data.

PHT3D-UZF: A reactive transport model for variably-saturated porous media

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wu, Ming Zhi; Post, Vincent E. A.; Salmon, S. Ursula; Morway, Eric D.; Prommer, H.

2016-01-01

A modified version of the MODFLOW/MT3DMS-based reactive transport model PHT3D was developed to extend current reactive transport capabilities to the variably-saturated component of the subsurface system and incorporate diffusive reactive transport of gaseous species. Referred to as PHT3D-UZF, this code incorporates flux terms calculated by MODFLOW's unsaturated-zone flow (UZF1) package. A volume-averaged approach similar to the method used in UZF-MT3DMS was adopted. The PHREEQC-based computation of chemical processes within PHT3D-UZF in combination with the analytical solution method of UZF1 allows for comprehensive reactive transport investigations (i.e., biogeochemical transformations) that jointly involve saturated and unsaturated zone processes. Intended for regional-scale applications, UZF1 simulates downward-only flux within the unsaturated zone. The model was tested by comparing simulation results with those of existing numerical models. The comparison was performed for several benchmark problems that cover a range of important hydrological and reactive transport processes. A 2D simulation scenario was defined to illustrate the geochemical evolution following dewatering in a sandy acid sulfate soil environment. Other potential applications include the simulation of biogeochemical processes in variably-saturated systems that track the transport and fate of agricultural pollutants, nutrients, natural and xenobiotic organic compounds and micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, as well as the evolution of isotope patterns.

Automated use of mutagenesis data in structure prediction.

PubMed

Nanda, Vikas; DeGrado, William F

2005-05-15

In the absence of experimental structural determination, numerous methods are available to indirectly predict or probe the structure of a target molecule. Genetic modification of a protein sequence is a powerful tool for identifying key residues involved in binding reactions or protein stability. Mutagenesis data is usually incorporated into the modeling process either through manual inspection of model compatibility with empirical data, or through the generation of geometric constraints linking sensitive residues to a binding interface. We present an approach derived from statistical studies of lattice models for introducing mutation information directly into the fitness score. The approach takes into account the phenotype of mutation (neutral or disruptive) and calculates the energy for a given structure over an ensemble of sequences. The structure prediction procedure searches for the optimal conformation where neutral sequences either have no impact or improve stability and disruptive sequences reduce stability relative to wild type. We examine three types of sequence ensembles: information from saturation mutagenesis, scanning mutagenesis, and homologous proteins. Incorporating multiple sequences into a statistical ensemble serves to energetically separate the native state and misfolded structures. As a result, the prediction of structure with a poor force field is sufficiently enhanced by mutational information to improve accuracy. Furthermore, by separating misfolded conformations from the target score, the ensemble energy serves to speed up conformational search algorithms such as Monte Carlo-based methods. Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A powerful and flexible approach to the analysis of RNA sequence count data

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yi-Hui; Xia, Kai; Wright, Fred A.

2011-01-01

Motivation: A number of penalization and shrinkage approaches have been proposed for the analysis of microarray gene expression data. Similar techniques are now routinely applied to RNA sequence transcriptional count data, although the value of such shrinkage has not been conclusively established. If penalization is desired, the explicit modeling of mean–variance relationships provides a flexible testing regimen that ‘borrows’ information across genes, while easily incorporating design effects and additional covariates. Results: We describe BBSeq, which incorporates two approaches: (i) a simple beta-binomial generalized linear model, which has not been extensively tested for RNA-Seq data and (ii) an extension of an expression mean–variance modeling approach to RNA-Seq data, involving modeling of the overdispersion as a function of the mean. Our approaches are flexible, allowing for general handling of discrete experimental factors and continuous covariates. We report comparisons with other alternate methods to handle RNA-Seq data. Although penalized methods have advantages for very small sample sizes, the beta-binomial generalized linear model, combined with simple outlier detection and testing approaches, appears to have favorable characteristics in power and flexibility. Availability: An R package containing examples and sample datasets is available at http://www.bios.unc.edu/research/genomic_software/BBSeq Contact: yzhou@bios.unc.edu; fwright@bios.unc.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:21810900

Static aeroelastic analysis of wings using Euler/Navier-Stokes equations coupled with improved wing-box finite element structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guruswamy, Guru P.; MacMurdy, Dale E.; Kapania, Rakesh K.

1994-01-01

Strong interactions between flow about an aircraft wing and the wing structure can result in aeroelastic phenomena which significantly impact aircraft performance. Time-accurate methods for solving the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations have matured to the point where reliable results can be obtained with reasonable computational costs for complex non-linear flows with shock waves, vortices and separations. The ability to combine such a flow solver with a general finite element structural model is key to an aeroelastic analysis in these flows. Earlier work involved time-accurate integration of modal structural models based on plate elements. A finite element model was developed to handle three-dimensional wing boxes, and incorporated into the flow solver without the need for modal analysis. Static condensation is performed on the structural model to reduce the structural degrees of freedom for the aeroelastic analysis. Direct incorporation of the finite element wing-box structural model with the flow solver requires finding adequate methods for transferring aerodynamic pressures to the structural grid and returning deflections to the aerodynamic grid. Several schemes were explored for handling the grid-to-grid transfer of information. The complex, built-up nature of the wing-box complicated this transfer. Aeroelastic calculations for a sample wing in transonic flow comparing various simple transfer schemes are presented and discussed.

Use of concurrent mixed methods combining concept mapping and focus groups to adapt a health equity tool in Canada.

PubMed

Guichard, Anne; Tardieu, Émilie; Dagenais, Christian; Nour, Kareen; Lafontaine, Ginette; Ridde, Valéry

2017-04-01

The aim of this project was to identify and prioritize a set of conditions to be considered for incorporating a health equity tool into public health practice. Concept mapping and focus groups were implemented as complementary methods to investigate the conditions of use of a health equity tool by public health organizations in Quebec. Using a hybrid integrated research design is a richer way to address the complexity of questions emerging from intervention and planning settings. This approach provides a deeper, operational, and contextualized understanding of research results involving different professional and organizational cultures, and thereby supports the decision-making process. Concept mapping served to identify and prioritize in a limited timeframe the conditions to be considered for incorporation into a health equity tool into public health practices. Focus groups then provided a more refined understanding of the barriers, issues, and facilitating factors surrounding the tools adoption, helped distinguish among participants' perspectives based on functional roles and organizational contexts, and clarified some apparently contradictory results from the concept map. The combined use of these two techniques brought the strengths of each approach to bear, thereby overcoming some of the respective limitations of concept mapping and focus groups. This design is appropriate for investigating targets with multiple levels of complexity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new approach to mixed H2/H infinity controller synthesis using gradient-based parameter optimization methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ly, Uy-Loi; Schoemig, Ewald

1993-01-01

In the past few years, the mixed H(sub 2)/H-infinity control problem has been the object of much research interest since it allows the incorporation of robust stability into the LQG framework. The general mixed H(sub 2)/H-infinity design problem has yet to be solved analytically. Numerous schemes have considered upper bounds for the H(sub 2)-performance criterion and/or imposed restrictive constraints on the class of systems under investigation. Furthermore, many modern control applications rely on dynamic models obtained from finite-element analysis and thus involve high-order plant models. Hence the capability to design low-order (fixed-order) controllers is of great importance. In this research a new design method was developed that optimizes the exact H(sub 2)-norm of a certain subsystem subject to robust stability in terms of H-infinity constraints and a minimal number of system assumptions. The derived algorithm is based on a differentiable scalar time-domain penalty function to represent the H-infinity constraints in the overall optimization. The scheme is capable of handling multiple plant conditions and hence multiple performance criteria and H-infinity constraints and incorporates additional constraints such as fixed-order and/or fixed structure controllers. The defined penalty function is applicable to any constraint that is expressible in form of a real symmetric matrix-inequity.

Method for disposing of hazardous wastes

DOEpatents

Burton, Frederick G.; Cataldo, Dominic A.; Cline, John F.; Skiens, W. Eugene

1995-01-01

A method and system for long-term control of root growth without killing the plants bearing those roots involves incorporating a 2,6-dinitroaniline in a polymer and disposing the polymer in an area in which root control is desired. This results in controlled release of the substituted aniline herbicide over a period of many years. Herbicides of this class have the property of preventing root elongation without translocating into other parts of the plant. The herbicide may be encapsulated in the polymer or mixed with it. The polymer-herbicide mixture may be formed into pellets, sheets, pipe gaskets, pipes for carrying water, or various other forms. The invention may be applied to other protection of buried hazardous wastes, protection of underground pipes, prevention of root intrusion beneath slabs, the dwarfing of trees or shrubs and other applications. The preferred herbicide is 4-difluoromethyl-N,N-dipropyl- 2,6-dinitro-aniline, commonly known as trifluralin.

High-throughput Titration of Luciferase-expressing Recombinant Viruses

PubMed Central

Garcia, Vanessa; Krishnan, Ramya; Davis, Colin; Batenchuk, Cory; Le Boeuf, Fabrice; Abdelbary, Hesham; Diallo, Jean-Simon

2014-01-01

Standard plaque assays to determine infectious viral titers can be time consuming, are not amenable to a high volume of samples, and cannot be done with viruses that do not form plaques. As an alternative to plaque assays, we have developed a high-throughput titration method that allows for the simultaneous titration of a high volume of samples in a single day. This approach involves infection of the samples with a Firefly luciferase tagged virus, transfer of the infected samples onto an appropriate permissive cell line, subsequent addition of luciferin, reading of plates in order to obtain luminescence readings, and finally the conversion from luminescence to viral titers. The assessment of cytotoxicity using a metabolic viability dye can be easily incorporated in the workflow in parallel and provide valuable information in the context of a drug screen. This technique provides a reliable, high-throughput method to determine viral titers as an alternative to a standard plaque assay. PMID:25285536

A rapid and sensitive method for the quantitation of montelukast in sheep plasma using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Papp, Robert; Luk, Pauline; Mullett, Wayne M; Kwong, Elizabeth

2007-10-15

A rapid LC-MS/MS method was developed and partially validated for the quantitation of montelukast in spiked sheep plasma. A total run time of 1.5 min was achieved using a short monolithic column and employing a rapid gradient. Sample preparation involved protein precipitation with twofold acetonitrile by volume during which a deuterated internal standard (montelukast D-6) was incorporated. The MRM transitions for montelukast and the deuterated internal standard were 586/422 and 592/427, respectively. A linear dynamic range of 0.25-500 ng/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 was achieved. Precision was below 5% at all levels except at the LOQ (0.36 ng/mL) which demonstrated an overall of R.S.D. of 8%. Post-column infusion experiments were performed with precipitated plasma matrix and showed minimal interference with the peaks of interest.

Implanted neural network potentials: Application to Li-Si alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onat, Berk; Cubuk, Ekin D.; Malone, Brad D.; Kaxiras, Efthimios

2018-03-01

Modeling the behavior of materials composed of elements with different bonding and electronic structure character for large spatial and temporal scales and over a large compositional range is a challenging problem. Cases in point are amorphous alloys of Si, a prototypical covalent material, and Li, a prototypical metal, which are being considered as anodes for high-energy-density batteries. To address this challenge, we develop a methodology based on neural networks that extends the conventional training approach to incorporate pre-trained parts that capture the character of different components, into the overall network; we refer to this model as the "implanted neural network" method. We show that this approach works well for the Si-Li amorphous alloys for a wide range of compositions, giving good results for key quantities like the diffusion coefficients. The method is readily generalizable to more complicated situations that involve two or more different elements.

Approach for Input Uncertainty Propagation and Robust Design in CFD Using Sensitivity Derivatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putko, Michele M.; Taylor, Arthur C., III; Newman, Perry A.; Green, Lawrence L.

2002-01-01

An implementation of the approximate statistical moment method for uncertainty propagation and robust optimization for quasi 3-D Euler CFD code is presented. Given uncertainties in statistically independent, random, normally distributed input variables, first- and second-order statistical moment procedures are performed to approximate the uncertainty in the CFD output. Efficient calculation of both first- and second-order sensitivity derivatives is required. In order to assess the validity of the approximations, these moments are compared with statistical moments generated through Monte Carlo simulations. The uncertainties in the CFD input variables are also incorporated into a robust optimization procedure. For this optimization, statistical moments involving first-order sensitivity derivatives appear in the objective function and system constraints. Second-order sensitivity derivatives are used in a gradient-based search to successfully execute a robust optimization. The approximate methods used throughout the analyses are found to be valid when considering robustness about input parameter mean values.

Ice-shell purification of ice-binding proteins.

PubMed

Marshall, Craig J; Basu, Koli; Davies, Peter L

2016-06-01

Ice-affinity purification is a simple and efficient method of purifying to homogeneity both natural and recombinant ice-binding proteins. The purification involves the incorporation of ice-binding proteins into slowly-growing ice and the exclusion of other proteins and solutes. In previous approaches, the ice was grown around a hollow brass finger through which coolant was circulated. We describe here an easily-constructed apparatus that employs ice affinity purification that not only shortens the time for purification from 1-2 days to 1-2 h, but also enhances yield and purity. In this apparatus, the surface area for the separation was increased by extracting the ice-binding proteins into an ice-shell formed inside a rotating round-bottom flask partially submerged in a sub-zero bath. In principle, any ice-binding compound can be recovered from liquid solution, and the method is readily scalable. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Reflections on ethnography in the emergency department].

PubMed

Aredes, Janaína de Souza; Firmo, Josélia Oliveira Araújo; Leibing, Annette; Giacomin, Karla Cristina

2017-09-28

: Ethnography is the principal research method in Anthropology. With a broad scope, it allows using different data collection techniques and incorporates elements observed and obtained in the field into the analysis. In Public Health, it can contribute to understanding the health/disease process and health professionals' and patients' values and attitudes in different healthcare settings. The aim of this article is to present and discuss the ethnographic method based on an empirical study of physicians' hospital work in the face of the limits between life and death. Data collection involved nine months of participant observation and interviews with 43 physicians (25 men and 18 women), 28 to 69 years of age, treating critical patients in different departments of a metropolitan emergency hospital. The various social and cultural aspects experienced by the researcher and obtained from the interlocutors in the field provide a dense description of this hospital ethnography.

Modelling accelerated degradation data using Wiener diffusion with a time scale transformation.

PubMed

Whitmore, G A; Schenkelberg, F

1997-01-01

Engineering degradation tests allow industry to assess the potential life span of long-life products that do not fail readily under accelerated conditions in life tests. A general statistical model is presented here for performance degradation of an item of equipment. The degradation process in the model is taken to be a Wiener diffusion process with a time scale transformation. The model incorporates Arrhenius extrapolation for high stress testing. The lifetime of an item is defined as the time until performance deteriorates to a specified failure threshold. The model can be used to predict the lifetime of an item or the extent of degradation of an item at a specified future time. Inference methods for the model parameters, based on accelerated degradation test data, are presented. The model and inference methods are illustrated with a case application involving self-regulating heating cables. The paper also discusses a number of practical issues encountered in applications.

Acousto-ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation of materials using laser beam generation and detection. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huber, Robert D.; Green, Robert E., Jr.

1990-01-01

The acousto-ultrasonic method has proven to be a most interesting technique for nondestructive evaluation of the mechanical properties of a variety of materials. Use of the technique or a modification thereof, has led to correlation of the associated stress wave factor with mechanical properties of both metals and composite materials. The method is applied to the nondestructive evaluation of selected fiber reinforced structural composites. For the first time, conventional piezoelectric transducers were replaced with laser beam ultrasonic generators and detectors. This modification permitted true non-contact acousto-ultrasonic measurements to be made, which yielded new information about the basic mechanisms involved as well as proved the feasibility of making such non-contact measurements on terrestrial and space structures and heat engine components. A state-of-the-art laser based acousto-ultrasonic system, incorporating a compact pulsed laser and a fiber-optic heterodyne interferometer, was delivered to the NASA Lewis Research Center.

An approach to constrained aerodynamic design with application to airfoils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, Richard L.

1992-01-01

An approach was developed for incorporating flow and geometric constraints into the Direct Iterative Surface Curvature (DISC) design method. In this approach, an initial target pressure distribution is developed using a set of control points. The chordwise locations and pressure levels of these points are initially estimated either from empirical relationships and observed characteristics of pressure distributions for a given class of airfoils or by fitting the points to an existing pressure distribution. These values are then automatically adjusted during the design process to satisfy the flow and geometric constraints. The flow constraints currently available are lift, wave drag, pitching moment, pressure gradient, and local pressure levels. The geometric constraint options include maximum thickness, local thickness, leading-edge radius, and a 'glove' constraint involving inner and outer bounding surfaces. This design method was also extended to include the successive constraint release (SCR) approach to constrained minimization.

Functionalized active-nucleus complex sensor

DOEpatents

Pines, Alexander; Wemmer, David E.; Spence, Megan; Rubin, Seth

2003-11-25

A functionalized active-nucleus complex sensor that selectively associates with one or more target species, and a method for assaying and screening for one or a plurality of target species utilizing one or a plurality of functionalized active-nucleus complexes with at least two of the functionalized active-nucleus complexes having an attraction affinity to different corresponding target species. The functionalized active-nucleus complex has an active-nucleus and a targeting carrier. The method involves functionalizing an active-nucleus, for each functionalized active-nucleus complex, by incorporating the active-nucleus into a macromolucular or molecular complex that is capable of binding one of the target species and then bringing the macromolecular or molecular complexes into contact with the target species and detecting the occurrence of or change in a nuclear magnetic resonance signal from each of the active-nuclei in each of the functionalized active-nucleus complexes.

Incorporating Feminism into Rehabilitation Counselor Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jeon, Mookyong

2015-01-01

Purpose: The author describes how rehabilitation counselor educators can incorporate the feminist perspective in teaching rehabilitation counselors-in-training by exploring history, core values, and training methods of feminism. Method: Based on a literature review, the author compares philosophy and concepts of rehabilitation counseling and…

Optical Coherence Tomography Findings in Endogenous Fungal Chorioretinitis, Retinitis, and Endophthalmitis.

PubMed

Stephens, John D; Adam, Murtaza K; Todorich, Bohzo; Faia, Lisa J; Garg, Sunir; Dunn, James P; Mehta, Sonia

2017-11-01

To describe spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings in eyes with endogenous fungal chorioretinitis and endophthalmitis. Retrospective, observational case series of subjects at Wills Eye Hospital and William Beaumont Hospital were identified by screening OCT billing data and cross-referencing with patient charts. Clinical and imaging data were collected for each patient and reviewed. Twelve eyes of seven consecutive patients were identified, demonstrating two patterns of posterior ocular involvement: chorioretinal infiltration and superficial retinal/retinal vascular infiltration without choroidal involvement. Six of 12 eyes had follow-up imaging performed after antifungal treatment, which demonstrated decreased size of choroidal and/or retinal infiltrates. All patients with follow-up imaging had anatomic improvement by OCT of the lesions with treatment. In the future, OCT imaging may provide a method to assess therapeutic response and prognosis for visual recovery in patients with endogenous fungal ocular disease. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017;48:894-901.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

What is a new drug worth? An innovative model for performance-based pricing.

PubMed

Dranitsaris, G; Dorward, K; Owens, R C; Schipper, H

2015-05-01

This article focuses on a novel method to derive prices for new pharmaceuticals by making price a function of drug performance. We briefly review current models for determining price for a new product and discuss alternatives that have historically been favoured by various funding bodies. The progressive approach to drug pricing, proposed herein, may better address the views and concerns of multiple stakeholders in a developed healthcare system by acknowledging and incorporating input from disparate parties via comprehensive and successive negotiation stages. In proposing a valid construct for performance-based pricing, the following model seeks to achieve several crucial objectives: earlier and wider access to new treatments; improved transparency in drug pricing; multi-stakeholder involvement through phased pricing negotiations; recognition of innovative product performance and latent changes in value; an earlier and more predictable return for developers without sacrificing total return on investment (ROI); more involved and informed risk sharing by the end-user. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Simulation and Analysis of Three-Phase Rectifiers for Aerospace Power Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truong, Long V.; Birchenough, Arthur G.

2004-01-01

Due to the nature of planned planetary missions, fairly large advanced power systems are required for the spacecraft. These future high power spacecrafts are expected to use dynamic power conversion systems incorporating high speed alternators as three-phase AC electrical power source. One of the early design considerations in such systems is the type of rectification to be used with the AC source for DC user loads. This paper address the issues involved with two different rectification methods, namely the conventional six and twelve pulses. Two circuit configurations which involved parallel combinations of the six and twelve-pulse rectifiers were selected for the simulation. The rectifier s input and output power waveforms will be thoroughly examined through simulations. The effects of the parasitic load for power balancing and filter components for reducing the ripple voltage at the DC loads are also included in the analysis. Details of the simulation circuits, simulation results, and design examples for reducing risk from damaging of spacecraft engines will be presented and discussed.

Functional properties and in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial effectiveness of pigskin gelatin films incorporated with hydrolysable chestnut tannin.

PubMed

Peña-Rodriguez, Cristina; Martucci, Josefa F; Neira, Laura M; Arbelaiz, Aitor; Eceiza, Arantxa; Ruseckaite, Roxana A

2015-04-01

The impact of the incorporation of 10% w/w of hydrolyzable chestnut tannin into pigskin gelatin (G) films plasticized with glycerol (Gly) on the physicochemical properties as well as the in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial effectiveness against food-borne pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus aureus was investigated. A higher tendency to both redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) coloration characterized gelatin films incorporated with chestnut tannin. The reduced lightness (L) and transparency of gelatin-chestnut tannin films plasticized with 30% w/w Gly might be associated with certain degree of phase separation which provoked the migration of the plasticizer to the film surface. The incorporation of chestnut tannin and glycerol affected the chemical structure of the resultant films due to the establishment of hydrogen interactions between components as revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. These interactions reduced gelatin crystallinity and seemed to be involved in the substantial decrease of the water uptake of films with tannin, irrespective of the glycerol level. Such interactions had minor effect on tensile properties being similar to those of the control films (without chestnut tannin) at the same glycerol level. Films modified with 10% w/w chestnut tannin showed significant (P < 0.05) 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, ca. from 0 ± 0.033 to 87.1 ± 0.002% for chestnut tannin-free and chestnut tannin-containing gelatin films. The limited inhibitory activity of films incorporated with 10% w/w chestnut tannin against the selected bacteria evidenced by disk diffusion method probably resulted from the interactions within the film restricting the diffusion of the active agent into the agar medium. The more modest protective effect observed against a Gram-positive bacterium (S. aureus) was also discussed. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Incorporating café design principles into End-of-Life discussions: an innovative method for continuing education.

PubMed

Kanaskie, Mary Louise

2011-04-01

Café design provides an innovative method for conducting continuing education activities. This method was chosen to elicit meaningful conversation based on issues related to End-of-Life care. Café design principles incorporate the following: setting the context, creating hospitable space, exploring questions that matter, encouraging everyone's contributions, connecting diverse perspectives, listening together for insights, and sharing collective discoveries. Key discussion questions were identified from the End-of Life Nursing Education Consortium Core Curriculum. Questions were revised to incorporate the principles of appreciative inquiry, which encourage a shift from traditional methods of problem identification to creation of a positive vision. Participants rated the café design method as an effective way to share their ideas and to stimulate conversation.

A method for encoding clinical datasets with SNOMED CT.

PubMed

Lee, Dennis H; Lau, Francis Y; Quan, Hue

2010-09-17

Over the past decade there has been a growing body of literature on how the Systematised Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) can be implemented and used in different clinical settings. Yet, for those charged with incorporating SNOMED CT into their organisation's clinical applications and vocabulary systems, there are few detailed encoding instructions and examples available to show how this can be done and the issues involved. This paper describes a heuristic method that can be used to encode clinical terms in SNOMED CT and an illustration of how it was applied to encode an existing palliative care dataset. The encoding process involves: identifying input data items; cleaning the data items; encoding the cleaned data items; and exporting the encoded terms as output term sets. Four outputs are produced: the SNOMED CT reference set; interface terminology set; SNOMED CT extension set and unencodeable term set. The original palliative care database contained 211 data elements, 145 coded values and 37,248 free text values. We were able to encode ~84% of the terms, another ~8% require further encoding and verification while terms that had a frequency of fewer than five were not encoded (~7%). From the pilot, it would seem our SNOMED CT encoding method has the potential to become a general purpose terminology encoding approach that can be used in different clinical systems.

40 CFR 109.5 - Development and implementation criteria for State, local and regional oil removal contingency plans.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... of all persons, organizations or agencies which are to be involved or could be involved in planning... the organizations and agencies to be notified when an oil discharge is discovered. (3) Provisions for access to a reliable communications system for timely notification of an oil discharge and incorporation...

Whole-School Approaches to Incorporating Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Supporting the Capacity for Optimal Functioning in School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kielty, Michele L.; Gilligan, Tammy D.; Staton, A. Renee

2017-01-01

With any intervention program, involving all stakeholders in a joint effort toward implementation is most likely to lead to success. Whole-school approaches that involve school personnel, students, families, and local communities have been associated with positive, sustained outcomes. For mindfulness training programs to generate the most…

The Effects of Involvement, Message Appeal, and Viewing Conditions on Memory and Evaluation of TV Commercials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Glen; Thorson, Esther

A study tested an information processing model that incorporates the concepts of episodic and semantic memory. The model was designed to provide for the concurrent study of three advertising and communication variables: product involvement, message appeal, and distraction in viewing conditions. Among the five hypotheses being tested were that…

Integrating ARCS Motivational Theory into the Component Display Theory of Instructional Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marovitz, Mitchell E.; Buckley, Jeanne

A two-stage study was conducted to determine the effects of motivational components in the learning experience. The first stage involved administration of a survey instrument to 150 teachers in the New York City area to obtain information on the means by which teachers incorporate motivation into their instruction. The second stage involved the…

Understanding the Culture of Low-Income Immigrant Latino Parents: Key to Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orozco, Graciela L.

2008-01-01

Schools often consider themselves experts in a child's education. While school personnel are trained to work with children and families and certainly have much experience in the matter, the perspective and values of low-income parents are not always understood nor incorporated into the school culture. Since parent involvement has been shown to…

Incorporating natural hazard assessments into municipal master-plans; case-studies from Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Oded

2010-05-01

The active Dead Sea Rift (DSR) runs along the length of Israel, making the entire state susceptible to earthquake-related hazards. Current building codes generally acknowledge seismic hazards and direct engineers towards earthquake-resistant structures. However, hazard mapping on a scale fit for municipal/governmental planning is subject to local initiative and is currently not mandatory as seems necessary. In the following, a few cases of seismic-hazard evaluation made by the Geological Survey of Israel are presented, emphasizing the reasons for their initiation and the way results were incorporated (or not). The first case is a seismic hazard qualitative micro-zonation invited by the municipality of Jerusalem as part of a new master plan. This work resulted in maps (1:50,000; GIS format) identifying areas prone to (1) amplification of seismic shaking due to site characteristics (outcrops of soft rocks or steep topography) and (2) sites with earthquake induced landslide (EILS) hazard. Results were validated using reports from the 1927, M=6.2 earthquake that originated along the DSR about 30km east of Jerusalem. Although the hazard maps were accepted by municipal authorities, practical use by geotechnical engineers working within the frame of the new master-plan was not significant. The main reason for that is apparently a difference of opinion between the city-engineers responsible for implementing the new master-plan and the geologists responsible of the hazard evaluation. The second case involves evaluation of EILS hazard for two towns located further north along the DSR, Zefat and Tiberias. Both were heavily damaged more than once by strong earthquakes in past centuries. Work was carried out as part of a governmental seismic-hazard reduction program. The results include maps (1:10,000 scales) of sites with high EILS hazard identified within city limits. Maps (in GIS format) were sent to city engineers with reports explaining the methods and results. As far as we know, widespread implementation of the maps within municipal master plans never came about, and there was no open discussion between city engineers and the Geological Survey. The main reasons apparently are (1) a lack, until recently, of mandatory building codes requiring incorporation of EILS hazard; (2) budget priorities; (3) failure to involve municipality personnel in planning and executing the EILS hazard evaluation. These cases demonstrate that for seismic hazard data to be incorporated and implemented within municipal master-plans there needs to be (1) active involvement of municipal officials and engineers from the early planning stages of the evaluation campaign, and (2) a-priori dedication of funds towards implementation of evaluation results.

An overview of patient involvement in healthcare decision-making: a situational analysis of the Malaysian context

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Involving patients in decision-making is an important part of patient-centred care. Research has found a discrepancy between patients’ desire to be involved and their actual involvement in healthcare decision-making. In Asia, there is a dearth of research in decision-making. Using Malaysia as an exemplar, this study aims to review the current research evidence, practices, policies, and laws with respect to patient engagement in shared decision-making (SDM) in Asia. Methods In this study, we conducted a comprehensive literature review to collect information on healthcare decision-making in Malaysia. We also consulted medical education researchers, key opinion leaders, governmental organisations, and patient support groups to assess the extent to which patient involvement was incorporated into the medical curriculum, healthcare policies, and legislation. Results There are very few studies on patient involvement in decision-making in Malaysia. Existing studies showed that doctors were aware of informed consent, but few practised SDM. There was limited teaching of SDM in undergraduate and postgraduate curricula and a lack of accurate and accessible health information for patients. In addition, peer support groups and 'expert patient’ programmes were also lacking. Professional medical bodies endorsed patient involvement in decision-making, but there was no definitive implementation plan. Conclusion In summary, there appears to be little training or research on SDM in Malaysia. More research needs to be done in this area, including baseline information on the preferred and actual decision-making roles. The authors have provided a set of recommendations on how SDM can be effectively implemented in Malaysia. PMID:24119237

Consideration of health inequalities in systematic reviews: a mapping review of guidance.

PubMed

Maden, Michelle

2016-11-28

Given that we know that interventions shown to be effective in improving the health of a population may actually widen the health inequalities gap while others reduce it, it is imperative that all systematic reviewers consider how the findings of their reviews may impact (reduce or increase) on the health inequality gap. This study reviewed existing guidance on incorporating considerations of health inequalities in systematic reviews in order to examine the extent to which they can help reviewers to incorporate such issues. A mapping review was undertaken to identify guidance documents that purported to inform reviewers on whether and how to incorporate considerations of health inequalities. Searches were undertaken in Medline, CINAHL and The Cochrane Library Methodology Register. Review guidance manuals prepared by international organisations engaged in undertaking systematic reviews, and their associated websites were scanned. Studies were included if they provided an overview or discussed the development and testing of guidance for dealing with the incorporation of considerations of health inequalities in evidence synthesis. Results are summarised in narrative and tabular forms. Twenty guidance documents published between 2009 and 2016 were included. Guidance has been produced to inform considerations of health inequalities at different stages of the systematic review process. The Campbell and Cochrane Equity Group have been instrumental in developing and promoting such guidance. Definitions of health inequalities and guidance differed across the included studies. All but one guidance document were transparent in their method of production. Formal methods of evaluation were reported for six guidance documents. Most of the guidance was operationalised in the form of examples taken from published systematic reviews. The number of guidance items to operationalise ranges from 3 up to 26 with a considerable overlap noted. Adhering to the guidance will require more work for the reviewers. It requires a deeper understanding of how reviewers can operationalise the guidance taking into consideration the barriers and facilitators involved. This has implications not only for understanding the usefulness and burden of the guidance but also for the uptake of guidance and its ultimate goal of improving health inequalities considerations in systematic reviews.

Stepwise group sparse regression (SGSR): gene-set-based pharmacogenomic predictive models with stepwise selection of functional priors.

PubMed

Jang, In Sock; Dienstmann, Rodrigo; Margolin, Adam A; Guinney, Justin

2015-01-01

Complex mechanisms involving genomic aberrations in numerous proteins and pathways are believed to be a key cause of many diseases such as cancer. With recent advances in genomics, elucidating the molecular basis of cancer at a patient level is now feasible, and has led to personalized treatment strategies whereby a patient is treated according to his or her genomic profile. However, there is growing recognition that existing treatment modalities are overly simplistic, and do not fully account for the deep genomic complexity associated with sensitivity or resistance to cancer therapies. To overcome these limitations, large-scale pharmacogenomic screens of cancer cell lines--in conjunction with modern statistical learning approaches--have been used to explore the genetic underpinnings of drug response. While these analyses have demonstrated the ability to infer genetic predictors of compound sensitivity, to date most modeling approaches have been data-driven, i.e. they do not explicitly incorporate domain-specific knowledge (priors) in the process of learning a model. While a purely data-driven approach offers an unbiased perspective of the data--and may yield unexpected or novel insights--this strategy introduces challenges for both model interpretability and accuracy. In this study, we propose a novel prior-incorporated sparse regression model in which the choice of informative predictor sets is carried out by knowledge-driven priors (gene sets) in a stepwise fashion. Under regularization in a linear regression model, our algorithm is able to incorporate prior biological knowledge across the predictive variables thereby improving the interpretability of the final model with no loss--and often an improvement--in predictive performance. We evaluate the performance of our algorithm compared to well-known regularization methods such as LASSO, Ridge and Elastic net regression in the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (Sanger) pharmacogenomics datasets, demonstrating that incorporation of the biological priors selected by our model confers improved predictability and interpretability, despite much fewer predictors, over existing state-of-the-art methods.

Comparison between two meshless methods based on collocation technique for the numerical solution of four-species tumor growth model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehghan, Mehdi; Mohammadi, Vahid

2017-03-01

As is said in [27], the tumor-growth model is the incorporation of nutrient within the mixture as opposed to being modeled with an auxiliary reaction-diffusion equation. The formulation involves systems of highly nonlinear partial differential equations of surface effects through diffuse-interface models [27]. Simulations of this practical model using numerical methods can be applied for evaluating it. The present paper investigates the solution of the tumor growth model with meshless techniques. Meshless methods are applied based on the collocation technique which employ multiquadrics (MQ) radial basis function (RBFs) and generalized moving least squares (GMLS) procedures. The main advantages of these choices come back to the natural behavior of meshless approaches. As well as, a method based on meshless approach can be applied easily for finding the solution of partial differential equations in high-dimension using any distributions of points on regular and irregular domains. The present paper involves a time-dependent system of partial differential equations that describes four-species tumor growth model. To overcome the time variable, two procedures will be used. One of them is a semi-implicit finite difference method based on Crank-Nicolson scheme and another one is based on explicit Runge-Kutta time integration. The first case gives a linear system of algebraic equations which will be solved at each time-step. The second case will be efficient but conditionally stable. The obtained numerical results are reported to confirm the ability of these techniques for solving the two and three-dimensional tumor-growth equations.

Landscape scale ecological monitoring as part of an EIA of major construction activities: experience at the Turkish section of the BTC crude oil pipeline project.

PubMed

Sahin, Sükran; Kurum, Ekrem

2009-09-01

Ecological monitoring is a complementary component of the overall environmental management and monitoring program of any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The monitoring method should be developed for each project phase and allow for periodic reporting and assessment of compliance with the environmental conditions and requirements of the EIA. Also, this method should incorporate a variance request program since site-specific conditions can affect construction on a daily basis and require time-critical application of alternative construction scenarios or environmental management methods integrated with alternative mitigation measures. Finally, taking full advantage of the latest information and communication technologies can enhance the quality of, and public involvement in, the environmental management program. In this paper, a landscape-scale ecological monitoring method for major construction projects is described using, as a basis, 20 months of experience on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Crude Oil Pipeline Project, covering Turkish Sections Lot B and Lot C. This analysis presents suggestions for improving ecological monitoring for major construction activities.

Advanced Sulfur-Silicon Full Cell Architecture for Lithium Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Ye, Rachel; Bell, Jeffrey; Patino, Daisy; Ahmed, Kazi; Ozkan, Mihri; Ozkan, Cengiz S

2017-12-08

Lithium-ion batteries are crucial to the future of energy storage. However, the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries is insufficient for future applications. Sulfur cathodes and silicon anodes have garnered a lot of attention in the field due their high capacity potential. Although recent developments in sulfur and silicon electrodes show exciting results in half cell formats, neither electrode can act as a lithium source when put together into a full cell format. Current methods toward incorporating lithium in sulfur-silicon full cells involves prelithiating silicon or using lithium sulfide. These methods however, complicate material processing and creates safety hazards. Herein, we present a novel full cell battery architecture that bypasses the issues associated with current methods. This battery architecture gradually integrates controlled amounts of pure lithium into the system by allowing lithium the access to external circuit. A high specific energy density of 350 Wh/kg after 250 cycles at C/10 was achieved using this method. This work should pave the way for future researches into sulfur-silicon full cells.

Poster — Thur Eve — 69: Computational Study of DVH-guided Cancer Treatment Planning Optimization Methods

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

Ghomi, Pooyan Shirvani; Zinchenko, Yuriy

2014-08-15

Purpose: To compare methods to incorporate the Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) curves into the treatment planning optimization. Method: The performance of three methods, namely, the conventional Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model, a convex moment-based constrained optimization approach, and an unconstrained convex moment-based penalty approach, is compared using anonymized data of a prostate cancer patient. Three plans we generated using the corresponding optimization models. Four Organs at Risk (OARs) and one Tumor were involved in the treatment planning. The OARs and Tumor were discretized into total of 50,221 voxels. The number of beamlets was 943. We used commercially available optimization softwaremore » Gurobi and Matlab to solve the models. Plan comparison was done by recording the model runtime followed by visual inspection of the resulting dose volume histograms. Conclusion: We demonstrate the effectiveness of the moment-based approaches to replicate the set of prescribed DVH curves. The unconstrained convex moment-based penalty approach is concluded to have the greatest potential to reduce the computational effort and holds a promise of substantial computational speed up.« less

Armored Enzyme Nanoparticles for Remediation of Subsurface Contaminants

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

Jonathan S. Dordick; Jay Grate; Jungbae Kim

2007-02-19

The remediation of subsurface contaminants is a critical problem for the Department of Energy, other government agencies, and our nation. Severe contamination of soil and groundwater exists at several DOE sites due to various methods of intentional and unintentional release. Given the difficulties involved in conventional removal or separation processes, it is vital to develop methods to transform contaminants and contaminated earth/water to reduce risks to human health and the environment. Transformation of the contaminants themselves may involve conversion to other immobile species that do not migrate into well water or surface waters, as is proposed for metals and radionuclides;more » or degradation to harmless molecules, as is desired for organic contaminants. Transformation of contaminated earth (as opposed to the contaminants themselves) may entail reductions in volume or release of bound contaminants for remediation. Research at Rensselaer focused on the development of haloalkane dehalogenase as a critical enzyme in the dehalogenation of contaminated materials (ultimately trichloroethylene and related pollutants). A combination of bioinformatic investigation and experimental work was performed. The bioinformatics was focused on identifying a range of dehalogenase enzymes that could be obtained from the known proteomes of major microorganisms. This work identified several candidate enzymes that could be obtained through relatively straightforward gene cloning and expression approaches. The experimental work focused on the isolation of haloalkane dehalogenase from a Xanthobacter species followed by incorporating the enzyme into silicates to form biocatalytic silicates. These are the precursors of SENs. At the conclusion of the study, dehalogenase was incorporated into SENs, although the loading was low. This work supported a single Ph.D. student (Ms. Philippa Reeder) for two years. The project ended prior to her being able to perform substantive bioinformatics efforts that would identify more promising dehalogenase enzymes. The SEN synthesis, however, was demonstrated to be partially successful with dehalogenases. Further work would provide optimized dehalogenases in SENs for use in pollution remission.« less

Assessment of educational games for health professions: a systematic review of trends and outcomes.

PubMed

Abdulmajed, Hind; Park, Yoon Soo; Tekian, Ara

2015-04-01

Traditional lecturing used in teaching has the lowest retention rate; the use of games as part of an instruction method may enhance retention and reinforce learning by creating a dynamic educational environment. This study aims to systematically review the literature on educational games for the health professions to identify trends and investigate assessment tools used to measure its learning outcomes. Seven databases were used in the search: ERIC, Education Research Complete, Medline, Medline Complete, Academic Search Complete, The Cochrane Library and PubMed. The search identified 2865 papers; among them, 1259 were excluded and 22 were evaluated. The selection incorporated five full papers which focused directly on the health professionals. Two studies involved the use of board games and two studies involved card games, crossword puzzles and one study involved a team quiz competition. Overall, studies lacked a strong link between the use of games for both instructional and assessment purposes. Gaming makes a positive impact on the teaching/learning process. However, existing assessment methodologies have been not fully captured the learning that may occur in these games. Robust research is needed to address the use of games that have been assessed objectively.

A Particle Model for Prediction of Cement Infiltration of Cancellous Bone in Osteoporotic Bone Augmentation.

PubMed

Basafa, Ehsan; Murphy, Ryan J; Kutzer, Michael D; Otake, Yoshito; Armand, Mehran

2013-01-01

Femoroplasty is a potential preventive treatment for osteoporotic hip fractures. It involves augmenting mechanical properties of the femur by injecting Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement. To reduce the risks involved and maximize the outcome, however, the procedure needs to be carefully planned and executed. An important part of the planning system is predicting infiltration of cement into the porous medium of cancellous bone. We used the method of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) to model the flow of PMMA inside porous media. We modified the standard formulation of SPH to incorporate the extreme viscosities associated with bone cement. Darcy creeping flow of fluids through isotropic porous media was simulated and the results were compared with those reported in the literature. Further validation involved injecting PMMA cement inside porous foam blocks - osteoporotic cancellous bone surrogates - and simulating the injections using our proposed SPH model. Millimeter accuracy was obtained in comparing the simulated and actual cement shapes. Also, strong correlations were found between the simulated and the experimental data of spreading distance (R(2) = 0.86) and normalized pressure (R(2) = 0.90). Results suggest that the proposed model is suitable for use in an osteoporotic femoral augmentation planning framework.

Site-specific incorporation of redox active amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Alfonta, Lital [San Diego, CA; Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Zhang, Zhiwen [Austin, TX

2011-08-30

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate redox active amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with redox active amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site-specific incorporation of redox active amino acids into proteins

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

Alfonta, Lital; Schultz, Peter G.; Zhang, Zhiwen

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate redox active amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with redox active amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site specific incorporation of keto amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Wang, Lei [San Diego, CA

2011-03-22

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate keto amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with keto amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site-specific incorporation of redox active amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Alfonta, Lital [San Diego, CA; Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Zhang, Zhiwen [San Diego, CA

2012-02-14

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate redox active amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with redox active amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site specific incorporation of keto amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Wang, Lei [San Diego, CA

2008-10-07

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate keto amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with keto amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site-specific incorporation of redox active amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Alfonta; Lital , Schultz; Peter G. , Zhang; Zhiwen

2010-10-12

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate redox active amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with redox active amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site specific incorporation of keto amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Wang, Lei [San Diego, CA

2011-12-06

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate keto amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with keto amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site-specific incorporation of redox active amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Alfonta, Lital [San Diego, CA; Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Zhang, Zhiwen [San Diego, CA

2009-02-24

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate redox active amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with redox active amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

Site specific incorporation of keto amino acids into proteins

DOEpatents

Schultz, Peter G [La Jolla, CA; Wang, Lei [San Diego, CA

2012-02-14

Compositions and methods of producing components of protein biosynthetic machinery that include orthogonal tRNAs, orthogonal aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, and orthogonal pairs of tRNAs/synthetases, which incorporate keto amino acids into proteins are provided. Methods for identifying these orthogonal pairs are also provided along with methods of producing proteins with keto amino acids using these orthogonal pairs.

A New Approach in the Preparation of Dendrimer-Based Bifunctional Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid MR Contrast Agent Derivatives

PubMed Central

Nwe, Kido; Xu, Heng; Regino, Celeste Aida S.; Bernardo, Marcelino; Ileva, Lilia; Riffle, Lisa; Wong, Karen J.; Brechbiel, Martin W.

2009-01-01

In this paper we report a new method to prepare and characterize a contrast agent based on a fourth-generation (G4) polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer conjugated to the gadolinium complex of the bifunctional diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid derivative (1B4M-DTPA). The method involves pre-forming the metal-ligand chelate in alcohol prior to conjugation to the dendrimer. The dendrimer-based agent was purified by a Sephadex® G-25 column and characterized by elemental analysis. The analysis and SEHPLC data gave a chelate to dendrimer ratio of 30:1 suggesting conjugation at approximately every other amine terminal on the dendrimer. Molar relaxivity of the agent measured at pH 7.4 displayed a higher value than that of the analogous G4 dendrimer based agent prepared by the post-metal incorporation method (r1 = 26.9 vs. 13.9 mM-1s-1 at 3T and 22°C). This is hypothesized to be due to the higher hydrophobicity of this conjugate, and the lack of available charged carboxylate groups from non-complexed free ligands that might coordinate to the metal and thus also reduce water exchange sites. Additionally, the distribution populations of compounds that result from the post-metal incorporation route are eliminated from the current product simplifying characterization as quality control issues pertaining to the production of such agents for clinical use as MR contrast agents. In vivo imaging in mice showed a reasonably fast clearance (t1/2 = 24 min) suggesting a viable agent for use in clinical application. PMID:19555072

A new approach in the preparation of dendrimer-based bifunctional diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid MR contrast agent derivatives.

PubMed

Nwe, Kido; Xu, Heng; Regino, Celeste Aida S; Bernardo, Marcelino; Ileva, Lilia; Riffle, Lisa; Wong, Karen J; Brechbiel, Martin W

2009-07-01

In this paper, we report a new method to prepare and characterize a contrast agent based on a fourth-generation (G4) polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer conjugated to the gadolinium complex of the bifunctional diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid derivative (1B4M-DTPA). The method involves preforming the metal-ligand chelate in alcohol prior to conjugation to the dendrimer. The dendrimer-based agent was purified by a Sephadex G-25 column and characterized by elemental analysis. The analysis and SE-HPLC data gave a chelate to dendrimer ratio of 30:1 suggesting conjugation at approximately every other amine terminal on the dendrimer. Molar relaxivity of the agent measured at pH 7.4 displayed a higher value than that of the analogous G4 dendrimer based agent prepared by the postmetal incorporation method (r(1) = 26.9 vs 13.9 mM(-1) s(-1) at 3 T and 22 degrees C). This is hypothesized to be due to the higher hydrophobicity of this conjugate and the lack of available charged carboxylate groups from noncomplexed free ligands that might coordinate to the metal and thus also reduce water exchange sites. Additionally, the distribution populations of compounds that result from the postmetal incorporation route are eliminated from the current product simplifying characterization as quality control issues pertaining to the production of such agents for clinical use as MR contrast agents. In vivo imaging in mice showed a reasonably fast clearance (t(1/2) = 24 min) suggesting a viable agent for use in clinical application.

Trace and minor element variations and sulfur isotopes in crystalline and colloform ZnS: Incorporation mechanisms and implications for their genesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pfaff, Katharina; Koenig, Alan; Wenzel, Thomas; Ridley, Ian; Hildebrandt, Ludwig H.; Leach, David L.; Markl, Gregor

2011-01-01

Various models have been proposed to explain the formation mechanism of colloform sphalerite, but the origin is still under debate. In order to decipher influences on trace element incorporation and sulfur isotope composition, crystalline and colloform sphalerite from the carbonate-hosted Mississippi-Valley Type (MVT) deposit near Wiesloch, SW Germany, were investigated and compared to sphalerite samples from 52 hydrothermal vein-type deposits in the Schwarzwald ore district, SW Germany to study the influence of different host rocks, formation mechanisms and fluid origin on trace element incorporation. Trace and minor element incorporation in sphalerite shows some correlation to their host rock and/or origin of fluid, gangue, paragenetic minerals and precipitation mechanisms (e.g., diagenetic processes, fluid cooling or fluid mixing). Furthermore, crystalline sphalerite is generally enriched in elements like Cd, Cu, Sb and Ag compared to colloform sphalerite that mainly incorporates elements like As, Pb and Tl. In addition, sulfur isotopes are characterized by positive values for crystalline and strongly negative values for colloform sphalerite. The combination of trace element contents, typical minerals associated with colloform sphalerite from Wiesloch, sulfur isotopes and thermodynamic considerations helped to evaluate the involvement of sulfate-reducing bacteria in water-filled karst cavities. Sulfate-reducing bacteria cause a sulfide-rich environment that leads in case of a metal-rich fluid supply to a sudden oversaturation of the fluid with respect to galena, sphalerite and pyrite. This, however, exactly coincides with the observed crystallization sequence of samples involving colloform sphalerite from the Wiesloch MVT deposit.

Rab3a-Bound CD63 Is Degraded and Rab3a-Free CD63 Is Incorporated into HIV-1 Particles

PubMed Central

Kubo, Yoshinao; Masumoto, Hiroshi; Izumida, Mai; Kakoki, Katsura; Hayashi, Hideki; Matsuyama, Toshifumi

2017-01-01

CD63, a member of the tetraspanin family, is involved in virion production by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), but its mechanism is unknown. In this study, we showed that a small GTP-binding protein, Rab3a, interacts with CD63. When Rab3a was exogenously expressed, the amounts of CD63 decreased in cells. The Rab3a-mediated reduction of CD63 was suppressed by lysosomal and proteasomal inhibitors. The amount of CD63 was increased by reducing the endogenous Rab3a level using a specific shRNA. These results indicate that Rab3a binds to CD63 to induce the degradation of CD63. Rab3a is thought to be involved in exocytosis, but we found that another function of Rab3a affects the fate of CD63 in lysosomes. CD63 interacted with Rab3a and was incorporated into HIV-1 particles. However, Rab3a was not detected in HIV-1 virions, thereby indicating that Rab3a-free CD63, but not Rab3a-bound CD63, is incorporated into HIV-1 particles. Overexpression or silencing of Rab3a moderately reduced HIV-1 virion formation. Overexpression of Rab3a decreased CD63 levels, but did not affect the incorporation of CD63 into HIV-1 particles. This study showed that Rab3a binds to CD63 to induce the degradation of CD63, and only Rab3a-free CD63 is incorporated into HIV-1 particles. PMID:28900422

40 CFR 761.19 - References.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... incorporated by reference, and is available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration...://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html. These incorporations... Products (General Bomb Method) § 761.71(b)(2)(vi) ASTM D 240-87 Standard Test Method for Heat of Combustion...

Leachability of fired clay brick incorporating with sewage sludge waste

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadir, Aeslina Abdul; Salim, Nurul Salhana Abdul; Sarani, Noor Amira; Rahmat, Nur Aqma Izurin; Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri

2017-09-01

Sewage sludge is sewerage from wastewater treatment plants that generates millions tons of sludge ever year. Regarding this activity, it causes lack management of waste which is harmful to the surrounding conditions. Therefore, this study is focuses on the incorporation of sewage sludge waste into fired clay brick to provide an option of disposal method, producing adequate quality of brick as well as limiting the heavy metal leachability to the environment. Sewage sludge brick (SSB) mixtures were incorporated with 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% of sewage sludge waste (SSW). Heavy metals of crushed SSB were determined by using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) according to Method 1311 of United State Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) standard. From the results obtained, up to 20% of SSW could be incorporated into fired clay brick and comply with the USEPA standard. Therefore, this study revealed that by incorporating SSW into fired clay brick it could be an alternative method to dispose the SSW and also could act as a replacement material for brick manufacturing with appropriate mix and design.

Development of an automated method for determining oil in water by direct aqueous supercritical fluid extraction coupled on-line with infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Minty, B; Ramsey, E D; Davies, I

2000-12-01

A direct aqueous supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) system was developed which can be directly interfaced to an infrared spectrometer for the determination of oil in water. The technique is designed to provide an environmentally clean, automated alternative to established IR methods for oil in water analysis which require the use of restricted organic solvents. The SFE-FTIR method involves minimum sample handling stages, with on-line analysis of a 500 ml water sample being complete within 15 min. Method accuracy for determining water samples spiked with gasoline, white spirit, kerosene, diesel or engine oil was 81-100% with precision (RSD) ranging from 3 to 17%. An independent evaluation determined a 2 ppm limit of quantification for diesel in industrial effluents. The results of a comparative study involving an established IR method and the SFE-FTIR method indicate that oil levels calculated using an accepted equation which includes coefficients derived from reference hydrocarbon standards may result in significant errors. A new approach permitted the derivation of quantification coefficients for the SFE-FTIR analyses which provided improved results. In situations where the identity of the oil to be analysed is known, a rapid off-line SFE-FTIR system calibration procedure was developed and successfully applied to various oils. An optional in-line silica gel clean-up procedure incorporated within the SFE-FTIR system enables the same water sample to be analysed for total oil content including vegetable oils and selectively for petroleum oil content within a total of 20 min. At the end of an analysis the SFE system is cleaned using an in situ 3 min clean cycle.

The patient as partner: a competitive strategy in health care marketing.

PubMed

MacStravic, S

1988-01-01

The idea of the patient as partner incorporates a perspective that involves the patient in the care experience for explicit and important purposes. This article includes discussions of patient contributions; quality of care; cost implications; patient and provider satisfaction; and marketing, facilitation, and evaluation of a program that is designed to involve the patient in the care experience.

With Their Help: How Community Members Construct a Congruent Third Space in an Urban Kindergarten Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quigley, Cassie F.

2013-01-01

Through the use of narrative enquiry, this paper tells the story of how a kindergarten teacher in an all-girls' school incorporates family and community members' involvement to the construction of the congruent Third Space present in the classroom, and the ways the girls respond to this involvement, thereby providing a successful model for other…

Benjamin Franklin and Mesmerism, revisited.

PubMed

McConkey, Kevin M; Perry, Campbell

2002-10-01

The authors revisit and update their previous historiographical note (McConkey & Perry, 1985) on Benjamin Franklin's involvement with and investigation of animal magnetism or mesmerism. They incorporate more recent literature and offer additional comment about Franklin's role in and views about mesmerism. Franklin had a higher degree of personal involvement with and a more detailed opinion of mesmerism than has been previously appreciated.

Processing of Nanostructured Devices Using Microfabrication Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Jennifer C (Inventor); Kulis, Michael H (Inventor); Berger, Gordon M (Inventor); Hunter, Gary W (Inventor); Vander Wal, Randall L (Inventor); Evans, Laura J (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Systems and methods that incorporate nanostructures into microdevices are discussed herein. These systems and methods can allow for standard microfabrication techniques to be extended to the field of nanotechnology. Sensors incorporating nanostructures can be fabricated as described herein, and can be used to reliably detect a range of gases with high response.

10 CFR 431.447 - Department of Energy recognition of nationally recognized certification programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Methods A and B, IEEE Std 114-2010, CSA C390-10, and CSA C747 (incorporated by... IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Methods A and B, IEEE Std 114-2010, CSA C390-10, and CSA C747- (incorporated by...

10 CFR 431.447 - Department of Energy recognition of nationally recognized certification programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Methods A and B, IEEE Std 114-2010, CSA C390-10, and CSA C747 (incorporated by... IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Methods A and B, IEEE Std 114-2010, CSA C390-10, and CSA C747- (incorporated by...

40 CFR 98.254 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Bomb Calorimeter (Precision Method) (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7). (2) ASTM D240-02 (Reapproved 2007) Standard Test Method for Heat of Combustion of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels by Bomb Calorimeter... Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen in Petroleum Products and Lubricants (incorporated by reference, see § 98...

40 CFR 98.254 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Bomb Calorimeter (Precision Method) (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7). (2) ASTM D240-02 (Reapproved 2007) Standard Test Method for Heat of Combustion of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels by Bomb Calorimeter... Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen in Petroleum Products and Lubricants (incorporated by reference, see § 98...

40 CFR 98.254 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Bomb Calorimeter (Precision Method) (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7). (2) ASTM D240-02 (Reapproved 2007) Standard Test Method for Heat of Combustion of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels by Bomb Calorimeter... Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen in Petroleum Products and Lubricants (incorporated by reference, see § 98...

The development and evaluation of written medicines information for type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Lee, D Y L; Armour, C; Krass, I

2007-12-01

Written Medicines Information (WMI) is regarded as a key component in diabetes consumer education. In Australia, there is a paucity of WMI that specifically tailors to the extensive array of medicines used for the lifelong management of Type 2 diabetes. This research project aimed to employ a novel framework, the 'Consumer Involvement Cycle', to investigate consumer perspectives and needs of medicines information for Type 2 diabetes and develop appropriate WMI for the Type 2 diabetes population. The Consumer Involvement Cycle involved people with Type 2 diabetes and health professionals (HPs) working in partnership to design a series of WMI, incorporating a range of consumer-conceived ideas and concepts with professional evaluation from an expert panel of reviewing HPs. A total of 12 leaflets were developed. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Score for the leaflets was approximately 8.0, which is considered to be 'fairly easy', in other words easily understood by a large proportion of the general public. The Consumer Involvement Cycle was validated as a useful framework in developing and evaluating appropriate consumer information. Consumer perspectives should be sought and well incorporated throughout the process of designing and assessing educational materials intended for consumer use.

Boosting safety behaviour: Descriptive norms encourage child booster seat usage amongst low involvement parents.

PubMed

Jeffrey, Jennifer; Whelan, Jodie; Pirouz, Dante M; Snowdon, Anne W

2016-07-01

Campaigns advocating behavioural changes often employ social norms as a motivating technique, favouring injunctive norms (what is typically approved or disapproved) over descriptive norms (what is typically done). Here, we investigate an upside to including descriptive norms in health and safety appeals. Because descriptive norms are easy to process and understand, they should provide a heuristic to guide behaviour in those individuals who lack the interest or motivation to reflect on the advocated behaviour more deeply. When those descriptive norms are positive - suggesting that what is done is consistent with what ought to be done - including them in campaigns should be particularly beneficial at influencing this low-involvement segment. We test this proposition via research examining booster seat use amongst parents with children of booster seat age, and find that incorporating positive descriptive norms into a related campaign is particularly impactful for parents who report low involvement in the topic of booster seat safety. Descriptive norms are easy to state and easy to understand, and our research suggests that these norms resonate with low involvement individuals. As a result, we recommend incorporating descriptive norms when possible into health and safety campaigns. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effect of Hyaluronic Acid Incorporation Method on the Stability and Biological Properties of Polyurethane-Hyaluronic Acid Biomaterials

PubMed Central

Ruiz, Amaliris; Rathnam, Kashmila R.; Masters, Kristyn S.

2014-01-01

The high failure rate of small diameter vascular grafts continues to drive the development of new materials and modification strategies that address this clinical problem, with biomolecule incorporation typically achieved via surface-based modification of various biomaterials. In this work, we examined whether the method of biomolecule incorporation (i.e., bulk vs. surface modification) into a polyurethane (PU) polymer impacted biomaterial performance in the context of vascular applications. Specifically, hyaluronic acid (HA) was incorporated into a poly(ether urethane) via bulk copolymerization or covalent surface tethering, and the resulting PU-HA materials characterized with respect to both physical and biological properties. Modification of PU with HA by either surface or bulk methods yielded materials that, when tested under static conditions, possessed no significant differences in their ability to resist protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, and bacterial adhesion, while supporting endothelial cell culture. However, only bulk-modified PU-HA materials were able to fully retain these characteristics following material exposure to flow, demonstrating a superior ability to retain the incorporated HA and minimize enzymatic degradation, protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, and bacterial adhesion. Thus, despite bulk methods rarely being implemented in the context of biomolecule attachment, these results demonstrate improved performance of PU-HA upon bulk, rather than surface, incorporation of HA. Although explored only in the context of PU-HA, the findings revealed by these experiments have broader implications for the design and evaluation of vascular graft modification strategies. PMID:24276670

10 CFR 431.444 - Test procedures for the measurement of energy efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the following test methods: (1) Single-phase small electric motors: Either IEEE Std 114-2010 or CSA... to 1 horsepower (0.75 kW): Either IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Method A or CSA C747 (incorporated by...): Either IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Method B or CSA C390-10 (incorporated by reference, see § 431.443). [74 FR...

10 CFR 431.444 - Test procedures for the measurement of energy efficiency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the following test methods: (1) Single-phase small electric motors: Either IEEE Std 114-2010 or CSA... to 1 horsepower (0.75 kW): Either IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Method A or CSA C747 (incorporated by...): Either IEEE Std 112-2004 Test Method B or CSA C390-10 (incorporated by reference, see § 431.443). [74 FR...

Incorporating Information of microRNAs into Pathway Analysis in a Genome-Wide Association Study of Bipolar Disorder

PubMed Central

Shih, Wei-Liang; Kao, Chung-Feng; Chuang, Li-Chung; Kuo, Po-Hsiu

2012-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to be important post-transcriptional regulators that are involved in the etiology of complex psychiatric traits. The present study aimed to incorporate miRNAs information into pathway analysis using a genome-wide association dataset to identify relevant biological pathways for bipolar disorder (BPD). We selected psychiatric- and neurological-associated miRNAs (N = 157) from PhenomiR database. The miRNA target genes (miTG) predictions were obtained from microRNA.org. Canonical pathways (N = 4,051) were downloaded from the Molecule Signature Database. We employed a novel weighting scheme for miTGs in pathway analysis using methods of gene set enrichment analysis and sum-statistic. Under four statistical scenarios, 38 significantly enriched pathways (P-value < 0.01 after multiple testing correction) were identified for the risk of developing BPD, including pathways of ion channels associated (e.g., gated channel activity, ion transmembrane transporter activity, and ion channel activity) and nervous related biological processes (e.g., nervous system development, cytoskeleton, and neuroactive ligand receptor interaction). Among them, 19 were identified only when the weighting scheme was applied. Many miRNA-targeted genes were functionally related to ion channels, collagen, and axonal growth and guidance that have been suggested to be associated with BPD previously. Some of these genes are linked to the regulation of miRNA machinery in the literature. Our findings provide support for the potential involvement of miRNAs in the psychopathology of BPD. Further investigations to elucidate the functions and mechanisms of identified candidate pathways are needed. PMID:23264780

A critical ethnography of communication processes involving the management of oral chemotherapeutic agents by patients with a primary diagnosis of colorectal cancer: study protocol.

PubMed

Mitchell, Gary; Porter, Sam; Manias, Elizabeth

2015-04-01

To describe the protocol used to examine the processes of communication between health professionals, patients and informal carers during the management of oral chemotherapeutic medicines to identify factors that promote or inhibit medicine concordance. Ideally communication practices about oral medicines should incorporate shared decision-making, two-way dialogue and an equality of role between practitioner and patient. While there is evidence that healthcare professionals are adopting these concordant elements in general practice there are still some patients who have a passive role during consultations. Considering oral chemotherapeutic medications, there is a paucity of research about communication practices which is surprising given the high risk of toxicity associated with chemotherapy. A critical ethnographic design will be used, incorporating non-participant observations, individual semi-structured and focus-group interviews as several collecting methods. Observations will be carried out on the interactions between healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses and pharmacists) and patients in the outpatient departments where prescriptions are explained and supplied and on follow-up consultations where treatment regimens are monitored. Interviews will be conducted with patients and their informal carers. Focus-groups will be carried out with healthcare professionals at the conclusion of the study. These several will be analysed using thematic analysis. This research is funded by the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (Awarded February 2012). Dissemination of these findings will contribute to the understanding of issues involved when communicating with people about oral chemotherapy. It is anticipated that findings will inform education, practice and policy. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Estimating bacterial production in marine waters from the simultaneous incorporation of thymidine and leucine.

PubMed

Chin-Leo, G; Kirchman, D L

1988-08-01

We examined the simultaneous incorporation of [H]thymidine and [C]leucine to obtain two independent indices of bacterial production (DNA and protein syntheses) in a single incubation. Incorporation rates of leucine estimated by the dual-label method were generally higher than those obtained by the single-label method, but the differences were small (dual/single = 1.1 +/- 0.2 [mean +/- standard deviation]) and were probably due to the presence of labeled leucyl-tRNA in the cold trichloroacetic acid-insoluble fraction. There were no significant differences in thymidine incorporation between dual- and single-label incubations (dual/ single = 1.03 +/- 0.13). Addition of the two substrates in relatively large amounts (25 nM) did not apparently increase bacterial activity during short incubations (<5 h). With the dual-label method we found that thymidine and leucine incorporation rates covaried over depth profiles of the Chesapeake Bay. Estimates of bacterial production based on thymidine and leucine differed by less than 25%. Although the need for appropriate conversion factors has not been eliminated, the dual-label approach can be used to examine the variation in bacterial production while ensuring that the observed variation in incorporation rates is due to real changes in bacterial production rather than changes in conversion factors or introduction of other artifacts.

Understanding what matters: An exploratory study to investigate the views of the general public for priority setting criteria in health care.

PubMed

Ratcliffe, Julie; Lancsar, Emily; Walker, Ruth; Gu, Yuanyuan

2017-06-01

Health care policy makers internationally are increasingly expressing commitment to consultation with, and incorporation of, the views of the general public into the formulation of health policy and the process of setting health care priorities. In practice, however, there are relatively few opportunities for the general public to be involved in health care decision-making. In making resource allocation decisions, funders, tasked with managing scarce health care resources, are often faced with difficult decisions in balancing efficiency with equity considerations. A mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach incorporating focus group discussions and a ranking exercise was utilised to develop a comprehensive list of potential criteria for setting priorities in health care formulated from the perspective of members of the general public in Australia. A strong level of congruence was found in terms of the rankings of the key criteria with the size of the health gain, clinical effectiveness, and the ability to provide quality of life improvements identified consistently as the three most important criteria for prioritising the funding of an intervention. Findings from this study will be incorporated into a novel DCE framework to explore how decision makers and members of the general public prioritize and trade off different types of health gain and to quantify the weights attached to specific efficiency and equity criteria in the priority setting process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient Reassignment of a Frequent Serine Codon in Wild-Type Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Ho, Joanne M; Reynolds, Noah M; Rivera, Keith; Connolly, Morgan; Guo, Li-Tao; Ling, Jiqiang; Pappin, Darryl J; Church, George M; Söll, Dieter

2016-02-19

Expansion of the genetic code through engineering the translation machinery has greatly increased the chemical repertoire of the proteome. This has been accomplished mainly by read-through of UAG or UGA stop codons by the noncanonical aminoacyl-tRNA of choice. While stop codon read-through involves competition with the translation release factors, sense codon reassignment entails competition with a large pool of endogenous tRNAs. We used an engineered pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase to incorporate 3-iodo-l-phenylalanine (3-I-Phe) at a number of different serine and leucine codons in wild-type Escherichia coli. Quantitative LC-MS/MS measurements of amino acid incorporation yields carried out in a selected reaction monitoring experiment revealed that the 3-I-Phe abundance at the Ser208AGU codon in superfolder GFP was 65 ± 17%. This method also allowed quantification of other amino acids (serine, 33 ± 17%; phenylalanine, 1 ± 1%; threonine, 1 ± 1%) that compete with 3-I-Phe at both the aminoacylation and decoding steps of translation for incorporation at the same codon position. Reassignments of different serine (AGU, AGC, UCG) and leucine (CUG) codons with the matching tRNA(Pyl) anticodon variants were met with varying success, and our findings provide a guideline for the choice of sense codons to be reassigned. Our results indicate that the 3-iodo-l-phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (IFRS)/tRNA(Pyl) pair can efficiently outcompete the cellular machinery to reassign select sense codons in wild-type E. coli.

Ultrarapid sonochemical synthesis of enzyme-incorporated copper nanoflowers and their application to mediatorless glucose biofuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Minsoo; Nguyen, Tuan Loi; Tran, Thao Quynh Ngan; Yoon, Hyon Hee; Kim, Il Tae; Kim, Moon Il

2018-01-01

We have developed a mediatorless glucose biofuel cell based on hybrid nanoflowers incorporating enzymes including glucose oxidase (GOx), laccase, or catalase with copper phosphate, which were further mixed and compressed with conductive multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNT). The nanoflowers were simply synthesized within 5 min at room temperature using sonication method but yielded greatly improved stability as well as highly retained activity by the proper incorporation of enzyme molecules inside the flower-like structure. With glucose as biofuel, GOx and laccase nanoflowers were applied to form enzyme anode and cathode, respectively, and catalase nanoflowers were additionally employed to catalyze the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, which may be deleterious for GOx, into oxygen and water. Using the enzyme nanoflowers-based biofuel cell system without any involved mediator, a high power density up to 200 μW cm-2 were obtained, which was approximately 80% to that from the biofuel cell system prepared with the corresponding free enzymes. Importantly, the enzyme nanoflowers-based biofuel cell maintained their initial power density over 90% during storage for two months at 4 °C, while most of the glucose biofuel cells in the literature present meaningful stability only in the range of one or two weeks. Based on this result, we expect that this simple but efficient strategy to prepare highly stable glucose biofuel cell using the rapidly-synthesized enzyme-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers can be readily extended to diverse applications in medical and environmental chemistry.

Cultural competence in the baccalaureate degree nursing curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silvestri, Angela

Health care providers are members of a helping profession and need to provide quality care to all members of society. As a result of current and projected demographic changes within the United States (U.S.), health care professionals are faced with the challenges of providing culturally competent care and fulfilling the role as the "helping profession." In the past 10 years, minority populations have increased in the U.S. For example, the African American population experienced an approximate 12.3% increase, and the Hispanic population increased by 43%. Just as it is necessary for health care professionals to respond to the increase in the geriatric population as a result of the Baby Boomer generation, it is crucial to address the needs of an increasingly culturally diverse population in the U.S. Preparing to care for a culturally diverse population begins during the teaching and learning process in the nursing curriculum. This study intended to identify the methods in which nursing programs are integrating cultural concepts in their plan of study. Josepha Campinha-Bacote's model titled "The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Services" was used as the theoretical framework to guide this study. Campinha-Bacote has studied transcultural nursing and has added to the current body of nursing knowledge with regard to incorporating cultural concepts in the nursing curriculum. This model requires health care professionals to see themselves as becoming culturally competent rather than being culturally competent and involves the integration of cultural awareness, cultural skill, cultural knowledge, cultural encounters, and cultural desire. An electronic survey was sent using Survey Monkey to 298 schools in the Northeast and Southern regions of the United States. The survey was sent on January 19, 2012 and remained open for 20 days. Once the survey closed, statistical analyses were conducted using frequencies and cross-tabluations, and the findings were analyzed and reported. The results of the study indicated the following: (a) a low number of schools incorporating a stand-alone nursing course in the curriculum; (b) differences among various teaching methods among regions and program types; (c) differences among the incorporation of Campinha-Bacote's (2007b) cultural constructs in the curriculum; and (d) differences among various evaluation methods among regions and program types. Implications for nursing education include the following: (a) programs should make an effort to incorporate one-to-one instruction and simulation when planning teaching encounters in order to adequately address all learning domains; (b) when planning curriculum structure, programs should consider using a theoretical framework such as Campinha-Bacote's (2007b) "The Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Service" in order to address student learning needs thoroughly; (c) nursing faculty members need to be creative in their teaching and make a conscious effort to continually address cultural learning needs of their students; and (d) concept mapping should be used to determine where and how many times cultural concepts are addressed in the curriculum. Recommendations for future research include: (a) determining which teaching methods are most effective in promoting cultural competence; (b) determining the use and effectiveness of curriculum methods that incorporate Campinha-Bacote's (2007b) cultural constructs; (c) determining which evaluation methods are most effective in determining student ability to care for others of another culture; and (d) learning about faculty comfort and preparedness to teach culture-related nursing content. It is also recommended that the relationship between a stand-alone nursing course versus and integrated course and cultural competence be investigated.

36 CFR 212.5 - Road system management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... responsible official must incorporate a science-based roads analysis at the appropriate scale and, to the degree practicable, involve a broad spectrum of interested and affected citizens, other state and federal...

36 CFR 212.5 - Road system management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... responsible official must incorporate a science-based roads analysis at the appropriate scale and, to the degree practicable, involve a broad spectrum of interested and affected citizens, other state and federal...

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom

PubMed Central

Shah, Harsh R.; Martinez, Luis R.

2016-01-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K–12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community. PMID:27047583

The Marshall Islands Data Management Program

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

Stoker, A.C.; Conrado, C.L.

1995-09-01

This report is a resource document of the methods and procedures used currently in the Data Management Program of the Marshall Islands Dose Assessment and Radioecology Project. Since 1973, over 60,000 environmental samples have been collected. Our program includes relational database design, programming and maintenance; sample and information management; sample tracking; quality control; and data entry, evaluation and reduction. The usefulness of scientific databases involves careful planning in order to fulfill the requirements of any large research program. Compilation of scientific results requires consolidation of information from several databases, and incorporation of new information as it is generated. The successmore » in combining and organizing all radionuclide analysis, sample information and statistical results into a readily accessible form, is critical to our project.« less

Procedures and results related to the direct determination of gravity anomalies from satellite and terrestrial gravity data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rapp, R. H.

1974-01-01

The equations needed for the incorporation of gravity anomalies as unknown parameters in an orbit determination program are described. These equations were implemented in the Geodyn computer program which was used to process optical satellite observations. The arc dependent parameter unknowns, 184 unknown 15 deg and coordinates of 7 tracking stations were considered. Up to 39 arcs (5 to 7 days) involving 10 different satellites, were processed. An anomaly solution from the satellite data and a combination solution with 15 deg terrestrial anomalies were made. The limited data samples indicate that the method works. The 15 deg anomalies from various solutions and the potential coefficients implied by the different solutions are reported.

Current Approaches in Implementing Citizen Science in the Classroom.

PubMed

Shah, Harsh R; Martinez, Luis R

2016-03-01

Citizen science involves a partnership between inexperienced volunteers and trained scientists engaging in research. In addition to its obvious benefit of accelerating data collection, citizen science has an unexplored role in the classroom, from K-12 schools to higher education. With recent studies showing a weakening in scientific competency of American students, incorporating citizen science initiatives in the curriculum provides a means to address deficiencies in a fragmented educational system. The integration of traditional and innovative pedagogical methods to reform our educational system is therefore imperative in order to provide practical experiences in scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem solving for school-age individuals. Citizen science can be used to emphasize the recognition and use of systematic approaches to solve problems affecting the community.

Investigating the use of patient involvement and patient experience in quality improvement in Norway: rhetoric or reality?

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Patient involvement in health care decision making is part of a wider trend towards a more bottom-up approach to service planning and provision, and patient experience is increasingly conceptualized as a core dimension of health care quality. The aim of this multi-level study is two-fold: 1) to describe and analyze how governmental organizations expect acute hospitals to incorporate patient involvement and patient experiences into their quality improvement (QI) efforts and 2) to analyze how patient involvement and patient experiences are used by hospitals to try to improve the quality of care they provide. Methods This multi-level case study combines analysis of national policy documents and regulations at the macro level with semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation of key meetings and shadowing of staff at the meso and micro levels in two purposively sampled Norwegian hospitals. Fieldwork at the meso and micro levels was undertaken over a 12-month period (2011–2012). Results Governmental documents and regulations at the macro level demonstrated wide-ranging expectations for the integration of patient involvement and patient experiences in QI work in hospitals. The expectations span from systematic collection of patients’ and family members’ experiences for the purpose of improving service quality through establishing patient-oriented arenas for ongoing collaboration with staff to the support of individual involvement in decision making. However, the extent of involvement of patients and application of patient experiences in QI work was limited at both hospitals. Even though patient involvement was gaining prominence at the meso level − and to a lesser extent at the micro level − relevant tools for measuring and using patient experiences in QI work were lacking, and available measures of patient experience were not being used meaningfully or systematically. Conclusions The relative lack of expertise in Norwegian hospitals of adapting and implementing tools and methods for improving patient involvement and patient experiences at the meso and micro levels mark a need for health care policymakers and hospital leaders to learn from experiences of other industries and countries that have successfully integrated user experiences into QI work. Hospital managers need to design and implement wider strategies to help their staff members recognize and value the contribution that patient involvement and patient experiences can make to the improvement of healthcare quality. PMID:23742265

Recent Experiences and Challenges of Military Physiotherapists Deployed to Afghanistan: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Carpenter, Christine

2011-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: Military physiotherapists in the Canadian Forces meet the unique rehabilitation needs of military personnel. Recently, the physiotherapy officer role has evolved in response to the Canadian Forces' involvement in the combat theatre of operations of Afghanistan, and this has created new and unique challenges and demands. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences and challenges of military physiotherapists deployed to Afghanistan. Methods: A qualitative research design guided by descriptive phenomenology involved recruitment of key informants and in-depth interviews as the data collection method. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and the data analyzed using a foundational thematic analysis approach. Strategies of peer review and member checking were incorporated into the study design. Results: Six military physiotherapists were interviewed. They described rewarding experiences that were stressful yet highly career-satisfying. Main challenges revolved around heavy workloads, an expanded scope of practice as sole-charge practitioners, and the consequences and criticality of their clinical decisions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that enhanced pre-deployment training and the implementation of a stronger support network will improve the capabilities of military physiotherapists deployed to difficult theatres of operations. This type of systematic and comprehensive research is needed to assist the Canadian Forces in proactively preparing and supporting physiotherapists deployed on future missions. PMID:22942524

Effects-Driven Participatory Design: Learning from Sampling Interruptions.

PubMed

Brandrup, Morten; Østergaard, Kija Lin; Hertzum, Morten; Karasti, Helena; Simonsen, Jesper

2017-01-01

Participatory design (PD) can play an important role in obtaining benefits from healthcare information technologies, but we contend that to fulfil this role PD must incorporate feedback from real use of the technologies. In this paper we describe an effects-driven PD approach that revolves around a sustained focus on pursued effects and uses the experience sampling method (ESM) to collect real-use feedback. To illustrate the use of the method we analyze a case that involves the organizational implementation of electronic whiteboards at a Danish hospital to support the clinicians' intra- and interdepartmental coordination. The hospital aimed to reduce the number of phone calls involved in coordinating work because many phone calls were seen as unnecessary interruptions. To learn about the interruptions we introduced an app for capturing quantitative data and qualitative feedback about the phone calls. The investigation showed that the electronic whiteboards had little potential for reducing the number of phone calls at the operating ward. The combination of quantitative data and qualitative feedback worked both as a basis for aligning assumptions to data and showed ESM as an instrument for triggering in-situ reflection. The participant-driven design and redesign of the way data were captured by means of ESM is a central contribution to the understanding of how to conduct effects-driven PD.

Applying usability methods to identify health literacy issues: an example using a Personal Health Record.

PubMed

Monkman, Helen; Kushniruk, Andre

2013-01-01

The prevalence of consumer health information systems is increasing. However, usability and health literacy impact both the value and adoption of these systems. Health literacy and usability are closely related in that systems may not be used accurately if users cannot understand the information therein. Thus, it is imperative to focus on mitigating the demands on health literacy in consumer health information systems. This study modified two usability evaluation methods (heuristic evaluation and usability testing) to incorporate the identification of potential health literacy issues in a Personal Health Record (PHR). Heuristic evaluation is an analysis of a system performed by a usability specialist who evaluates how well the system abides by usability principles. In contrast, a usability test involves a post hoc analysis of a representative user interacting with the system. These two methods revealed several health literacy issues and suggestions to ameliorate them were made. Thus, it was demonstrated that usability methods could be successfully augmented for the purpose of investigating health literacy issues. To improve users' health knowledge, the adoption of consumer health information systems, and the accuracy of the information contained therein, it is encouraged that usability methods be applied with an added focus on health literacy.

Toward a zero VAP rate: personal and team approaches in the ICU.

PubMed

Fox, Maria Y

2006-01-01

In a fast-paced setting like the intensive care unit (ICU), nurses must have appropriate tools and resources in order to implement appropriate and timely interventions. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a costly and potentially fatal outcome for ICU patients that requires timely interventions. Even with established guidelines and care protocols, nurses do not always incorporate best practice interventions into their daily plan of care. Despite the plethora of information and guidelines about how to apply interventions in order to save lives, managers of ICUs are challenged to involve the bedside nurse and other ICU team members to apply these bundles of interventions in a proactive, rather than reactive, manner in order to prevent complications of care. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the success of 2 different methods utilized to improve patient care in the ICU. The first method is a personal process improvement model, and the second method is a team approach model. Both methods were utilized in order to implement interventions in a timely and complete manner to prevent VAP and its related problem, hospital-associated pneumonia, in the ICU setting. Success with these 2 methods has spurred an interest in other patient care initiatives.

An improved 3D MoF method based on analytical partial derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiang; Zhang, Xiong

2016-12-01

MoF (Moment of Fluid) method is one of the most accurate approaches among various surface reconstruction algorithms. As other second order methods, MoF method needs to solve an implicit optimization problem to obtain the optimal approximate surface. Therefore, the partial derivatives of the objective function have to be involved during the iteration for efficiency and accuracy. However, to the best of our knowledge, the derivatives are currently estimated numerically by finite difference approximation because it is very difficult to obtain the analytical derivatives of the object function for an implicit optimization problem. Employing numerical derivatives in an iteration not only increase the computational cost, but also deteriorate the convergence rate and robustness of the iteration due to their numerical error. In this paper, the analytical first order partial derivatives of the objective function are deduced for 3D problems. The analytical derivatives can be calculated accurately, so they are incorporated into the MoF method to improve its accuracy, efficiency and robustness. Numerical studies show that by using the analytical derivatives the iterations are converged in all mixed cells with the efficiency improvement of 3 to 4 times.

Flow cytomeric measurement of DNA and incorporated nucleoside analogs

DOEpatents

Dolbeare, Frank A.; Gray, Joe W.

1989-01-01

A method is provided for simultaneously measuring total cellular DNA and incorporated nucleoside analog. The method entails altering the cellular DNA of cells grown in the presence of a nucleoside analog so that single stranded and double stranded portions are present. Separate stains are used against the two portions. An immunochemical stain is used against the single stranded portion to provide a measure of incorporated nucleoside analog, and a double strand DNA-specific stain is used against the double stranded portion to simultaneously provide a measure of total cellular DNA. The method permits rapid flow cytometric analysis of cell populations, rapid identification of cycling and noncycling subpopulations, and determination of the efficacy of S phase cytotoxic anticancer agents.

Enhancement of antibacterial activity in nanofillers incorporated PSF/PVP membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramila, P.; Gopalakrishnan, N.

2018-04-01

An attempt has been made to investigate the nanofillers incorporated polysulfone (PSF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer membranes prepared by phase inversion method. Initially, the nanofillers, viz, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle, Graphene Oxide-Zinc Oxide (GO-ZnO) nanocomposite were synthesized and then directly incorporated into PSF/PVP blend during the preparation of membranes. The prepared membranes have been subjected to FE-SEM, AFM, BET, contact angle, tensile test and anti-bacterial studies. Significant membrane morphologies and nanoporous properties have been observed by FE-SEM and BET, respectively. It has been observed that hydrophilicity, mechanical strength and water permeability of the ZnO and GO-ZnO incorporated membranes were enhanced than bare membrane. Antibacterial activity was assessed by measuring the inhibition zones formed around the membrane by disc-diffusion method using Escherichia coli (gram-negative) as a model bacterium. Again, it has been observed that nanofillers incorporated membrane exhibits high antibacterial performance compared to bare membrane.

Engaging recreational fishers in management and conservation: global case studies.

PubMed

Granek, E F; Madin, E M P; Brown, M A; Figueira, W; Cameron, D S; Hogan, Z; Kristianson, G; de Villiers, P; Williams, J E; Post, J; Zahn, S; Arlinghaus, R

2008-10-01

Globally, the number of recreational fishers is sizeable and increasing in many countries. Associated with this trend is the potential for negative impacts on fish stocks through exploitation or management measures such as stocking and introduction of non-native fishes. Nevertheless, recreational fishers can be instrumental in successful fisheries conservation through active involvement in, or initiation of, conservation projects to reduce both direct and external stressors contributing to fishery declines. Understanding fishers' concerns for sustained access to the resource and developing methods for their meaningful participation can have positive impacts on conservation efforts. We examined a suite of case studies that demonstrate successful involvement of recreational fishers in conservation and management activities that span developed and developing countries, temperate and tropical regions, marine and freshwater systems, and open- and closed-access fisheries. To illustrate potential benefits and challenges of involving recreational fishers in fisheries management and conservation, we examined the socioeconomic and ecological contexts of each case study. We devised a conceptual framework for the engagement of recreational fishers that targets particular types of involvement (enforcement, advocacy, conservation, management design [type and location], research, and monitoring) on the basis of degree of stakeholder stewardship, scale of the fishery, and source of impacts (internal or external). These activities can be enhanced by incorporating local knowledge and traditions, taking advantage of leadership and regional networks, and creating collaborations among various stakeholder groups, scientists, and agencies to maximize the probability of recreational fisher involvement and project success.

Selective incorporation of 5-hydroxytryptophan into proteins in mammalian cells

DOEpatents

Zhang, Zhiwen; Alfonta, Lital; Schultz, Peter G

2014-02-25

This invention provides methods and compositions for incorporation of an unnatural amino acid into a peptide using an orthogonal aminoacyl tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair. In particular, an orthogonal pair is provided to incorporate 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan in a position encoded by an opal mutation.

40 CFR 98.254 - Monitoring and QA/QC requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) ASTM D1945-03 Standard Test Method for Analysis of Natural Gas by Gas Chromatography (incorporated by... by Gas Chromatography (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7). (4) GPA 2261-00 Analysis for Natural Gas and Similar Gaseous Mixtures by Gas Chromatography (incorporated by reference, see § 98.7). (5...

10 CFR 431.15 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... approval, and a notice of any change in the material will be published in the Federal Register. All... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.15 Section 431.15... INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Electric Motors Test Procedures, Materials Incorporated and Methods of Determining...

Engineering Monolignol p-Coumarate Conjugates into Poplar and Arabidopsis Lignins1

PubMed Central

Smith, Rebecca A.; Gonzales-Vigil, Eliana; Karlen, Steven D.; Park, Ji-Young; Lu, Fachuang; Wilkerson, Curtis G.; Samuels, Lacey; Ralph, John; Mansfield, Shawn D.

2015-01-01

Lignin acylation, the decoration of hydroxyls on lignin structural units with acyl groups, is common in many plant species. Monocot lignins are decorated with p-coumarates by the polymerization of monolignol p-coumarate conjugates. The acyltransferase involved in the formation of these conjugates has been identified in a number of model monocot species, but the effect of monolignol p-coumarate conjugates on lignification and plant growth and development has not yet been examined in plants that do not inherently possess p-coumarates on their lignins. The rice (Oryza sativa) p-COUMAROYL-Coenzyme A MONOLIGNOL TRANSFERASE gene was introduced into two eudicots, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and poplar (Populus alba × grandidentata), and a series of analytical methods was used to show the incorporation of the ensuing monolignol p-coumarate conjugates into the lignin of these plants. In poplar, specifically, the addition of these conjugates did not occur at the expense of the naturally incorporated monolignol p-hydroxybenzoates. Plants expressing the p-COUMAROYL-Coenzyme A MONOLIGNOL TRANSFERASE transgene can therefore produce monolignol p-coumarate conjugates essentially without competing with the formation of other acylated monolignols and without drastically impacting normal monolignol production. PMID:26511914

Fluorinated Aromatic Amino Acids Distinguish Cation-π Interactions from Membrane Insertion*

PubMed Central

He, Tao; Gershenson, Anne; Eyles, Stephen J.; Lee, Yan-Jiun; Liu, Wenshe R.; Wang, Jiangyun; Gao, Jianmin; Roberts, Mary F.

2015-01-01

Cation-π interactions, where protein aromatic residues supply π systems while a positive-charged portion of phospholipid head groups are the cations, have been suggested as important binding modes for peripheral membrane proteins. However, aromatic amino acids can also insert into membranes and hydrophobically interact with lipid tails. Heretofore there has been no facile way to differentiate these two types of interactions. We show that specific incorporation of fluorinated amino acids into proteins can experimentally distinguish cation-π interactions from membrane insertion of the aromatic side chains. Fluorinated aromatic amino acids destabilize the cation-π interactions by altering electrostatics of the aromatic ring, whereas their increased hydrophobicity enhances membrane insertion. Incorporation of pentafluorophenylalanine or difluorotyrosine into a Staphylococcus aureus phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C variant engineered to contain a specific PC-binding site demonstrates the effectiveness of this methodology. Applying this methodology to the plethora of tyrosine residues in Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C definitively identifies those involved in cation-π interactions with phosphatidylcholine. This powerful method can easily be used to determine the roles of aromatic residues in other peripheral membrane proteins and in integral membrane proteins. PMID:26092728

Incorporating microbiota data into epidemiologic models: examples from vaginal microbiota research.

PubMed

van de Wijgert, Janneke H; Jespers, Vicky

2016-05-01

Next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction technologies are now widely available, and research incorporating these methods is growing exponentially. In the vaginal microbiota (VMB) field, most research to date has been descriptive. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of different ways in which next generation sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction data can be used to answer clinical epidemiologic research questions using examples from VMB research. We reviewed relevant methodological literature and VMB articles (published between 2008 and 2015) that incorporated these methodologies. VMB data have been analyzed using ecologic methods, methods that compare the presence or relative abundance of individual taxa or community compositions between different groups of women or sampling time points, and methods that first reduce the complexity of the data into a few variables followed by the incorporation of these variables into traditional biostatistical models. To make future VMB research more clinically relevant (such as studying associations between VMB compositions and clinical outcomes and the effects of interventions on the VMB), it is important that these methods are integrated with rigorous epidemiologic methods (such as appropriate study designs, sampling strategies, and adjustment for confounding). Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of two methods for using MR information in PET reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldeira, L.; Scheins, J.; Almeida, P.; Herzog, H.

2013-02-01

Using magnetic resonance (MR) information in maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithms for positron emission tomography (PET) image reconstruction has been investigated in the last years. Recently, three methods to introduce this information have been evaluated and the Bowsher prior was considered the best. Its main advantage is that it does not require image segmentation. Another method that has been widely used for incorporating MR information is using boundaries obtained by segmentation. This method has also shown improvements in image quality. In this paper, two methods for incorporating MR information in PET reconstruction are compared. After a Bayes parameter optimization, the reconstructed images were compared using the mean squared error (MSE) and the coefficient of variation (CV). MSE values are 3% lower in Bowsher than using boundaries. CV values are 10% lower in Bowsher than using boundaries. Both methods performed better than using no prior, that is, maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) or MAP without anatomic information in terms of MSE and CV. Concluding, incorporating MR information using the Bowsher prior gives better results in terms of MSE and CV than boundaries. MAP algorithms showed again to be effective in noise reduction and convergence, specially when MR information is incorporated. The robustness of the priors in respect to noise and inhomogeneities in the MR image has however still to be performed.

46 CFR 111.105-15 - Additional methods of protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Additional methods of protection. 111.105-15 Section 111.105-15 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING... (incorporated by reference; see 46 CFR 110.10-1) or Article 500.7(I) of NFPA NEC 2002 (incorporated by reference...

Incorporating Spirituality in Primary Care.

PubMed

Isaac, Kathleen S; Hay, Jennifer L; Lubetkin, Erica I

2016-06-01

Addressing cultural competency in health care involves recognizing the diverse characteristics of the patient population and understanding how they impact patient care. Spirituality is an aspect of cultural identity that has become increasingly recognized for its potential to impact health behaviors and healthcare decision-making. We consider the complex relationship between spirituality and health, exploring the role of spirituality in primary care, and consider the inclusion of spirituality in existing models of health promotion. We discuss the feasibility of incorporating spirituality into clinical practice, offering suggestions for physicians.

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

Majda, Andrew J.; Xing, Yulong; Mohammadian, Majid

Determining the finite-amplitude preconditioned states in the hurricane embryo, which lead to tropical cyclogenesis, is a central issue in contemporary meteorology. In the embryo there is competition between different preconditioning mechanisms involving hydrodynamics and moist thermodynamics, which can lead to cyclogenesis. Here systematic asymptotic methods from applied mathematics are utilized to develop new simplified moist multi-scale models starting from the moist anelastic equations. Three interesting multi-scale models emerge in the analysis. The balanced mesoscale vortex (BMV) dynamics and the microscale balanced hot tower (BHT) dynamics involve simplified balanced equations without gravity waves for vertical vorticity amplification due to moist heatmore » sources and incorporate nonlinear advective fluxes across scales. The BMV model is the central one for tropical cyclogenesis in the embryo. The moist mesoscale wave (MMW) dynamics involves simplified equations for mesoscale moisture fluctuations, as well as linear hydrostatic waves driven by heat sources from moisture and eddy flux divergences. A simplified cloud physics model for deep convection is introduced here and used to study moist axisymmetric plumes in the BHT model. A simple application in periodic geometry involving the effects of mesoscale vertical shear and moist microscale hot towers on vortex amplification is developed here to illustrate features of the coupled multi-scale models. These results illustrate the use of these models in isolating key mechanisms in the embryo in a simplified content.« less

Adaptive allocation for binary outcomes using decreasingly informative priors.

PubMed

Sabo, Roy T

2014-01-01

A method of outcome-adaptive allocation is presented using Bayes methods, where a natural lead-in is incorporated through the use of informative yet skeptical prior distributions for each treatment group. These prior distributions are modeled on unobserved data in such a way that their influence on the allocation scheme decreases as the trial progresses. Simulation studies show this method to behave comparably to the Bayesian adaptive allocation method described by Thall and Wathen (2007), who incorporate a natural lead-in through sample-size-based exponents.

Characterization​ and ​analysis of ​m​otion ​m​echanism​ of electroactive​ chitosan-based actuator.

PubMed

Altınkaya, Emine; Seki, Yoldaş; Çetin, Levent; Gürses, Barış Oğuz; Özdemir, Okan; Sever, Kutlay; Sarıkanat, Mehmet

2018-02-01

In order to analyze the bending mechanism of the electroactive​ chitosan-based actuator, different amounts of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDAD) were incorporated in chitosan solution. The effects of PDAD concentration on electromechanical performance of chitosan actuator were investigated under various excitation voltages. With the incorporation of PDAD into chitosan solution, crosslinked chitosan film acts as an actuator showing a considerable displacement behavior. However it can be noted that higher incorporation of PDAD into chitosan solution decreased the performance of the actuators. Thermal, viscoelastic, and crystallographic properties of the chitosan films were examined by thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively. The effect of incorporation of PDAD in chitosan-based film on morphological properties of chitosan film was determined by scanning electron microscopy. It was observed that the films involving PDAD have larger pore size than the PDAD free film. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Adoption of new technologies by health services: the challenge of analyzing relevant factors].

PubMed

Trindade, Evelinda

2008-05-01

The exponential increase in the incorporation of health technologies has been considered a key factor in increased expenditures by the health sector. Such decisions involve multiple levels and stakeholders. Decentralization has multiplied the decision-making levels, with numerous difficult choices and limited resources. The interrelationship between stakeholders is complex, in creative systems with multiple determinants and confounders. The current review discusses the interaction between the factors influencing the decisions to incorporate technologies by health services, and proposes a structure for their analysis. The application and intensity of these factors in decision-making and the incorporation of products and programs by health services shapes the installed capacity of local and regional networks and modifies the health system. Empirical observation of decision-making and technology incorporation in Brazilian health services poses an important challenge. The structured recognition and measurement of these variables can assist proactive planning of health services.

Assay of Deoxyhypusine Synthase Activity

PubMed Central

Wolff, Edith C.; Lee, Seung Bum; Park, Myung Hee

2011-01-01

Deoxyhypusine synthase catalyzes an unusual protein modification reaction. A portion of spermidine is covalently added to one specific lysine residue of one eukaryotic protein, eIF5A (eukaryotic initiation factor 5A) to form a deoxyhypusine residue. The assay measures the incorporation of radioactivity from [1,8-3H]spermidine into the eIF5A protein. The enzyme is specific for the eIF5A precursor protein and does not work on short peptides (<50 amino acids). Optimum conditions for the reaction and four detection methods for the product, deoxyhypusine-containing eIF5A, are described in this chapter. The first, and most specific, method is the measurement of the amount of [3H]deoxyhypusine in the protein hydrolysate after its separation by ion exchange chromatography. However, this method requires some specialized equipment. The second method is counting the radioactivity in TCA-precipitated protein after thorough washing. The third method involves determining the radioactivity in the band of [3H] deoxyhypusine-containing eIF5A after separation by SDS-PAGE. The fourth method is a filter-binding assay. It is important to minimize nonspecific binding of [3H]spermidine to proteins in the assay mixture, especially for methods 2 and 4, as illustrated in a comparison figure in the chapter. PMID:21318875

Pipeline To Environmental Awareness.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caton, Elaine; Brewer, Carol; Berkey, Jim; Brown, Fletcher

1998-01-01

Presents an interdisciplinary project involving the harnessing of petroleum energy. Necessitates research into exploration, production, transport, and conversion of the energy resource and incorporates such topics as the biological and environmental effects of oil spills. (DDR)

The effect of morphine on the biosynthesis of catecholamines in the rat brain.

PubMed

Malini, M; Kwan, T K; Perumal, R

1994-02-01

In vivo studies involved monitoring the effect of morphine administration on catecholamine biosynthesis by the brain while in vitro studies involved studying the effect of morphine on the uptake of tritiated tyrosine by synaptosomes and its subsequent incorporation into the catecholamines. The extremely low levels of these endogenous compounds required the use of High Performance Liquid Chromatography with electrochemical detection. Intra-peritoneal injection of morphine at a dosage of 10 mg/kg did not produce appreciable changes in the catecholamine levels but a dosage of 30 mg/kg morphine was found to elevate dihydroxy phenylacetic acid content. At a dosage of 60 mg/kg, dopamine levels were elevated while noradrenaline was depleted. Morphine, at a concentration of 1 x 10(-5)M increases the incorporation of tritiated tyrosine into dopamine and dihydroxy phenylacetic acid in synaptosomal preparations.

Metagenomic assessment of the potential microbial nitrogen pathways in the rhizosphere of a mediterranean forest after a wildfire.

PubMed

Cobo-Díaz, José F; Fernández-González, Antonio J; Villadas, Pablo J; Robles, Ana B; Toro, Nicolás; Fernández-López, Manuel

2015-05-01

Wildfires are frequent in the forests of the Mediterranean Basin and have greatly influenced this ecosystem. Changes to the physical and chemical properties of the soil, due to fire and post-fire conditions, result in alterations of both the bacterial communities and the nitrogen cycle. We explored the effects of a holm oak forest wildfire on the rhizospheric bacterial communities involved in the nitrogen cycle. Metagenomic data of the genes involved in the nitrogen cycle showed that both the undisturbed and burned rhizospheres had a conservative nitrogen cycle with a larger number of sequences related to the nitrogen incorporation pathways and a lower number for nitrogen output. However, the burned rhizosphere showed a statistically significant increase in the number of sequences for nitrogen incorporation (allantoin utilization and nitrogen fixation) and a significantly lower number of sequences for denitrification and dissimilatory nitrite reductase subsystems, possibly in order to compensate for nitrogen loss from the soil after burning. The genetic potential for nitrogen incorporation into the ecosystem was assessed through the diversity of the nitrogenase reductase enzyme, which is encoded by the nifH gene. We found that nifH gene diversity and richness were lower in burned than in undisturbed rhizospheric soils. The structure of the bacterial communities involved in the nitrogen cycle showed a statistically significant increase of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes phyla after the wildfire. Both approaches showed the important role of gram-positive bacteria in the ecosystem after a wildfire.

Parent and Family Involvement in Education, 2006-07 School Year, From the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2007. First Look. NCES 2008-050

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrold, Kathleen; O'Donnell, Kevin

2008-01-01

This report presents data on parents' and families' involvement in their children's education in the United States according to parents' reports for the 2006-07 school year. It also incorporates basic demographic information about children, parent/guardian characteristics, and household characteristics. The data come from the Parent and Family…

Family and Community Involvement: Reaching Out to Diverse Populations = La participacion de la familia y la comunidad: El acercamiento a las diversas poblaciones.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Southwest Educational Development Lab., Austin, TX.

This handbook, in English and Spanish, is designed for educators who want to develop meaningful parent and community involvement in public education in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The advice of leaders of Hispanic, African American, Native American, and Asian communities is incorporated into five strategies to help develop…

Whole-system approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Brand, Sarah L.; Thompson Coon, Jo; Fleming, Lora E.; Carroll, Lauren; Bethel, Alison; Wyatt, Katrina

2017-01-01

Background Healthcare professionals throughout the developed world report higher levels of sickness absence, dissatisfaction, distress, and “burnout” at work than staff in other sectors. There is a growing call for the ‘triple aim’ of healthcare delivery (improving patient experience and outcomes and reducing costs; to include a fourth aim: improving healthcare staff experience of healthcare delivery. A systematic review commissioned by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department of Health reviewed a large number of international healthy workplace interventions and recommended five whole-system changes to improve healthcare staff health and wellbeing: identification and response to local need, engagement of staff at all levels, and the involvement, visible leadership from, and up-skilling of, management and board-level staff. Objectives This systematic review aims to identify whole-system healthy workplace interventions in healthcare settings that incorporate (combinations of) these recommendations and determine whether they improve staff health and wellbeing. Methods A comprehensive and systematic search of medical, education, exercise science, and social science databases was undertaken. Studies were included if they reported the results of interventions that included all healthcare staff within a healthcare setting (e.g. whole hospital; whole unit, e.g. ward) in collective activities to improve physical or mental health or promote healthy behaviours. Results Eleven studies were identified which incorporated at least one of the whole-system recommendations. Interventions that incorporated recommendations to address local need and engage the whole workforce fell in to four broad types: 1) pre-determined (one-size-fits-all) and no choice of activities (two studies); or 2) pre-determined and some choice of activities (one study); 3) A wide choice of a range of activities and some adaptation to local needs (five studies); or, 3) a participatory approach to creating programmes responsive and adaptive to local staff needs that have extensive choice of activities to participate in (three studies). Only five of the interventions included substantial involvement and engagement of leadership and efforts aimed at up-skilling the leadership of staff to support staff health and wellbeing. Incorporation of more of the recommendations did not appear to be related to effectiveness. The heterogeneity of study designs, populations and outcomes excluded a meta-analysis. All studies were deemed by their authors to be at least partly effective. Two studies reported statistically significant improvement in objectively measured physical health (BMI) and eight in subjective mental health. Six studies reported statistically significant positive changes in subjectively assessed health behaviours. Conclusions This systematic review identified 11 studies which incorporate at least one of the Boorman recommendations and provides evidence that whole-system healthy workplace interventions can improve health and wellbeing and promote healthier behaviours in healthcare staff. PMID:29200422

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

Tseng, F.Y.; Rani, C.S.; Field, J.B.

Since iodide (I-) inhibits TSH stimulation of cAMP formation, which mediates most of the effects of the hormone, it has been assumed that this accounts for the inhibitory action of iodide on the thyroid. However, TSH stimulation of 32P incorporation into phospholipids and stimulation of thyroid metabolism by other agonists, such as carbachol, phorbol esters, and ionophore A23187, is not cAMP mediated. The present studies examined the effect of iodide on stimulation of glucose oxidation and 32P incorporation into phospholipids by TSH and other agonists to determine if the inhibition of cAMP formation was responsible for the action of iodide.more » Preincubation of dog thyroid slices for 1 h with iodide (10(-4) M) inhibited TSH-, (Bu)2cAMP-, carbachol-, methylene blue-, 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate-, ionophore A23187-, prostaglandin E1-, and cholera toxin-stimulated glucose oxidation. I- also inhibited the stimulation by TSH, 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate, carbachol, and ionophore A23187 of 32P incorporation into phospholipids. The inhibition was similar whether iodide was added 2 h before or simultaneously with the agonist. I- itself sometimes stimulated basal glucose oxidation, but had no effect on basal 32P incorporation into phospholipids. The effects of iodide on basal and agonist-stimulated thyroid metabolism were blocked by methimazole (10(-3) M). When dog thyroid slices were preloaded with 32PO4 or (1-14C)glucose, the iodide inhibition of agonist stimulation disappeared, suggesting that the effect of iodide involves the transport process. In conclusion, I- inhibited stimulation of glucose oxidation and 32P incorporation into phospholipids by all agonists, indicating that the effect is independent of the cAMP system and that iodide autoregulation does not only involve this system. Oxidation and organification of iodide are necessary for the inhibition.« less

Incorporating Servqual-QFD with Taguchi Design for optimizing service quality design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arbi Hadiyat, M.

2018-03-01

Deploying good service design in service companies has been updated issue in improving customer satisfaction, especially based on the level of service quality measured by Parasuraman’s SERVQUAL. Many researchers have been proposing methods in designing the service, and some of them are based on engineering viewpoint, especially by implementing the QFD method or even using robust Taguchi method. The QFD method would found the qualitative solution by generating the “how’s”, while Taguchi method gives more quantitative calculation in optimizing best solution. However, incorporating both QFD and Taguchi has been done in this paper and yields better design process. The purposes of this research is to evaluate the incorporated methods by implemented it to a case study, then analyze the result and see the robustness of those methods to customer perception of service quality. Started by measuring service attributes using SERVQUAL and find the improvement with QFD, the deployment of QFD solution then generated by defining Taguchi factors levels and calculating the Signal-to-noise ratio in its orthogonal array, and optimized Taguchi response then found. A case study was given for designing service in local bank. Afterward, the service design obtained from previous analysis was then evaluated and shows that it was still meet the customer satisfaction. Incorporating QFD and Taguchi has performed well and can be adopted and developed for another research for evaluating the robustness of result.

Evaluation of the physicochemical properties of liposomes as potential carriers of anticancer drugs: spectroscopic study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pentak, Danuta

2016-05-01

Vesicle size and composition are a critical parameter for determining the circulation half-life of liposomes. Size influences the degree of drug encapsulation in liposomes. The geometry, size, and properties of liposomes in an aqueous environment have to be described to enable potential applications of liposome systems as drug carriers. The characteristics of multiple thermotropic phase transitions are also an important consideration in liposomes used for analytical and bioanalytical purposes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of liposomes which accommodate hydrophilic and amphiphilic drugs used in cancer therapy. The studied liposomes were prepared with the involvement of the modified reverse-phase evaporation method (mREV). The prepared liposomes had a diameter of 70-150 nm. The analyzed compounds were 1-β- d-arabinofuranosylcytosine, cyclophosphamide, and ifosfamide. In literature, there is no information about simultaneous incorporation of cytarabine, ifosfamide, and cyclophosphamide, in spite of the fact that these drugs have been used for more than 30 years. A combination of the examined drugs is used in CODOX-M/IVAC therapy. CODOX-M/IVAC (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, high-dose methotrexate/ifosfamide, etoposide, and high-dose cytarabine) is one of the currently preferred intensive-dose chemotherapy regimens for Burkitt lymphoma (BL). The present research demonstrates the pioneering studies of incorporation of ifosfamide into liposome vesicles, location of and competition between the analyzed drugs and liposome vesicles. The applied methods were nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

How do we interest students in science?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, L.

2016-02-01

In today's world science literacy is now, more than ever, critical to society. However, today's technically savvy student tends to be bored by "cook-book" laboratory exercises and dated lecture style, which typifies the way that most science courses are taught. To enhance student interest in and understanding of the sciences, we developed two unique programs, in which teachers were provided with the tools and hands-on experience that enabled them to implement research- and inquiry-based projects with their students. The approach was based a framework that is student driven and enables active participation and innovation in the study of the environment. The framework involved selection of a theme and an activity that captured the interest of the participants, participant development of research or investigative questions based on the theme, experimentation to address the research questions, formulation of conclusions, and communication of these results. The projects consisted of two parts: a professional development institute for teachers and the classroom implementation of student research projects, both of which incorporated the framework process. The institutes focused on modeling the framework process, with teachers actively developing questions, researching the question, formulating results and conclusions. This method empowered teachers to be confident in the implementation of the process with their students. With support from project staff, teachers followed up by incorporating the method of teaching with their students. Evaluation results from the programs concluded that projects such as these can increase student interest in and understanding of the scientific process.

Clinical Decision Support Alert Appropriateness: A Review and Proposal for Improvement

PubMed Central

McCoy, Allison B.; Thomas, Eric J.; Krousel-Wood, Marie; Sittig, Dean F.

2014-01-01

Background Many healthcare providers are adopting clinical decision support (CDS) systems to improve patient safety and meet meaningful use requirements. Computerized alerts that prompt clinicians about drug-allergy, drug-drug, and drug-disease warnings or provide dosing guidance are most commonly implemented. Alert overrides, which occur when clinicians do not follow the guidance presented by the alert, can hinder improved patient outcomes. Methods We present a review of CDS alerts and describe a proposal to develop novel methods for evaluating and improving CDS alerts that builds upon traditional informatics approaches. Our proposal incorporates previously described models for predicting alert overrides that utilize retrospective chart review to determine which alerts are clinically relevant and which overrides are justifiable. Results Despite increasing implementations of CDS alerts, detailed evaluations rarely occur because of the extensive labor involved in manual chart reviews to determine alert and response appropriateness. Further, most studies have solely evaluated alert overrides that are appropriate or justifiable. Our proposal expands the use of web-based monitoring tools with an interactive dashboard for evaluating CDS alert and response appropriateness that incorporates the predictive models. The dashboard provides 2 views, an alert detail view and a patient detail view, to provide a full history of alerts and help put the patient's events in context. Conclusion The proposed research introduces several innovations to address the challenges and gaps in alert evaluations. This research can transform alert evaluation processes across healthcare settings, leading to improved CDS, reduced alert fatigue, and increased patient safety. PMID:24940129

Reimbursement-Based Economics--What Is It and How Can We Use It to Inform Drug Policy Reform?

PubMed

Coyle, Doug; Lee, Karen M; Mamdani, Muhammad; Sabarre, Kelley-Anne; Tingley, Kylie

2015-01-01

In Ontario, approximately $3.8 billion is spent annually on publicly funded drug programs. The annual growth in Ontario Public Drug Program (OPDP) expenditure has been limited to 1.2% over the course of 3 years. Concurrently, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN) was appointed to conduct drug class review research relating to formulary modernization within the OPDP. Drug class reviews by ODPRN incorporate a novel methodological technique called reimbursement-based economics, which focuses on reimbursement strategies and may be particularly relevant for policy-makers. To describe the reimbursement-based economics approach. Reimbursement-based economics aims to identify the optimal reimbursement strategy for drug classes by incorporating a review of economic literature, comprehensive budget impact analyses, and consideration of cost-effectiveness. This 3-step approach is novel in its focus on the economic impact of alternate reimbursement strategies rather than individual therapies. The methods involved within the reimbursement-based approach are detailed. To facilitate the description, summary methods and findings from a recent application to formulary modernization with respect to the drug class tryptamine-based selective serotonin receptor agonists (triptans) used to treat migraine headaches are presented. The application of reimbursement-based economics in drug policy reforms allows policy-makers to consider the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of different reimbursement strategies allowing consideration of the trade-off between potential cost savings vs increased access to cost-effective treatments. © 2015 American Headache Society.

Biological properties of nanostructured Ti incorporated with Ca, P and Ag by electrochemical method.

PubMed

Li, Baoe; Hao, Jingzu; Min, Yang; Xin, Shigang; Guo, Litong; He, Fei; Liang, Chunyong; Wang, Hongshui; Li, Haipeng

2015-06-01

TiO2 nanotube arrays were synthesized on Ti surface by anodic oxidation. The elements of Ca and P were simultaneously incorporated during nanotubes growth in SBF electrolyte, and then Ag was introduced to nanotube arrays by cathodic deposition, which endowed the good osseointegration and antibacterial property of Ti. The bioactivity of the Ti surface was evaluated by simulated body fluid soaking test. The biocompatibility was investigated by in vitro cell culture test. And the antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus was examined by the bacterial counting method. The results showed that the incorporation of Ca, P and Ag elements had no significant influence on the formation of nanotube arrays on Ti surface during electrochemical treatment. Compared to the polished or nanotubular Ti surface, TiO2 nanotube arrays incorporated with Ca, P and Ag increased the formation of bone-like apatite in simulated body fluid, enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation, and inhibited the bacterial growth. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the nanostructured Ti incorporated with Ca, P and Ag by electrochemical method has promising applications as implant material. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inferring the Joint Demographic History of Multiple Populations from Multidimensional SNP Frequency Data

PubMed Central

Gutenkunst, Ryan N.; Hernandez, Ryan D.; Williamson, Scott H.; Bustamante, Carlos D.

2009-01-01

Demographic models built from genetic data play important roles in illuminating prehistorical events and serving as null models in genome scans for selection. We introduce an inference method based on the joint frequency spectrum of genetic variants within and between populations. For candidate models we numerically compute the expected spectrum using a diffusion approximation to the one-locus, two-allele Wright-Fisher process, involving up to three simultaneous populations. Our approach is a composite likelihood scheme, since linkage between neutral loci alters the variance but not the expectation of the frequency spectrum. We thus use bootstraps incorporating linkage to estimate uncertainties for parameters and significance values for hypothesis tests. Our method can also incorporate selection on single sites, predicting the joint distribution of selected alleles among populations experiencing a bevy of evolutionary forces, including expansions, contractions, migrations, and admixture. We model human expansion out of Africa and the settlement of the New World, using 5 Mb of noncoding DNA resequenced in 68 individuals from 4 populations (YRI, CHB, CEU, and MXL) by the Environmental Genome Project. We infer divergence between West African and Eurasian populations 140 thousand years ago (95% confidence interval: 40–270 kya). This is earlier than other genetic studies, in part because we incorporate migration. We estimate the European (CEU) and East Asian (CHB) divergence time to be 23 kya (95% c.i.: 17–43 kya), long after archeological evidence places modern humans in Europe. Finally, we estimate divergence between East Asians (CHB) and Mexican-Americans (MXL) of 22 kya (95% c.i.: 16.3–26.9 kya), and our analysis yields no evidence for subsequent migration. Furthermore, combining our demographic model with a previously estimated distribution of selective effects among newly arising amino acid mutations accurately predicts the frequency spectrum of nonsynonymous variants across three continental populations (YRI, CHB, CEU). PMID:19851460

A novel method of optimizing patient- and family-centered care in the ICU.

PubMed

Allen, Steven R; Pascual, Jose; Martin, Niels; Reilly, Patrick; Luckianow, Gina; Datner, Elizabeth; Davis, Kimberly A; Kaplan, Lewis J

2017-03-01

Patient- and family-centered care permeates critical care where there are often multiple teams involved in management. A method of facilitating information sharing to support shared decision making is essential in appropriately rendering care.This study sought to determine whether incorporating family members on rounds in the intensive care unit (ICU) improves patient and family knowledge and whether doing so improves team time management and satisfaction with the process. A nonrandomized comparative before-and-after trial of incorporating family members on rounds (July to December 2009 vs January to July 2010) in a single quarternary center's surgical ICU assessed (1) family members' knowledge, (2) nurse's and physician's satisfaction with the intervention, (3) frequency and timing of family meetings, and (4) physician's workflow. Intensive care unit demographics and use were similar between time frames. Presurvey (n = 412 family members; 49 nurses) and postsurvey (n = 427 family members; 47 nurses) were coupled with presurvey (n = 5) and postsurvey (n = 6) physicians' informal feedback. Family knowledge of the clinical course and plans increased from 146 (35.4%) of 412 to 374 (87.6%) of 427 (p < 0.0001). Nurses were nearly uniformly satisfied with planned family interaction on rounds (presurvey: 9/49 [18.4%] vs postsurvey: 46/47 [97.9%]; p < 0.0001). Family meetings per week outside of rounds substantially decreased from a mean of 5.3 ± 2.7 to 0.3 ± 0.9; p < 0.001). Goals of therapy including end-of-life care became an element frequently discussed on rounds with families (presurvey: 9.4% ± 4.7% vs postsurvey: 82.5% ± 14.8%; p < 0.0001). One intensivist was dissatisfied with the process. Incorporating family members on rounds in the ICU improves communication and satisfaction and shifts the team's time away from family communication events outside of rounds, condensing most of those activities within the rounding structure. Critical care nurses and intensivists were principally satisfied with the process. Therapeutic, level III.

Hepatocyte growth factor incorporated chitosan nanoparticles augment the differentiation of stem cell into hepatocytes for the recovery of liver cirrhosis in mice

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Short half-life and low levels of growth factors in the niche of injured microenvironment necessitates the exogenous and sustainable delivery of growth factors along with stem cells to augment the regeneration of injured tissues. Methods Here, recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) was incorporated into chitosan nanoparticles (CNP) by ionic gelation method and studied for its morphological and physiological characteristics. Cirrhotic mice received either hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) or mesenchymal stemcells (MSC) with or without HGF incorporated chitosan nanoparticles (HGF-CNP) and saline as control. Biochemical, histological, immunostaining and gene expression assays were carried out using serum and liver tissue samples. One way analysis of variance was used for statics application Results Serum levels of selected liver protein and enzymes were significantly increased in the combination of MSC and HGF-CNP (MSC+HGF-CNP) treated group. Immunopositive staining for albumin (Alb) and cytokeratin 18 (CK18), and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Alb, alpha fetoprotein (AFP), CK18, cytokeratin 19 (CK19) ascertained that MSC-HGF-CNP treatment could be an effective combination to repopulate liver parenchymal cells in the liver cirrhosis. Zymogram and western blotting for matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2 and MMP9) revealed that MMP2 actively involved in the fibrolysis of cirrhotic tissue. Immunostaining for alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA) and type I collagen showed decreased expression in the MSC+HGF-CNP treatment. These results indicated that HGF-CNP enhanced the differentiation of stem cells into hepatocytes and supported the reversal of fibrolysis of extracellular matrix (ECM). Conclusion Bone marrow stem cells were isolated, characterized and transplanted in mice model. Biodegradable biopolymeric nanoparticles were prepared with the pleotrophic protein molecule and it worked well for the differentiation of stem cells, especially mesenchymal phenotypic cells. Transplantation of bone marrow MSC in combination with HGF-CNP could be an ideal approach for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. PMID:21526984

Incorporation of silver nanoparticles on the surface of orthodontic microimplants to achieve antimicrobial properties

PubMed Central

Venugopal, Adith; Muthuchamy, Nallal; Tejani, Harsh; Gopalan, Anantha-Iyengar; Lee, Kwang-Pill; Lee, Heon-Jin

2017-01-01

Objective Microbial aggregation around dental implants can lead to loss/loosening of the implants. This study was aimed at surface treating titanium microimplants with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to achieve antibacterial properties. Methods AgNP-modified titanium microimplants (Ti-nAg) were prepared using two methods. The first method involved coating the microimplants with regular AgNPs (Ti-AgNP) and the second involved coating them with a AgNP-coated biopolymer (Ti-BP-AgNP). The topologies, microstructures, and chemical compositions of the surfaces of the Ti-nAg were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Disk diffusion tests using Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans were performed to test the antibacterial activity of the Ti-nAg microimplants. Results SEM revealed that only a meager amount of AgNPs was sparsely deposited on the Ti-AgNP surface with the first method, while a layer of AgNP-coated biopolymer extended along the Ti-BP-AgNP surface in the second method. The diameters of the coated nanoparticles were in the range of 10 to 30 nm. EDS revealed 1.05 atomic % of Ag on the surface of the Ti-AgNP and an astounding 21.2 atomic % on the surface of the Ti-BP-AgNP. XPS confirmed the metallic state of silver on the Ti-BP-AgNP surface. After 24 hours of incubation, clear zones of inhibition were seen around the Ti-BP-AgNP microimplants in all three test bacterial culture plates, whereas no antibacterial effect was observed with the Ti-AgNP microimplants. Conclusions Titanium microimplants modified with Ti-BP-AgNP exhibit excellent antibacterial properties, making them a promising implantable biomaterial. PMID:28127534

Estimating Bacterial Production in Marine Waters from the Simultaneous Incorporation of Thymidine and Leucine

PubMed Central

Chin-Leo, Gerardo; Kirchman, David L.

1988-01-01

We examined the simultaneous incorporation of [3H]thymidine and [14C]leucine to obtain two independent indices of bacterial production (DNA and protein syntheses) in a single incubation. Incorporation rates of leucine estimated by the dual-label method were generally higher than those obtained by the single-label method, but the differences were small (dual/single = 1.1 ± 0.2 [mean ± standard deviation]) and were probably due to the presence of labeled leucyl-tRNA in the cold trichloroacetic acid-insoluble fraction. There were no significant differences in thymidine incorporation between dual- and single-label incubations (dual/ single = 1.03 ± 0.13). Addition of the two substrates in relatively large amounts (25 nM) did not apparently increase bacterial activity during short incubations (<5 h). With the dual-label method we found that thymidine and leucine incorporation rates covaried over depth profiles of the Chesapeake Bay. Estimates of bacterial production based on thymidine and leucine differed by less than 25%. Although the need for appropriate conversion factors has not been eliminated, the dual-label approach can be used to examine the variation in bacterial production while ensuring that the observed variation in incorporation rates is due to real changes in bacterial production rather than changes in conversion factors or introduction of other artifacts. PMID:16347706

[Comparative evaluation of the anionic superdisintegrant incorporation mode on the quality of ranitidine tablets].

PubMed

Postolache, Liliana; Gafiţanu, Eliza

2012-01-01

The present study was based on the impact of the superdisintegrants incorporation mechanism on the immediate realese of the tablets final performances. The aim was the selection of the working method to obtain Ranitidine 150 mg tablets with the desiderate quality and in reproducible conditions. The effect of the incorporation mode of sodium starch glycolate on the aspect, granules size distribution and flowing properties of the lubricated product, and also the weight uniformity, hardness, disintegration, friability, and dissolution of the Ranitidine 150 mg tablets prepared by dry granulation was studied. The addition mode of the disintegrant was realized in three ways: intragranular, extragranular, and distributed equally between the two phases. The distribution range for the tablets weight was established. Relative standard distribution was calculed for the weight and hardness of the uncoated tablets. The powder flow and, implicit, the weight uniformity of the uncoated tablets was positive influenced by the extragranular incorporation of the superdisintegrant. The disintegration time was identical for all the three disintegrant addition modes, and the hardness and the friability were not significantly influenced by working method, the obtained values were similar. For the developed formulations, the percent of the ranitidine dissolution was high, but higher in the extragranular incorporation. For the product quality the extragranular addition mode seemed the best method to incorporate the superdisintegrant.

Deuterium incorporation experiments from (3R)- and (3S)-[3-2H]leucine into characteristic isoprenoidal lipid-core of halophilic archaea suggests the involvement of isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase.

PubMed

Yamauchi, Noriaki; Tanoue, Ryo

2017-11-01

The stereochemical reaction course for the two C-3 hydrogens of leucine to produce a characteristic isoprenoidal lipid in halophilic archaea was observed using incubation experiments with whole cell Halobacterium salinarum. Deuterium-labeled (3R)- and (3S)-[3- 2 H]leucine were freshly prepared as substrates from 2,3-epoxy-4-methyl-1-pentanol. Incorporation of deuterium from (3S)-[3- 2 H]leucine and loss of deuterium from (3R)-[3- 2 H]leucine in the lipid-core of H. salinarum was observed. Taken together with the results of our previous report, involving the incubation of chiral-labeled [5- 2 H]leucine, these results strongly suggested an involvement of isovaleryl-CoA dehydrogenase in leucine conversion to isoprenoid lipid in halophilic archaea. The stereochemical course of the reaction (anti-elimination) might have been the same as that previously reported for mammalian enzyme reactions. Thus, these results suggested that branched amino acids were metabolized to mevalonate in archaea in a manner similar to other organisms.

Physician-Hospital Alignment in Orthopedic Surgery.

PubMed

Bushnell, Brandon D

2015-09-01

The concept of "alignment" between physicians and hospitals is a popular buzzword in the age of health care reform. Despite their often tumultuous histories, physicians and hospitals find themselves under increasing pressures to work together toward common goals. However, effective alignment is more than just simple cooperation between parties. The process of achieving alignment does not have simple, universal steps. Alignment will differ based on individual situational factors and the type of specialty involved. Ultimately, however, there are principles that underlie the concept of alignment and should be a part of any physician-hospital alignment efforts. In orthopedic surgery, alignment involves the clinical, administrative, financial, and even personal aspects of a surgeon's practice. It must be based on the principles of financial interest, clinical authority, administrative participation, transparency, focus on the patient, and mutual necessity. Alignment can take on various forms as well, with popular models consisting of shared governance and comanagement, gainsharing, bundled payments, accountable care organizations, and other methods. As regulatory and financial pressures continue to motivate physicians and hospitals to develop alignment relationships, new and innovative methods of alignment will also appear. Existing models will mature and evolve, with individual variability based on local factors. However, certain trends seem to be appearing as time progresses and alignment relationships deepen, including regional and national collaboration, population management, and changes in the legal system. This article explores the history, principles, and specific methods of physician-hospital alignment and its critical importance for the future of health care delivery. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

47 CFR 15.38 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

.../ansidocstore/default.asp; (1) ANSI C63.4-2003: “Methods of Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES General § 15.38 Incorporation by....31, except for sections 4.1, 5.2, 5.7, 9 and 14. (2) ANSI C63.17-2006: “Methods of Measurement of the...

47 CFR 15.38 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

.../ansidocstore/default.asp; (1) ANSI C63.4-2003: “Methods of Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES General § 15.38 Incorporation by....31, except for sections 4.1, 5.2, 5.7, 9 and 14. (2) ANSI C63.17-2006: “Methods of Measurement of the...

47 CFR 15.38 - Incorporation by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

.../ansidocstore/default.asp; (1) ANSI C63.4-2003: “Methods of Measurement of Radio-Noise Emissions from Low... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES General § 15.38 Incorporation by....31, except for sections 4.1, 5.2, 5.7, 9 and 14. (2) ANSI C63.17-2006: “Methods of Measurement of the...

Modification of a method-of-characteristics solute-transport model to incorporate decay and equilibrium-controlled sorption or ion exchange

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goode, D.J.; Konikow, Leonard F.

1989-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey computer model of two-dimensional solute transport and dispersion in ground water (Konikow and Bredehoeft, 1978) has been modified to incorporate the following types of chemical reactions: (1) first-order irreversible rate-reaction, such as radioactive decay; (2) reversible equilibrium-controlled sorption with linear, Freundlich, or Langmuir isotherms; and (3) reversible equilibrium-controlled ion exchange for monovalent or divalent ions. Numerical procedures are developed to incorporate these processes in the general solution scheme that uses method-of- characteristics with particle tracking for advection and finite-difference methods for dispersion. The first type of reaction is accounted for by an exponential decay term applied directly to the particle concentration. The second and third types of reactions are incorporated through a retardation factor, which is a function of concentration for nonlinear cases. The model is evaluated and verified by comparison with analytical solutions for linear sorption and decay, and by comparison with other numerical solutions for nonlinear sorption and ion exchange.

Research and Laboratory Instruction--An Experiment in Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramm, Kenneth R.

1976-01-01

Describes an attempt to incorporate research into laboratory work in an introductory ecology class and a senior seminar. The investigation involves the examination of rhythms of food consumption and circadian activities in humans. (GS)

MULTIPLE SCALES FOR SUSTAINABLE RESULTS

EPA Science Inventory

This session will highlight recent research that incorporates the use of multiple scales and innovative environmental accounting to better inform decisions that affect sustainability, resilience, and vulnerability at all scales. Effective decision-making involves assessment at mu...

Creating Documentaries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beasley, Augie

1994-01-01

Explains production techniques involved in making student documentaries on video. Highlights include student research; script writing; narration; the use of interviews; incorporating visual materials such as maps and photographs; camera techniques; demonstrations; editing; and time limits. (Contains six references.) (LRW)

Standard Transistor Array (STAR). Volume 1: Placement technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, G. W.; Caroll, B. D.

1979-01-01

A large scale integration (LSI) technology, the standard transistor array uses a prefabricated understructure of transistors and a comprehensive library of digital logic cells to allow efficient fabrication of semicustom digital LSI circuits. The cell placement technique for this technology involves formation of a one dimensional cell layout and "folding" of the one dimensional placement onto the chip. It was found that, by use of various folding methods, high quality chip layouts can be achieved. Methods developed to measure of the "goodness" of the generated placements include efficient means for estimating channel usage requirements and for via counting. The placement and rating techniques were incorporated into a placement program (CAPSTAR). By means of repetitive use of the folding methods and simple placement improvement strategies, this program provides near optimum placements in a reasonable amount of time. The program was tested on several typical LSI circuits to provide performance comparisons both with respect to input parameters and with respect to the performance of other placement techniques. The results of this testing indicate that near optimum placements can be achieved by use of the procedures incurring severe time penalties.

Discrete-continuous variable structural synthesis using dual methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmit, L. A.; Fleury, C.

1980-01-01

Approximation concepts and dual methods are extended to solve structural synthesis problems involving a mix of discrete and continuous sizing type of design variables. Pure discrete and pure continuous variable problems can be handled as special cases. The basic mathematical programming statement of the structural synthesis problem is converted into a sequence of explicit approximate primal problems of separable form. These problems are solved by constructing continuous explicit dual functions, which are maximized subject to simple nonnegativity constraints on the dual variables. A newly devised gradient projection type of algorithm called DUAL 1, which includes special features for handling dual function gradient discontinuities that arise from the discrete primal variables, is used to find the solution of each dual problem. Computational implementation is accomplished by incorporating the DUAL 1 algorithm into the ACCESS 3 program as a new optimizer option. The power of the method set forth is demonstrated by presenting numerical results for several example problems, including a pure discrete variable treatment of a metallic swept wing and a mixed discrete-continuous variable solution for a thin delta wing with fiber composite skins.

Efficient and robust model-to-image alignment using 3D scale-invariant features.

PubMed

Toews, Matthew; Wells, William M

2013-04-01

This paper presents feature-based alignment (FBA), a general method for efficient and robust model-to-image alignment. Volumetric images, e.g. CT scans of the human body, are modeled probabilistically as a collage of 3D scale-invariant image features within a normalized reference space. Features are incorporated as a latent random variable and marginalized out in computing a maximum a posteriori alignment solution. The model is learned from features extracted in pre-aligned training images, then fit to features extracted from a new image to identify a globally optimal locally linear alignment solution. Novel techniques are presented for determining local feature orientation and efficiently encoding feature intensity in 3D. Experiments involving difficult magnetic resonance (MR) images of the human brain demonstrate FBA achieves alignment accuracy similar to widely-used registration methods, while requiring a fraction of the memory and computation resources and offering a more robust, globally optimal solution. Experiments on CT human body scans demonstrate FBA as an effective system for automatic human body alignment where other alignment methods break down. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Teaching concept analysis to graduate nursing students.

PubMed

Schiller, Catharine J

2018-04-01

To provide guidance to educators who use the Wilson (1963) concept analysis method, as modified by Walker and Avant (2011), in their graduate nursing curriculum BACKGROUND: While graduate nursing curricula often include a concept analysis assignment, there is a paucity of literature to assist educators in guiding students through this challenging process. This article details one way for educators to assist graduate nursing students in learning how to undertake each step of the Wilson (1963) concept analysis method, as modified by Walker and Avant (2011). Wilson (1963) concept analysis method, as modified by Walker and Avant (2011). Using examples, this article walks the reader through the Walker and Avant (2011) concept analysis process and addresses those issues commonly encountered by educators during this process. This article presented one way of walking students through a Walker and Avant (2011) concept analysis. Having clear information about the steps involved in developing a concept analysis will make it easier for educators to incorporate it into their graduate nursing curriculum and to effectively guide students on their journey through this process. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scaling Laws Applied to a Modal Formulation of the Aeroservoelastic Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pototzky, Anthony S.

2002-01-01

A method of scaling is described that easily converts the aeroelastic equations of motion of a full-sized aircraft into ones of a wind-tunnel model. To implement the method, a set of rules is provided for the conversion process involving matrix operations with scale factors. In addition, a technique for analytically incorporating a spring mounting system into the aeroelastic equations is also presented. As an example problem, a finite element model of a full-sized aircraft is introduced from the High Speed Research (HSR) program to exercise the scaling method. With a set of scale factor values, a brief outline is given of a procedure to generate the first-order aeroservoelastic analytical model representing the wind-tunnel model. To verify the scaling process as applied to the example problem, the root-locus patterns from the full-sized vehicle and the wind-tunnel model are compared to see if the root magnitudes scale with the frequency scale factor value. Selected time-history results are given from a numerical simulation of an active-controlled wind-tunnel model to demonstrate the utility of the scaling process.

Determination of glutathione in human plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection with a carbon-epoxy resin composite electrode chemically modified with cobalt phthalocyanine.

PubMed

Wring, S A; Hart, J P; Birch, B J

1989-12-01

High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (LCEC), incorporating a novel carbon-epoxy resin working electrode modified with cobalt phthalocyanine, has been employed for preliminary studies directed towards the determination of normal circulating levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) in human plasma. The mobile phase consisted of 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 3) containing 0.1% m/m ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA); the calibration graph was linear in the range 0.24-30.7 ng of GSH injected. The mean recovery of GSH added to a control serum over the physiological concentration range (0.38-3.07 ng ml-1) was 99%; this was achieved following a simple sample pre-treatment method, prior to LCEC, involving chelation of divalent cations with EDTA and subsequent acidification with orthophosphoric acid. Using the LCEC method, the mean circulating level of GSH in plasma, found in three normal subjects, was 2.69 microM, GSH; this indicates that the method might be applicable to the determination of depressed circulating levels of GSH.

An efficient approach to BAC based assembly of complex genomes.

PubMed

Visendi, Paul; Berkman, Paul J; Hayashi, Satomi; Golicz, Agnieszka A; Bayer, Philipp E; Ruperao, Pradeep; Hurgobin, Bhavna; Montenegro, Juan; Chan, Chon-Kit Kenneth; Staňková, Helena; Batley, Jacqueline; Šimková, Hana; Doležel, Jaroslav; Edwards, David

2016-01-01

There has been an exponential growth in the number of genome sequencing projects since the introduction of next generation DNA sequencing technologies. Genome projects have increasingly involved assembly of whole genome data which produces inferior assemblies compared to traditional Sanger sequencing of genomic fragments cloned into bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs). While whole genome shotgun sequencing using next generation sequencing (NGS) is relatively fast and inexpensive, this method is extremely challenging for highly complex genomes, where polyploidy or high repeat content confounds accurate assembly, or where a highly accurate 'gold' reference is required. Several attempts have been made to improve genome sequencing approaches by incorporating NGS methods, to variable success. We present the application of a novel BAC sequencing approach which combines indexed pools of BACs, Illumina paired read sequencing, a sequence assembler specifically designed for complex BAC assembly, and a custom bioinformatics pipeline. We demonstrate this method by sequencing and assembling BAC cloned fragments from bread wheat and sugarcane genomes. We demonstrate that our assembly approach is accurate, robust, cost effective and scalable, with applications for complete genome sequencing in large and complex genomes.

A Roadmap for Using Agile Development in a Traditional Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara; Starbird, Thomas; Grenander, Sven

2006-01-01

One of the newer classes of software engineering techniques is called 'Agile Development'. In Agile Development software engineers take small implementation steps and, in some cases, they program in pairs. In addition, they develop automatic tests prior to implementing their small functional piece. Agile Development focuses on rapid turnaround, incremental planning, customer involvement and continuous integration. Agile Development is not the traditional waterfall method or even a rapid prototyping method (although this methodology is closer to Agile Development). At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) a few groups have begun Agile Development software implementations. The difficulty with this approach becomes apparent when Agile Development is used in an organization that has specific criteria and requirements handed down for how software development is to be performed. The work at the JPL is performed for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). Both organizations have specific requirements, rules and processes for developing software. This paper will discuss some of the initial uses of the Agile Development methodology, the spread of this method and the current status of the successful incorporation into the current JPL development policies and processes.

A Roadmap for Using Agile Development in a Traditional Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara A.; Starbird, Thomas; Grenander, Sven

2006-01-01

One of the newer classes of software engineering techniques is called 'Agile Development'. In Agile Development software engineers take small implementation steps and, in some cases they program in pairs. In addition, they develop automatic tests prior to implementing their small functional piece. Agile Development focuses on rapid turnaround, incremental planning, customer involvement and continuous integration. Agile Development is not the traditional waterfall method or even a rapid prototyping method (although this methodology is closer to Agile Development). At Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) a few groups have begun Agile Development software implementations. The difficulty with this approach becomes apparent when Agile Development is used in an organization that has specific criteria and requirements handed down for how software development is to be performed. The work at the JPL is performed for the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA). Both organizations have specific requirements, rules and procedure for developing software. This paper will discuss the some of the initial uses of the Agile Development methodology, the spread of this method and the current status of the successful incorporation into the current JPL development policies.

[Interdisciplinary teamwork in the OR: Identification and measurement of teamwork in the operating room].

PubMed

Passauer-Baierl, Stefanie; Baschnegger, Heiko; Bruns, Christiane; Weigl, Matthias

2014-01-01

Effective teamwork is one of the essentials in conducting successful and safe surgical procedures in the operating theatre (OT). The present paper aims to provide a selective review of various approaches describing effective interdisciplinary teamwork in the OT. Furthermore, it covers observational methods to assess OT teamwork with particular focus on Germany. Our definition of successful surgical teamwork is based on an already established classification system considering five criteria for effective and safe OT teams: coordination, communication, cooperation, leadership, and team monitoring. Well-defined and reliable measures are necessary to examine the quality of OT teamwork. Those methods should entail the special characteristics of the OT team. They should include all phases of the surgical procedure and incorporate all the professions involved (surgeons, surgical nurses, and anaesthetic staff). We conclude that research into methods for the assessment of OTs in Germany needs to be undertaken as a prerequisite to investigating the relationship between OT teamwork and its effects on patient safety and surgical quality. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Efficient and Robust Model-to-Image Alignment using 3D Scale-Invariant Features

PubMed Central

Toews, Matthew; Wells, William M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents feature-based alignment (FBA), a general method for efficient and robust model-to-image alignment. Volumetric images, e.g. CT scans of the human body, are modeled probabilistically as a collage of 3D scale-invariant image features within a normalized reference space. Features are incorporated as a latent random variable and marginalized out in computing a maximum a-posteriori alignment solution. The model is learned from features extracted in pre-aligned training images, then fit to features extracted from a new image to identify a globally optimal locally linear alignment solution. Novel techniques are presented for determining local feature orientation and efficiently encoding feature intensity in 3D. Experiments involving difficult magnetic resonance (MR) images of the human brain demonstrate FBA achieves alignment accuracy similar to widely-used registration methods, while requiring a fraction of the memory and computation resources and offering a more robust, globally optimal solution. Experiments on CT human body scans demonstrate FBA as an effective system for automatic human body alignment where other alignment methods break down. PMID:23265799

Based on interval type-2 fuzzy-neural network direct adaptive sliding mode control for SISO nonlinear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Tsung-Chih

2010-12-01

In this paper, a novel direct adaptive interval type-2 fuzzy-neural tracking control equipped with sliding mode and Lyapunov synthesis approach is proposed to handle the training data corrupted by noise or rule uncertainties for nonlinear SISO nonlinear systems involving external disturbances. By employing adaptive fuzzy-neural control theory, the update laws will be derived for approximating the uncertain nonlinear dynamical system. In the meantime, the sliding mode control method and the Lyapunov stability criterion are incorporated into the adaptive fuzzy-neural control scheme such that the derived controller is robust with respect to unmodeled dynamics, external disturbance and approximation errors. In comparison with conventional methods, the advocated approach not only guarantees closed-loop stability but also the output tracking error of the overall system will converge to zero asymptotically without prior knowledge on the upper bound of the lumped uncertainty. Furthermore, chattering effect of the control input will be substantially reduced by the proposed technique. To illustrate the performance of the proposed method, finally simulation example will be given.

Dynamics of Kilauea's Magmatic System Imaged Using a Joint Analysis of Geodetic and Seismic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wauthier, C.; Roman, D. C.; Poland, M. P.; Fukushima, Y.; Hooper, A. J.

2012-12-01

Nowadays, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is commonly used to study a wide range of active volcanic areas. InSAR provides high-spatial-resolution measurements of surface deformation with centimeter-scale accuracy. At Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i, InSAR shows complex processes that are not well constrained by GPS data (which have relatively poor spatial resolution). However, GPS data have higher temporal resolution than InSAR data. Both datasets are thus complementary. To overcome some of the limitations of conventional InSAR, which are mainly induced by temporal decorrelation, topographic, orbital and atmospheric delays, a Multi-Temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) approach can be used. MT-InSAR techniques involve the processing of multiple SAR acquisitions over the same area. Two classes of MT-InSAR algorithms are defined: the persistent scatterers (PS) and small baseline (SBAS) methods. Each method is designed for a specific type of scattering mechanism. A PS pixel is a pixel in which a single scatterer dominates, while the contributions from other scatterers are negligible. A SBAS pixel is a pixel that includes distributed scatterers, which have a phase with little decorrelation over short time periods. Here, we apply the "StaMPS" ("Stanford Method for Permanent Scatterers") technique, which incorporates both a PS and SBAS approach, on ENVISAT and ALOS datasets acquired from 2003 to 2010 at Kilauea. In particular, we focus our InSAR analysis on the time period before the June 2007 "Father's Day" dike intrusion and eruption, and also incorporate seismic and GPS data in our models. Our goal is to identify any precursors to the Father's Day event within Kilauea's summit magma system, east rift zone, and/or southwest rift zone.

Three-dimensional cascaded lattice Boltzmann method: Improved implementation and consistent forcing scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fei, Linlin; Luo, Kai H.; Li, Qing

2018-05-01

The cascaded or central-moment-based lattice Boltzmann method (CLBM) proposed in [Phys. Rev. E 73, 066705 (2006), 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.066705] possesses very good numerical stability. However, two constraints exist in three-dimensional (3D) CLBM simulations. First, the conventional implementation for 3D CLBM involves cumbersome operations and requires much higher computational cost compared to the single-relaxation-time (SRT) LBM. Second, it is a challenge to accurately incorporate a general force field into the 3D CLBM. In this paper, we present an improved method to implement CLBM in 3D. The main strategy is to adopt a simplified central moment set and carry out the central-moment-based collision operator based on a general multi-relaxation-time (GMRT) framework. Next, the recently proposed consistent forcing scheme for CLBM [Fei and Luo, Phys. Rev. E 96, 053307 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevE.96.053307] is extended to incorporate a general force field into 3D CLBM. Compared with the recently developed nonorthogonal CLBM [Rosis, Phys. Rev. E 95, 013310 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevE.95.013310], our implementation is proved to reduce the computational cost significantly. The inconsistency of adopting the discrete equilibrium distribution functions in the nonorthogonal CLBM is analyzed and validated. The 3D CLBM developed here in conjunction with the consistent forcing scheme is verified through numerical simulations of several canonical force-driven flows, highlighting very good properties in terms of accuracy, convergence, and consistency with the nonslip rule. Finally, the techniques developed here for 3D CLBM can be applied to make the implementation and execution of 3D MRT-LBM more efficient.

Students' Perceptions of Blended Learning and its Effectiveness As a Part of Second Year Dental Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varthis, Spyridon

The field of dental medical education is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in education. Newer teaching methods are being evaluated and incorporated in dental institutions. One of the promising new methods is the blended learning approach that may involve a "flipped" instructional sequencing, where online instruction precedes the group meeting, allowing for more sophisticated learning through discussion and critical thinking. The author conducted a mixed method, experimental study that focused on second year dental students' perceptions of blended learning and its effectiveness. A sample size of 40 dental students in their second year from a Northeastern Regional Dental School were invited to participate in this study to evaluate a blended learning approach in comparison to a more traditional lecture format. Students who participated in the study, participated in group problem-solving, responded to Likert-type surveys, completed content exams, and were interviewed individually. Based on Likert survey data and interview responses, the participants in the blended learning treatment reported very positive opinions including positive perceptions of the organization, support of meaningful learning and potential merits for use in dental education. There also was evidence that the blended learning group achieved at least as well as the traditional lecture group, and excelled on certain content test items. The results of this study support the conclusion that blended instruction promotes active, in-depth and self-regulated learning. During blended learning, students set standards or goals regarding their learning, evaluate their progress toward these goals, and then adapt and regulate their cognition, motivation, and behavior in order to accomplish their goals. Overall, the results of this research on blended learning, including the use of problem-based learning in group discussions, supports the merits of incorporating blended earning in dental education curricula.

A combined ANN-GA and experimental based technique for the estimation of the unknown heat flux for a conjugate heat transfer problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

M K, Harsha Kumar; P S, Vishweshwara; N, Gnanasekaran; C, Balaji

2018-05-01

The major objectives in the design of thermal systems are obtaining the information about thermophysical, transport and boundary properties. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the unknown heat flux at the surface of a solid body. A constant area mild steel fin is considered and the base is subjected to constant heat flux. During heating, natural convection heat transfer occurs from the fin to ambient. The direct solution, which is the forward problem, is developed as a conjugate heat transfer problem from the fin and the steady state temperature distribution is recorded for any assumed heat flux. In order to model the natural convection heat transfer from the fin, an extended domain is created near the fin geometry and air is specified as a fluid medium and Navier Stokes equation is solved by incorporating the Boussinesq approximation. The computational time involved in executing the forward model is then reduced by developing a neural network (NN) between heat flux values and temperatures based on back propagation algorithm. The conjugate heat transfer NN model is now coupled with Genetic algorithm (GA) for the solution of the inverse problem. Initially, GA is applied to the pure surrogate data, the results are then used as input to the Levenberg- Marquardt method and such hybridization is proven to result in accurate estimation of the unknown heat flux. The hybrid method is then applied for the experimental temperature to estimate the unknown heat flux. A satisfactory agreement between the estimated and actual heat flux is achieved by incorporating the hybrid method.

Nucleic acid extraction techniques and application to the microchip.

PubMed

Price, Carol W; Leslie, Daniel C; Landers, James P

2009-09-07

As recently as the early 1990s, DNA purification was time-consuming, requiring the use of toxic, hazardous reagents. The advent of solid phase extraction techniques and the availability of commercial kits for quick and reliable DNA extraction has relegated those early techniques largely to the history books. High quality DNA can now be extracted from whole blood, serum, saliva, urine, stool, cerebral spinal fluid, tissues, and cells in less time without sacrificing recovery. Having achieved such a radical change in the methodology of DNA extraction, focus has shifted to adapting these methods to a miniaturized system, or "lab-on-a-chip" (A. Manz, N. Graber and H. M. Widmer, Sens. Actuators, B, 1990, 1, 244-248). Manz et al.'s concept of a "miniaturized total chemical analysis system" (microTAS) involved a silicon chip that incorporated sample pretreatment, separation and detection. This review will focus on the first of these steps, sample pretreatment in the form of DNA purification. The intention of this review is to provide an overview of the fundamentals of nucleic acid purification and solid phase extraction (SPE) and to discuss specific microchip DNA extraction successes and challenges. In order to fully appreciate the advances in DNA purification, a brief review of the history of DNA extraction is provided so that the reader has an understanding of the impact that the development of SPE techniques have had. This review will highlight the different methods of nucleic acid extraction (Table 1), including relevant citations, but without an exhaustive summary of the literature. A recent review by Wen et al. (J. Wen, L. A. Legendre, J. M. Bienvenue and J. P. Landers, Anal. Chem., 2008, 80, 6472-6479) covers solid phase extraction methods with a greater focus on their incorporation into integrated microfluidic systems.

Comparing observer models and feature selection methods for a task-based statistical assessment of digital breast tomsynthesis in reconstruction space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Subok; Zhang, George Z.; Zeng, Rongping; Myers, Kyle J.

2014-03-01

A task-based assessment of image quality1 for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) can be done in either the projected or reconstructed data space. As the choice of observer models and feature selection methods can vary depending on the type of task and data statistics, we previously investigated the performance of two channelized- Hotelling observer models in conjunction with 2D Laguerre-Gauss (LG) and two implementations of partial least squares (PLS) channels along with that of the Hotelling observer in binary detection tasks involving DBT projections.2, 3 The difference in these observers lies in how the spatial correlation in DBT angular projections is incorporated in the observer's strategy to perform the given task. In the current work, we extend our method to the reconstructed data space of DBT. We investigate how various model observers including the aforementioned compare for performing the binary detection of a spherical signal embedded in structured breast phantoms with the use of DBT slices reconstructed via filtered back projection. We explore how well the model observers incorporate the spatial correlation between different numbers of reconstructed DBT slices while varying the number of projections. For this, relatively small and large scan angles (24° and 96°) are used for comparison. Our results indicate that 1) given a particular scan angle, the number of projections needed to achieve the best performance for each observer is similar across all observer/channel combinations, i.e., Np = 25 for scan angle 96° and Np = 13 for scan angle 24°, and 2) given these sufficient numbers of projections, the number of slices for each observer to achieve the best performance differs depending on the channel/observer types, which is more pronounced in the narrow scan angle case.

An Ongoing Effort to Incorporate Undergraduate Research Across the Geoscience Curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eves, R.; Lohrengel, C. F.; Colberg, M. R.

2006-12-01

Because capstone experiences and senior research projects have a significant value added component, the geoscience faculty at Southern Utah University (SUU) began incorporating them into the curriculum in the fall of 2000. A project-based laboratory was introduced into the upper level sedimentology/stratigraphy course that gave students an opportunity to complete independent research and formally present it at a campus scholarship day. The success of this initial experiment in one course lead to the incorporation of project- based laboratories in paleontology, structural geology, mineralogy, and igneous/metamorphic petrology. Since three instructors are involved, the project-based approach is slightly different in each case, however the common denominators remain the same; directed student research, compilation and interpretation of real data, and presentation of those data to a live audience of, at a minimum, their classmates. The success of this experiment seems to have been mixed. Some curricula are just better suited for activities that encourage inquiry- and project-based learning, while others are less easily connected to this approach. We have learned much from these experiments, the most important being that they create significant opportunities for SUU geoscience students. The experiments have now expanded with research opportunities being incorporated at all levels. Many of the projects end with presentations at regional and national professional meetings. The dramatically improved quality of our senior-level capstone projects has also lead to numerous peer-reviewed publications. The longer we are involved with these projects, the more the students anticipate, and better prepare themselves to participate.

High bicarbonate assimilation in the dark by Arctic bacteria.

PubMed

Alonso-Sáez, Laura; Galand, Pierre E; Casamayor, Emilio O; Pedrós-Alió, Carlos; Bertilsson, Stefan

2010-12-01

Although both autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms incorporate CO₂ in the dark through different metabolic pathways, this process has usually been disregarded in oxic marine environments. We studied the significance and mediators of dark bicarbonate assimilation in dilution cultures inoculated with winter Arctic seawater. At stationary phase, bicarbonate incorporation rates were high (0.5-2.5 μg C L⁻¹ d⁻¹) and correlated with rates of bacterial heterotrophic production, suggesting that most of the incorporation was due to heterotrophs. Accordingly, very few typically chemoautotrophic bacteria were detected by 16S rRNA gene cloning. The genetic analysis of the biotin carboxylase gene accC putatively involved in archaeal CO₂ fixation did not yield any archaeal sequence, but amplified a variety of bacterial carboxylases involved in fatty acids biosynthesis, anaplerotic pathways and leucine catabolism. Gammaproteobacteria dominated the seawater cultures (40-70% of cell counts), followed by Betaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria as shown by catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARDFISH). Both Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria were active in leucine and bicarbonate uptake, while Flavobacteria did not take up bicarbonate, as measured by microautoradiography combined with CARDFISH. Within Gammaproteobacteria, Pseudoalteromonas-Colwellia and Oleispira were very active in bicarbonate uptake (ca. 30 and 70% of active cells, respectively), while the group Arctic96B-16 did not take up bicarbonate. Our results suggest that, potentially, the incorporation of CO₂ can be relevant for the metabolism of specific Arctic heterotrophic phylotypes, promoting the maintenance of their cell activity and/or longer survival under resource depleted conditions.

Dynamics of evidence-informed health policy making in Pakistan

PubMed Central

Haq, Zaeem; Hafeez, Assad; Zafar, Shamsa; Ghaffar, Abdul

2017-01-01

Abstract Incorporating evidence is fundamental to maintaining the general acceptance and efficiency in public policies. In Pakistan, different actors—local and global—strive to facilitate the development of evidence-informed health policies. Effective involvement however, requires knowledge of the country-context, i.e. knowing the intricacies of how policies are formulated in Pakistan. Obtaining this knowledge is one of the key steps to making interventions impactful.  We carried out a qualitative study to explore the environment of evidence-informed health policy in Pakistan. The study involved 89 participants and comprised three phases including: (1) literature review followed by a consultative meeting with key informants to explore the broad contours of policy formulation, (2) in-depth interviews with participants belonging to various levels of health system to discuss these contours and (3) a roundtable with experts to share and solidify the findings.  Policy development is a slow, non-linear process with variable room for incorporation of evidence. Political actors dominate decisions that impact all aspects of policy, i.e. context, process and content. Research contributions are mostly influenced by the priorities of donor agencies—the usual proponents and sponsors of the generation of evidence. Since the devolution of health system in 2012, Pakistan’s provinces continue to follow the same processes as before 2012, with little capacity to generate evidence and incorporate it into health policy.  This study highlights the non-systematic, nearly ad hoc way of developing health policy in the country, overly dominated by political actors. Health advocates need to understand the policy process and the actors involved if they are to identify points of impact where their interaction with policy brings the maximum leverage. Moreover, an environment is needed where generation of data gains the importance it deserves and where capacities are enhanced for communicating and understanding evidence, as well as its incorporation into policy. PMID:29045672

Harnessing the power of the grassroots to conduct public health research in sub-Saharan Africa: a case study from western Kenya in the adaptation of community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that involves the equitable participation of those affected by an issue. As the field of global public health grows, the potential of CBPR to build capacity and to engage communities in identification of problems and development and implementation of solutions in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to be fully tapped. The Orphaned and Separated Children’s Assessments Related to their Health and Well-Being (OSCAR) project is a longitudinal cohort of orphaned and non-orphaned children in Kenya. This paper will describe how CBPR approaches and principles can be incorporated and adapted into the study design and methods of a longitudinal epidemiological study in sub-Saharan Africa using this project as an example. Methods The CBPR framework we used involves problem identification, feasibility and planning; implementation; and evaluation and dissemination. This case study will describe how we have engaged the community and adapted CBPR methods to OSCAR’s Health and Well-being Project’s corresponding to this framework in four phases: 1) community engagement, 2) sampling and recruitment, 3) retention, validation, and follow-up, and 4) analysis, interpretation and dissemination. Results To date the study has enrolled 3130 orphaned and separated children, including children living in institutional environments, those living in extended family or other households in the community, and street-involved children and youth. Community engagement and participation was integral in refining the study design and identifying research questions that were impacting the community. Through the participation of village Chiefs and elders we were able to successfully identify eligible households and randomize the selection of participants. The on-going contribution of the community in the research process has been vital to participant retention and data validation while ensuring cultural and community relevance and equity in the research agenda. Conclusion CBPR methods have the ability to enable and strengthen epidemiological and public health research in sub-Saharan Africa within the social, political, economic and cultural contexts of the diverse communities on the continent. This project demonstrates that adaptation of these methods is crucial to the successful implementation of a community-based project involving a highly vulnerable population. PMID:23368931

Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization.

PubMed

Farinha, Catarina Brazão; de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário; Fernández, J M; Jiménez, J R; Esquinas, A R

2018-03-20

The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation.

Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization

PubMed Central

de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário

2018-01-01

The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation. PMID:29558418

Forty-Five Years of Civil Litigation Against Canadian Psychiatrists: An Empirical Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Luther, Glen; Gutheil, Thomas G.

2016-01-01

Objectives: To extract the themes pertaining to prudent psychiatric practice from written court judgments in Canada. Methods: We searched the medical and legal literature for cases involving civil litigation against Canadian psychiatrist and reviewed all available written judgments. We completed a thematic analysis of the civil actions against psychiatrists as conveyed by those written court judgments. We classified the cases according to the disposal status and the essential lessons from the decisions on standard of care and practice by Canadian psychiatrists. Results: Forty such cases were identified as involving psychiatrists over a 45-year period. A subgroup included those dealing with limitation periods and disclosure applications. Thirty of the 40 cases (75%) were decided in favour of the defendant psychiatrists, including 2 dismissed for running over the limitation period. The cases that actually went to trial suggest that documentation and obtaining second opinions are protective against claims of negligence. Inpatient cases resulting in successful litigation against psychiatrists involved fatal outcomes, but not all fatal outcomes led to successful litigation. Conclusions: The key lessons from these cases are the importance and relevance of regular best clinical practices, such as documentation, obtaining second opinions, following guidelines, and balancing competencies in the expert and manager or advocate roles. Incorporating these practices should allay concerns about litigation against psychiatrists. PMID:27253702

Adolescents' attitudes and experiences regarding levonorgestrel 100 mcg/ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg.

PubMed

Rosenthal, S L; Cotton, S; Ready, J N; Potter, L S; Succop, P A

2002-12-01

Oral contraceptive pills (OCs) are a commonly prescribed method of birth control for sexually experienced adolescents. The purpose of the current study was to describe anticipated parental involvement and adolescent compliance with pill taking, and to describe experiences with a 20-mcg OC regarding satisfaction and side effects after six cycles. Anticipated parental involvement and anticipated compliance, and experiences with an OC, were assessed at baseline, and after the first and sixth cycles during a clinical trial of oral contraceptives, which required parental consent. Three adolescent medicine clinics in New York, NY; Cincinnati, OH; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The sample consisted of 43 female adolescents with a mean age of 17 years. The majority of adolescents living with a parent anticipated parental involvement, and few adolescents anticipated difficulties with consistent pill taking. For two side effects (weight and mood changes), more than 30% of the adolescents anticipated the occurrence or worsening of side effects. However, few adolescents actually experienced increases in any of the nine side effects assessed. Ninety-seven percent of adolescents in this trial reported being satisfied with a 20-mcg OC. Health care providers can assess adolescents' anticipated difficulties with compliance with daily pill taking, and desire for help from their parents. This information can be incorporated into counseling to promote consistent and correct use.

Adolescent Boys’ Experiences of First Sex

PubMed Central

Ghani, Nadia; McKenzie, Fatima; Rosenberger, Joshua G.; Bell, David L.

2012-01-01

There are limited contextual data regarding first sexual experiences of younger adolescent men. Yet these data that are needed to inform STI and early fatherhood prevention efforts, particularly in lower income communities. Using qualitative methods, 14 adolescent men (ages 14–16, all low income, most African American) from a mid-sized U.S. city were asked about relationships and sexual experiences in a one hour face-to-face semi-structured interview, with two follow-up interviews at 6–9 month intervals. Story-telling was encouraged. Descriptions of first sex were identified, and then analysed for narrative structure and shared concepts. The dominant narrative of first sex proceeded through three steps: (1) Preparation, which involved identification of a sexualised space, mentoring by an older man, and pre-planning; (2) the event, which involved looking for cues indicating sexual interest and consent from a female partner, feelings of fear/nervousness, and first sex itself; and (3) afterwards, which involved a return to prior activities, minimal verbal exchange and a general positive feeling, sometimes accompanied by later disappointment. Mentorship, initiation by the female, and idealising sex as a romantic experience, played important roles in constructing the context of first sex. These factors should be incorporated in harm-reduction interventions for young men in similar contexts. PMID:22762432

A Projection free method for Generalized Eigenvalue Problem with a nonsmooth Regularizer.

PubMed

Hwang, Seong Jae; Collins, Maxwell D; Ravi, Sathya N; Ithapu, Vamsi K; Adluru, Nagesh; Johnson, Sterling C; Singh, Vikas

2015-12-01

Eigenvalue problems are ubiquitous in computer vision, covering a very broad spectrum of applications ranging from estimation problems in multi-view geometry to image segmentation. Few other linear algebra problems have a more mature set of numerical routines available and many computer vision libraries leverage such tools extensively. However, the ability to call the underlying solver only as a "black box" can often become restrictive. Many 'human in the loop' settings in vision frequently exploit supervision from an expert, to the extent that the user can be considered a subroutine in the overall system. In other cases, there is additional domain knowledge, side or even partial information that one may want to incorporate within the formulation. In general, regularizing a (generalized) eigenvalue problem with such side information remains difficult. Motivated by these needs, this paper presents an optimization scheme to solve generalized eigenvalue problems (GEP) involving a (nonsmooth) regularizer. We start from an alternative formulation of GEP where the feasibility set of the model involves the Stiefel manifold. The core of this paper presents an end to end stochastic optimization scheme for the resultant problem. We show how this general algorithm enables improved statistical analysis of brain imaging data where the regularizer is derived from other 'views' of the disease pathology, involving clinical measurements and other image-derived representations.

Measurement and Classification Methods Using the ASAE S572.1 Reference Nozzles

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Accepted: September 17, 2012 Abstract: An increasing number of spray nozzle and agrochemical manufacturers are incorporating droplet size...are incorporating droplet size measurements into both research and development of agrochemical technologies. Each laboratory has invariably...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT An increasing number of spray nozzle and agrochemical manufacturers are incorporating droplet

Application of the generalized reduced gradient method to conceptual aircraft design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gabriele, G. A.

1984-01-01

The complete aircraft design process can be broken into three phases of increasing depth: conceptual design, preliminary design, and detail design. Conceptual design consists primarily of developing general arrangements and selecting the configuration that optimally satisfies all mission requirements. The result of the conceptual phase is a conceptual baseline configuration that serves as the starting point for the preliminary design phase. The conceptual design of an aircraft involves a complex trade-off of many independent variables that must be investigated before deciding upon the basic configuration. Some of these variables are discrete (number of engines), some represent different configurations (canard vs conventional tail) and some may represent incorporation of new technologies (aluminum vs composite materials). At Lockheed-Georgia, the sizing program is known as GASP (Generalized Aircraft Sizing Program). GASP is a large program containing analysis modules covering the many different disciplines involved fin defining the aricraft, such as aerodynamics, structures, stability and control, mission performance, and cost. These analysis modules provide first-level estimates the aircraft properties that are derived from handbook, experimental, and historical sources.

Polymer Disentanglement during 3D Printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McIlroy, Claire; Olmsted, Peter D.

Although 3D printing has the potential to transform manufacturing processes, improving the strength of printed parts to rival that of traditionally-manufactured parts remains an underlying issue. The most common method, fused filament fabrication (FFF), involves melting a thermoplastic, followed by layer-by-layer filament extrusion to fabricate a 3D object. The key to ensuring strength at the weld between layers is successful inter-diffusion and re-entanglement of the melt across the interface. Under typical printing conditions the melt experiences high strain rates within the nozzle, which can significantly stretch and orient the polymers. Consequently, inter-diffusion does not occur from an equilibrium state. The printed layer also cools towards the glass transition, which limits inter-diffusion time. We employ a continuum polymer model (Rolie-Poly) that incorporates flow-induced changes in the entanglement density to predict how an amorphous polymer melt is deformed during FFF. The deformation is dominated by the deposition process, which involves a 90 degree turn and transformation from circular to elliptical geometry. Polymers become highly stretched and aligned with the flow direction, which significantly disentangles the melt via convective constraint release.

A review of the application Acoustic Emission (AE) incorporating mechanical approach to monitor Reinforced concrete (RC) strengthened with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) properties under fracture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syed Mazlan, S. M. S.; Abdullah, S. R.; Shahidan, S.; Noor, S. R. Mohd

2017-11-01

Concrete durability may be affected by so many factors such as chemical attack and weathering action that reduce the performance and the service life of concrete structures. Low durability Reinforced concrete (RC) can be greatly improved by using Fiber Reinforce Polymer (FRP). FRP is a commonly used composite material for repairing and strengthening RC structures. A review on application of Acoustic Emission (AE) techniques of real time monitoring for various mechanical tests for RC strengthened with FRP involving four-point bending, three-point bending and cyclic loading was carried out and discussed in this paper. Correlations between each AE analyses namely b-value, sentry and intensity analysis on damage characterization also been critically reviewed. From the review, AE monitoring involving RC strengthened with FRP using b-value, sentry and intensity analysis are proven to be successful and efficient method in determining damage characterization. However, application of AE analysis using sentry analysis is still limited compared to b-value and intensity analysis in characterizing damages especially for RC strengthened with FRP specimen.

Service quality benchmarking via a novel approach based on fuzzy ELECTRE III and IPA: an empirical case involving the Italian public healthcare context.

PubMed

La Fata, Concetta Manuela; Lupo, Toni; Piazza, Tommaso

2017-11-21

A novel fuzzy-based approach which combines ELECTRE III along with the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) is proposed in the present work to comparatively evaluate the service quality in the public healthcare context. Specifically, ELECTRE III is firstly considered to compare the service performance of examined hospitals in a noncompensatory manner. Afterwards, IPA is employed to support the service quality management to point out improvement needs and their priorities. The proposed approach also incorporates features of the Fuzzy Set Theory so as to address the possible uncertainty, subjectivity and vagueness of involved experts in evaluating the service quality. The model is applied to five major Sicilian public hospitals, and strengths and criticalities of the delivered service are finally highlighted and discussed. Although several approaches combining multi-criteria methods have already been proposed in the literature to evaluate the service performance in the healthcare field, to the best of the authors' knowledge the present work represents the first attempt at comparing service performance of alternatives in a noncompensatory manner in the investigated context.

Stable isotope labelling methods in mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics.

PubMed

Chahrour, Osama; Cobice, Diego; Malone, John

2015-09-10

Mass-spectrometry based proteomics has evolved as a promising technology over the last decade and is undergoing a dramatic development in a number of different areas, such as; mass spectrometric instrumentation, peptide identification algorithms and bioinformatic computational data analysis. The improved methodology allows quantitative measurement of relative or absolute protein amounts, which is essential for gaining insights into their functions and dynamics in biological systems. Several different strategies involving stable isotopes label (ICAT, ICPL, IDBEST, iTRAQ, TMT, IPTL, SILAC), label-free statistical assessment approaches (MRM, SWATH) and absolute quantification methods (AQUA) are possible, each having specific strengths and weaknesses. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which is still widely recognised as elemental detector, has recently emerged as a complementary technique to the previous methods. The new application area for ICP-MS is targeting the fast growing field of proteomics related research, allowing absolute protein quantification using suitable elemental based tags. This document describes the different stable isotope labelling methods which incorporate metabolic labelling in live cells, ICP-MS based detection and post-harvest chemical label tagging for protein quantification, in addition to summarising their pros and cons. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Methods for Analysis of Nanoparticle Immunosuppressive Properties In Vitro and In Vivo.

PubMed

Potter, Timothy M; Neun, Barry W; Dobrovolskaia, Marina A

2018-01-01

Adverse drug effects on the immune system function represent a significant concern in the pharmaceutical industry, because 10-20% of the drug withdrawal from the market is accounted to immunotoxicity. Immunosuppression is one such adverse effect. The traditional immune function test used to estimate materials' immunosuppression is a T-cell-dependent antibody response (TDAR). This method involves a 28 day in vivo study evaluating the animal's antibody titer to a known antigen (KLH) with and without challenge. Due to the limited quantities of novel drug candidates, an in vitro method called human leukocyte activation (HuLa) assay has been developed to substitute the traditional TDAR assay during early preclinical development. In this test, leukocytes isolated from healthy donors vaccinated with the current year's flu vaccine are incubated with Fluzone in the presence or absence of a test material. The antigen-specific leukocyte proliferation is then measured by ELISA analyzing incorporation of BrdU into DNA of the proliferating cells. Here, we describe the experimental procedures for investigating immunosuppressive properties of nanoparticles by both TDAR and HuLa assays, discuss the in vitro-in vivo correlation of these methods, and show a case study using the iron oxide nanoparticle formulation, Feraheme.

Gift and sacrifice: parental involvement in Latino adolescents' education.

PubMed

Ceballo, Rosario; Maurizi, Laura K; Suarez, Gloria A; Aretakis, Maria T

2014-01-01

Although myriad studies document the benefits of parental involvement in education on various indicators of children's academic performance, less research examines parental involvement among adolescents in low-income Latino families. Incorporating a multidimensional conceptualization of parental involvement, this study examined the relation between parental involvement and academic outcomes in a sample of 223 low-income, Latino adolescents. Results indicated that three types of parental involvement (gift/sacrifice, future discussions/academic socialization, and school involvement) had significant, positive associations with academic outcomes. Moreover, our results suggest that parents' stories about struggles with poverty and immigration are an important component of parental involvement, contributing to adolescents' desire to succeed academically and "give back" to parents. Additionally, our findings indicated that the positive relations between parental involvement and academic outcomes were stronger for immigrant youth and for those with higher endorsements of the Latino cultural value of respeto (respect).

31 CFR 593.201 - Prohibited transactions involving blocked property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the identifier [LIBERIA] into Appendix A to 31 CFR chapter V. In addition, section 203 of the... incorporated on an ongoing basis with the identifier [BPI-LIBERIA] into Appendix A to 31 CFR chapter V...

31 CFR 541.201 - Prohibited transactions involving blocked property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... incorporated on an ongoing basis with the identifier [ZIMBABWE] into appendix A to 31 CFR chapter V. Section 501.807 of this chapter V sets forth the procedures to be followed by persons seeking administrative...

Adaptive Instruction: Building on Diversity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Margaret C.

1980-01-01

The use of alternative instructional strategies and resources to meet the learning needs of individual students incorporates the diagnosis of student learning progress, the teaching of self-management skills, organizational supports, and family involvement into an effective educational program. (JN)

Ion Association, Solubilities, and Reduction Potentials in Aqueous Solution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russo, Steven O.; Hanania, George I. H.

1989-01-01

Incorporates the combined effects of ionic strength and ion association to show how calculations involving ionic equilibria are carried out. Examines the variability of reduction potential data for two aqueous redox systems. Provides several examples. (MVL)

Compound semi-conductors and controlled doping thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larkin, David J. (Inventor); Neudeck, Philip G. (Inventor); Powell, J. Anthony (Inventor); Matus, Lawrence G. (Inventor)

1998-01-01

A method of controlling the amount of impurity incorporation in a crystal grown by a chemical vapor deposition process. Conducted in a growth chamber, the method includes the controlling of the concentration of the crystal growing components in the growth chamber to affect the demand of particular growth sites within the growing crystal thereby controlling impurity incorporation into the growth sites.

From 'trust us' to participatory governance: Deliberative publics and science policy.

PubMed

Burgess, Michael M

2014-01-01

The last 20 years have seen a shift from the view that publics need to be educated so that they trust science and its governance to the recognition that publics possess important local knowledge and the capacity to understand technical information sufficiently to participate in policy decisions. There are now a variety of approaches to increasing the role of publics and advocacy groups in the policy and governance of science and biotechnology. This article considers recent experiences that demonstrate that it is possible to bring together those with policy making responsibility and diverse publics to co-produce policy and standards of practice that are technically informed, incorporate wide social perspectives and explicitly involve publics in key decisions. Further, the process of deliberation involving publics is capable of being incorporated into governance structures to enhance the capacity to respond to emerging issues with levels of public engagement that are proportionate to the issues.

A Practical Approach to Address Uncertainty in Stakeholder Deliberations.

PubMed

Gregory, Robin; Keeney, Ralph L

2017-03-01

This article addresses the difficulties of incorporating uncertainty about consequence estimates as part of stakeholder deliberations involving multiple alternatives. Although every prediction of future consequences necessarily involves uncertainty, a large gap exists between common practices for addressing uncertainty in stakeholder deliberations and the procedures of prescriptive decision-aiding models advanced by risk and decision analysts. We review the treatment of uncertainty at four main phases of the deliberative process: with experts asked to describe possible consequences of competing alternatives, with stakeholders who function both as individuals and as members of coalitions, with the stakeholder committee composed of all stakeholders, and with decisionmakers. We develop and recommend a model that uses certainty equivalents as a theoretically robust and practical approach for helping diverse stakeholders to incorporate uncertainties when evaluating multiple-objective alternatives as part of public policy decisions. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

The comparison of antimicrobial packaging properties with different applications incorporation method of active material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anwar, R. W.; Sugiarto; Warsiki, E.

2018-03-01

Contamination after the processing of products during storage, distribution and marketing is one of the main causes of food safety issues. Handling of food products after processing can be done during the packaging process. Antimicrobial (AM) active packaging is one of the concept of packaging product development by utilize the interaction between the product and the packaging environment that can delay the bacterial damage by killing or reducing bacterial growth. The active system is formed by incorporating an antimicrobial agent against a packaging matrix that will function as a carrier. Many incorporation methods have been developed in this packaging-making concept which were direct mixing, polishing, and encapsulation. The aims of this research were to examine the different of the AM packaging performances including its stability and effectiveness of its function that would be produced by three different methods. The stability of the packaging function was analyzed by looking at the diffusivity of the active ingredient to the matrix using SEM. The effectiveness was analyzed by the ability of the packaging to prevent the growing of the microbial. The results showed that different incorporation methods resulted on different characteristics of the AM packaging.