Quantum Zeno Effect in the Measurement Problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Namiki, Mikio; Pasaczio, Saverio

1996-01-01

Critically analyzing the so-called quantum Zeno effect in the measurement problem, we show that observation of this effect does not necessarily mean experimental evidence for the naive notion of wave-function collapse by measurement (the simple projection rule). We also examine what kind of limitation the uncertainty relation and others impose on the observation of the quantum Zeno effect.

Inter-observer variability in fetal biometric measurements.

PubMed

Kilani, Rami; Aleyadeh, Wesam; Atieleh, Luay Abu; Al Suleimat, Abdul Mane; Khadra, Maysa; Hawamdeh, Hassan M

2018-02-01

To evaluate inter-observer variability and reproducibility of ultrasound measurements for fetal biometric parameters. A prospective cohort study was implemented in two tertiary care hospitals in Amman, Jordan; Prince Hamza Hospital and Albashir Hospital. 192 women with a singleton pregnancy at a gestational age of 18-36 weeks were the participants in the study. Transabdominal scans for fetal biometric parameter measurement were performed on study participants from the period of November 2014 to March 2015. Women who agreed to participate in the study were administered two ultrasound scans for head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length. The correlation coefficient was calculated. Bland-Altman plots were used to analyze the degree of measurement agreement between observers. Limits of agreement ± 2 SD for the differences in fetal biometry measurements in proportions of the mean of the measurements were derived. Main outcome measures examine the reproducibility of fetal biometric measurements by different observers. High inter-observer inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was found for femur length (0.990) and abdominal circumference (0.996) where Bland-Altman plots showed high degrees of agreement. The highest degrees of agreement were noted in the measurement of abdominal circumference followed by head circumference. The lowest degree of agreement was found for femur length measurement. We used a paired-sample t-test and found that the mean difference between duplicate measurements was not significant (P > 0.05). Biometric fetal parameter measurements may be reproducible by different operators in the clinical setting with similar results. Fetal head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length were highly reproducible. Large organized studies are needed to ensure accurate fetal measurements due to the important clinical implications of inaccurate measurements. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of inter- and intra-observer variability on echocardiographic measurements in awake cats.

PubMed

Chetboul, V; Concordet, D; Pouchelon, J L; Athanassiadis, N; Muller, C; Benigni, L; Munari, A C; Lefebvre, H P

2003-08-01

The objective of this study was to determine intra- and inter-observer variability of echocardiographic measurements in awake cats. Four observers with different levels of experience in echocardiography performed 96 echocardiographic examinations in four cats on four different days over a 3-week period. The examinations were randomized and blinded. The maximum within-day and between-day CV values were 17.4 and 18.5% for inter-ventricular septal thickness in diastole, 18.7 and 22.6% for left ventricular free-wall thickness in diastole, 9.8 and 14.9% for left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, 20.8 and 15.2% for left ventricular end-systolic diameter, and 21.2 and 18.4% for left ventricular shortening fraction. The maximum within-day CV values were most often associated with the least competent observer (i.e. the graduate student) and, the minimum CV values with the most competent observer (i.e. the associate professor in cardiology). A significant interaction between cat and observer was also evidenced. Thus, the most competent observer could not be replaced by any of the other observers.

The tilt effect in DOAS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampel, Johannes; Wang, Yang; Hilboll, Andreas; Beirle, Steffen; Sihler, Holger; Puķīte, Janis; Platt, Ulrich; Wagner, Thomas

2017-12-01

Experience of differential atmospheric absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) shows that a spectral shift between measurement spectra and reference spectra is frequently required in order to achieve optimal fit results, while the straightforward calculation of the optical density proves inferior. The shift is often attributed to temporal instabilities of the instrument but implicitly solved the problem of the tilt effect discussed/explained in this paper. Spectral positions of Fraunhofer and molecular absorption lines are systematically shifted for different measurement geometries due to an overall slope - or tilt - of the intensity spectrum. The phenomenon has become known as the tilt effect for limb satellite observations, where it is corrected for in a first-order approximation, whereas the remaining community is less aware of its cause and consequences. It is caused by the measurement process, because atmospheric absorption and convolution in the spectrometer do not commute. Highly resolved spectral structures in the spectrum will first be modified by absorption and scattering processes in the atmosphere before they are recorded with a spectrometer, which convolves them with a specific instrument function. In the DOAS spectral evaluation process, however, the polynomial (or other function used for this purpose) accounting for broadband absorption is applied after the convolution is performed. In this paper, we derive that changing the order of the two modifications of the spectra leads to different results. Assuming typical geometries for the observations of scattered sunlight and a spectral resolution of 0.6 nm, this effect can be interpreted as a spectral shift of up to 1.5 pm, which is confirmed in the actual analysis of the ground-based measurements of scattered sunlight as well as in numerical radiative transfer simulations. If no spectral shift is allowed by the fitting routine, residual structures of up to 2.5 × 10-3 peak-to-peak are observed. Thus, this effect

The Effect of Special Reduction Procedures of IFU Observations from Gemini-NIFS on Dynamical Measurements of Nearby AGN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, Crystal L.; Crenshaw, D. Michael; Fischer, Travis C.

2016-01-01

We present a preliminary analysis of the inflows and outflows in the narrow-line regions of nearby (z<0.1) AGN using observations from the Gemini-North telescope's Near-Infared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS). In addition to the standard reduction procedure for NIFS data cubes, these observations were treated for multiple sources of noise and artifacts from the adaptive optics observations and the NIFS instrument. This procedure included the following steps: correction of the differential atmospheric refraction, spatial resampling, low-pass Butterworth spatial filtering, removal of the "instrumental fingerprint", and the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution. We compare measurements from NIFS data cubes with and without the additional correction procedures to determine the effect of this data treatment on our scientific results.

Simultaneous continuous measurement of non-commuting observables and correlation in qubit trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chantasri, Areeya; Jordan, Andrew

We consider the continuous quantum measurement of two or more non-commuting observables of a single qubit. Examples are presented for the measurement of two observables which can be mapped to two measurement axes on the Bloch sphere; a special case being the measurement along the X and Z bases. The qubit dynamics is described by the stochastic master equations which include the effect of decoherence and measurement inefficiencies. We investigate the qubit trajectories, their most likely paths, and their correlation functions using the stochastic path integral formalism. The correlation functions in qubit trajectories can be derived exactly for a special case and perturbatively for general cases. The theoretical predictions are compared with numerical simulations, as well as with trajectory data from the transmon superconducting qubit experiments.

Measuring effectiveness of drugs in observational databanks: promises and perils

PubMed Central

Krishnan, Eswar; Fries, James F

2004-01-01

Observational databanks have inherent strengths and shortcomings. As in randomized controlled trials, poor design of these databanks can either exaggerate or reduce estimates of drug effectiveness and can limit generalizability. This commentary highlights selected aspects of study design, data collection and statistical analysis that can help overcome many of these inadequacies. An international metaRegister and a formal mechanism for standardizing and sharing drug data could help improve the utility of databanks. Medical journals have a vital role in enforcing a quality checklist that improves reporting. PMID:15059263

Effective Thermodynamics for a Marginal Observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polettini, Matteo; Esposito, Massimiliano

2017-12-01

Thermodynamics is usually formulated on the presumption that the observer has complete information about the system he or she deals with: no parasitic current, exact evaluation of the forces that drive the system. For example, the acclaimed fluctuation relation (FR), relating the probability of time-forward and time-reversed trajectories, assumes that the measurable transitions suffice to characterize the process as Markovian (in our case, a continuous-time jump process). However, most often the observer only measures a marginal current. We show that he or she will nonetheless produce an effective description that does not dispense with the fundamentals of thermodynamics, including the FR and the 2nd law. Our results stand on the mathematical construction of a hidden time reversal of the dynamics, and on the physical requirement that the observed current only accounts for a single transition in the configuration space of the system. We employ a simple abstract example to illustrate our results and to discuss the feasibility of generalizations.

Spectral bidirectional reflectance distribution function measurements on well-defined textured surfaces: direct observation of shadowing, masking, inter-reflection, and transparency effects.

PubMed

Wilen, Larry; Dasgupta, Bivash R

2011-11-01

We present results for the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) for samples of uniform rectangular and triangular grooves constructed from polydimethylsilicone replicas. The measurements are performed with the detector in the plane of incidence, but with varying groove orientations with respect to that plane. The samples are opaque in some cases and semitransparent in others. By measuring the BRDF for colored samples over a wide spectral range, we explicitly probe the effect of sample albedo, which is important for inter-reflections. For the opaque samples, we compare the results with exact theoretical results either taken from the literature (for the triangular geometry) or worked out here (for the rectangular geometry). For both geometries, we also extend the theoretical results to finite length grooves. There is generally very good agreement between theory and the experiment. Shadowing, masking, and inter-reflection are clearly observed, as well as effects that may be due to polarization and asperity scattering. For semitransparent samples, we observe the effect of increasing transparency on the BRDF.

Observation of the Self-Modulation Instability via Time-Resolved Measurements

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

Gross, M.; Engel, J.; Good, J.

Self-modulation of an electron beam in a plasma has been observed. The propagation of a long (several plasma wavelengths) electron bunch in an overdense plasma resulted in the production of multiple bunches via the self-modulation instability. Using a combination of a radio-frequency deflector and a dipole spectrometer, the time and energy structure of the self-modulated beam was measured. The longitudinal phase space measurement showed the modulation of a long electron bunch into three bunches with an approximatelymore » $$200\\text{ }\\text{ }\\mathrm{keV}/c$$ amplitude momentum modulation. Demonstrating this effect is a breakthrough for proton-driven plasma accelerator schemes aiming to utilize the same physical effect.« less

Observation of the Self-Modulation Instability via Time-Resolved Measurements

DOE PAGES

Gross, M.; Engel, J.; Good, J.; ...

2018-04-06

Self-modulation of an electron beam in a plasma has been observed. The propagation of a long (several plasma wavelengths) electron bunch in an overdense plasma resulted in the production of multiple bunches via the self-modulation instability. Using a combination of a radio-frequency deflector and a dipole spectrometer, the time and energy structure of the self-modulated beam was measured. The longitudinal phase space measurement showed the modulation of a long electron bunch into three bunches with an approximatelymore » $$200\\text{ }\\text{ }\\mathrm{keV}/c$$ amplitude momentum modulation. Demonstrating this effect is a breakthrough for proton-driven plasma accelerator schemes aiming to utilize the same physical effect.« less

Systematic Effects on Duration Measurements of Gamma-Ray Bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshut, Thomas M.; Paciesas, William S.; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; vanParadijs, Jan; Pendleton, Geoffrey N.; Fishman, Gerald J.; Meegan, Charles A.

1996-01-01

The parameters T(sub 90) and T(sub 50) have recently been introduced as a measurement of the duration of gamma-ray bursts. We present here a description of the method of measuring T(sub 90) and T(sub 50) and its application to gamma-ray bursts observed with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO). We use simulated as well as observed time profiles to address some of the possible systematic effects affecting individual T(sub 90) (T(sub 50)) measurements. We show that these systematic effects do not mimic those effects that would result from time dilation if the burst sources are at distances of several Gpc. We discuss the impact of these systematic effects on the T(sub 90) (T(sub 50)) distributions for the gamma-ray bursts observed with BATSE. We distinguish between various types of T(sub 90) (T(sub 50)) distributions, and discuss the ways in which distributions observed with different experiments can vary, even though the measurements for commonly observed bursts may be the same. We then discuss the distributions observed with BATSE and compare them to those observed with other experiments.

Observer Agreement for Measurements in Videolaryngostroboscopy.

PubMed

Brunings, Jan Wouter; Vanbelle, Sophie; Akkermans, Annemarie; Heemskerk, Nienke M M; Kremer, Bernd; Stokroos, Robert J; Baijens, Laura W J

2017-11-06

This study evaluated the levels of intraobserver and interobserver agreement for measurements of visuoperceptual variables in videolaryngostroboscopic examinations and compared the observers' behavior during independent versus consensus panel rating. This is a retrospective study. This study was conducted in a single-center tertiary care facility. Sixty-four patients with dysphonia of heterogeneous etiology were included. All subjects underwent a standardized videolaryngostroboscopic examination. Two experienced and trained observers scored exactly the same examinations, first independently and then on a consensus panel. Specific visuoperceptual variables and the clinical diagnosis (as recommended by the Committee on Phoniatrics and the Phonosurgery Committee of the European Laryngological Society and advised by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) were scored. Descriptive and kappa statistics were used. In general, intraobserver agreement was better than agreement between observers for measurements of several variables. The intrapanel observer agreement levels were slightly higher than the intraobserver agreement levels on the independent rating task. When rating on the consensus panel, the observers deviated considerably from the scores they had previously given on the independent rating task. Observer agreement in videolaryngostroboscopic assessment has important implications not only for the diagnosis and treatment of dysphonic patients but also for the interpretation of the results of scientific studies using videolaryngostroboscopic outcome parameters. The identification of factors that can influence the levels of observer agreement can provide a better understanding of the rating process and its limitations. The results of this study suggest that future research could achieve better agreement levels by rating the visuoperceptual variables in a panel setting. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measurement Uncertainty Relations for Discrete Observables: Relative Entropy Formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barchielli, Alberto; Gregoratti, Matteo; Toigo, Alessandro

2018-02-01

We introduce a new information-theoretic formulation of quantum measurement uncertainty relations, based on the notion of relative entropy between measurement probabilities. In the case of a finite-dimensional system and for any approximate joint measurement of two target discrete observables, we define the entropic divergence as the maximal total loss of information occurring in the approximation at hand. For fixed target observables, we study the joint measurements minimizing the entropic divergence, and we prove the general properties of its minimum value. Such a minimum is our uncertainty lower bound: the total information lost by replacing the target observables with their optimal approximations, evaluated at the worst possible state. The bound turns out to be also an entropic incompatibility degree, that is, a good information-theoretic measure of incompatibility: indeed, it vanishes if and only if the target observables are compatible, it is state-independent, and it enjoys all the invariance properties which are desirable for such a measure. In this context, we point out the difference between general approximate joint measurements and sequential approximate joint measurements; to do this, we introduce a separate index for the tradeoff between the error of the first measurement and the disturbance of the second one. By exploiting the symmetry properties of the target observables, exact values, lower bounds and optimal approximations are evaluated in two different concrete examples: (1) a couple of spin-1/2 components (not necessarily orthogonal); (2) two Fourier conjugate mutually unbiased bases in prime power dimension. Finally, the entropic incompatibility degree straightforwardly generalizes to the case of many observables, still maintaining all its relevant properties; we explicitly compute it for three orthogonal spin-1/2 components.

Entanglement measures based on observable correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Shunlong

2008-06-01

By regarding quantum states as communication channels and using observable correlations quantitatively expressed by mutual information, we introduce a hierarchy of entanglement measures that includes the entanglement of formation as a particular instance. We compare the maximal and minimal measures and indicate the conceptual advantages of the minimal measure over the entanglement of formation. We reveal a curious feature of the entanglement of formation by showing that it can exceed the quantum mutual information, which is usually regarded as a theoretical measure of total correlations. This places the entanglement of formation in a broader scenario, highlights its peculiarity in relation to pure-state ensembles, and introduces a competing definition with intrinsic informational significance.

Observation and Recording Effects on Group Therapy Client Behaviors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, Alan L.; Decker, Robert E.

This study assesses the effect of visual versus audio observation/recording on both client and therapist verbal and non-verbal behavior in ongoing therapy. Three co-led, therapy groups were studied over six weekly sessions under counterbalanced observation conditions. Measures of verbal behavior, verbal productivity, and non-verbal behavior were…

Automated home cage observations as a tool to measure the effects of wheel running on cage floor locomotion.

PubMed

de Visser, Leonie; van den Bos, Ruud; Spruijt, Berry M

2005-05-28

This paper introduces automated observations in a modular home cage system as a tool to measure the effects of wheel running on the time distribution and daily organization of cage floor locomotor activity in female C57BL/6 mice. Mice (n = 16) were placed in the home cage system for 6 consecutive days. Fifty percent of the subjects had free access to a running wheel that was integrated in the home cage. Overall activity levels in terms of duration of movement were increased by wheel running, while time spent inside a sheltering box was decreased. Wheel running affected the hourly pattern of movement during the animals' active period of the day. Mice without a running wheel, in contrast to mice with a running wheel, showed a clear differentiation between novelty-induced and baseline levels of locomotion as reflected by a decrease after the first day of introduction to the home cage. The results are discussed in the light of the use of running wheels as a tool to measure general activity and as an object for environmental enrichment. Furthermore, the possibilities of using automated home cage observations for e.g. behavioural phenotyping are discussed.

Sensor Web Dynamic Measurement Techniques and Adaptive Observing Strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talabac, Stephen J.

2004-01-01

Sensor Web observing systems may have the potential to significantly improve our ability to monitor, understand, and predict the evolution of rapidly evolving, transient, or variable environmental features and events. This improvement will come about by integrating novel data collection techniques, new or improved instruments, emerging communications technologies and protocols, sensor mark-up languages, and interoperable planning and scheduling systems. In contrast to today's observing systems, "event-driven" sensor webs will synthesize real- or near-real time measurements and information from other platforms and then react by reconfiguring the platforms and instruments to invoke new measurement modes and adaptive observation strategies. Similarly, "model-driven" sensor webs will utilize environmental prediction models to initiate targeted sensor measurements or to use a new observing strategy. The sensor web concept contrasts with today's data collection techniques and observing system operations concepts where independent measurements are made by remote sensing and in situ platforms that do not share, and therefore cannot act upon, potentially useful complementary sensor measurement data and platform state information. This presentation describes NASA's view of event-driven and model-driven Sensor Webs and highlights several research and development activities at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Diffusion measurement from observed transverse beam echoes

DOE PAGES

Sen, Tanaji; Fischer, Wolfram

2017-01-09

For this research, we study the measurement of transverse diffusion through beam echoes. We revisit earlier observations of echoes in RHIC and apply an updated theoretical model to these measurements. We consider three possible models for the diffusion coefficient and show that only one is consistent with measured echo amplitudes and pulse widths. This model allows us to parameterize the diffusion coefficients as functions of bunch charge. We demonstrate that echoes can be used to measure diffusion much quicker than present methods and could be useful to a variety of hadron synchrotrons.

Observation and mass measurement of the baryon Xib-.

PubMed

Aaltonen, T; Abulencia, A; Adelman, J; Affolder, T; Akimoto, T; Albrow, M G; Amerio, S; Amidei, D; Anastassov, A; Anikeev, K; Annovi, A; Antos, J; Aoki, M; Apollinari, G; Arisawa, T; Artikov, A; Ashmanskas, W; Attal, A; Aurisano, A; Azfar, F; Azzi-Bacchetta, P; Azzurri, P; Bacchetta, N; Badgett, W; Barbaro-Galtieri, A; Barnes, V E; Barnett, B A; Baroiant, S; Bartsch, V; Bauer, G; Beauchemin, P-H; Bedeschi, F; Behari, S; Bellettini, G; Bellinger, J; Belloni, A; Benjamin, D; Beretvas, A; Beringer, J; Berry, T; Bhatti, A; Binkley, M; Bisello, D; Bizjak, I; Blair, R E; Blocker, C; Blumenfeld, B; Bocci, A; Bodek, A; Boisvert, V; Bolla, G; Bolshov, A; Bortoletto, D; Boudreau, J; Boveia, A; Brau, B; Brigliadori, L; Bromberg, C; Brubaker, E; Budagov, J; Budd, H S; Budd, S; Burkett, K; Busetto, G; Bussey, P; Buzatu, A; Byrum, K L; Cabrera, S; Campanelli, M; Campbell, M; Canelli, F; Canepa, A; Carrillo, S; Carlsmith, D; Carosi, R; Carron, S; Casal, B; Casarsa, M; Castro, A; Catastini, P; Cauz, D; Cavalli-Sforza, M; Cerri, A; Cerrito, L; Chang, S H; Chen, Y C; Chertok, M; Chiarelli, G; Chlachidze, G; Chlebana, F; Cho, I; Cho, K; Chokheli, D; Chou, J P; Choudalakis, G; Chuang, S H; Chung, K; Chung, W H; Chung, Y S; Cilijak, M; Ciobanu, C I; Ciocci, M A; Clark, A; Clark, D; Coca, M; Compostella, G; Convery, M E; Conway, J; Cooper, B; Copic, K; Cordelli, M; Cortiana, G; Crescioli, F; Cuenca Almenar, C; Cuevas, J; Culbertson, R; Cully, J C; DaRonco, S; Datta, M; D'Auria, S; Davies, T; Dagenhart, D; de Barbaro, P; De Cecco, S; Deisher, A; De Lentdecker, G; De Lorenzo, G; Dell'Orso, M; Delli Paoli, F; Demortier, L; Deng, J; Deninno, M; De Pedis, D; Derwent, P F; Di Giovanni, G P; Dionisi, C; Di Ruzza, B; Dittmann, J R; D'Onofrio, M; Dörr, C; Donati, S; Dong, P; Donini, J; Dorigo, T; Dube, S; Efron, J; Erbacher, R; Errede, D; Errede, S; Eusebi, R; Fang, H C; Farrington, S; Fedorko, I; Fedorko, W T; Feild, R G; Feindt, M; Fernandez, J P; Field, R; Flanagan, G; Forrest, R; Forrester, S; Franklin, M; Freeman, J C; Furic, I; Gallinaro, M; Galyardt, J; Garcia, J E; Garberson, F; Garfinkel, A F; Gay, C; Gerberich, H; Gerdes, D; Giagu, S; Giannetti, P; Gibson, K; Gimmell, J L; Ginsburg, C; Giokaris, N; Giordani, M; Giromini, P; Giunta, M; Giurgiu, G; Glagolev, V; Glenzinski, D; Gold, M; Goldschmidt, N; Goldstein, J; Golossanov, A; Gomez, G; Gomez-Ceballos, G; Goncharov, M; González, O; Gorelov, I; Goshaw, A T; Goulianos, K; Gresele, A; Grinstein, S; Grosso-Pilcher, C; Group, R C; Grundler, U; Guimaraes da Costa, J; Gunay-Unalan, Z; Haber, C; Hahn, K; Hahn, S R; Halkiadakis, E; Hamilton, A; Han, B-Y; Han, J Y; Handler, R; Happacher, F; Hara, K; Hare, D; Hare, M; Harper, S; Harr, R F; Harris, R M; Hartz, M; Hatakeyama, K; Hauser, J; Hays, C; Heck, M; Heijboer, A; Heinemann, B; Heinrich, J; Henderson, C; Herndon, M; Heuser, J; Hidas, D; Hill, C S; Hirschbuehl, D; Hocker, A; Holloway, A; Hou, S; Houlden, M; Hsu, S-C; Huffman, B T; Hughes, R E; Husemann, U; Huston, J; Incandela, J; Introzzi, G; Iori, M; Ivanov, A; Iyutin, B; James, E; Jang, D; Jayatilaka, B; Jeans, D; Jeon, E J; Jindariani, S; Johnson, W; Jones, M; Joo, K K; Jun, S Y; Jung, J E; Junk, T R; Kamon, T; Karchin, P E; Kato, Y; Kemp, Y; Kephart, R; Kerzel, U; Khotilovich, V; Kilminster, B; Kim, D H; Kim, H S; Kim, J E; Kim, M J; Kim, S B; Kim, S H; Kim, Y K; Kimura, N; Kirsch, L; Klimenko, S; Klute, M; Knuteson, B; Ko, B R; Kondo, K; Kong, D J; Konigsberg, J; Korytov, A; Kotwal, A V; Kraan, A C; Kraus, J; Kreps, M; Kroll, J; Krumnack, N; Kruse, M; Krutelyov, V; Kubo, T; Kuhlmann, S E; Kuhr, T; Kulkarni, N P; Kusakabe, Y; Kwang, S; Laasanen, A T; Lai, S; Lami, S; Lammel, S; Lancaster, M; Lander, R L; Lannon, K; Lath, A; Latino, G; Lazzizzera, I; LeCompte, T; Lee, J; Lee, J; Lee, Y J; Lee, S W; Lefèvre, R; Leonardo, N; Leone, S; Levy, S; Lewis, J D; Lin, C; Lin, C S; Lindgren, M; Lipeles, E; Lister, A; Litvintsev, D O; Liu, T; Lockyer, N S; Loginov, A; Loreti, M; Lu, R-S; Lucchesi, D; Lujan, P; Lukens, P; Lungu, G; Lyons, L; Lys, J; Lysak, R; Lytken, E; Mack, P; MacQueen, D; Madrak, R; Maeshima, K; Makhoul, K; Maki, T; Maksimovic, P; Malde, S; Malik, S; Manca, G; Manousakis, A; Margaroli, F; Marginean, R; Marino, C; Marino, C P; Martin, A; Martin, M; Martin, V; Martínez, M; Martínez-Ballarín, R; Maruyama, T; Mastrandrea, P; Masubuchi, T; Matsunaga, H; Mattson, M E; Mazini, R; Mazzanti, P; McFarland, K S; McIntyre, P; McNulty, R; Mehta, A; Mehtala, P; Menzemer, S; Menzione, A; Merkel, P; Mesropian, C; Messina, A; Miao, T; Miladinovic, N; Miles, J; Miller, R; Mills, C; Milnik, M; Mitra, A; Mitselmakher, G; Miyamoto, A; Moed, S; Moggi, N; Mohr, B; Moon, C S; Moore, R; Morello, M; Movilla Fernandez, P; Mülmenstädt, J; Mukherjee, A; Muller, Th; Mumford, R; Murat, P; Mussini, M; Nachtman, J; Nagano, A; Naganoma, J; Nakamura, K; Nakano, I; Napier, A; Necula, V; Neu, C; Neubauer, M S; Nielsen, J; Nodulman, L; Norniella, O; Nurse, E; Oh, S H; Oh, Y D; Oksuzian, I; Okusawa, T; Oldeman, R; Orava, R; Osterberg, K; Pagliarone, C; Palencia, E; Papadimitriou, V; Papaikonomou, A; Paramonov, A A; Parks, B; Pashapour, S; Patrick, J; Pauletta, G; Paulini, M; Paus, C; Pellett, D E; Penzo, A; Phillips, T J; Piacentino, G; Piedra, J; Pinera, L; Pitts, K; Plager, C; Pondrom, L; Portell, X; Poukhov, O; Pounder, N; Prakoshyn, F; Pronko, A; Proudfoot, J; Ptohos, F; Punzi, G; Pursley, J; Rademacker, J; Rahaman, A; Ramakrishnan, V; Ranjan, N; Redondo, I; Reisert, B; Rekovic, V; Renton, P; Rescigno, M; Richter, S; Rimondi, F; Ristori, L; Robson, A; Rodrigo, T; Rogers, E; Rolli, S; Roser, R; Rossi, M; Rossin, R; Roy, P; Ruiz, A; Russ, J; Rusu, V; Saarikko, H; Safonov, A; Sakumoto, W K; Salamanna, G; Saltó, O; Santi, L; Sarkar, S; Sartori, L; Sato, K; Savard, P; Savoy-Navarro, A; Scheidle, T; Schlabach, P; Schmidt, E E; Schmidt, M P; Schmitt, M; Schwarz, T; Scodellaro, L; Scott, A L; Scribano, A; Scuri, F; Sedov, A; Seidel, S; Seiya, Y; Semenov, A; Sexton-Kennedy, L; Sfyrla, A; Shalhout, S Z; Shapiro, M D; Shears, T; Shepard, P F; Sherman, D; Shimojima, M; Shochet, M; Shon, Y; Shreyber, I; Sidoti, A; Sinervo, P; Sisakyan, A; Slaughter, A J; Slaunwhite, J; Sliwa, K; Smith, J R; Snider, F D; Snihur, R; Soderberg, M; Soha, A; Somalwar, S; Sorin, V; Spalding, J; Spinella, F; Spreitzer, T; Squillacioti, P; Stanitzki, M; Staveris-Polykalas, A; St Denis, R; Stelzer, B; Stelzer-Chilton, O; Stentz, D; Strologas, J; Stuart, D; Suh, J S; Sukhanov, A; Sun, H; Suslov, I; Suzuki, T; Taffard, A; Takashima, R; Takeuchi, Y; Tanaka, R; Tecchio, M; Teng, P K; Terashi, K; Thom, J; Thompson, A S; Thomson, E; Tipton, P; Tiwari, V; Tkaczyk, S; Toback, D; Tokar, S; Tollefson, K; Tomura, T; Tonelli, D; Torre, S; Torretta, D; Tourneur, S; Trischuk, W; Tsuno, S; Tu, Y; Turini, N; Ukegawa, F; Uozumi, S; Vallecorsa, S; van Remortel, N; Varganov, A; Vataga, E; Vazquez, F; Velev, G; Vellidis, C; Veramendi, G; Veszpremi, V; Vidal, M; Vidal, R; Vila, I; Vilar, R; Vine, T; Vogel, M; Vollrath, I; Volobouev, I; Volpi, G; Würthwein, F; Wagner, P; Wagner, R G; Wagner, R L; Wagner, J; Wagner, W; Wallny, R; Wang, S M; Warburton, A; Waters, D; Weinberger, M; Wester, W C; Whitehouse, B; Whiteson, D; Wicklund, A B; Wicklund, E; Williams, G; Williams, H H; Wilson, P; Winer, B L; Wittich, P; Wolbers, S; Wolfe, C; Wright, T; Wu, X; Wynne, S M; Yagil, A; Yamamoto, K; Yamaoka, J; Yamashita, T; Yang, C; Yang, U K; Yang, Y C; Yao, W M; Yeh, G P; Yoh, J; Yorita, K; Yoshida, T; Yu, G B; Yu, I; Yu, S S; Yun, J C; Zanello, L; Zanetti, A; Zaw, I; Zhang, X; Zhou, J; Zucchelli, S

2007-08-03

We report the observation and measurement of the mass of the bottom, strange baryon Xi(b)- through the decay chain Xi(b)- -->J/psiXi-, where J/psi-->mu+mu-, Xi- -->Lambdapi-, and Lambda-->ppi-. A signal is observed whose probability of arising from a background fluctuation is 6.6 x 10(-15), or 7.7 Gaussian standard deviations. The Xi(b)- mass is measured to be 5792.9+/-2.5(stat) +/- 1.7(syst) MeV/c2.

Multifunctional System for Observing, Measuring and Analyzing Stimulation-Evoked Neurochemical Signaling

PubMed Central

Kimble, Christopher J.; Boesche, Joshua B.; Eaker, Diane R.; Kressin, Kenneth R.; Trevathan, James K.; Paek, Seungleal; Asp, Anders J.; McIntosh, Malcolm B.; Lujan, J. Luis

2017-01-01

The ability to measure neurotransmitter activity using implanted electrochemical sensors offers researchers a potent technique for analyzing neural activity across specific neural circuitry. We have developed a wirelessly controlled device, WINCS Harmoni, to observe and measure neurotransmitter dynamics at up to four separate sensors, with high temporal and spatial resolution. WINCS Harmoni also incorporates a versatile neurostimulator that can be synchronized with electrochemical recording. The WINCS Harmoni platform is thus optimally suited for probing the neurochemical effects of neurostimulation, and may in turn enable the development of personalized therapies for multiple brain disorders. PMID:29202131

New Interview and Observation Measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype: Impressions of Interviewee Measure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pickles, A.; Parr, J. R.; Rutter, M. L.; De Jonge, M. V.; Wallace, S.; Le Couteur, A. S.; van Engeland, H.; Wittemeyer, K.; McConachie, H.; Roge, B.; Mantoulan, C.; Pedersen, L.; Isager, T.; Poustka, F.; Bolte, S.; Bolton, P.; Weisblatt, E.; Green, J.; Papanikolaou, K.; Bailey, A. J.

2013-01-01

A 20 item observational measure of social functioning, the Impression of Interviewee rating scale, is one of three measures devised to assess the broader autism phenotype. The sample studied included families containing at least two individuals with autism spectrum disorder; observations were undertaken by the researcher who interviewed the…

Procedural Sensitivities of Effect Sizes for Single-Case Designs with Directly Observed Behavioral Outcome Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pustejovsky, James E.

2018-01-01

A wide variety of effect size indices have been proposed for quantifying the magnitude of treatment effects in single-case designs. Commonly used measures include parametric indices such as the standardized mean difference, as well as non-overlap measures such as the percentage of non-overlapping data, improvement rate difference, and non-overlap…

Measurements of observables replaced by “evaluations” in Quantum Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisticò, Giuseppe; Sestito, Angela

2015-07-01

In quantum physics there are circumstances where the direct measurement of particular observables encounters difficulties; in some of these cases, however, its value can be evaluated, i.e. it can be inferred by measuring another observable characterized by perfect correlation with the observable of interest. Though an evaluation is often interpreted as a measurement of the evaluated observable, we prove that the two concepts cannot be identified in quantum physics, because the identification yields contradictions. Then, we establish the conceptual status of evaluations in Quantum Theory and the role can be ascribed to them.

Observations of Spacecraft Bearing Lubricant Redistribution Based on Thermal Conductance Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takeuchi, Yoshimi R.; Frantz, Peter P.; Hilton, Michael R.

2014-01-01

The performance and life of precision ball bearings are critically dependent on maintaining a quantity of oil at the ball/race interface that is sufficient to support a robust protective film. In space applications, where parched conditions are intentionally the norm, harsh operating conditions can displace the small reserves of oil, resulting in reduced film thickness and premature wear. In the past, these effects have proven difficult to model or to measure experimentally. This paper describes a study addressing this challenge, where bearing thermal conductance measurements are employed to infer changes in lubricant quantity at the critical rolling interfaces. In the first part of the paper, we explain how the lubricant's presence and its quantity impacts bearing thermal conductance measurements. For a stationary bearing, we show that conductance is directly related to the lubricant quantity in the ball/race contacts. Hence, aspects of bearing performance related to oil quantity can be understood and insights improved with thermal conductance data. For a moving bearing, a different mechanism of heat transfer dominates and is dependent on lubricant film thickness on the ball. In the second part of the report, we discuss lubricant quantity observations based on bearing thermal conductance measurements. Lubricant quantity, and thus bearing thermal conductance, depends on various initial and operating conditions and is impacted further by the run-in process. A significant effect of maximum run-in speed was also observed, with less oil remaining after obtaining higher speeds. Finally, we show that some of the lubricant that is displaced between the ball and race during run-in operation can be recovered during rest, and we measure the rate of recovery for one example.

Measuring Incompatible Observables by Exploiting Sequential Weak Values.

PubMed

Piacentini, F; Avella, A; Levi, M P; Gramegna, M; Brida, G; Degiovanni, I P; Cohen, E; Lussana, R; Villa, F; Tosi, A; Zappa, F; Genovese, M

2016-10-21

One of the most intriguing aspects of quantum mechanics is the impossibility of measuring at the same time observables corresponding to noncommuting operators, because of quantum uncertainty. This impossibility can be partially relaxed when considering joint or sequential weak value evaluation. Indeed, weak value measurements have been a real breakthrough in the quantum measurement framework that is of the utmost interest from both a fundamental and an applicative point of view. In this Letter, we show how we realized for the first time a sequential weak value evaluation of two incompatible observables using a genuine single-photon experiment. These (sometimes anomalous) sequential weak values revealed the single-operator weak values, as well as the local correlation between them.

Measuring Incompatible Observables by Exploiting Sequential Weak Values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piacentini, F.; Avella, A.; Levi, M. P.; Gramegna, M.; Brida, G.; Degiovanni, I. P.; Cohen, E.; Lussana, R.; Villa, F.; Tosi, A.; Zappa, F.; Genovese, M.

2016-10-01

One of the most intriguing aspects of quantum mechanics is the impossibility of measuring at the same time observables corresponding to noncommuting operators, because of quantum uncertainty. This impossibility can be partially relaxed when considering joint or sequential weak value evaluation. Indeed, weak value measurements have been a real breakthrough in the quantum measurement framework that is of the utmost interest from both a fundamental and an applicative point of view. In this Letter, we show how we realized for the first time a sequential weak value evaluation of two incompatible observables using a genuine single-photon experiment. These (sometimes anomalous) sequential weak values revealed the single-operator weak values, as well as the local correlation between them.

Multitime correlators in continuous measurement of qubit observables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atalaya, Juan; Hacohen-Gourgy, Shay; Martin, Leigh S.; Siddiqi, Irfan; Korotkov, Alexander N.

2018-02-01

We consider multitime correlators for output signals from linear detectors, continuously measuring several qubit observables at the same time. Using the quantum Bayesian formalism, we show that for unital (symmetric) evolution in the absence of phase backaction, an N -time correlator can be expressed as a product of two-time correlators when N is even. For odd N , there is a similar factorization, which also includes a single-time average. Theoretical predictions agree well with experimental results for two detectors, which simultaneously measure noncommuting qubit observables.

Reliability Concerns in Measuring Respondent Skin Tone by Interviewer Observation

PubMed Central

Hannon, Lance; DeFina, Robert

2016-01-01

The current study assesses the intercoder reliability of one of the most important skin tone measurement instruments—the Massey–Martin scale. This scale is used in several high-profile social surveys, but has not yet been psychometrically evaluated. The current evaluation is only possible because, for the first time, the General Social Survey’s 2010–2014 panel used the instrument to guide interviewers’ skin tone observation of the same respondents in two different years (2012 and 2014). Despite the widespread use of the Massey–Martin scale to investigate potential effects of skin tone on social attitudes and outcomes, the data suggest that the measure has low intercoder reliability. Implications for researchers and survey practitioners are discussed. PMID:27274576

An Observability Metric for Underwater Vehicle Localization Using Range Measurements

PubMed Central

Arrichiello, Filippo; Antonelli, Gianluca; Aguiar, Antonio Pedro; Pascoal, Antonio

2013-01-01

The paper addresses observability issues related to the general problem of single and multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) localization using only range measurements. While an AUV is submerged, localization devices, such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems, are ineffective, due to the attenuation of electromagnetic waves. AUV localization based on dead reckoning techniques and the use of affordable motion sensor units is also not practical, due to divergence caused by sensor bias and drift. For these reasons, localization systems often build on trilateration algorithms that rely on the measurements of the ranges between an AUV and a set of fixed transponders using acoustic devices. Still, such solutions are often expensive, require cumbersome calibration procedures and only allow for AUV localization in an area that is defined by the geometrical arrangement of the transponders. A viable alternative for AUV localization that has recently come to the fore exploits the use of complementary information on the distance from the AUV to a single transponder, together with information provided by on-board resident motion sensors, such as, for example, depth, velocity and acceleration measurements. This concept can be extended to address the problem of relative localization between two AUVs equipped with acoustic sensors for inter-vehicle range measurements. Motivated by these developments, in this paper, we show that both the problems of absolute localization of a single vehicle and the relative localization of multiple vehicles can be treated using the same mathematical framework, and tailoring concepts of observability derived for nonlinear systems, we analyze how the performance in localization depends on the types of motion imparted to the AUVs. For this effect, we propose a well-defined observability metric and validate its usefulness, both in simulation and by carrying out experimental tests with a real marine vehicle during which the performance of an

Measuring Ventilatory Activity with Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) Reduces Instrumental Observer Effect and Preserves Tidal Breathing Variability in Healthy and COPD.

PubMed

Niérat, Marie-Cécile; Dubé, Bruno-Pierre; Llontop, Claudia; Bellocq, Agnès; Layachi Ben Mohamed, Lila; Rivals, Isabelle; Straus, Christian; Similowski, Thomas; Laveneziana, Pierantonio

2017-01-01

The use of a mouthpiece to measure ventilatory flow with a pneumotachograph (PNT) introduces a major perturbation to breathing ("instrumental/observer effect") and suffices to modify the respiratory behavior. Structured light plethysmography (SLP) is a non-contact method of assessment of breathing pattern during tidal breathing. Firstly, we validated the SLP measurements by comparing timing components of the ventilatory pattern obtained by SLP vs. PNT under the same condition; secondly, we compared SLP to SLP+PNT measurements of breathing pattern to evaluate the disruption of breathing pattern and breathing variability in healthy and COPD subjects. Measurements were taken during tidal breathing with SLP alone and SLP+PNT recording in 30 COPD and healthy subjects. Measurements included: respiratory frequency (R f ), inspiratory, expiratory, and total breath time/duration (Ti, Te, and Tt). Passing-Bablok regression analysis was used to evaluate the interchangeability of timing components of the ventilatory pattern (R f , Ti, Te, and Tt) between measurements performed under the following experimental conditions: SLP vs. PNT, SLP+PNT vs. SLP, and SLP+PNT vs. PNT. The variability of different ventilatory variables was assessed through their coefficients of variation (CVs). In healthy: according to Passing-Bablok regression, Rf, TI, TE and TT were interchangeable between measurements obtained under the three experimental conditions (SLP vs. PNT, SLP+PNT vs. SLP, and SLP+PNT vs. PNT). All the CVs describing "traditional" ventilatory variables (R f , Ti, Te, Ti/Te, and Ti/Tt) were significantly smaller in SLP+PNT condition. This was not the case for more "specific" SLP-derived variables. In COPD: according to Passing-Bablok regression, Rf, TI, TE, and TT were interchangeable between measurements obtained under SLP vs. PNT and SLP+PNT vs. PNT, whereas only Rf, TE, and TT were interchangeable between measurements obtained under SLP+PNT vs. SLP. However, most discrete

Observations and Measurements Design Patterns within INSPIRE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schleidt, K.; Cox, S.; Grellet, S.; Lowe, D.; Lutz, M.; Portele, C.; Sarretta, A.; Ventouras, S.

2012-04-01

Several INSPIRE spatial data themes have been specified so that their scope, in addition to classical geographic information, includes measured, modelled or simulated data. The FprEN ISO 19156 standard on Observations and Measurements (O&M) was designed for the explicit purpose of creating application schemas for such data, and thus shall be used in INSPIRE as a basis for developing data models for these themes. The following INSPIRE themes have identified O&M as integrally relevant to their thematic domain and are including elements of O&M in their data specifications: • Geology • Oceanographic geographical features • Atmospheric conditions and Meteorological geographical features • Environmental monitoring facilities • Soil In addition to these themes, several other INSPIRE themes have been identified to which observational information, while not at the core of the data specification, is relevant. Some examples of this are the INSPIRE theme "Species distribution", where primary occurrence data could be provided together with the aggregate distribution, as well as "Industrial and production facilities", where the provision of emissions data on such facilities would be useful for various environmental reporting obligations. While the O&M standard provides a generic framework for the provision of measurement data, it is also kept very abstract, and there are many ways of implementing the core structures in specific application schemas. In order to assure the consistent application of the O&M classes and properties across different INSPIRE themes, a cross-thematic working group on the use of O&M in INSPIRE has been convened. This group has analysed the requirements towards O&M within INSPIRE, identified the types of O&M design patterns required in INSPIRE and developed both additional classes identified as necessary within INSPIRE as well as guidelines detailing how this standard is to be used within INSPIRE. Some examples for these additional classes are

Are non-linearity effects of absorption important for MAX-DOAS observations?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pukite, Janis; Wang, Yang; Wagner, Thomas

2017-04-01

For scattered light observations the absorption optical depth depends non-linearly on the trace gas concentrations if their absorption is strong. This is the case because the Beer-Lambert law is generally not applicable for scattered light measurements due to many (i.e. more than one) light paths contributing to the measurement. While in many cases a linear approximation can be made, for scenarios with strong absorption non-linear effects cannot always be neglected. This is especially the case for observation geometries with spatially extended and diffuse light paths, especially in satellite limb geometry but also for nadir measurements as well. Fortunately the effects of non-linear effects can be quantified by means of expanding the radiative transfer equation in a Taylor series with respect to the trace gas absorption coefficients. Herewith if necessary (1) the higher order absorption structures can be described as separate fit parameters in the DOAS fit and (2) the algorithm constraints of retrievals of VCDs and profiles can be improved by considering higher order sensitivity parameters. In this study we investigate the contribution of the higher order absorption structures for MAX-DOAS observation geometry for different atmospheric and ground properties (cloud and aerosol effects, trace gas amount, albedo) and geometry (different Sun and viewing angles).

An accuracy measurement method for star trackers based on direct astronomic observation

PubMed Central

Sun, Ting; Xing, Fei; Wang, Xiaochu; You, Zheng; Chu, Daping

2016-01-01

Star tracker is one of the most promising optical attitude measurement devices and it is widely used in spacecraft for its high accuracy. However, how to realize and verify such an accuracy remains a crucial but unsolved issue until now. The authenticity of the accuracy measurement method of a star tracker will eventually determine the satellite performance. A new and robust accuracy measurement method for a star tracker based on the direct astronomical observation is proposed here. In comparison with the conventional method with simulated stars, this method utilizes real navigation stars as observation targets which makes the measurement results more authoritative and authentic. Transformations between different coordinate systems are conducted on the account of the precision movements of the Earth, and the error curves of directional vectors are obtained along the three axes. Based on error analysis and accuracy definitions, a three-axis accuracy evaluation criterion has been proposed in this paper, which could determine pointing and rolling accuracy of a star tracker directly. Experimental measurements confirm that this method is effective and convenient to implement. Such a measurement environment is close to the in-orbit conditions and it can satisfy the stringent requirement for high-accuracy star trackers. PMID:26948412

An accuracy measurement method for star trackers based on direct astronomic observation.

PubMed

Sun, Ting; Xing, Fei; Wang, Xiaochu; You, Zheng; Chu, Daping

2016-03-07

Star tracker is one of the most promising optical attitude measurement devices and it is widely used in spacecraft for its high accuracy. However, how to realize and verify such an accuracy remains a crucial but unsolved issue until now. The authenticity of the accuracy measurement method of a star tracker will eventually determine the satellite performance. A new and robust accuracy measurement method for a star tracker based on the direct astronomical observation is proposed here. In comparison with the conventional method with simulated stars, this method utilizes real navigation stars as observation targets which makes the measurement results more authoritative and authentic. Transformations between different coordinate systems are conducted on the account of the precision movements of the Earth, and the error curves of directional vectors are obtained along the three axes. Based on error analysis and accuracy definitions, a three-axis accuracy evaluation criterion has been proposed in this paper, which could determine pointing and rolling accuracy of a star tracker directly. Experimental measurements confirm that this method is effective and convenient to implement. Such a measurement environment is close to the in-orbit conditions and it can satisfy the stringent requirement for high-accuracy star trackers.

Development of an observational measure of healthcare worker hand-hygiene behaviour: the hand-hygiene observation tool (HHOT).

PubMed

McAteer, J; Stone, S; Fuller, C; Charlett, A; Cookson, B; Slade, R; Michie, S

2008-03-01

Previous observational measures of healthcare worker (HCW) hand-hygiene behaviour (HHB) fail to provide adequate standard operating procedures (SOPs), accounts of inter-rater agreement testing or evidence of sensitivity to change. This study reports the development of an observational tool in a way that addresses these deficiencies. Observational categories were developed systematically, guided by a clinical guideline, previous measures and pilot hand-hygiene behaviour observations (HHOs). The measure, a simpler version of the Geneva tool, consists of HHOs (before and after low-risk, high-risk or unobserved contact), HHBs (soap, alcohol hand rub, no action, unknown), and type of HCW. Inter-observer agreement for each category was assessed by observation of 298 HHOs and HHBs by two independent observers on acute elderly and intensive care units. Raw agreement (%) and Kappa were 77% and 0.68 for HHB; 83% and 0.77 for HHO; and 90% and 0.77 for HCW. Inter-observer agreement for overall compliance of a group of HCWs was assessed by observation of 1191 HHOs and HHBs by two pairs of independent observers. Overall agreement was good (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.79). Sensitivity to change was examined by autoregressive time-series modelling of longitudinal observations for 8 months on the intensive therapy unit during an Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak and subsequent strengthening of infection control measures. Sensitivity to change was demonstrated by a rise in compliance from 80 to 98% with an odds ratio of increased compliance of 7.00 (95% confidence interval: 4.02-12.2) P < 0.001.

Magnetic Field-Vector Measurements in Quiescent Prominences via the Hanle Effect: Analysis of Prominences Observed at Pic-Du-Midi and at Sacramento Peak

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bommier, V.; Leroy, J. L.; Sahal-Brechot, S.

1985-01-01

The Hanle effect method for magnetic field vector diagnostics has now provided results on the magnetic field strength and direction in quiescent prominences, from linear polarization measurements in the He I E sub 3 line, performed at the Pic-du-Midi and at Sacramento Peak. However, there is an inescapable ambiguity in the field vector determination: each polarization measurement provides two field vector solutions symmetrical with respect to the line-of-sight. A statistical analysis capable of solving this ambiguity was applied to the large sample of prominences observed at the Pic-du-Midi (Leroy, et al., 1984); the same method of analysis applied to the prominences observed at Sacramento Peak (Athay, et al., 1983) provides results in agreement on the most probable magnetic structure of prominences; these results are detailed. The statistical results were confirmed on favorable individual cases: for 15 prominences observed at Pic-du-Midi, the two-field vectors are pointing on the same side of the prominence, and the alpha angles are large enough with respect to the measurements and interpretation inaccuracies, so that the field polarity is derived without any ambiguity.

Observation of the X-Ray Magneto-Optical Voigt Effect

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

Mertins, H.-Ch.; Oppeneer, P. M.; Kunes, J.

2001-07-23

The existence of the x-ray magneto-optical Voigt effect is demonstrated. By means of polarization analysis the Voigt rotation and ellipticity of linearly polarized synchrotron radiation are measured at the Co L{sub 3} edge upon transmission through an amorphous Co film. The observed x-ray Voigt rotation is about 7.5{sup o}/{mu}m . On the basis of ab initio calculations it is shown that the x-ray Voigt effect follows sensitively the amount of spin polarization of the 2p core states. Therefore it provides a unique measure of the spin splitting of the core states.

Reliability and validity of the Pragmatics Observational Measure (POM): a new observational measure of pragmatic language for children.

PubMed

Cordier, Reinie; Munro, Natalie; Wilkes-Gillan, Sarah; Speyer, Renée; Pearce, Wendy M

2014-07-01

There is a need for a reliable and valid assessment of childhood pragmatic language skills during peer-peer interactions. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a newly developed pragmatic assessment, the Pragmatic Observational Measure (POM). The psychometric properties of the POM were investigated from observational data of two studies - study 1 involved 342 children aged 5-11 years (108 children with ADHD; 108 typically developing playmates; 126 children in the control group), and study 2 involved 9 children with ADHD who attended a 7-week play-based intervention. The psychometric properties of the POM were determined based on the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) taxonomy of psychometric properties and definitions for health-related outcomes; the Pragmatic Protocol was used as the reference tool against which the POM was evaluated. The POM demonstrated sound psychometric properties in all the reliability, validity and interpretability criteria against which it was assessed. The findings showed that the POM is a reliable and valid measure of pragmatic language skills of children with ADHD between the age of 5 and 11 years and has clinical utility in identifying children with pragmatic language difficulty. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Effects of Playing versus Observing Violent versus Nonviolent Video Games on Children's Aggression.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graybill, Daniel; And Others

1987-01-01

Examined short-term effects of playing versus observing violent versus nonviolent video games on the aggression of elementary school children. Children (N=146) played or observed games for 14 minutes, then completed three measures of aggression. Found no differences between violent and nonviolent conditions on measures of aggression. (Author/NB)

Surface net solar radiation estimated from satellite measurements - Comparisons with tower observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Zhanqing; Leighton, H. G.; Cess, Robert D.

1993-01-01

A parameterization that relates the reflected solar flux at the top of the atmosphere to the net solar flux at the surface in terms of only the column water vapor amount and the solar zenith angle was tested against surface observations. Net surface fluxes deduced from coincidental collocated satellite-measured radiances and from measurements from towers in Boulder during summer and near Saskatoon in winter have mean differences of about 2 W/sq m, regardless of whether the sky is clear or cloudy. Furthermore, comparisons between the net fluxes deduced from the parameterization and from surface measurements showed equally good agreement when the data were partitioned into morning and afternoon observations. This is in contrast to results from an empirical clear-sky algorithm that is unable to account adequately for the effects of clouds and that shows, at Boulder, a distinct morning to afternoon variation. It is also demonstrated that the parameterization may be applied to irradiances at the top of the atmosphere that have been temporally averaged. The good agreement between the results of the parameterization and surface measurements suggests that the algorithm is a useful tool for a variety of climate studies.

Correlators in simultaneous measurement of non-commuting qubit observables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atalaya, Juan; Hacohen-Gourgy, Shay; Martin, Leigh S.; Siddiqi, Irfan; Korotkov, Alexander N.

We consider simultaneous continuous measurement of non-commuting qubit observables and analyze multi-time correlators 〈i κ1 (t1) ^i κN (tN) 〉 for output signals i κ (t) from the detectors. Both informational (''spooky'') and phase backactions from cQED-type measurements with phase-sensitive amplifiers are taken into account. We find an excellent agreement between analytical results and experimental data for two-time correlators of the output signals from simultaneous measurement of qubit observables σx and σφ =σx cosφ +σy sinφ . The correlators can be used to extract small deviations of experimental parameters, e.g., phase backaction and residual Rabi frequency. The multi-time correlators are important in analysis of Bacon-Shor error correction/detection codes, operated with continuous measurements.

Quantum Observables and Effect Algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvurečenskij, Anatolij

2018-03-01

We study observables on monotone σ-complete effect algebras. We find conditions when a spectral resolution implies existence of the corresponding observable. We characterize sharp observables of a monotone σ-complete homogeneous effect algebra using its orthoalgebraic skeleton. In addition, we study compatibility in orthoalgebras and we show that every orthoalgebra satisfying RIP is an orthomodular poset.

Network Performance Measurements for NASA's Earth Observation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loiacono, Joe; Gormain, Andy; Smith, Jeff

2004-01-01

NASA's Earth Observation System (EOS) Project studies all aspects of planet Earth from space, including climate change, and ocean, ice, land, and vegetation characteristics. It consists of about 20 satellite missions over a period of about a decade. Extensive collaboration is used, both with other US. agencies (e.g., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), Department of Defense (DoD), and international agencies (e.g., European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)), to improve cost effectiveness and obtain otherwise unavailable data. Scientific researchers are located at research institutions worldwide, primarily government research facilities and research universities. The EOS project makes extensive use of networks to support data acquisition, data production, and data distribution. Many of these functions impose requirements on the networks, including throughput and availability. In order to verify that these requirements are being met, and be pro-active in recognizing problems, NASA conducts on-going performance measurements. The purpose of this paper is to examine techniques used by NASA to measure the performance of the networks used by EOSDIS (EOS Data and Information System) and to indicate how this performance information is used.

Optimal joint measurements of complementary observables by a single trapped ion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, T. P.; Yan, L. L.; Ma, Z. H.; Zhou, F.; Chen, L.; Yang, W. L.; Feng, M.; Busch, P.

2017-06-01

The uncertainty relations, pioneered by Werner Heisenberg nearly 90 years ago, set a fundamental limitation on the joint measurability of complementary observables. This limitation has long been a subject of debate, which has been reignited recently due to new proposed forms of measurement uncertainty relations. The present work is associated with a new error trade-off relation for compatible observables approximating two incompatible observables, in keeping with the spirit of Heisenberg’s original ideas of 1927. We report the first direct test and confirmation of the tight bounds prescribed by such an error trade-off relation, based on an experimental realisation of optimal joint measurements of complementary observables using a single ultracold {}40{{{Ca}}}+ ion trapped in a harmonic potential. Our work provides a prototypical determination of ultimate joint measurement error bounds with potential applications in quantum information science for high-precision measurement and information security.

Atmospheric, Non-Tidal Oceanic and Hydrological Loading Effects Observed with GPS Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boy, J. P.; Memin, A.; Watson, C.; Tregoning, P.

2014-12-01

The Copernicus Programme, being Europe's Earth Observation and Monitoring Programme led by the European Union, aims to provide, on a sustainable basis, reliable and timely services related to environmental and security issues. The Sentinel-3 mission forms part of the Copernicus Space Component. Its main objectives, building on the heritage and experience of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ERS and ENVISAT missions, are to measure sea-surface topography, sea- and land-surface temperature and ocean- and land-surface colour in support of ocean forecasting systems, and for environmental and climate monitoring. The series of Sentinel-3 satellites will ensure global, frequent and near-real time ocean, ice and land monitoring, with the provision of observation data in routine, long term (up to 20 years of operations) and continuous fashion, with a consistent quality and a high level of reliability and availability. The Sentinel-3 missions will be jointly operated by ESA and EUMETSAT. ESA will be responsible for the operations, maintenance and evolution of the Sentinel-3 ground segment on land related products and EUMETSAT for the marine products. The Sentinel-3 ground segment systematically acquires, processes and distributes a set of pre-defined core data products. Sentinel-3A is foreseen to be launched at the beginning of November 2015. The paper will give an overview on the mission, its instruments and objectives, the data products provided, the mechanisms to access the mission's data, and if available first results.

Scrutinizing a Survey-Based Measure of Science and Mathematics Teacher Knowledge: Relationship to Observations of Teaching Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Talbot, Robert M.

2017-12-01

There is a clear need for valid and reliable instrumentation that measures teacher knowledge. However, the process of investigating and making a case for instrument validity is not a simple undertaking; rather, it is a complex endeavor. This paper presents the empirical case of one aspect of such an instrument validation effort. The particular instrument under scrutiny was developed in order to determine the effect of a teacher education program on novice science and mathematics teachers' strategic knowledge (SK). The relationship between novice science and mathematics teachers' SK as measured by a survey and their SK as inferred from observations of practice using a widely used observation protocol is the subject of this paper. Moderate correlations between parts of the observation-based construct and the SK construct were observed. However, the main finding of this work is that the context in which the measurement is made (in situ observations vs. ex situ survey) is an essential factor in establishing the validity of the measurement itself.

"Lies, damned lies ..." and observational studies in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Albert, Richard K

2013-06-01

A new federal initiative has allocated $1.1 billion to comparative effectiveness research, and many have emphasized the importance of including observational studies in this effort. The rationale for using observational studies to assess comparative effectiveness is based on concerns that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are not "real world" because they enroll homogeneous patient populations, measure study outcomes that are not important to patients, use protocols that are overly complex, are conducted in specialized centers, and use study treatments that are not consistent with usual care, and that RCTs are not always feasible because of a lack of equipoise, the need to assess delayed endpoints, and concerns that they take years to complete and are expensive. This essay questions the validity of each of these proposed limitations, summarizes concerns raised about the accuracy of results generated by observational studies, provides some examples of discrepancies between results of observational studies and RCTs that pertain to pulmonary and critical care, and suggests that using observational studies for comparative effectiveness research may increase rather than decrease the cost of health care and may harm patients.

New measurements quantify atmospheric greenhouse effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Atreyee

2012-10-01

In spite of a large body of existing measurements of incoming short-wave solar radiation and outgoing long-wave terrestrial radiation at the surface of the Earth and, more recently, in the upper atmosphere, there are few observations documenting how radiation profiles change through the atmosphere—information that is necessary to fully quantify the greenhouse effect of Earth's atmosphere. Through the use of existing technology but employing improvements in observational techniques it may now be possible not only to quantify but also to understand how different components of the atmosphere (e.g., concentration of gases, cloud cover, moisture, and aerosols) contribute to the greenhouse effect. Using weather balloons equipped with radiosondes, Philipona et al. continuously measured radiation fluxes from the surface of Earth up to altitudes of 35 kilometers in the upper stratosphere. Combining data from flights conducted during both day and night with continuous 24-hour measurements made at the surface of the Earth, the researchers created radiation profiles of all four components necessary to fully capture the radiation budget of Earth, namely, the upward and downward short-wave and long-wave radiation as a function of altitude.

Satellite observation analysis of aerosols loading effect over Monrovia-Liberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Emetere, M. E.; Esisio, F.; Oladapo, F.

2017-05-01

The effect of aerosols loading most often results in aerosols retention in the atmosphere. Aside the health hazards of aerosol retention, its effect on climate change are visible. In this research, it was proposed that the effect of aerosol retention also affects rain pattern. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) layer 3 observations and the multi-imaging spectro-reflectometer (MISR) was used for the study. The aerosols loading over were investigated using sixteen years satellite observation in Monrovia-Liberia. Its effect on the rain rate over the region was documented. The results show that aerosol loading over the region is high and may have effect on farming in the nearest future. It was affirmed that the scanty AOD data was as a result of the rain rate that is higher within May and October.

Computerized X-ray Microtomography Observations and Fluid Flow Measurements of the Effect of Effective Stress on Fractured Reservoir Seal Shale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welch, N.; Crawshaw, J.; Boek, E.

2014-12-01

The successful storage of carbon dioxide in geologic formations requires an in-depth understanding of all reservoir characteristics and morphologies. An intact and substantial seal formation above a storage reservoir is required for a significant portion of the initial sealing mechanisms believed to occur during carbon dioxide storage operations. Shales are a common seal formation rock types found above numerous hydrocarbon reservoirs, as well as potential saline aquifer storage locations. Shales commonly have very low permeability, however they also have the tendency to be quite fissile, and the formation of fractures within these seals can have a significant detrimental effect on the sealing potential of a reservoir and amount to large areas of high permeability and low capillary pressures compared to the surrounding intact rock. Fractured shales also have an increased current interest due to the increasing development of shale gas reservoirs using hydraulic fracturing techniques. This work shows the observed changes that occur within fractured pieces of reservoir seal shale samples, along with quarry analogues, using an in-situ micro-CT fluid flow imaging apparatus with a Hassler type core holder. Changes within the preferential flow path under different stress regimes as well as physical changes to the fracture geometry are reported. Lattice Boltzmann flow simulations were then performed on the extracted flow paths and compared to experiment permeability measurements. The preferential flow path of carbon dioxide through the fracture network is also observed and compared to the results two-phase Lattice Boltzmann fluid flow simulations.

Electrophysiological measurement of binaural beats: effects of primary tone frequency and observer age.

PubMed

Grose, John H; Mamo, Sara K

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of the electrophysiological binaural beat steady state response as a gauge of temporal fine structure coding, particularly as it relates to the aging auditory system. The hypothesis was that the response would be more robust in a lower, than in a higher, frequency region and in younger, than in older, adults. Two experiments were undertaken. The first measured the 40 Hz binaural beat steady state response elicited by tone pairs in two frequency regions: lower (390 and 430 Hz tone pair) and higher (810 and 850 Hz tone pair). Frequency following responses (FFRs) evoked by the tones were also recorded. Ten young adults with normal hearing participated. The second experiment measured the binaural beat and FFRs in older adults but only in the lower frequency region. Fourteen older adults with relatively normal hearing participated. Response metrics in both experiments included response component signal-to-noise ratio (F statistic) and magnitude-squared coherence. Experiment 1 showed that FFRs were elicited in both frequency regions but were more robust in the lower frequency region. Binaural beat responses elicited by the lower frequency pair of tones showed greater amplitude fluctuation within a participant than the respective FFRs. Experiment 2 showed that older adults exhibited similar FFRs to younger adults, but proportionally fewer older participants showed binaural beat responses. Age differences in onset responses were also observed. The lower prevalence of the binaural beat response in older adults, despite the presence of FFRs, provides tentative support for the sensitivity of this measure to age-related deficits in temporal processing. However, the lability of the binaural beat response advocates caution in its use as an objective measure of fine structure coding.

Observation of the chiral magnetic effect in ZrTe₅

DOE PAGES

Li, Qiang; Kharzeev, Dmitri E.; Zhang, Cheng; ...

2015-02-08

The chiral magnetic effect is the generation of electric current induced by chirality imbalance in the presence of magnetic field. It is a macroscopic manifestation of the quantum anomaly in relativistic field theory of chiral fermions (massless spin 1/2 particles with a definite projection of spin on momentum) – a dramatic phenomenon arising from a collective motion of particles and antiparticles in the Dirac sea. The recent discovery of Dirac semimetals with chiral quasi-particles opens a fascinating possibility to study this phenomenon in condensed matter experiments. Here we report on the first observation of chiral magnetic effect through the measurementmore » of magneto-transport in zirconium pentatelluride, ZrTe₅. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments show that this material’s electronic structure is consistent with a 3D Dirac semimetal. We observe a large negative magnetoresistance when magnetic field is parallel with the current. The measured quadratic field dependence of the magnetoconductance is a clear indication of the chiral magnetic effect. Furthermore, the observed phenomenon stems from the effective transmutation of Dirac semimetal into a Weyl semimetal induced by the parallel electric and magnetic fields that represent a topologically nontrivial gauge field background.« less

Statistical approaches to lifetime measurements with restricted observation times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X. C.; Zeng, Q.; Litvinov, Yu. A.; Tu, X. L.; Walker, P. M.; Wang, M.; Wang, Q.; Yue, K.; Zhang, Y. H.

2017-09-01

Two generic methods based on frequentism and Bayesianism are presented in this work aiming to adequately estimate decay lifetimes from measured data, while accounting for restricted observation times in the measurements. All the experimental scenarios that can possibly arise from the observation constraints are treated systematically and formulas are derived. The methods are then tested against the decay data of bare isomeric 44+94mRu, which were measured using isochronous mass spectrometry with a timing detector at the CSRe in Lanzhou, China. Applying both methods in three distinct scenarios yields six different but consistent lifetime estimates. The deduced values are all in good agreement with a prediction based on the neutral-atom value modified to take the absence of internal conversion into account. Potential applications of such methods are discussed.

The Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication (COSMIC): an observational measure of the intentional communication of children with autism in an unstructured classroom setting.

PubMed

Pasco, Greg; Gordon, Rosanna K; Howlin, Patricia; Charman, Tony

2008-11-01

The Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication (COSMIC) was devised to provide ecologically valid outcome measures for a communication-focused intervention trial. Ninety-one children with autism spectrum disorder aged 6 years 10 months (SD 16 months) were videoed during their everyday snack, teaching and free play activities. Inter-rater reliability was high and relevant items showed significant associations with comparable items from concurrent Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (Lord et al. 2000, J Autism Dev Disord 30(3):205-223) assessments. In a subsample of 28 children initial differences in rates of initiations, initiated speech/vocalisation and commenting were predictive of language and communication competence 15 months later. Results suggest that the use of observational measures of intentional communication in natural settings is a valuable assessment strategy for research and clinical practice.

Measuring the accelerating effect of the planetary-scale waves on Venus observed with UVI/AKATSUKI and ground-based telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imai, M.; Kouyama, T.; Takahashi, Y.; Watanabe, S.; Yamazaki, A.; Yamada, M.; Nakamura, M.; Satoh, T.; Imamura, T.; Nakaoka, T.; Kawabata, M.; Yamanaka, M.; Kawabata, K. S.

2017-12-01

Venus has a global cloud layer, and the atmosphere rotates with the speed over 100 m/s. The scattering of solar radiance and absorber in clouds cause the strong dark and bright contrast in 365 nm unknown absorption bands. The Japanese Venus orbiter AKATSUKI and the onboard instrument UVI capture 100 km mesoscale cloud features over the entire visible dayside area. In contrast, planetary-scale features are observed when the orbiter is at the moderate distance from Venus and when the Sun-Venus-orbiter phase angle is smaller than 45 deg. Cloud top wind velocity was measured with the mesoscale cloud tracking technique, however, observations of the propagation velocity and its variation of the planetary-scale feature are not well conducted because of the limitation of the observable area. The purpose of the study is measuring the effect of wind acceleration by planetary-scale waves. Each cloud motion can be represented as the wind and phase velocity of the planetary-scale waves, respectively. We conducted simultaneous observations of the zonal motion of both mesoscale and planetary-scale feature using UVI/AKATSUKI and ground-based Pirka and Kanata telescopes in Japan. Our previous ground-based observation revealed the periodicity change of planetary-scale waves with a time scale of a couple of months. For the initial analysis of UVI images, we used the time-consecutive images taken in the orbit #32. During this orbit (from Nov. 13 to 20, 2016), 7 images were obtained with 2 hr time-interval in a day whose spatial resolution ranged from 10-35 km. To investigate the typical mesoscale cloud motion, the Gaussian-filters with sigma = 3 deg. were used to smooth geometrically mapped images with 0.25 deg. resolution. Then the amount of zonal shift for each 5 deg. latitudinal bands between the pairs of two time-consecutive images were estimated by searching the 2D cross-correlation maximum. The final wind velocity (or rotation period) for mesoscale features were determined with

Effect of observation on lower limb prosthesis gait biomechanics: Preliminary results.

PubMed

Malchow, Connor; Fiedler, Goeran

2016-12-01

The Hawthorne effect, a subcategory of reactivity, causes human behavior to change when under observation. Such an effect may apply to gait variation of persons with prosthetics or orthotics devices. This study investigated whether the presence of observers directly affects the gait pattern of users of lower limb prostheses. Within-subject intervention study. Primary outcome measures were gait parameters of initial double support time and upper body lateral tilt angle, which were collected with a mobile sensor attached to the subjects' back. To make subjects feel unwatched, a certain amount of deception was necessary, and two different conditions were created and statistically compared against each other: one in which the subjects were initially unaware of the attention of observers and another one in which the same subjects were aware of a group of observers. Data from two subjects using trans-femoral prosthesis are reported. Findings included a change in step initial double support percentage by up to 14.2% (p = 0.019). Considerable changes were also noted in secondary outcome measures including speed, stride length, and stride symmetry. A reactivity effect of observation exists in prosthetics gait analysis. More comprehensive studies may be motivated by these preliminary findings. Results of this study suggest that users of lower limb prostheses walk differently when their gait is being assessed (e.g. in the prosthetist's office) than in situations without observers. This may in part explain the clinical experience that modifications of prosthetic fit or alignment provide only short-term betterment. © The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 2015.

Indirect Measurement of Rotor Dynamic Imbalance for Control Moment Gyroscopes via Gimbal Disturbance Observer.

PubMed

Huang, Liya; Wu, Zhong; Wang, Kan

2018-06-07

The high-precision speed control of gimbal servo systems is the key to generating high-precision torque for control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) in spacecrafts. However, the control performance of gimbal servo systems may be degraded significantly by disturbances, especially a dynamic imbalance disturbance with the same frequency as the high-speed rotor. For assembled CMGs, it is very difficult to measure the rotor imbalance directly by using a dynamic balancing machine. In this paper, a gimbal disturbance observer is proposed to estimate the dynamic imbalance of the rotor assembled in the CMG. First, a third-order dynamical system is established to describe the disturbance dynamics of the gimbal servo system, in which the rotor dynamic imbalance torque along the gimbal axis and the other disturbances are modeled to be periodic and bounded, respectively. Then, the gimbal disturbance observer is designed for the third-order dynamical system by using the total disturbance as a virtual measurement. Since the virtual measurement is derived from the inverse dynamics of the gimbal servo system, the information of the rotor dynamic imbalance can be obtained indirectly only using the measurements of gimbal speed and three-phase currents. Semi-physical experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the observer by using a CMG simulator.

Measuring Ventilatory Activity with Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) Reduces Instrumental Observer Effect and Preserves Tidal Breathing Variability in Healthy and COPD

PubMed Central

Niérat, Marie-Cécile; Dubé, Bruno-Pierre; Llontop, Claudia; Bellocq, Agnès; Layachi Ben Mohamed, Lila; Rivals, Isabelle; Straus, Christian; Similowski, Thomas; Laveneziana, Pierantonio

2017-01-01

variables were significantly different between the SLP and SLP+PNT conditions and CVs were significantly lower when COPD patients were assessed in the SLP+PNT condition. Measuring ventilatory activity with SLP preserves resting tidal breathing variability, reduces instrumental observer effect and avoids any disruptions in breathing pattern induced by the use of PNT-mouthpiece-nose-clip combination. PMID:28572773

Surface Net Solar Radiation Estimated from Satellite Measurements: Comparisons with Tower Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Zhanqing; Leighton, H. G.; Cess, Robert D.

1993-01-01

A parameterization that relates the reflected solar flux at the top of the atmosphere to the net solar flux at the surface in terms of only the column water vapor amount and the solar zenith angle was tested against surface observations. Net surface fluxes deduced from coincidental collocated satellite-measured radiances and from measurements from towers in Boulder during summer and near Saskatoon in winter have mean differences of about 2 W/sq m, regardless of whether the sky is clear or cloudy. Furthermore, comparisons between the net fluxes deduced from the parameterization and from surface measurements showed equally good agreement when the data were partitioned into morning and afternoon observations. This is in contrast to results from an empirical clear-sky algorithm that is unable to account adequately for the effects of clouds and that shows, at Boulder, a distinct morning to afternoon variation, which is presumably due to the predominance of different cloud types throughout the day. It is also demonstrated that the parameterization may be applied to irradiances at the top of the atmosphere that have been temporally averaged by using the temporally averaged column water vapor amount and the temporally averaged cosine of the solar zenith angle. The good agreement between the results of the parameterization and surface measurements suggests that the algorithm is a useful tool for a variety of climate studies.

Observational study of the effectiveness of spinal cord injury rehabilitation using the Spinal Cord Injury-Ability Realization Measurement Index.

PubMed

Scivoletto, G; Bonavita, J; Torre, M; Baroncini, I; Tiberti, S; Maietti, E; Laurenza, L; China, S; Corallo, V; Guerra, F; Buscaroli, L; Candeloro, C; Brunelli, E; Catz, A; Molinari, M

2016-06-01

Retrospective observational study. The objective of this study was to determine the rehabilitation potential and the extent to which it is realized in a cohort of spinal cord injury patients using the Spinal Cord Injury-Ability Realization Measurement Index (SCI-ARMI) and to study the clinical factors that influence this realization. Two spinal units in Italy. Consecutive patients were assessed at the end of an in-patient rehabilitation program using the Spinal Cord Independence Measure and the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury. On the basis of these data and of the age and gender of the patients, we calculated the SCI-ARMI score. Regression analyses were performed to study the relationship between clinical factors and the extent to which rehabilitation potential is realized. We examined the data for 306 patients. Most patients were discharged without having reached their rehabilitation potential, with an SCI-ARMI score <80%. SCI-ARMI scores at discharge were positively influenced by etiology and the lesion level and correlated negatively with lesion severity and the presence of complications during rehabilitation. The SCI-ARMI is an effective tool that can be used to measure the achievement of rehabilitation potential in SCI patients and to identify groups of patients who are at risk of not meeting their rehabilitative potential.

Interplanetary plasma scintillation parameters measurements retrieved from the spacecraft observations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molera Calvés, Guifré; Pogrebenko, S. V.; Wagner, J.; Maccaferri, G.; Colucci, G.; Kronschnabl, G.; Scilliro, F.; Bianco, G.; Pérez Ayúcar, M.; Cosmovici, C. B.

2010-05-01

Measurement of the Interplanetary Scintillations (IPS) of radio signals propagating through the plasma in the Solar System by the radio astronomical instruments is a powerful tool to characterise and study the spatial and temporal variation of the electron density in the Solar wind. Several techniques based on the observation of natural and artificial radio sources have been developed during the last 50 years. Here we report our results of the IPS parameters measurement based on the multi-station observations of the planetary mission spacecraft. The ESA Venus Express spacecraft was observed at X-band (8.4 GHz) by several European VLBI stations - Metsähovi Radio Observatory (Aalto University , FI), Medicina (INAF-RA, IT), Matera (ASI, IT), Wettzell (BKG, DE), Noto (INAF-IRA, IT) and Yebes (OAN-IGN, ES) during a 2008-2010 campaign in a framework of the PRIDE (Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiments) project as a preparatory stage for the European Radio Astronomy VLBI facilities participation in the planned ESA planetary missions (EJSM, TESM, EVE and others). Observational data were processed at Metsähovi Radio Observatory with the on-purpose developed high performance, ultra-high spectral resolution and spacecraft tracking capable software spectrometer-correlator and analysed at the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE, NL). High quality of acquired and analysed data enables us to study and define several parameters of the S/C signal and accompanying "ranging" tones with milli-Hz accuracy, among which the phase fluctuations of the spacecraft signal carrier line can be used to characterise the interplanetary plasma density fluctuations along the signal propagation line at different spatial and temporal scales at different Solar elongations and which exhibits a near-Kolmogorov spectrum. Such essential parameters as the phase scintillation index and bandwidth of scintillations and their dependence on the solar elongation, distance to the target

Intra- and inter-observer agreement on diagnosis of Dupuytren disease, measurements of severity of contracture, and disease extent.

PubMed

Broekstra, Dieuwke C; Lanting, Rosanne; Werker, Paul M N; van den Heuvel, Edwin R

2015-08-01

Dupuytren disease (DD) is a fibrosing disease affecting the palmar aponeurosis, and is mostly treated by surgery based on measurement of severity of flexion contracture of the fingers. Literature concerning the measurement reliability is scarce. This study aimed to determine the intra- and inter-observer agreement of four variables for diagnosing DD, determining severity of contracture, and disease extent. One of them is a new measurement on the area of nodules and cords for measuring the disease extent in early disease stages. An agreement study (n = 54) was performed by two trained investigators. Agreement was calculated per finger, based on an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) using a latent variable model on subjects for diagnosis and Tubiana stage. For total passive extension deficit (TPED) and the area of nodules and cords, agreement was calculated with an ICC using a one-way random effects model with subject as random effect. Inter-observer agreement was very good for diagnosing DD (ICC: 95.5%-99.9%) and good to very good for classifying Tubiana stage (ICC: 73.5%-94.9%). Agreements for area and TPED were moderate (middle finger) to very good (ICC: 48.4%-98.6% and 45.0%-99.5%, respectively). Intra-observer agreement was slightly higher on average than inter-observer agreement. Overall, the intra- and inter-observer agreement in diagnosing DD, and determining the severity of flexion contracture is high. Also, the newly introduced variable area of nodules and cords has high intra- and inter-observer agreement, indicating that it is suitable to measure disease extent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multicolor Photometric Observation of Lightning from Space: Comparison with Radio Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adachi, Toru; Cohen, Morris; Said, Ryan; Blakeslee, Richard J.; Cummer, Steven A.; Li, Jingbo; Lu, Geopeng; Hsu, Rue-Ron; Su, Han-Tzong; Chen, Alfred Bing-Chih;

Measuring team cohesion: observations from the science.

PubMed

Salas, Eduardo; Grossman, Rebecca; Hughes, Ashley M; Coultas, Chris W

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to review literature relevant to cohesion measurement, explore developing measurement approaches, and provide theoretical and practical recommendations for optimizing cohesion measurement. Cohesion is essential for team effectiveness and performance, leading researchers to focus attention on understanding how to enhance it. However, cohesion is inconsistently defined and measured, making it difficult to compare findings across studies and limiting the ability to advance science and practice. We reviewed empirical research through which we uncovered specific information about cohesion's conceptualization, measurement, and relationships with performance, culminating in a set of current trends from which we provide suggestions and possible solutions to guide future efforts and help the field converge toward greater consistency. Cohesion demonstrates more significant relationships with performance when conceptualized using social and task (but not other) dimensions and when analyses are performed at the team level. Cohesion is inherently temporal, yet researchers rarely measure cohesion at multiple points during the life of a team. Finally, cohesion matters in large, dynamic collectives, complicating measurement. However, innovative and unobtrusive methodologies are being used, which we highlight. Practitioners and researchers are encouraged to define cohesion with task and social subdimensions and to measure with behavioral and attitudinal operationalizations. Individual and team-oriented items are recommended, though team-level analyses are most effective. Innovative/unobtrusive methods should be further researched to enable cohesion measurement longitudinally and in large, dynamic collectives. By applying our findings and conclusions, researchers and practitioners will be more likely to find consistent, reliable, and significant cohesion-to-performance relationships. This work is not subject to U.S. copyright restrictions.

ATLAS-3 correlative measurement opportunities with UARS and surface observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrison, Edwin F.; Denn, Fred M.; Gibson, Gary G.

1995-01-01

The third ATmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission was flown aboard the Space Shuttle launched on November 3, 1994. The mission length was approximately 10 days and 22 hours. The ATLAS-3 Earth-viewing instruments provided a large number of measurements which were nearly coincident with observations from experiments on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). Based on ATLAS-3 instrument operating schedules, simulations were performed to determine when and where correlative measurements occurred between ATLAS and UARS instruments, and between ATLAS and surface observations. Results of these orbital and instrument simulations provide valuable information for scientists to compare measurements between various instruments on the two satellites and at selected surface sites.

Observation of non-classical correlations in sequential measurements of photon polarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Yutaro; Iinuma, Masataka; Hofmann, Holger F.

2016-10-01

A sequential measurement of two non-commuting quantum observables results in a joint probability distribution for all output combinations that can be explained in terms of an initial joint quasi-probability of the non-commuting observables, modified by the resolution errors and back-action of the initial measurement. Here, we show that the error statistics of a sequential measurement of photon polarization performed at different measurement strengths can be described consistently by an imaginary correlation between the statistics of resolution and back-action. The experimental setup was designed to realize variable strength measurements with well-controlled imaginary correlation between the statistical errors caused by the initial measurement of diagonal polarizations, followed by a precise measurement of the horizontal/vertical polarization. We perform the experimental characterization of an elliptically polarized input state and show that the same complex joint probability distribution is obtained at any measurement strength.

Effects of sea maturity on satellite altimeter measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glazman, Roman E.; Pilorz, Stuart H.

1990-01-01

For equilibrium and near-equilibrium sea states, the wave slope variance is a function of wind speed U and of the sea maturity. The influence of both factors on the altimeter measurements of wind speed, wave height, and radar cross section is studied experimentally on the basis of 1 year's worth of Geosat altimeter observations colocated with in situ wind and wave measurements by 20 NOAA buoys. Errors and biases in altimeter wind speed and wave height measurements are investigted. A geophysically significant error trend correlated with the sea maturity is found in wind-speed measurements. This trend is explained by examining the effect of the generalized wind fetch on the curves of the observed dependence. It is concluded that unambiguous measurements of wind speed by altimeter, in a wide range of sea states, are impossible without accounting for the actual degree of wave development.

The Development and Validation of Test Instruments to Measure Observation and Comparison in Junior High School Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hungerford, Harold Ralph

This study attempted to design tests for the purpose of measuring the acquisition of the science skills of observation and comparison, to determine if these skills, as measured by these tests, could be differentially improved using differing amounts of training, and to determine the effects of race and cultural status on performance with the…

Measurements of jet-related observables at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kokkas, P.

2015-11-01

During the first years of the LHC operation a large amount of jet data was recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. In this review several measurements of jet-related observables are presented, such as multi-jet rates and cross sections, ratios of jet cross sections, jet shapes and event shape observables. All results presented here are based on jet data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Data are compared to various Monte Carlo generators, as well as to theoretical next-to-leading-order calculations allowing a test of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics in a previously unexplored energy region.

A comparison of protocols and observer precision for measuring physical stream attributes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Whitacre, H.W.; Roper, B.B.; Kershner, J.L.

2007-01-01

Stream monitoring programs commonly measure physical attributes to assess the effect of land management on stream habitat. Variability associated with the measurement of these attributes has been linked to a number of factors, but few studies have evaluated variability due to differences in protocols. We compared six protocols, five used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and one by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on six streams in Oregon and Idaho to determine whether differences in protocol affect values for 10 physical stream attributes. Results from Oregon and Idaho were combined for groups participating in both states, with significant differences in attribute means for 9 out of the 10 stream attributes. Significant differences occurred in 5 of 10 in Idaho, and 10 of 10 in Oregon. Coefficients of variation, signal-to-noise ratio, and root mean square error were used to evaluate measurement precision. There were differences among protocols for all attributes when states were analyzed separately and as a combined dataset. Measurement differences were influenced by choice of instruments, measurement method, measurement location, attribute definitions, and training approach. Comparison of data gathered by observers using different protocols will be difficult unless a core set of protocols for commonly measured stream attributes can be standardized among monitoring programs.

An Examination of the Reliability of a New Observation Measure for Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Autism Spectrum Disorder Observation for Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neal, Daniene; Matson, Johnny L.; Belva, Brian C.

2013-01-01

The "autism spectrum disorder observation for children" ("ASD-OC") is a newly created 54-item observation measure for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Due to the fact that many of the ASD observation measures currently available do not have established psychometric properties and require extensive time and training to administer, the "ASD-OC"…

Classroom Composition and Measured Teacher Performance: What Do Teacher Observation Scores Really Measure?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinberg, Matthew P.; Garrett, Rachel

2016-01-01

As states and districts implement more rigorous teacher evaluation systems, measures of teacher performance are increasingly being used to support instruction and inform retention decisions. Classroom observations take a central role in these systems, accounting for the majority of teacher ratings upon which accountability decisions are based.…

A Quantitative Approach for Collocating NEON's Sensor-Based Ecological Measurements and in-situ Field Sampling and Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulueta, R. C.; Metzger, S.; Ayres, E.; Luo, H.; Meier, C. L.; Barnett, D.; Sanclements, M.; Elmendorf, S.

2013-12-01

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a continental-scale research platform currently in development to assess the causes of ecological change and biological responses to change across a projected 30-year timeframe. A suite of standardized sensor-based measurements (i.e., Terrestrial Instrument System (TIS) measurements) and in-situ field sampling and observations (i.e., Terrestrial Observation System (TOS) activities) will be conducted across 20 ecoclimatic domains in the U.S. where NEON is establishing 60 terrestrial research sites. NEON's TIS measurements and TOS activities are designed to observe the temporal and spatial dynamics of key drivers and ecological processes and responses to change within each of the 60 terrestrial research sites. The TIS measurements are non-destructive and designed to provide in-situ, continuous, and areally integrated observations of the surrounding ecosystem and environment, while TOS sampling and observation activities are designed to encompass a hierarchy of measurable biological states and processes including diversity, abundance, phenology, demography, infectious disease prevalence, ecohydrology, and biogeochemistry. To establish valid relationships between these drivers and site-specific responses, two contradicting requirements must be fulfilled: (i) both types of observations shall be representative of the same ecosystem, and (ii) they shall not significantly influence one another. Here we outline the theoretical background and algorithmic process for determining areas of mutual representativeness and exclusion around NEON's TIS measurements and develop a procedure which quantitatively optimizes this trade-off through: (i) quantifying the source area distributions of TIS measurements, (ii) determining the ratio of user-defined impact threshold to effective impact area for different TOS activities, and (iii) determining the range of feasible distances between TIS locations and TOS activities. This approach

Improvement of vertical velocity statistics measured by a Doppler lidar through comparison with sonic anemometer observations

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

Bonin, Timothy A.; Newman, Jennifer F.; Klein, Petra M.

Since turbulence measurements from Doppler lidars are being increasingly used within wind energy and boundary-layer meteorology, it is important to assess and improve the accuracy of these observations. While turbulent quantities are measured by Doppler lidars in several different ways, the simplest and most frequently used statistic is vertical velocity variance ( w' 2) from zenith stares. However, the competing effects of signal noise and resolution volume limitations, which respectively increase and decrease w' 2, reduce the accuracy of these measurements. Herein, an established method that utilises the autocovariance of the signal to remove noise is evaluated and its skillmore » in correcting for volume-averaging effects in the calculation of w' 2 is also assessed. Additionally, this autocovariance technique is further refined by defining the amount of lag time to use for the most accurate estimates of w' 2. Through comparison of observations from two Doppler lidars and sonic anemometers on a 300 m tower, the autocovariance technique is shown to generally improve estimates of w' 2. After the autocovariance technique is applied, values of w' 2 from the Doppler lidars are generally in close agreement ( R 2≈0.95-0.98) with those calculated from sonic anemometer measurements.« less

Improvement of vertical velocity statistics measured by a Doppler lidar through comparison with sonic anemometer observations

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

Bonin, Timothy A.; Newman, Jennifer F.; Klein, Petra M.

Since turbulence measurements from Doppler lidars are being increasingly used within wind energy and boundary-layer meteorology, it is important to assess and improve the accuracy of these observations. While turbulent quantities are measured by Doppler lidars in several different ways, the simplest and most frequently used statistic is vertical velocity variance ( w' 2) from zenith stares. But, the competing effects of signal noise and resolution volume limitations, which respectively increase and decrease w' 2, reduce the accuracy of these measurements. Herein, an established method that utilises the autocovariance of the signal to remove noise is evaluated and its skillmore » in correcting for volume-averaging effects in the calculation of w' 2 is also assessed. In addition, this autocovariance technique is further refined by defining the amount of lag time to use for the most accurate estimates of w' 2. And through comparison of observations from two Doppler lidars and sonic anemometers on a 300 m tower, the autocovariance technique is shown to generally improve estimates of w' 2. After the autocovariance technique is applied, values of w' 2 from the Doppler lidars are generally in close agreement ( R 2 ≈ 0.95 -0.98) with those calculated from sonic anemometer measurements.« less

Improvement of vertical velocity statistics measured by a Doppler lidar through comparison with sonic anemometer observations

DOE PAGES

Bonin, Timothy A.; Newman, Jennifer F.; Klein, Petra M.; ...

2016-12-06

Since turbulence measurements from Doppler lidars are being increasingly used within wind energy and boundary-layer meteorology, it is important to assess and improve the accuracy of these observations. While turbulent quantities are measured by Doppler lidars in several different ways, the simplest and most frequently used statistic is vertical velocity variance ( w' 2) from zenith stares. But, the competing effects of signal noise and resolution volume limitations, which respectively increase and decrease w' 2, reduce the accuracy of these measurements. Herein, an established method that utilises the autocovariance of the signal to remove noise is evaluated and its skillmore » in correcting for volume-averaging effects in the calculation of w' 2 is also assessed. In addition, this autocovariance technique is further refined by defining the amount of lag time to use for the most accurate estimates of w' 2. And through comparison of observations from two Doppler lidars and sonic anemometers on a 300 m tower, the autocovariance technique is shown to generally improve estimates of w' 2. After the autocovariance technique is applied, values of w' 2 from the Doppler lidars are generally in close agreement ( R 2 ≈ 0.95 -0.98) with those calculated from sonic anemometer measurements.« less

Nighttime reactive nitrogen measurements from stratospheric infrared thermal emission observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbas, Mian M.; Kunde, Virgil G.; Brasunas, J. C.; Herman, J. R.; Massie, Steven T.

1991-01-01

IR thermal emission spectra of the earth's atmosphere in the 700-2000/cm region were obtained with a cryogenically cooled high-resolution interferometer spectrometer on a balloon flight from Palestine, Texas, on September 15-16, 1986. The observations exhibit spectral features of a number of stratospheric constituents, including important species of the reactive nitrogen family. An analysis of the observed data for simultaneously measured vertical distributions of O3, H2O, N2O, NO2, N2O5, HNO3, and ClONO2 is presented. These measurements permit the first direct determination of the nighttime total reactive nitrogen concentrations, and the partitioning of the important elements of the NO(x) family. Comparisons of the total reactive nitrogen budget are made with the measurements by the ATMOS experiment and with the predictions of one-dimensional and two-dimensional photochemical models.

Assessing degrees of entanglement of phonon states in atomic Bose gases through the measurement of commuting observables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robertson, Scott; Michel, Florent; Parentani, Renaud

2017-08-01

We show that measuring commuting observables can be sufficient to assess that a bipartite state is entangled according to either nonseparability or the stronger criterion of "steerability." Indeed, the measurement of a single observable might reveal the strength of the interferences between the two subsystems, as if an interferometer were used. For definiteness, we focus on the two-point correlation function of density fluctuations obtained by in situ measurements in homogeneous one-dimensional cold atomic Bose gases. We then compare this situation to that found in transonic stationary flows mimicking a black hole geometry where correlated phonon pairs are emitted on either side of the sonic horizon by the analogue Hawking effect. We briefly apply our considerations to two recent experiments.

On the Possibility to Combine the Order Effect with Sequential Reproducibility for Quantum Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basieva, Irina; Khrennikov, Andrei

2015-10-01

In this paper we study the problem of a possibility to use quantum observables to describe a possible combination of the order effect with sequential reproducibility for quantum measurements. By the order effect we mean a dependence of probability distributions (of measurement results) on the order of measurements. We consider two types of the sequential reproducibility: adjacent reproducibility (A-A) (the standard perfect repeatability) and separated reproducibility(A-B-A). The first one is reproducibility with probability 1 of a result of measurement of some observable A measured twice, one A measurement after the other. The second one, A-B-A, is reproducibility with probability 1 of a result of A measurement when another quantum observable B is measured between two A's. Heuristically, it is clear that the second type of reproducibility is complementary to the order effect. We show that, surprisingly, this may not be the case. The order effect can coexist with a separated reproducibility as well as adjacent reproducibility for both observables A and B. However, the additional constraint in the form of separated reproducibility of the B-A-B type makes this coexistence impossible. The problem under consideration was motivated by attempts to apply the quantum formalism outside of physics, especially, in cognitive psychology and psychophysics. However, it is also important for foundations of quantum physics as a part of the problem about the structure of sequential quantum measurements.

Probing quantumness with joint continuous measurements of non-commuting qubit observables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Pintos, Luis Pedro; Dressel, Justin

In this talk we consider continuous weak measurements as a means to probe foundational issues in quantum mechanics. We consider the simultaneous monitoring of two noncommuting observables-as recently implemented by the Siddiqi group at UC Berkeley. Contrary to naive expectation, the output of such experiment can be used to simultaneously track the approximate observable dynamics. Despite this seeming realism, we also show that the readouts violate macrorealistic Leggett-Garg inequalities for arbitrarily short temporal correlations, and that the derived inequalities are manifestly violated even in the absence of Hamiltonian evolution. Such violations should indicate the failure of at least one postulate of macrorealism: either physical quantities do not have well defined values at all times, or the measurement process itself disturbs what is being measured. Despite this macrorealism violation, we construct a realistic, but epistemically restricted, model that perfectly emulates both the qubit evolution and the observed noisy signals, thus also emulating the violations.

Ordinal probability effect measures for group comparisons in multinomial cumulative link models.

PubMed

Agresti, Alan; Kateri, Maria

2017-03-01

We consider simple ordinal model-based probability effect measures for comparing distributions of two groups, adjusted for explanatory variables. An "ordinal superiority" measure summarizes the probability that an observation from one distribution falls above an independent observation from the other distribution, adjusted for explanatory variables in a model. The measure applies directly to normal linear models and to a normal latent variable model for ordinal response variables. It equals Φ(β/2) for the corresponding ordinal model that applies a probit link function to cumulative multinomial probabilities, for standard normal cdf Φ and effect β that is the coefficient of the group indicator variable. For the more general latent variable model for ordinal responses that corresponds to a linear model with other possible error distributions and corresponding link functions for cumulative multinomial probabilities, the ordinal superiority measure equals exp(β)/[1+exp(β)] with the log-log link and equals approximately exp(β/2)/[1+exp(β/2)] with the logit link, where β is the group effect. Another ordinal superiority measure generalizes the difference of proportions from binary to ordinal responses. We also present related measures directly for ordinal models for the observed response that need not assume corresponding latent response models. We present confidence intervals for the measures and illustrate with an example. © 2016, The International Biometric Society.

The Effect of Quantum Fluctuations in Compact Star Observables

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pósfay, P.; Barnaföldi, G. G.; Jakovác, A.

2018-05-01

Astrophysical measurements regarding compact stars are just ahead of a big evolution jump, since the NICER experiment deployed on ISS on 2017 June 14. This will provide soon data that would enable the determination of compact star radius with less than 10% error. This can be further constrained by the new observation of gravitational waves originated from merging neutron stars, GW170817. This poses new challenges to nuclear models aiming to explain the structure of super dense nuclear matter found in neutron stars. Detailed studies of the QCD phase diagram show the importance of bosonic quantum fluctuations in the cold dense matter equation of state. Here we used a demonstrative model with one bosonic and one fermionic degree of freedom coupled by Yukawa coupling, we show the effect of bosonic quantum fluctuations on compact star observables such as mass, radius, and compactness. We have also calculated the difference in the value of compressibility which is caused by quantum fluctuations. The above-mentioned quantities are calculated in the mean field, one-loop, and in high order many loop approximation. The results show that the magnitude of these effects is in the range of 4-5%, which place it into the region where modern measurements may detect it. This forms a base for further investigations that how these results carry over to more complicated models.

The effect of Bangerter filters on binocular function in observers with amblyopia.

PubMed

Chen, Zidong; Li, Jinrong; Thompson, Benjamin; Deng, Daming; Yuan, Junpeng; Chan, Lily; Hess, Robert F; Yu, Minbin

2014-10-28

We assessed whether partial occlusion of the nonamblyopic eye with Bangerter filters can immediately reduce suppression and promote binocular summation of contrast in observers with amblyopia. In Experiment 1, suppression was measured for 22 observers (mean age, 20 years; range, 14-32 years; 10 females) with strabismic or anisometropic amblyopia and 10 controls using our previously established "balance point" protocol. Measurements were made at baseline and with 0.6-, 0.4-, and 0.2-strength Bangerter filters placed over the nonamblyopic/dominant eye. In Experiment 2, psychophysical measurements of contrast sensitivity were made under binocular and monocular viewing conditions for 25 observers with anisometropic amblyopia (mean age, 17 years; range, 11-28 years; 14 females) and 22 controls (mean age, 24 years; range, 22-27; 12 female). Measurements were made at baseline, and with 0.4- and 0.2-strength Bangerter filters placed over the nonamblyopic/dominant eye. Binocular summation ratios (BSRs) were calculated at baseline and with Bangerter filters in place. Experiment 1: Bangerter filters reduced suppression in observers with amblyopia and induced suppression in controls (P = 0.025). The 0.2-strength filter eliminated suppression in observers with amblyopia and this was not a visual acuity effect. Experiment 2: Bangerter filters were able to induce normal levels of binocular contrast summation in the group of observers with anisometropic amblyopia for a stimulus with a spatial frequency of 3 cycles per degree (cpd, P = 0.006). The filters reduced binocular summation in controls. Bangerter filters can immediately reduce suppression and promote binocular summation for mid/low spatial frequencies in observers with amblyopia. Copyright 2014 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Analytic tools for investigating the structure of network reliability measures with regard to observation correlations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prószyński, W.; Kwaśniak, M.

2018-03-01

A global measure of observation correlations in a network is proposed, together with the auxiliary indices related to non-diagonal elements of the correlation matrix. Based on the above global measure, a specific representation of the correlation matrix is presented, being the result of rigorously proven theorem formulated within the present research. According to the theorem, each positive definite correlation matrix can be expressed by a scale factor and a so-called internal weight matrix. Such a representation made it possible to investigate the structure of the basic reliability measures with regard to observation correlations. Numerical examples carried out for two test networks illustrate the structure of those measures that proved to be dependent on global correlation index. Also, the levels of global correlation are proposed. It is shown that one can readily find an approximate value of the global correlation index, and hence the correlation level, for the expected values of auxiliary indices being the only knowledge about a correlation matrix of interest. The paper is an extended continuation of the previous study of authors that was confined to the elementary case termed uniform correlation. The extension covers arbitrary correlation matrices and a structure of correlation effect.

Observed Parenting Behavior with Teens: Measurement Invariance and Predictive Validity Across Race

PubMed Central

Skinner, Martie L.; MacKenzie, Elizabeth P.; Haggerty, Kevin P.; Hill, Karl G.; Roberson, Kendra C.

2011-01-01

Previous reports supporting measurement equality between European American and African American families have often focused on self-reported risk factors or observed parent behavior with young children. This study examines equality of measurement of observer ratings of parenting behavior with adolescents during structured tasks; mean levels of observed parenting; and predictive validity of teen self-reports of antisocial behaviors and beliefs using a sample of 163 African American and 168 European American families. Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses supported measurement invariance across ethnic groups for 4 measures of observed parenting behavior: prosocial rewards, psychological costs, antisocial rewards, and problem solving. Some mean-level differences were found: African American parents exhibited lower levels of prosocial rewards, higher levels of psychological costs, and lower problem solving when compared to European Americans. No significant mean difference was found in rewards for antisocial behavior. Multigroup structural equation models suggested comparable relationships across race (predictive validity) between parenting constructs and youth antisocial constructs (i.e., drug initiation, positive drug attitudes, antisocial attitudes, problem behaviors) in all but one of the tested relationships. This study adds to existing evidence that family-based interventions targeting parenting behaviors can be generalized to African American families. PMID:21787057

Improvement of vertical velocity statistics measured by a Doppler lidar through comparison with sonic anemometer observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonin, Timothy A.; Newman, Jennifer F.; Klein, Petra M.; Chilson, Phillip B.; Wharton, Sonia

2016-12-01

Since turbulence measurements from Doppler lidars are being increasingly used within wind energy and boundary-layer meteorology, it is important to assess and improve the accuracy of these observations. While turbulent quantities are measured by Doppler lidars in several different ways, the simplest and most frequently used statistic is vertical velocity variance (w'2) from zenith stares. However, the competing effects of signal noise and resolution volume limitations, which respectively increase and decrease w'2, reduce the accuracy of these measurements. Herein, an established method that utilises the autocovariance of the signal to remove noise is evaluated and its skill in correcting for volume-averaging effects in the calculation of w'2 is also assessed. Additionally, this autocovariance technique is further refined by defining the amount of lag time to use for the most accurate estimates of w'2. Through comparison of observations from two Doppler lidars and sonic anemometers on a 300 m tower, the autocovariance technique is shown to generally improve estimates of w'2. After the autocovariance technique is applied, values of w'2 from the Doppler lidars are generally in close agreement (R2 ≈ 0.95 - 0.98) with those calculated from sonic anemometer measurements.

Giant aerosol observations with cloud radar: methodology and effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guma Claramunt, Pilar; Madonna, Fabio; Amodeo, Aldo; Bauer-Pfundstein, Matthias; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

2017-04-01

Giant aerosol particles can act as Giant Cloud Condensation Nuclei (GCCN), and determine the droplet concentration at the cloud formation, the clouds albedo and lifetime, and the precipitation formation. In addition, depending on their composition, they can also act as IN. It is not yet clear if they can also expedite rain processes. The main techniques used nowadays in measuring aerosols, which are lidar and sun photometer, cannot retrieve aerosol microphysical properties for particles bigger than a few microns, which means that they do not account for giant aerosols. Therefore, the distribution and impact in the atmosphere and climate of these particles is not well known and the aerosol transport models largely underestimate them. Recent studies have demonstrated that cloud radars are able to detect ultragiant volcanic aerosols also at a large distance from the source. In this study, an innovative methodology for the observation of giant aerosols using the millimeter wavelength radar has been developed and applied to 6 years of measurements carried out at CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory (CIAO), in Potenza, South Italy, finding more than 40 giant aerosol events per year and a good agreement with the aerosol climatologic data. Besides, the effects of giant aerosols in the local and regional meteorology have been studied by correlating several atmospheric variables in the time period following the observation of giant particles. The meteorological situation has been assessed through the data classification into cases characterized by different pressure vertical velocities at the upper atmosphere (400 hPa), Giant aerosols are correlated to lower values of the Cloud Optical Depth (COD) in presence of stable or unstable atmospheric conditions while higher values are found for an intermediate stability. The giant aerosols effects on the Liquid Water Path (LWP) are closely linked to those in the Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOD). The highest increases in the LWP occurs

Assimilation of Precipitation Measurement Missions Microwave Radiance Observations With GEOS-5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jin, Jianjun; Kim, Min-Jeong; McCarty, Will; Akella, Santha; Gu, Wei

2015-01-01

The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Core Observatory satellite was launched in February, 2014. The GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) is a conically scanning radiometer measuring 13 channels ranging from 10 to 183 GHz and sampling between 65 S 65 N. This instrument is a successor to the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI), which has observed 9 channels at frequencies ranging 10 to 85 GHz between 40 S 40 N since 1997. This presentation outlines the base procedures developed to assimilate GMI and TMI radiances in clear-sky conditions, including quality control methods, thinning decisions, and the estimation of, observation errors. This presentation also shows the impact of these observations when they are incorporated into the GEOS-5 atmospheric data assimilation system.

Aerosol classification using EARLINET measurements for an intensive observational period

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Mona, Lucia; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

2016-04-01

ACTRIS (Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research Infrastructure Network) organized an intensive observation period during summer 2012. This campaign aimed at the provision of advanced observations of physical and chemical aerosol properties, at the delivery of information about the 3D distribution of European atmospheric aerosols, and at the monitoring of Saharan dust intrusions events. EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) participated in the ACTRIS campaign through the addition of measurements according to the EARLINET schedule as well as daily lidar-profiling measurements around sunset by 11 selected lidar stations for the period from 8 June - 17 July. EARLINET observations during this almost two-month period are used to characterize the optical properties and vertical distribution of long-range transported aerosol over the broader area of Mediterranean basin. The lidar measurements of aerosol intensive parameters (lidar ratio, depolarization, Angstrom exponents) are shown to vary with location and aerosol type. A methodology based on EARLINET observations of frequently observed aerosol types is used to classify aerosols into seven separate types. The summertime Mediterranean basin is prone to African dust aerosols. Two major dust events were studied. The first episode occurred from the 18 to 21 of the June and the second one lasted from 28 June to 6 July. The lidar ratio within the dust layer was found to be wavelength independent with mean values of 58±14 sr at 355 nm and 57±11 sr at 532 nm. For the particle linear depolarization ratio, mean values of 0.27±0.04 at 532 nm have been found. Acknowledgements. The financial support for EARLINET in the ACTRIS Research Infrastructure Project by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 654169 and previously under grant agreement no. 262254 in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) is gratefully acknowledged.

Proliferation of Observables and Measurement in Quantum-Classical Hybrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elze, Hans-Thomas

2012-01-01

Following a review of quantum-classical hybrid dynamics, we discuss the ensuing proliferation of observables and relate it to measurements of (would-be) quantum mechanical degrees of freedom performed by (would-be) classical ones (if they were separable). Hybrids consist in coupled classical (CL) and quantum mechanical (QM) objects. Numerous consistency requirements for their description have been discussed and are fulfilled here. We summarize a representation of quantum mechanics in terms of classical analytical mechanics which is naturally extended to QM-CL hybrids. This framework allows for superposition, separable, and entangled states originating in the QM sector, admits experimenter's "Free Will", and is local and nonsignaling. Presently, we study the set of hybrid observables, which is larger than the Cartesian product of QM and CL observables of its components; yet it is smaller than a corresponding product of all-classical observables. Thus, quantumness and classicality infect each other.

Development of an Observational Scale to Measure Social Competence in Young Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porter, Robin

An observational instrument was developed to measure social competence in kindergarten classrooms. Social competence was specified in terms of four broad behavioral categories: obedience, cooperation, interaction, and autonomy. Each category was further particularized in terms of observable behaviors. Initial 5-minute observations using the…

Long-term observations of tropospheric ozone: GAW Measurement Guidelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarasova, Oksana; Galbally, Ian E.; Schultz, Martin G.

2013-04-01

The Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) coordinates long-term observations of the chemical composition and physical properties of the atmosphere which are relevant for understanding of atmospheric chemistry and climate change. Atmospheric observations of reactive gases (tropospheric ozone, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides) coordinated by the GAW Programme complement local and regional scale air quality monitoring efforts. As part of the GAW quality assurance (QA) system detailed measurement guidelines for atmospheric trace species are developed by international expert teams at irregular intervals. The most recent report focuses on continuous in-situ measurements of ozone in the troposphere, performed in particular at continental or island sites with altitudes ranging from sea level to mountain tops. Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) are defined for different applications of the data (e.g. trend analysis and verification of global model forecasts). These DQOs include a thorough discussion of the tolerable level of measurement uncertainty and data completeness. The guidelines present the best practices and practical arrangements adopted by the GAW Programme in order to enable the GAW station network to approach or achieve the defined tropospheric ozone DQOs. The document includes information on the selection of station and measurement locations, required skills and training of staff, recommendations on the measurement technique and the necessary equipment to perform highest quality measurements, rules for conducting the measurements, preparing the data and archiving them, and more. Much emphasis is given to discussions about how to ensure the quality of the data through tracing calibrations back to primary standards, proper calibration and data analysis, etc. In the GAW Programme the QA system is implemented through Central Facilities (Central Calibration Laboratories, World and Regional

Measuring the Yarkovsky effect with Las Cumbres Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenstreet, Sarah; Farnocchia, Davide; Lister, Tim

2017-10-01

The Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) provides an ideal platform for follow-up and characterization of Solar System objects (e.g. asteroids, Kuiper Belt Objects, comets, Near-Earth Objects) and ultimately for the discovery of new objects. We have used LCO's global network of nine 1-meter telescopes to measure the Yarkovsky effect on tens of asteroids through precise astrometric measurements using the Gaia-DR1 catalog, providing lower uncertainty with each detection. The target asteroids were picked through simulated observations each month to determine the objects for which new astrometry would yield the most improvement. The Gaia-DR1 release has greatly improved the quality of the astrometry obtained, making the detection of the Yarkovsky effect more likely and secure by greatly reducing systematic catalog zonal errors. With the release of DR2 next year and the availability of good reference star colors, we will be able to take other more subtle effects into account in the astrometric reduction. In addition, the availability of the Gaia catalog would allow re-measurement of past data with more accurate star catalogs. The amount of Yarkovsky acceleration depends on several physical properties, such as the asteroid spin state, size, mass, and thermal properties, to which detection of the effect can give important constraints. The effect is also important for understanding the transportation of asteroids and meteorites into near-Earth space from the main belt, producing the NEOs and for the formation and evolution of asteroid families. Determining and modeling the Yarkovsky effect can be critical for accurate prediction of asteroid trajectories and even for impact hazard assessment. The measurements made with the help of LCO have significantly increased the number of known asteroids with Yarkovsky detections. LCO is ideally suited to perform these observations due to its ability to monitor several targets over several days by employing dynamic scheduling, weather

Measuring Afterschool Program Quality Using Setting-Level Observational Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oh, Yoonkyung; Osgood, D. Wayne; Smith, Emilie P.

2015-01-01

The importance of afterschool hours for youth development is widely acknowledged, and afterschool settings have recently received increasing attention as an important venue for youth interventions, bringing a growing need for reliable and valid measures of afterschool quality. This study examined the extent to which the two observational tools,…

Multi-instrument observation on co-seismic ionospheric effects after great Tohoku earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Y. Q.; Xiao, Z.; Zhang, D. H.

2012-02-01

In this paper, evidence of quake-excited infrasonic waves is provided first by a multi-instrument observation of Japan's Tohoku earthquake. The observations of co-seismic infrasonic waves are as follows: 1, effects of surface oscillations are observed by local infrasonic detector, and it seems these effects are due to surface oscillation-excited infrasonic waves instead of direct influence of seismic vibration on the detector; 2, these local excited infrasonic waves propagate upwards and correspond to ionospheric disturbances observed by Doppler shift measurements and GPS/TEC; 3, interactions between electron density variation and currents in the ionosphere caused by infrasonic waves manifest as disturbances in the geomagnetic field observed via surface magnetogram; 4, within 4 hours after this strong earthquake, disturbances in the ionosphere related to arrivals of Rayleigh waves were observed by Doppler shift sounding three times over. Two of the arrivals were from epicenter along the minor arc of the great circle (with the second arrival due to a Rayleigh wave propagating completely around the planet) and the other one from the opposite direction. All of these seismo-ionospheric effects observed by HF Doppler shift appear after local arrivals of surface Rayleigh waves, with a time delay of 8-10 min. This is the time required for infrasonic wave to propagate upwards to the ionosphere.

Solar particle events observed at Mars: dosimetry measurements and model calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cleghorn, T.; Saganti, P.; Zeitlin, C.; Cucinotta, F.

The first solar particle events from a Martian orbit are observed with the MARIE (Martian Radiation Environment Experiment) on the 2001 Mars Odyssey space -craft that is currently in orbit and collecting the mapping data of the red planet. These solar particle events observed at Mars during March and April 2002, are correlated with the GOES-8 and ACE satellite data from the same time period at Earth orbits. Dosimetry measurements for the Mars orbit from the period of March 13t h through April 29t h . Particle count rate and the corresponding dose rate enhancements were observed on March 16t h through 20t h and on April 22n d corresponding to solar particle events that were observed at Earth orbit on March 16t h through 21s t and beginning on April 21s t respectively. The model calculations with the HZETRN (High Z=atomic number and high Energy Transport) code estimated the background GCR (Galactic Cosmic Rays) dose rates. The dose rates observed by the MARIE instrument are within 10% of the model calculations. Dosimetry measurements and model calculation will be presented.

Intra-observer and inter-observer agreements for the measurement of dual-input whole tumor computed tomography perfusion in patients with lung cancer: Influences of the size and inner-air density of tumors.

PubMed

Wang, Qingle; Zhang, Zhiyong; Shan, Fei; Shi, Yuxin; Xing, Wei; Shi, Liangrong; Zhang, Xingwei

2017-09-01

This study was conducted to assess intra-observer and inter-observer agreements for the measurement of dual-input whole tumor computed tomography perfusion (DCTP) in patients with lung cancer. A total of 88 patients who had undergone DCTP, which had proved a diagnosis of primary lung cancer, were divided into two groups: (i) nodules (diameter ≤3 cm) and masses (diameter >3 cm) by size, and (ii) tumors with and without air density. Pulmonary flow, bronchial flow, and pulmonary index were measured in each group. Intra-observer and inter-observer agreements for measurement were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient, within-subject coefficient of variation, and Bland-Altman analysis. In all lung cancers, the reproducibility coefficient for intra-observer agreement (range 26.1-38.3%) was superior to inter-observer agreement (range 38.1-81.2%). Further analysis revealed lower agreements for nodules compared to masses. Additionally, inner-air density reduced both agreements for lung cancer. The intra-observer agreement for measuring lung cancer DCTP was satisfied, while the inter-observer agreement was limited. The effects of tumoral size and inner-air density to agreements, especially between two observers, should be emphasized. In future, an automatic computer-aided segment of perfusion value of the tumor should be developed. © 2017 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Inference of effective river properties from remotely sensed observations of water surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garambois, Pierre-André; Monnier, Jérôme

2015-05-01

The future SWOT mission (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) will provide cartographic measurements of inland water surfaces (elevation, widths and slope) at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. Given synthetic SWOT like data, forward flow models of hierarchical-complexity are revisited and few inverse formulations are derived and assessed for retrieving the river low flow bathymetry, roughness and discharge (A0, K, Q) . The concept of an effective low flow bathymetry A0 (the real one being never observed) and roughness K , hence an effective river dynamics description, is introduced. The few inverse models elaborated for inferring (A0, K, Q) are analyzed in two contexts: (1) only remotely sensed observations of the water surface (surface elevation, width and slope) are available; (2) one additional water depth measurement (or estimate) is available. The inverse models elaborated are independent of data acquisition dynamics; they are assessed on 91 synthetic test cases sampling a wide range of steady-state river flows (the Froude number varying between 0.05 and 0.5 for 1 km reaches) and in the case of a flood on the Garonne River (France) characterized by large spatio-temporal variabilities. It is demonstrated that the most complete shallow-water like model allowing to separate the roughness and bathymetry terms is the so-called low Froude model. In Case (1), the resulting RMSE on infered discharges are on the order of 15% for first guess errors larger than 50%. An important feature of the present inverse methods is the fairly good accuracy of the discharge Q obtained, while the identified roughness coefficient K includes the measurement errors and the misfit of physics between the real flow and the hypothesis on which the inverse models rely; the later neglecting the unobserved temporal variations of the flow and the inertia effects. A compensation phenomena between the indentifiedvalues of K and the unobserved bathymetry A0 is highlighted, while the

Assessment and correction of turbidity effects on Raman observations of chemicals in aqueous solutions.

PubMed

Sinfield, Joseph V; Monwuba, Chike K

2014-01-01

Improvements in diode laser, fiber optic, and data acquisition technologies are enabling increased use of Raman spectroscopic techniques for both in lab and in situ water analysis. Aqueous media encountered in the natural environment often contain suspended solids that can interfere with spectroscopic measurements, yet removal of these solids, for example, via filtration, can have even greater adverse effects on the extent to which subsequent measurements are representative of actual field conditions. In this context, this study focuses on evaluation of turbidity effects on Raman spectroscopic measurements of two common environmental pollutants in aqueous solution: ammonium nitrate and trichloroethylene. The former is typically encountered in the runoff from agricultural operations and is a strong scatterer that has no significant influence on the Raman spectrum of water. The latter is a commonly encountered pollutant at contaminated sites associated with degreasing and cleaning operations and is a weak scatterer that has a significant influence on the Raman spectrum of water. Raman observations of each compound in aqueous solutions of varying turbidity created by doping samples with silica flour with grain sizes ranging from 1.6 to 5.0 μm were employed to develop relationships between observed Raman signal strength and turbidity level. Shared characteristics of these relationships were then employed to define generalized correction methods for the effect of turbidity on Raman observations of compounds in aqueous solution.

Variability of adjacency effects in sky reflectance measurements.

PubMed

Groetsch, Philipp M M; Gege, Peter; Simis, Stefan G H; Eleveld, Marieke A; Peters, Steef W M

2017-09-01

Sky reflectance R sky (λ) is used to correct in situ reflectance measurements in the remote detection of water color. We analyzed the directional and spectral variability in R sky (λ) due to adjacency effects against an atmospheric radiance model. The analysis is based on one year of semi-continuous R sky (λ) observations that were recorded in two azimuth directions. Adjacency effects contributed to R sky (λ) dependence on season and viewing angle and predominantly in the near-infrared (NIR). For our test area, adjacency effects spectrally resembled a generic vegetation spectrum. The adjacency effect was weakly dependent on the magnitude of Rayleigh- and aerosol-scattered radiance. The reflectance differed between viewing directions 5.4±6.3% for adjacency effects and 21.0±19.8% for Rayleigh- and aerosol-scattered R sky (λ) in the NIR. Under which conditions in situ water reflectance observations require dedicated correction for adjacency effects is discussed. We provide an open source implementation of our method to aid identification of such conditions.

Relationships of Measurement Error and Prediction Error in Observed-Score Regression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Tim

2012-01-01

The focus of this paper is assessing the impact of measurement errors on the prediction error of an observed-score regression. Measures are presented and described for decomposing the linear regression's prediction error variance into parts attributable to the true score variance and the error variances of the dependent variable and the predictor…

[Effects of mere exposure on category evaluation measured by the IAT and the GNAT].

PubMed

Kawakami, Naoaki; Sato, Hirotsune; Yoshida, Fujio

2010-12-01

Based on mere exposure studies, we proposed that repeated exposure to stimuli belonging to a common category leads to a positive evaluation of that category. Furthermore, to investigate the implicit effects of mere exposure, indirect measures were used. In a series of experiments, participants were repeatedly exposed to mimetic words written in Japanese hiragana or katakana, or nothing (control). Then their evaluations of the category ("hiragana" or "katakana") were measured using indirect and direct measures. In Experiment 1 (Implicit Association Test; IAT), we adopted a traditional design using an exposure paradigm, such that the rating stimuli were identical to the exposed stimuli. Significant effects were observed for both measures. In Experiment 2 (IAT) and Experiment 3 (Go/No-go Association Task; GNAT), we used non-exposed stimuli that belonged to a common category as the rating stimuli. Significant effects were observed only for indirect measures. These results indicate that repeated exposure has unconscious positive effects on category evaluation. Theoretical and methodological implications of the findings are discussed.

Telescope Array UHECR composition measurement via stereoscopic fluorescence observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroman, Thomas; Bergman, Douglas; Telescope Array Collaboration

2016-03-01

When entering Earth's atmosphere at ultra-high energies, cosmic rays (UHECRs) produce extensive air showers whose longitudinal development is influenced by the incident primary particle's mass. Each longitudinal shower profile reaches its maximum particle count at an atmospheric slant depth Xmax, and the distributions of observed Xmax values can be compared to those predicted by detailed simulations of the air-shower physics and the detector; accurately simulated compositions that most closely resemble that found in nature will produce the best agreement between predicted and observed Xmax distributions. This is the basis of composition measurement at the Telescope Array experiment, the largest and most sensitive UHECR detector in the northern hemisphere. At the perimeter of a large surface-detector array are three fluorescence telescope stations, whose overlapping apertures enable high-precision reconstruction of Xmax from stereoscopic observation of air-shower longitudinal profiles. We present the distribution of Xmax observed during eight years of operation, and from comparisons with several simulated combinations of composition and high-energy hadronic physics, we show that a low primary mass is favored at E >10 18 . 2 eV.

Canonical Naimark extension for generalized measurements involving sets of Pauli quantum observables chosen at random

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparaciari, Carlo; Paris, Matteo G. A.

2013-01-01

We address measurement schemes where certain observables Xk are chosen at random within a set of nondegenerate isospectral observables and then measured on repeated preparations of a physical system. Each observable has a probability zk to be measured, with ∑kzk=1, and the statistics of this generalized measurement is described by a positive operator-valued measure. This kind of scheme is referred to as quantum roulettes, since each observable Xk is chosen at random, e.g., according to the fluctuating value of an external parameter. Here we focus on quantum roulettes for qubits involving the measurements of Pauli matrices, and we explicitly evaluate their canonical Naimark extensions, i.e., their implementation as indirect measurements involving an interaction scheme with a probe system. We thus provide a concrete model to realize the roulette without destroying the signal state, which can be measured again after the measurement or can be transmitted. Finally, we apply our results to the description of Stern-Gerlach-like experiments on a two-level system.

Effects of zero reference position on bladder pressure measurements: an observational study.

PubMed

Soler Morejón, Caridad De Dios; Lombardo, Tomás Ariel; Tamargo Barbeito, Teddy Osmin; Sandra, Barquín García

2012-07-05

Although the World Society for Abdominal Compartment Syndrome in its guidelines recommends midaxillary line (MAL) as zero reference level in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurements in aiming at standardizing the technique, evidence supporting this suggestion is scarce. The aim of this study is to study if the zero reference position influences bladder pressure measurements as estimate for IAP. The IAP of 100 surgical patients was measured during the first 24 h of admission to the surgical intensive care unit of General Calixto Garcia Hospital in Havana (Cuba) following laparotomy. The period was January 2009 to January 2010. The IAP was measured twice with a six-hour interval using the transurethral technique with a priming volume of 25 ml. IAP was first measured with the zero reference level placed at MAL (IAPMAL), followed by a second measurement at the level of the symphysis pubis (SP) after 3 minutes (IAPSP). Correlations were made between IAP and body mass index (BMI), type of surgery, gender, and age. Mean IAPMAL was 8.5 ± 2.8 mmHg vs. IAPSP 6.5 ± 2.8 mmHg (p < 0.0001). The bias between measurements was 2.0 ± 1.5, 95% confidence interval of 1.4 to 3.0, upper limit of 4.9, lower limit of -0.9, and a percentage error of 35.1%. IAPMAL was consistently higher than IAPSP regardless of the type of surgery. The BMI correlated with IAP values regardless of the zero reference level (R2 = 0.4 and 0.3 with IAPMAL and IAPSP respectively, p < 0.0001). The zero reference level has an important impact on IAP measurement in surgical patients after laparotomy and can potentially lead to over or underestimation. Further anthropometric studies are needed with regard to the relative MAL and SP zero reference position in relation to the theoretical ideal reference level at midpoint of the abdomen. Until better evidence is available, MAL remains the recommended zero reference position due to its best anatomical localization at iliac crest.

Effects of zero reference position on bladder pressure measurements: an observational study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Although the World Society for Abdominal Compartment Syndrome in its guidelines recommends midaxillary line (MAL) as zero reference level in intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) measurements in aiming at standardizing the technique, evidence supporting this suggestion is scarce. The aim of this study is to study if the zero reference position influences bladder pressure measurements as estimate for IAP. Methods The IAP of 100 surgical patients was measured during the first 24 h of admission to the surgical intensive care unit of General Calixto Garcia Hospital in Havana (Cuba) following laparotomy. The period was January 2009 to January 2010. The IAP was measured twice with a six-hour interval using the transurethral technique with a priming volume of 25 ml. IAP was first measured with the zero reference level placed at MAL (IAPMAL), followed by a second measurement at the level of the symphysis pubis (SP) after 3 minutes (IAPSP). Correlations were made between IAP and body mass index (BMI), type of surgery, gender, and age. Results Mean IAPMAL was 8.5 ± 2.8 mmHg vs. IAPSP 6.5 ± 2.8 mmHg (p < 0.0001). The bias between measurements was 2.0 ± 1.5, 95% confidence interval of 1.4 to 3.0, upper limit of 4.9, lower limit of -0.9, and a percentage error of 35.1%. IAPMAL was consistently higher than IAPSP regardless of the type of surgery. The BMI correlated with IAP values regardless of the zero reference level (R2 = 0.4 and 0.3 with IAPMAL and IAPSP respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusions The zero reference level has an important impact on IAP measurement in surgical patients after laparotomy and can potentially lead to over or underestimation. Further anthropometric studies are needed with regard to the relative MAL and SP zero reference position in relation to the theoretical ideal reference level at midpoint of the abdomen. Until better evidence is available, MAL remains the recommended zero reference position due to its best anatomical localization at iliac

Safety effects of low-cost engineering measures. An observational study in a Portuguese multilane road.

PubMed

Vieira Gomes, Sandra; Cardoso, João Lourenço

2012-09-01

Single carriageway multilane roads are not, in general, a very safe type of road, mainly because of the high number of seriously injured victims in head-on collisions, when compared with dual carriageway multilane roads, with a median barrier. In this paper the results of a study on the effect of the application of several low cost engineering measures, aimed at road infrastructure correction and road safety improvement on a multilane road (EN6), are presented. The study was developed by the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC) for the Portuguese Road Administration and involved a comparison of selected aspects of motorized traffic behaviour (traffic volumes and speeds) measured in several sections of EN6, as well as monitoring of road safety developments in the same road. The applied low cost engineering measures allowed a reduction of 10% in the expected annual number of personal injury accidents and a 70% decrease in the expected annual number of head-on collisions; the expected annual frequency of accidents involving killed and seriously injured persons was reduced by 26%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observational studies and the difficult quest for causality: lessons from vaccine effectiveness and impact studies.

PubMed

Lipsitch, Marc; Jha, Ayan; Simonsen, Lone

2016-12-01

Although randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCT) are critical to establish efficacy of vaccines at the time of licensure, important remaining questions about vaccine effectiveness (VE)-used here to include individual-level measures and population-wide impact of vaccine programmes-can only be answered once the vaccine is in use, from observational studies. However, such studies are inherently at risk for bias. Using a causal framework and illustrating with examples, we review newer approaches to detecting and avoiding confounding and selection bias in three major classes of observational study design: cohort, case-control and ecological studies. Studies of influenza VE, especially in seniors, are an excellent demonstration of the challenges of detecting and reducing such bias, and so we use influenza VE as a running example. We take a fresh look at the time-trend studies often dismissed as 'ecological'. Such designs are the only observational study design that can measure the overall effect of a vaccination programme [indirect (herd) as well as direct effects], and are in fact already an important part of the evidence base for several vaccines currently in use. Despite the great strides towards more robust observational study designs, challenges lie ahead for evaluating best practices for achieving robust unbiased results from observational studies. This is critical for evaluation of national and global vaccine programme effectiveness. © The Author 2016; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Learning object correspondences with the observed transport shape measure.

PubMed

Pitiot, Alain; Delingette, Hervé; Toga, Arthur W; Thompson, Paul M

2003-07-01

We propose a learning method which introduces explicit knowledge to the object correspondence problem. Our approach uses an a priori learning set to compute a dense correspondence field between two objects, where the characteristics of the field bear close resemblance to those in the learning set. We introduce a new local shape measure we call the "observed transport measure", whose properties make it particularly amenable to the matching problem. From the values of our measure obtained at every point of the objects to be matched, we compute a distance matrix which embeds the correspondence problem in a highly expressive and redundant construct and facilitates its manipulation. We present two learning strategies that rely on the distance matrix and discuss their applications to the matching of a variety of 1-D, 2-D and 3-D objects, including the corpus callosum and ventricular surfaces.

The Zeeman effect or linear birefringence? VLA polarimetric spectral line observations of H2O masers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jun-Hui; Goss, W. M.; Diamond, P.

We present line profiles of the four Stokes parameters of H2O masers at 22 GHz observed with the VLA in full polarimetric spectral line mode. With careful calibration, the instrumental effects such as linear leakage and the difference of antenna gain between RCP and LCP, can be minimized. Our measurements show a few percent linear polarization. Weak circular polarization was detected at a level of 0.1 percent of the peak intensity. A large uncertainty in the measurements of weak circular polarization is caused by telescope pointing errors. The observed polarization of H2O masers can be interpreted as either the Zeeman effect or linear birefringence.

UHECR mass composition measurement at Telescope Array via stereoscopic observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroman, Thomas; Telescope Array Collaboration

2015-04-01

The masses of primary ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray (UHECR) nuclei cannot be measured directly on an individual basis, but constraints on the chemical composition can be inferred from the distributions of observable properties. The atmospheric slant depth at which a UHECR-induced extensive air shower reaches its maximum number of particles, Xmax, is particularly sensitive to the mass of the incident nucleus, occurring earlier in the shower's longitudinal development for heavier nuclei at a given energy. The Telescope Array in west-central Utah, the northern hemisphere's largest UHECR detector, is equipped for accurate Xmax and energy measurements via stereoscopic fluorescence observation. Using data from seven years of operation, we will present Xmax distributions at several energies E >10 18 . 2eV , and compare them to distributions predicted by detailed detector simulations under an assortment of assumed UHECR compositions and high-energy hadronic interaction models.

Placement of Synchronized Measurements for Power System Observability during Cascaded Outages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thirugnanasambandam, Venkatesh; Jain, Trapti

2017-11-01

Cascaded outages often result in power system islanding followed by a blackout and therefore considered as a severe disturbance. Maintaining the observability of each island may help in taking proper control actions to preserve the stability of individual islands thus, averting system collapse. With this intent, a strategy for placement of synchronized measurements, which can be obtained from phasor measurement units (PMU), has been proposed in this paper to keep the system observable during cascaded outages also. Since, all the cascaded failures may not lead to islanding situations, therefore, failures leading to islanding as well as non-islanding situations have been considered. A topology based algorithm has been developed to identify the islanding/non-islanding condition created by a particular cascaded event. Additional contingencies such as single line loss and single PMU failure have also been considered after the occurrence of cascaded events. The proposed method is further extended to incorporate the measurement redundancy, which is desirable for a reliable state estimation. The proposed scheme is tested on IEEE 14-bus, IEEE 30-bus and a practical Indian 246-bus networks. The numerical results ensure the observability of the power system under system intact as well as during cascaded islanding and non-islanding disturbances.

Observing convection with satellite, radar, and lightning measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamann, Ulrich; Nisi, Luca; Clementi, Lorenzo; Ventura, Jordi Figueras i.; Gabella, Marco; Hering, Alessandro M.; Sideris, Ioannis; Trefalt, Simona; Germann, Urs

2015-04-01

Heavy precipitation, hail, and wind gusts are the fundamental meteorological hazards associated with strong convection and thunderstorms. The thread is particularly severe in mountainous areas, e.g. it is estimated that on average between 50% and 80% of all weather-related damage in Switzerland is caused by strong thunderstorms (Hilker et al., 2010). Intense atmospheric convection is governed by processes that range from the synoptic to the microphysical scale and are considered to be one of the most challenging and difficult weather phenomena to predict. Even though numerical weather prediction models have some skills to predict convection, in general the exact location of the convective initialization and its propagation cannot be forecasted by these models with sufficient precision. Hence, there is a strong interest to improve the short-term forecast by using statistical, object oriented and/or heuristic nowcasting methods. MeteoSwiss has developed several operational nowcasting systems for this purpose such as TRT (Hering, 2008) and COALITION (Nisi, 2014). In this contribution we analyze the typical development of convection using measurements of the Swiss C-band Dual Polarization Doppler weather radar network, the MSG SEVIRI satellite, and the Météorage lighting network. The observations are complemented with the analysis and forecasts of the COSMO model. Special attention is given to the typical evolutionary stages like the pre-convective environment, convective initiation, cloud top glaciation, start, maximum, and end of precipitation and lightning activity. The pre-convective environment is examined using instability indices derived from SEVIRI observations and the COSMO forecasts. During the early development satellite observations are used to observe the rise of the cloud top, the growth of the cloud droplet or crystals, and the glaciation of the cloud top. SEVIRI brightness temperatures, channel differences, and temporal trends as suggested by

The Quantum Cheshire Cat effect: Theoretical basis and observational implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duprey, Q.; Kanjilal, S.; Sinha, U.; Home, D.; Matzkin, A.

2018-04-01

The Quantum Cheshire Cat (QCC) is an effect introduced recently within the Weak Measurements framework. The main feature of the QCC effect is that a property of a quantum particle appears to be spatially separated from its position. The status of this effect has however remained unclear, as claims of experimental observation of the QCC have been disputed by strong criticism of the experimental as well as the theoretical aspects of the effect. In this paper we clarify in what precise sense the QCC can be regarded as an unambiguous consequence of the standard quantum mechanical formalism applied to describe quantum pointers weakly coupled to a system. In light of this clarification, the raised criticisms of the QCC effect are rebutted. We further point out that the limitations of the experiments performed to date imply that a loophole-free experimental demonstration of the QCC has not yet been achieved.

The psychometric properties of Observer OPTION(5), an observer measure of shared decision making.

PubMed

Barr, Paul J; O'Malley, Alistair James; Tsulukidze, Maka; Gionfriddo, Michael R; Montori, Victor; Elwyn, Glyn

2015-08-01

Observer OPTION(5) was designed as a more efficient version of OPTION(12), the most commonly used measure of shared decision making (SDM). The current paper assesses the psychometric properties of OPTION(5). Two raters used OPTION(5) to rate recordings of clinical encounters from two previous patient decision aid (PDA) trials (n=201; n=110). A subsample was re-rated two weeks later. We assessed discriminative validity, inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity. OPTION(5) demonstrated discriminative validity, with increases in SDM between usual care and PDA arms. OPTION(5) also demonstrated concurrent validity with OPTION(12), r=0.61 (95%CI 0.54, 0.68) and intra-rater reliability, r=0.93 (0.83, 0.97). The mean difference in rater score was 8.89 (95% Credibility Interval, 7.5, 10.3), with intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.67 (95% Credibility Interval, 0.51, 0.91) for the accuracy of rater scores and 0.70 (95% Credibility Interval, 0.56, 0.94) for the consistency of rater scores across encounters, indicating good inter-rater reliability. Raters reported lower cognitive burden when using OPTION(5) compared to OPTION(12). OPTION(5) is a brief, theoretically grounded observer measure of SDM with promising psychometric properties in this sample and low burden on raters. OPTION(5) has potential to provide reliable, valid assessment of SDM in clinical encounters. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observation of the seismic anisotropy effects on free oscillations below 4 mHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, X.; Liu, L.

2009-12-01

We present observations of significant fundamental spheroidal-toroidal mode coupling at frequencies below 4 mHz in the early part of vertical component records from seismic stations on near-equatorial source-receiver propagation paths and in Antarctica after the 26 December 2004 and 28 March 2005 great Sumatra earthquakes. When seismic surface waves propagate along the equator, the particle motion of Love waves runs parallels to the Earth’s rotation axis, and the particle motion of Rayleigh waves runs perpendicular to it, thus the Coriolis force has no vertical deflection effect on Love waves and no transverse deflection effect on the Rayleigh waves. Coriolis coupling can be naturally minimized at a station on a nearequatorial source-receiver propagation path. In Antarctica, especially near the South Pole, the vertical deflection of toroidial motion is very weak but there are lateral gradients in the anisotropic properties of upper mantle. Therefore, we can find a chance to directly observe seismic anisotropy coupling below 4 mHz without the disturbance of Coriolis coupling at Antarctic station, and at the seismic station locate close to the Earth’s equator when the epicenter also locates close to the equator. Our observations of strong anomalous toroidal-spheroidal coupling at these stations provide direct evidence to confirm the theory that the azimuthal anisotropy has pronounced effects on the quasi-toroidal mode excitations at the frequencies below 4 mHz, which can convince the skeptics that anisotropy really is visible in the low-frequency normal mode data. Strong anisotropic coupling is usually observed at stations having the geometric nodes for the spheroidal fundamentals, giving the association of quasi-toroidal excitation with the geometric effect. The presence of significant anisotropy coupling below 4 mHz depends not only on anisotropic depth, anisotropic identities and orientations but also on radiation nodes for Rayleigh waves and geometry nodes

Quantifying the effect of riming on snowfall using ground-based observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moisseev, Dmitri; von Lerber, Annakaisa; Tiira, Jussi

2017-04-01

Ground-based observations of ice particle size distribution and ensemble mean density are used to quantify the effect of riming on snowfall. The rime mass fraction is derived from these measurements by following the approach that is used in a single ice-phase category microphysical scheme proposed for the use in numerical weather prediction models. One of the characteristics of the proposed scheme is that the prefactor of a power law relation that links mass and size of ice particles is determined by the rime mass fraction, while the exponent does not change. To derive the rime mass fraction, a mass-dimensional relation representative of unrimed snow is also determined. To check the validity of the proposed retrieval method, the derived rime mass fraction is converted to the effective liquid water path that is compared to microwave radiometer observations. Since dual-polarization radar observations are often used to detect riming, the impact of riming on dual-polarization radar variables is studied for differential reflectivity measurements. It is shown that the relation between rime mass fraction and differential reflectivity is ambiguous, other factors such as change in median volume diameter need also be considered. Given the current interest on sensitivity of precipitation to aerosol pollution, which could inhibit riming, the importance of riming for surface snow accumulation is investigated. It is found that riming is responsible for 5% to 40% of snowfall mass. The study is based on data collected at the University of Helsinki field station in Hyytiälä during U.S. Department of Energy Biogenic Aerosols Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC) field campaign and the winter 2014/2015. In total 22 winter storms were analyzed, and detailed analysis of two events is presented to illustrate the study.

Simulating the Compton-Getting effect for hydrogen flux measurements: Implications for IBEX-Hi and -Lo observations

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

Zirnstein, E. J.; Heerikhuisen, J.; McComas, D. J.

The Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX), launched in 2008 October, has improved our understanding of the solar wind-local interstellar medium interaction through its detection of neutral atoms, particularly that of hydrogen (H). IBEX is able to create full maps of the sky in six-month intervals as the Earth orbits the Sun, detecting H with energies between ∼0.01 and 6 keV. Due to the relative motion of IBEX to the solar inertial frame, measurements made in the spacecraft frame introduce a Compton-Getting (CG) effect, complicating measurements at the lowest energies. In this paper we provide results from a numerical simulation that calculatesmore » fluxes of H atoms at 1 AU in the inertial and spacecraft frames (both ram and anti-ram), at energies relevant to IBEX-Hi and -Lo. We show theory behind the numerical simulations, applying a simple frame transformation to derived flux equations that provides a straightforward way to simulate fluxes in the spacecraft frame. We then show results of H energetic neutral atom fluxes simulated at IBEX-Hi energy passbands 2-6 in all frames, comparing with IBEX-Hi data along selected directions, and also show results simulated at energies relevant to IBEX-Lo. Although simulations at IBEX-Hi energies agree reasonably well with the CG correction method used for IBEX-Hi data, we demonstrate the importance of properly modeling low energy H fluxes due to inherent complexities involved with measurements made in moving frames, as well as dynamic radiation pressure effects close to the Sun.« less

Absorption/Transmission Measurements of PSAP Particle-Laden Filters from the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) Field Campaign

PubMed Central

Presser, Cary; Nazarian, Ashot; Conny, Joseph M.; Chand, Duli; Sedlacek, Arthur; Hubbe, John M.

2017-01-01

Absorptivity measurements with a laser-heating approach, referred to as the laser-driven thermal reactor (LDTR), were carried out in the infrared and applied at ambient (laboratory) non-reacting conditions to particle-laden filters from a three-wavelength (visible) particle/soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The particles were obtained during the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) field campaign. The focus of this study was to determine the particle absorption coefficient from field-campaign filter samples using the LDTR approach, and compare results with other commercially available instrumentation (in this case with the PSAP, which has been compared with numerous other optical techniques). Advantages of the LDTR approach include 1) direct estimation of material absorption from temperature measurements (as opposed to resolving the difference between the measured reflection/scattering and transmission), 2) information on the filter optical properties, and 3) identification of the filter material effects on particle absorption (e.g., leading to particle absorption enhancement or shadowing). For measurements carried out under ambient conditions, the particle absorptivity is obtained with a thermocouple placed flush with the filter back surface and the laser probe beam impinging normal to the filter particle-laden surface. Thus, in principle one can employ a simple experimental arrangement to measure simultaneously both the transmissivity and absorptivity (at different discrete wavelengths) and ascertain the particle absorption coefficient. For this investigation, LDTR measurements were carried out with PSAP filters (pairs with both blank and exposed filters) from eight different days during the campaign, having relatively light but different particle loadings. The observed particles coating the filters were found to be carbonaceous (having broadband absorption characteristics). The LDTR absorption coefficient compared well with results from the PSAP. The

Absorption/Transmission Measurements of PSAP Particle-Laden Filters from the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) Field Campaign.

PubMed

Presser, Cary; Nazarian, Ashot; Conny, Joseph M; Chand, Duli; Sedlacek, Arthur; Hubbe, John M

2017-01-01

Absorptivity measurements with a laser-heating approach, referred to as the laser-driven thermal reactor (LDTR), were carried out in the infrared and applied at ambient (laboratory) non-reacting conditions to particle-laden filters from a three-wavelength (visible) particle/soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The particles were obtained during the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) field campaign. The focus of this study was to determine the particle absorption coefficient from field-campaign filter samples using the LDTR approach, and compare results with other commercially available instrumentation (in this case with the PSAP, which has been compared with numerous other optical techniques). Advantages of the LDTR approach include 1) direct estimation of material absorption from temperature measurements (as opposed to resolving the difference between the measured reflection/scattering and transmission), 2) information on the filter optical properties, and 3) identification of the filter material effects on particle absorption (e.g., leading to particle absorption enhancement or shadowing). For measurements carried out under ambient conditions, the particle absorptivity is obtained with a thermocouple placed flush with the filter back surface and the laser probe beam impinging normal to the filter particle-laden surface. Thus, in principle one can employ a simple experimental arrangement to measure simultaneously both the transmissivity and absorptivity (at different discrete wavelengths) and ascertain the particle absorption coefficient. For this investigation, LDTR measurements were carried out with PSAP filters (pairs with both blank and exposed filters) from eight different days during the campaign, having relatively light but different particle loadings. The observed particles coating the filters were found to be carbonaceous (having broadband absorption characteristics). The LDTR absorption coefficient compared well with results from the PSAP. The

On Orders of Observables on Effect Algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvurečenskij, Anatolij

2017-12-01

On the set of bounded observables on an effect algebra, the Olson order defined by spectral resolutions and the standard order defined by a system of σ-additive states are introduced. We show that sharp bounded observables form a Dedekind σ-complete sublattice of a Dedekind complete lattice under the Olson order. In addition, we compare both orders, and we illustrate them on different effect algebras.

Measurement in Comparative Effectiveness Research

PubMed Central

Chubak, Jessica; Rutter, Carolyn M.; Kamineni, Aruna; Johnson, Eric A.; Stout, Natasha K.; Weiss, Noel S.; Doria-Rose, V. Paul; Doubeni, Chyke A.; Buist, Diana S.M.

2013-01-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) on preventive services can shape policy and help patients, their providers, and public health practitioners select regimens and programs for disease prevention. Patients and providers need information about the relative effectiveness of various regimens they may choose. Decision makers need information about the relative effectiveness of various programs to offer or recommend. The goal of this paper is to define and differentiate measures of relative effectiveness of regimens and programs for disease prevention. Cancer screening is used to demonstrate how these measures differ in an example of two hypothetic screening regimens and programs. Conceptually and algebraically defined measures of relative regimen and program effectiveness are also presented. The measures evaluate preventive services that range from individual tests through organized, population-wide prevention programs. Examples illustrate how effective screening regimens may not result in effective screening programs and how measures can vary across subgroups and settings. Both regimen and program relative effectiveness measures assess benefits of prevention services in real-world settings, but each addresses different scientific and policy questions. As the body of CER grows, a common lexicon for various measures of relative effectiveness becomes increasingly important to facilitate communication and shared understanding among researchers, healthcare providers, patients, and policymakers. PMID:23597816

Measurement in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Chubak, Jessica; Rutter, Carolyn M; Kamineni, Aruna; Johnson, Eric A; Stout, Natasha K; Weiss, Noel S; Doria-Rose, V Paul; Doubeni, Chyke A; Buist, Diana S M

2013-05-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) on preventive services can shape policy and help patients, their providers, and public health practitioners select regimens and programs for disease prevention. Patients and providers need information about the relative effectiveness of various regimens they may choose. Decision makers need information about the relative effectiveness of various programs to offer or recommend. The goal of this paper is to define and differentiate measures of relative effectiveness of regimens and programs for disease prevention. Cancer screening is used to demonstrate how these measures differ in an example of two hypothetical screening regimens and programs. Conceptually and algebraically defined measures of relative regimen and program effectiveness also are presented. The measures evaluate preventive services that range from individual tests through organized, population-wide prevention programs. Examples illustrate how effective screening regimens may not result in effective screening programs and how measures can vary across subgroups and settings. Both regimen and program relative effectiveness measures assess benefits of prevention services in real-world settings, but each addresses different scientific and policy questions. As the body of CER grows, a common lexicon for various measures of relative effectiveness becomes increasingly important to facilitate communication and shared understanding among researchers, healthcare providers, patients, and policymakers. Copyright © 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

How Questionnaires and Multimedia Measurements collected in the U.S. EPA’s Observational Human Exposure Measurement Studies Inform Exposures

EPA Science Inventory

In the last decade, the U.S. EPA has conducted and/or funded numerous observational humanexposure measurement studies where questionnaires were administered to the study participants in addition tothe collection of multimedia measurements. Questionnaire responses provide ancillar...

Striving for Optimum Noise-Decreasing Strategies in Critical Care: Initial Measurements and Observations.

PubMed

Disher, Timothy C; Benoit, Britney; Inglis, Darlene; Burgess, Stacy A; Ellsmere, Barbara; Hewitt, Brenda E; Bishop, Tanya M; Sheppard, Christopher L; Jangaard, Krista A; Morrison, Gavin C; Campbell-Yeo, Marsha L

To identify baseline sound levels, patterns of sound levels, and potential barriers and facilitators to sound level reduction. The study setting was neonatal and pediatric intensive care units in a tertiary care hospital. Participants were staff in both units and parents of currently hospitalized children or infants. One 24-hour sound measurements and one 4-hour sound measurement linked to observed sound events were conducted in each area of the center's neonatal intensive care unit. Two of each measurement type were conducted in the pediatric intensive care unit. Focus groups were conducted with parents and staff. Transcripts were analyzed with descriptive content analysis and themes were compared against results from quantitative measurements. Sound levels exceeded recommended standards at nearly every time point. The most common code was related to talking. Themes from focus groups included the critical care context and sound levels, effects of sound levels, and reducing sound levels-the way forward. Results are consistent with work conducted in other critical care environments. Staff and families realize that high sound levels can be a problem, but feel that the culture and context are not supportive of a quiet care space. High levels of ambient sound suggest that the largest changes in sound levels are likely to come from design and equipment purchase decisions. L10 and Lmax appear to be the best outcomes for measurement of behavioral interventions.

Measurement of axial spin observables in the polarized deuteron-polarized proton breakup at 270MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitaker, Thomas Jenkins

We report the measurement of "axial" spin observables in the dp breakup reaction at 270MeV. These measurements were made using a stored polarized "cooled" deuteron beam and a polarized internal hydrogen target at the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF). Given our beam and target spin-alignment directions we were able to measure the axial spin observables Apz , Cy,x - Cx,y, and Czz,z. Axial spin observables are the subset of observables which are antisymmetric under the parity operation and are thus forbidden in reactions where the outgoing momenta are coplanar with the beam momentum. It has been argued that axial observables may be more sensitive to a three-body force than other spin observables. We compare our measurements to theoretical predictions based on the CD-Bonn nucleon-nucleon potential and the TM ' three-nucleon force, using a new method to correctly take into account the experimental constraints. The only previous measurement of Apz for pd breakup was carried out at 9MeV and yielded a result consistent with zero. In contrast, at Tp = 135 MeV, the present experiment reports a sizeable value for Apz , Cy,x - Cx,y, and Czz,z. To our knowledge, this is the first time axial correlation coefficients have been measured in a nuclear reaction. The expected sensitivity of axial observables to the three-nucleon force is not confirmed by our measurement.

In-Situ VIS/NIR Measurements of Space Environment Effects on Spacecraft Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bedard, D.; Seitzer, P.; Willison, A.; Somers, P.

2016-09-01

Laboratory material characterization experiments have shown that passive observational techniques that measure the spectral energy distribution of reflected sunlight from spacecraft and space debris could potentially be used to determine an object's surface compositional make-up and even possibly its orientation. Such techniques, if proven to be reliable and consistent, would represent non-intrusive and cost effective tools that would benefit the overall space situational awareness (SSA) mission. However, to date, observations using either colour photometry or spectrophotometry to determine surface material characteristics of such objects have not produced encouraging results. One common problem that has plagued these attempts is the lack of understanding on how the spectral reflectance of the spacecraft surfaces evolves with time. There are a number of spacecraft materials whose spectral reflectance characteristics have been studied before and after spaceflight in LEO; there are no measurements on how the space environment gradually modifies the spectral scattering characteristics of these materials as a function of time. Furthermore, there are little or no in-situ observations of environmental effects on individually identifiable materials in MEO and GEO. This complicates the task of interpreting the spectral measurements of spatially unresolved spacecraft and orbital debris. This paper presents instrument concepts whose sole purpose will be to acquire on-orbit spectral reflectance measurements, at different observational geometries, of either witness samples or materials covering the surface of the host spacecraft. Such instruments could be flown as a hosted payload on an operational GEO satellite or as a dedicated payload on a microsatellite. Measurements would be acquired over the lifetime of the satellite and would observe how the spectral reflectance characteristics evolve during its lifetime. Furthermore, installation of one of the proposed instruments on

Mechanical effects of strong measurement: back-action noise and cooling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwab, Keith

2007-03-01

Our recent experiments show that it is now possible to prepare and measure mechanical systems with thermal occupation factors of N˜25 and perform continuous position measurements close to the limits required by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (1). I will discuss our back-action measurements with nanomechanical structures strongly coupled to single electron transistors. We have been able to observe the stochastic back-action forces exerted by the SET as well as a cooling effect which has analogies to cooling in optical cavities. Furthermore, I will discuss progress using optical fields coupled to mechanical modes which show substantial cooling using the pondermotive effects of the photons impacting a flexible dielectric mirror (2). Both of these techniques pave the way to demonstrating the true quantum properties of a mechanical device: squeezed states, superposition states, and entangled states. (1) ``Quantum Measurement Backaction and Cooling Observed with a Nanomechanical Resonator,'' A. Naik, O. Buu, M.D. LaHaye, M.P. Blencowe, A.D. Armour, A.A. Clerk, K.C. Schwab, Nature 443, 193 (2006). (2) ``Self-cooling of a micro-mirror by radiation pressure,'' S. Gigan, H.R. Boehm, M. Patemostro, F. Blaser, G. Langer, J. Hertzberg, K. Schwab, D. Baeuerle, M. Aspelmeyer, A. Zeilinger, Nature 444, 67 (2006).

Measures of Reliability in Behavioral Observation: The Advantage of "Real Time" Data Acquisition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenbeck, Albert R.; Slaby, Ronald G.

Two observers who were using an electronic digital data acquisition system were spot checked for reliability at random times over a four month period. Between-and within-observer reliability was assessed for frequency, duration, and duration-per-event measures of four infant behaviors. The results confirmed the problem of observer drift--the…

QUANTIFYING OBSERVATIONAL PROJECTION EFFECTS USING MOLECULAR CLOUD SIMULATIONS

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

Beaumont, Christopher N.; Offner, Stella S.R.; Shetty, Rahul

2013-11-10

The physical properties of molecular clouds are often measured using spectral-line observations, which provide the only probes of the clouds' velocity structure. It is hard, though, to assess whether and to what extent intensity features in position-position-velocity (PPV) space correspond to 'real' density structures in position-position-position (PPP) space. In this paper, we create synthetic molecular cloud spectral-line maps of simulated molecular clouds, and present a new technique for measuring the reality of individual PPV structures. Using a dendrogram algorithm, we identify hierarchical structures in both PPP and PPV space. Our procedure projects density structures identified in PPP space into correspondingmore » intensity structures in PPV space and then measures the geometric overlap of the projected structures with structures identified from the synthetic observation. The fractional overlap between a PPP and PPV structure quantifies how well the synthetic observation recovers information about the three-dimensional structure. Applying this machinery to a set of synthetic observations of CO isotopes, we measure how well spectral-line measurements recover mass, size, velocity dispersion, and virial parameter for a simulated star-forming region. By disabling various steps of our analysis, we investigate how much opacity, chemistry, and gravity affect measurements of physical properties extracted from PPV cubes. For the simulations used here, which offer a decent, but not perfect, match to the properties of a star-forming region like Perseus, our results suggest that superposition induces a ∼40% uncertainty in masses, sizes, and velocity dispersions derived from {sup 13}CO (J = 1-0). As would be expected, superposition and confusion is worst in regions where the filling factor of emitting material is large. The virial parameter is most affected by superposition, such that estimates of the virial parameter derived from PPV and PPP information typically

A propagation tool to connect remote-sensing observations with in-situ measurements of heliospheric structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rouillard, A. P.; Lavraud, B.; Génot, V.; Bouchemit, M.; Dufourg, N.; Plotnikov, I.; Pinto, R. F.; Sanchez-Diaz, E.; Lavarra, M.; Penou, M.; Jacquey, C.; André, N.; Caussarieu, S.; Toniutti, J.-P.; Popescu, D.; Buchlin, E.; Caminade, S.; Alingery, P.; Davies, J. A.; Odstrcil, D.; Mays, L.

2017-11-01

The remoteness of the Sun and the harsh conditions prevailing in the solar corona have so far limited the observational data used in the study of solar physics to remote-sensing observations taken either from the ground or from space. In contrast, the 'solar wind laboratory' is directly measured in situ by a fleet of spacecraft measuring the properties of the plasma and magnetic fields at specific points in space. Since 2007, the solar-terrestrial relations observatory (STEREO) has been providing images of the solar wind that flows between the solar corona and spacecraft making in-situ measurements. This has allowed scientists to directly connect processes imaged near the Sun with the subsequent effects measured in the solar wind. This new capability prompted the development of a series of tools and techniques to track heliospheric structures through space. This article presents one of these tools, a web-based interface called the 'Propagation Tool' that offers an integrated research environment to study the evolution of coronal and solar wind structures, such as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs). These structures can be propagated from the Sun outwards to or alternatively inwards from planets and spacecraft situated in the inner and outer heliosphere. In this paper, we present the global architecture of the tool, discuss some of the assumptions made to simulate the evolution of the structures and show how the tool connects to different databases.

Modelling and mitigating refractive propagation effects in precision pulsar timing observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannon, R. M.; Cordes, J. M.

2017-01-01

To obtain the most accurate pulse arrival times from radio pulsars, it is necessary to correct or mitigate the effects of the propagation of radio waves through the warm and ionized interstellar medium. We examine both the strength of propagation effects associated with large-scale electron-density variations and the methodology used to estimate infinite frequency arrival times. Using simulations of two-dimensional phase-varying screens, we assess the strength and non-stationarity of timing perturbations associated with large-scale density variations. We identify additional contributions to arrival times that are stochastic in both radio frequency and time and therefore not amenable to correction solely using times of arrival. We attribute this to the frequency dependence of the trajectories of the propagating radio waves. We find that this limits the efficacy of low-frequency (metre-wavelength) observations. Incorporating low-frequency pulsar observations into precision timing campaigns is increasingly problematic for pulsars with larger dispersion measures.

Measuring pain in dogs and cats using structured behavioural observation.

PubMed

Reid, J; Nolan, A M; Scott, E M

2018-06-01

The contemporary approach to pain measurement in people and animals seeks to measure the affective (emotional) component of the pain experience using structured questionnaires with formal scoring methodology. Chronic pain has wide-ranging impacts which affects the quality of life (QOL) of the individual, whether that is a person or an animal. Accordingly instruments to measure chronic pain are designed to measure its impact on QOL and are called health-related quality of life (HRQL) instruments. In veterinary science instruments to measure pain are based on behavioural observation by the veterinary surgeon/nurse in the case of acute pain and by the owner in the case of chronic pain. The development of HRQL instruments is an expanding field in veterinary science, not just for the measurement of pain, but for other chronic diseases, and it has a wide application in pharmaceutical research and clinical practice to improve patient care. This review highlights the challenges involved in creating such measures for dogs and cats, seeking to provide the reader with an understanding of their development process. It then provides an overview of the current status with regard to acute and chronic pain measurement. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring Attitudes That Bias Teacher Observation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marston, Paul T.; Clements, Richard O.

It was hypothesized that individual differences in observer attitudes might affect the way observers code teacher behavior. A questionnaire assessing educational attitudes was given to 22 subjects who were trained on 3 classroom observation systems: the Flanders Interaction Analysis, the Classroom Observation Scales, and the Classroom Observation…

Does the accuracy of blood pressure measurement correlate with hearing loss of the observer?

PubMed

Song, Soohwa; Lee, Jongshill; Chee, Youngjoon; Jang, Dong Pyo; Kim, In Young

2014-02-01

The auscultatory method is influenced by the hearing level of the observers. If the observer has hearing loss, it is possible to measure blood pressure inaccurately by misreading the Korotkoff sounds at systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Because of the potential clinical problems this discrepancy may cause, we used a hearing loss simulator to determine how hearing level affects the accuracy of blood pressure measurements. Two data sets (data set A, 32 Korotkoff sound video clips recorded by the British Hypertension Society; data set B, 28 Korotkoff sound data acquired from the Korotkoff sound recording system developed by Hanyang University) were used and all the data were attenuated to simulate a hearing loss of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 dB using the hearing loss simulator. Five observers with normal hearing assessed the blood pressures from these data sets and the differences between the values measured from the original recordings (no attenuation) and the attenuated versions were analyzed. Greater attenuation of the Korotkoff sounds, or greater hearing loss, resulted in larger blood pressure measurement differences when compared with the original data. When measuring blood pressure with hearing loss, the SBP tended to be underestimated and the DBP was overestimated. The mean differences between the original data and the 25 dB hearing loss data for the two data sets combined were 1.55±2.71 and -4.32±4.21 mmHg for SBP and DBP, respectively. This experiment showed that the accuracy of blood pressure measurements using the auscultatory method is affected by observer hearing level. Therefore, to reduce possible error using the auscultatory method, observers' hearing should be tested.

Acceleration effects observed in optical data taken in Spacelab 3 FES

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trolinger, James; Lal, Ravindra; Ruff, Rudy

1990-01-01

Optical instrumentation in the Fluids Experiment System (FES) is briefly described. Samples of the data produced by the schlieren and holography systems during the Spacelab 3 flight are then presented with some of the holographic interferometry data being presented for the first time. Acceleration effects that can be observed in these data are discussed and the potential for using them as a basis for measurement is explored. This includes the tracking of deliberately introduced tracer particles and density gradients in the FES, the analysis of the existing concentration gradients, and a new fiber optic G-meter concept. Finally, some of the plans for acceleration measurement in the upcoming International Microgravity-1/FES are described.

Observing System Simulations for ASCENDS: Synthesizing Science Measurement Requirements (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawa, S. R.; Baker, D. F.; Schuh, A. E.; Crowell, S.; Rayner, P. J.; Hammerling, D.; Michalak, A. M.; Wang, J. S.; Eluszkiewicz, J.; Ott, L.; Zaccheo, T.; Abshire, J. B.; Browell, E. V.; Moore, B.; Crisp, D.

2013-12-01

The measurement of atmospheric CO2 from space using active (lidar) sensing techniques has several potentially significant advantages in comparison to current and planned passive CO2 instruments. Application of this new technology aims to advance CO2 measurement capability and carbon cycle science into the next decade. The NASA Active Sensing of Carbon Emissions, Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) mission has been recommended by the US National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey for the next generation of space-based CO2 observing systems. ASCENDS is currently planned for launch in 2022. Several possible lidar instrument approaches have been demonstrated in airborne campaigns and the results indicate that such sensors are quite feasible. Studies are now underway to evaluate performance requirements for space mission implementation. Satellite CO2 observations must be highly precise and unbiased in order to accurately infer global carbon source/sink fluxes. Measurement demands are likely to further increase in the wake of GOSAT, OCO-2, and enhanced ground-based in situ and remote sensing CO2 data. The objective of our work is to quantitatively and consistently evaluate the measurement capabilities and requirements for ASCENDS in the context of advancing our knowledge of carbon flux distributions and their dependence on underlying physical processes. Considerations include requirements for precision, relative accuracy, spatial/temporal coverage and resolution, vertical information content, interferences, and possibly the tradeoffs among these parameters, while at the same time framing a mission that can be implemented within a constrained budget. Here, we attempt to synthesize the results of observing system simulation studies, commissioned by the ASCENDS Science Requirements Definition Team, into a coherent set of mission performance guidelines. A variety of forward and inverse model frameworks are employed to reduce the potential dependence of the results on model

The Unruh effect for eccentric uniformly rotating observers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramezani-Aval, H.

It is common to use Galilean rotational transformation (GRT) to investigate the Unruh effect for uniformly rotating observers. However, the rotating observer in this subject is an eccentric observer while GRT is only valid for centrally rotating observers. Thus, the reliability of the results of applying GRT to the study of the Unruh effect might be considered as questionable. In this work, the rotational analog of the Unruh effect is investigated by employing two relativistic rotational transformations corresponding to the eccentric rotating observer, and it is shown that in both cases, the detector response function is nonzero. It is also shown that although consecutive Lorentz transformations cannot give a frame within which the canonical construction can be carried out, the expectation value of particle number operator in canonical approach will be zero if we use modified Franklin transformation. These conclusions reinforce the claim that correspondence between vacuum states defined via canonical field theory and a detector is broken for rotating observers. Some previous conclusions are commented on and some controversies are also discussed.

The Relationship Between Observations and Measures of Oral and Pharyngeal Residue from Videofluorography and Scintigraphy

PubMed Central

Logemann, Jeri A.; Williams, Rohan B.; Rademaker, Alfred; Pauloski, Barbara Roa; Lazarus, Cathy L.; Cook, Ian

2006-01-01

We examined measures of oral and pharyngeal residues from scintigraphic studies and estimates/observations from videofluorographic (modified barium swallow) studies taken on the same day but not concurrently in 16 dysphagic patients of varying etiologies presenting with oral and/or pharyngeal dysphagia. Oral and pharyngeal residuals following the swallow were quantified scintigraphically and were then compared with measures of residuals obtained from the modified barium swallow. Estimates of oral and pharyngeal residues from the modified barium swallows were generated by a trained observer who was blinded to the scintigraphic data. Positive and significant Spearman correlations between oral and pharyngeal residue measures from scintigraphy and observations of oral and pharyngeal residues from modified barium swallows were found. This supports the validity of observations of oral and pharyngeal residues in clinical studies. Limitations of these observations are discussed. PMID:16362511

Repeatability of measurements: Non-Hermitian observables and quantum Coriolis force

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

Gardas, Bartłomiej; Deffner, Sebastian; Saxena, Avadh

A noncommuting measurement transfers, via the apparatus, information encoded in a system's state to the external “observer.” Classical measurements determine properties of physical objects. In the quantum realm, the very same notion restricts the recording process to orthogonal states as only those are distinguishable by measurements. Thus, even a possibility to describe physical reality by means of non-Hermitian operators should volens nolens be excluded as their eigenstates are not orthogonal. We show that non-Hermitian operators with real spectra can be treated within the standard framework of quantum mechanics. Further, we propose a quantum canonical transformation that maps Hermitian systems ontomore » non-Hermitian ones. Similar to classical inertial forces this map is accompanied by an energetic cost, pinning the system on the unitary path.« less

Repeatability of measurements: Non-Hermitian observables and quantum Coriolis force

DOE PAGES

Gardas, Bartłomiej; Deffner, Sebastian; Saxena, Avadh

2016-08-26

A noncommuting measurement transfers, via the apparatus, information encoded in a system's state to the external “observer.” Classical measurements determine properties of physical objects. In the quantum realm, the very same notion restricts the recording process to orthogonal states as only those are distinguishable by measurements. Thus, even a possibility to describe physical reality by means of non-Hermitian operators should volens nolens be excluded as their eigenstates are not orthogonal. We show that non-Hermitian operators with real spectra can be treated within the standard framework of quantum mechanics. Further, we propose a quantum canonical transformation that maps Hermitian systems ontomore » non-Hermitian ones. Similar to classical inertial forces this map is accompanied by an energetic cost, pinning the system on the unitary path.« less

Measurement of the dynamo effect in a plasma

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

Ji, H.; Prager, S.C.; Almagri, A.F.

1995-11-01

A series of the detailed experiments has been conducted in three laboratory plasma devices to measure the dynamo electric field along the equilibrium field line (the {alpha} effect) arising from the correlation between the fluctuating flow velocity and magnetic field. The fluctuating flow velocity is obtained from probe measurement of the fluctuating E x B drift and electron diamagnetic drift. The three major findings are (1) the {alpha} effect accounts for the dynamo current generation, even in the time dependence through a ``sawtooth`` cycle; (2) at low collisionality the dynamo is explained primarily by the widely studied pressureless Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)more » model, i.e., the fluctuating velocity is dominated by the E x B drift; (3) at high collisionality, a new ``electron diamagnetic dynamo`` is observed, in which the fluctuating velocity is dominated by the diamagnetic drift. In addition, direct measurements of the helicity flux indicate that the dynamo activity transports magnetic helicity from one part of the plasma to another, but the total helicity is roughly conserved, verifying J.B. Taylor`s conjecture.« less

Statistical properties of a utility measure of observer performance compared to area under the ROC curve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbey, Craig K.; Samuelson, Frank W.; Gallas, Brandon D.; Boone, John M.; Niklason, Loren T.

2013-03-01

The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve has become a common tool for evaluating diagnostic imaging technologies, and the primary endpoint of such evaluations is the area under the curve (AUC), which integrates sensitivity over the entire false positive range. An alternative figure of merit for ROC studies is expected utility (EU), which focuses on the relevant region of the ROC curve as defined by disease prevalence and the relative utility of the task. However if this measure is to be used, it must also have desirable statistical properties keep the burden of observer performance studies as low as possible. Here, we evaluate effect size and variability for EU and AUC. We use two observer performance studies recently submitted to the FDA to compare the EU and AUC endpoints. The studies were conducted using the multi-reader multi-case methodology in which all readers score all cases in all modalities. ROC curves from the study were used to generate both the AUC and EU values for each reader and modality. The EU measure was computed assuming an iso-utility slope of 1.03. We find mean effect sizes, the reader averaged difference between modalities, to be roughly 2.0 times as big for EU as AUC. The standard deviation across readers is roughly 1.4 times as large, suggesting better statistical properties for the EU endpoint. In a simple power analysis of paired comparison across readers, the utility measure required 36% fewer readers on average to achieve 80% statistical power compared to AUC.

Correlation of In Situ Measurements of Plasma Irregularities with Ground-Based Scintillation Observations

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

extensive case study of the relationships between the observation of in situ irregularities, UHF scintillation observed by the Scin - tillation Decision...use these space-based measurements, however, the correlation between the structures and the resulting scin - tillation must be quantified. [10] As a

Seeing Your Error Alters My Pointing: Observing Systematic Pointing Errors Induces Sensori-Motor After-Effects

PubMed Central

Ronchi, Roberta; Revol, Patrice; Katayama, Masahiro; Rossetti, Yves; Farnè, Alessandro

2011-01-01

During the procedure of prism adaptation, subjects execute pointing movements to visual targets under a lateral optical displacement: As consequence of the discrepancy between visual and proprioceptive inputs, their visuo-motor activity is characterized by pointing errors. The perception of such final errors triggers error-correction processes that eventually result into sensori-motor compensation, opposite to the prismatic displacement (i.e., after-effects). Here we tested whether the mere observation of erroneous pointing movements, similar to those executed during prism adaptation, is sufficient to produce adaptation-like after-effects. Neurotypical participants observed, from a first-person perspective, the examiner's arm making incorrect pointing movements that systematically overshot visual targets location to the right, thus simulating a rightward optical deviation. Three classical after-effect measures (proprioceptive, visual and visual-proprioceptive shift) were recorded before and after first-person's perspective observation of pointing errors. Results showed that mere visual exposure to an arm that systematically points on the right-side of a target (i.e., without error correction) produces a leftward after-effect, which mostly affects the observer's proprioceptive estimation of her body midline. In addition, being exposed to such a constant visual error induced in the observer the illusion “to feel” the seen movement. These findings indicate that it is possible to elicit sensori-motor after-effects by mere observation of movement errors. PMID:21731649

Peripheral vascular effects on auscultatory blood pressure measurement.

PubMed

Rabbany, S Y; Drzewiecki, G M; Noordergraaf, A

1993-01-01

Experiments were conducted to examine the accuracy of the conventional auscultatory method of blood pressure measurement. The influence of the physiologic state of the vascular system in the forearm distal to the site of Korotkoff sound recording and its impact on the precision of the measured blood pressure is discussed. The peripheral resistance in the arm distal to the cuff was changed noninvasively by heating and cooling effects and by induction of reactive hyperemia. All interventions were preceded by an investigation of their effect on central blood pressure to distinguish local effects from changes in central blood pressure. These interventions were sufficiently moderate to make their effect on central blood pressure, recorded in the other arm, statistically insignificant (i.e., changes in systolic [p < 0.3] and diastolic [p < 0.02]). Nevertheless, such alterations were found to modify the amplitude of the Korotkoff sound, which can manifest itself as an apparent change in arterial blood pressure that is readily discerned by the human ear. The increase in diastolic pressure for the cooling experiments was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Moreover, both measured systolic (p < 0.004) and diastolic (p < 0.001) pressure decreases during the reactive hyperemia experiments were statistically significant. The findings demonstrate that alteration in vascular state generates perplexing changes in blood pressure, hence confirming experimental observations by earlier investigators as well as predictions by our model studies.

An Observational Study of Antibiotic Prescribing Behavior and the Hawthorne Effect

PubMed Central

Mangione-Smith, Rita; Elliott, Marc N; McDonald, Laurie; McGlynn, Elizabeth A

2002-01-01

Objectives To assess whether prospective, observational study procedures, including questionnaires and audio recording, are associated with different patterns of physician diagnostic decision making and antibiotic prescribing. Data Sources/Setting (1) Survey data from a prospective observational study of treatment patterns for children with acute upper respiratory illnesses (10/96–3/97) and (2) retrospective medical record abstraction data of nonobserved encounters for the same problems occurring during (10/96–3/97) and one year after (10/97–3/98) the observational study period. Ten pediatricians in two community practices were studied. Study Design Patterns of diagnoses recorded in the medical record and antibiotics ordered for visits occurring outside of the observational study (same time period and one year later) were compared with the pattern of diagnoses and antibiotics ordered during the observational study. Data Collection/Extraction Methods For the observational study (10/96–2/97), diagnosis and treatment choices were obtained from questionnaires completed by physicians immediately following the visit. For the nonstudy encounters (10/96–3/97 and 10/97–3/98), data were abstracted from medical records one year after the observational study was completed. Principal Findings The proportion of viral cases in which an antibiotic was prescribed was 29 percentage points lower for the observational study compared to the retrospective analysis (p <.05). In one of two study sites, the proportion of cases assigned a bacterial diagnosis was 29 percentage points lower in the observational study period compared to the retrospective study (p <.05). Conclusions Observational study procedures including questionnaires and audio recording can affect antibiotic prescribing behavior. Future observational studies aimed at examining the frequency of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing should measure and adjust for the Hawthorne effect; without such adjustments, the

OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL SPECKLE SURVEY INSTRUMENT. III. MEASURES BELOW THE DIFFRACTION LIMIT OF THE WIYN TELESCOPE

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

Horch, Elliott P.; Van Altena, William F.; Howell, Steve B.

2011-06-15

In this paper, we study the ability of CCD- and electron-multiplying-CCD-based speckle imaging to obtain reliable astrometry and photometry of binary stars below the diffraction limit of the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope. We present a total of 120 measures of binary stars, 75 of which are below the diffraction limit. The measures are divided into two groups that have different measurement accuracy and precision. The first group is composed of standard speckle observations, that is, a sequence of speckle images taken in a single filter, while the second group consists of paired observations where the two observations are taken onmore » the same observing run and in different filters. The more recent paired observations were taken simultaneously with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument, which is a two-channel speckle imaging system. In comparing our results to the ephemeris positions of binaries with known orbits, we find that paired observations provide the opportunity to identify cases of systematic error in separation below the diffraction limit and after removing these from consideration, we obtain a linear measurement uncertainty of 3-4 mas. However, if observations are unpaired or if two observations taken in the same filter are paired, it becomes harder to identify cases of systematic error, presumably because the largest source of this error is residual atmospheric dispersion, which is color dependent. When observations are unpaired, we find that it is unwise to report separations below approximately 20 mas, as these are most susceptible to this effect. Using the final results obtained, we are able to update two older orbits in the literature and present preliminary orbits for three systems that were discovered by Hipparcos.« less

Ice Cloud Properties And Their Radiative Effects: Global Observations And Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Yulan

Ice clouds are crucial to the Earth's radiation balance. They cool the Earth-atmosphere system by reflecting solar radiation back to space and warm it by blocking outgoing thermal radiation. However, there is a lack of an observation-based climatology of ice cloud properties and their radiative effects. Two active sensors, the CloudSat radar and the CALIPSO lidar, for the first time provide vertically resolved ice cloud data on a global scale. Using synergistic signals of these two sensors, it is possible to obtain both optically thin and thick ice clouds as the radar excels in probing thick clouds while the lidar is better to detect the thin ones. First, based on the CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar measurements, we have derived a climatology of ice cloud properties. Ice clouds cover around 50% of the Earth surface, and their global-mean optical depth, ice water path, and effective radius are approximately 2 (unitless), 109 g m. {-2} and 48 \\mum, respectively. Ice cloud occurrence frequency not only depends on regions and seasons, but also on the types of ice clouds as defined by optical depth (tau) values. Optically thin ice clouds (tau < 3) are most frequently observed in the tropics around 15 km and in the midlatitudes below 5 km, while the thicker clouds (tau > 3) occur frequently in the tropical convective areas and along the midlatitude storm tracks. Using ice retrievals derived from combined radar-lidar measurements, we conducted radiative transfer modeling to study ice cloud radiative effects. The combined effects of ice clouds warm the earth-atmosphere system by approximately 5 W m-2, contributed by a longwave warming effect of about 21.8 W m-2 and a shortwave cooling effect of approximately -16.7 W m-2. Seasonal variations of ice cloud radiative effects are evident in the midlatitudes where the net effect changes from warming during winter to cooling during summer, and the net warming effect occurs year-round in the tropics (˜ 10 W m-2). Ice cloud

Effect of Speed of Processing Training on Older Driver Screening Measures.

PubMed

Eramudugolla, Ranmalee; Kiely, Kim M; Chopra, Sidhant; Anstey, Kaarin J

2017-01-01

Objective: Computerized training for cognitive enhancement is of great public interest, however, there is inconsistent evidence for the transfer of training gains to every day activity. Several large trials have focused on speed of processing (SOP) training with some promising findings for long-term effects on daily activity, but no immediate transfer to other cognitive tests. Here, we examine the transfer of SOP training gains to cognitive measures that are known predictors of driving safety in older adults. Methods: Fifty-three adults aged 65-87 years who were current drivers participated in a two group non-randomized design with repeated measures and a no-contact matched control group. The Intervention group completed an average of 7.9 ( SD = 3.0) hours of self-administered online SOP training at home. Control group was matched on age, gender and test-re-test interval. Measures included the Useful Field of View (UFOV) test, a Hazard Perception test, choice reaction time (Cars RT), Trail Making Test B, a Maze test, visual motion threshold, as well as road craft and road knowledge tests. Results: Speed of processing training resulted in significant improvement in processing speed on the UFOV test relative to controls, with an average change of -45.8 ms ( SE = 14.5), and effect size of ω 2 = 0.21. Performance on the Maze test also improved, but significant slowing on the Hazard Perception test was observed after SOP training. Training effects on the UFOV task was associated with similar effects on the Cars RT, but not the Hazard Perception and Maze tests, suggesting transfer to some but not all driving related measures. There were no effects of training on any of the other measures examined. Conclusion: Speed of processing training effects on the UFOV task can be achieved with self-administered, online training at home, with some transfer to other cognitive tests. However, differential effects of training may be observed for tasks requiring goal-directed search

Temperature And Bandwidth Effect in Brewer and Dobson Direct Sun Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scarnato, B.; Staehelin, J.; Stuebi, R.

2007-12-01

Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometer are the main instruments to monitor the ozone shield by ground based observations, and they have an important role for validation of ozone satellite data. Ground based total ozone observations from Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometers, operated at mid-latitudes stations, typically show a seasonal bias in the residual with a amplitude of a few percent. Mid-latitude total ozone trends caused by ozone depleting substances are on the order of few percents per decade. Therefore, only a maximum instrumental shift of 1% over the measured period can be tolerated for measurements to derive reliable trends. At Arosa two Dobson and three Brewers instruments have been co-located since 1992, producing a unique data set of quasi-simultaneous observations that is valuable for the study of systematic differences within the measurements. The differences can be at least partially attributed to the different sensitivities of the wavelengths used in the retrieval algorithms. This might explain different column ozone as a consequence of seasonal variability, mainly, in temperature in the lower stratosphere and in ozone slant path. The temperature dependence has been calculated using three different absorption spectra (Bass and Paur, Daumont and those used in the GOME satellite), weighing of the slit functions for each operational Brewer and for the primary standard Dobson spectrophotometers. The seasonal bias between Dobson and Brewer total ozone measurements is reduced from 3% to 1%, if one takes into account the temperature dependence of the Bass and Paur absorptions spectra and the ozone slant path effect. The accuracy and the resolution step of the experimental data of ozone cross sections have an important role. The ozone cross section must be convoluted for the slits functions that can vary from one instrument to an other, therefore the different spectra yield different results.

Two-receiver measurements of phase velocity: cross-validation of ambient-noise and earthquake-based observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kästle, Emanuel D.; Soomro, Riaz; Weemstra, Cornelis; Boschi, Lapo; Meier, Thomas

2016-12-01

Phase velocities derived from ambient-noise cross-correlation are compared with phase velocities calculated from cross-correlations of waveform recordings of teleseismic earthquakes whose epicentres are approximately on the station-station great circle. The comparison is conducted both for Rayleigh and Love waves using over 1000 station pairs in central Europe. We describe in detail our signal-processing method which allows for automated processing of large amounts of data. Ambient-noise data are collected in the 5-80 s period range, whereas teleseismic data are available between about 8 and 250 s, resulting in a broad common period range between 8 and 80 s. At intermediate periods around 30 s and for shorter interstation distances, phase velocities measured from ambient noise are on average between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent lower than those observed via the earthquake-based method. This discrepancy is small compared to typical phase-velocity heterogeneities (10 per cent peak-to-peak or more) observed in this period range.We nevertheless conduct a suite of synthetic tests to evaluate whether known biases in ambient-noise cross-correlation measurements could account for this discrepancy; we specifically evaluate the effects of heterogeneities in source distribution, of azimuthal anisotropy in surface-wave velocity and of the presence of near-field, rather than far-field only, sources of seismic noise. We find that these effects can be quite important comparing individual station pairs. The systematic discrepancy is presumably due to a combination of factors, related to differences in sensitivity of earthquake versus noise data to lateral heterogeneity. The data sets from both methods are used to create some preliminary tomographic maps that are characterized by velocity heterogeneities of similar amplitude and pattern, confirming the overall agreement between the two measurement methods.

Measurement of Form-Factor-Independent Observables in the Decay B0→K*0μ+μ-

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aaij, R.; Adeva, B.; Adinolfi, M.; Adrover, C.; Affolder, A.; Ajaltouni, Z.; Albrecht, J.; Alessio, F.; Alexander, M.; Ali, S.; Alkhazov, G.; Alvarez Cartelle, P.; Alves, A. A., Jr.; Amato, S.; Amerio, S.; Amhis, Y.; Anderlini, L.; Anderson, J.; Andreassen, R.; Andrews, J. E.; Appleby, R. B.; Aquines Gutierrez, O.; Archilli, F.; Artamonov, A.; Artuso, M.; Aslanides, E.; Auriemma, G.; Baalouch, M.; Bachmann, S.; Back, J. J.; Baesso, C.; Balagura, V.; Baldini, W.; Barlow, R. J.; Barschel, C.; Barsuk, S.; Barter, W.; Bauer, Th.; Bay, A.; Beddow, J.; Bedeschi, F.; Bediaga, I.; Belogurov, S.; Belous, K.; Belyaev, I.; Ben-Haim, E.; Bencivenni, G.; Benson, S.; Benton, J.; Berezhnoy, A.; Bernet, R.; Bettler, M.-O.; van Beuzekom, M.; Bien, A.; Bifani, S.; Bird, T.; Bizzeti, A.; Bjørnstad, P. M.; Blake, T.; Blanc, F.; Blouw, J.; Blusk, S.; Bocci, V.; Bondar, A.; Bondar, N.; Bonivento, W.; Borghi, S.; Borgia, A.; Bowcock, T. J. V.; Bowen, E.; Bozzi, C.; Brambach, T.; van den Brand, J.; Bressieux, J.; Brett, D.; Britsch, M.; Britton, T.; Brook, N. H.; Brown, H.; Burducea, I.; Bursche, A.; Busetto, G.; Buytaert, J.; Cadeddu, S.; Callot, O.; Calvi, M.; Calvo Gomez, M.; Camboni, A.; Campana, P.; Campora Perez, D.; Carbone, A.; Carboni, G.; Cardinale, R.; Cardini, A.; Carranza-Mejia, H.; Carson, L.; Carvalho Akiba, K.; Casse, G.; Castillo Garcia, L.; Cattaneo, M.; Cauet, Ch.; Cenci, R.; Charles, M.; Charpentier, Ph.; Chen, P.; Chiapolini, N.; Chrzaszcz, M.; Ciba, K.; Cid Vidal, X.; Ciezarek, G.; Clarke, P. E. L.; Clemencic, M.; Cliff, H. V.; Closier, J.; Coca, C.; Coco, V.; Cogan, J.; Cogneras, E.; Collins, P.; Comerma-Montells, A.; Contu, A.; Cook, A.; Coombes, M.; Coquereau, S.; Corti, G.; Couturier, B.; Cowan, G. A.; Craik, D. C.; Cunliffe, S.; Currie, R.; D'Ambrosio, C.; David, P.; David, P. N. Y.; Davis, A.; De Bonis, I.; De Bruyn, K.; De Capua, S.; De Cian, M.; De Miranda, J. M.; De Paula, L.; De Silva, W.; De Simone, P.; Decamp, D.; Deckenhoff, M.; Del Buono, L.; Déléage, N.; Derkach, D.; Deschamps, O.; Dettori, F.; Di Canto, A.; Dijkstra, H.; Dogaru, M.; Donleavy, S.; Dordei, F.; Dosil Suárez, A.; Dossett, D.; Dovbnya, A.; Dupertuis, F.; Durante, P.; Dzhelyadin, R.; Dziurda, A.; Dzyuba, A.; Easo, S.; Egede, U.; Egorychev, V.; Eidelman, S.; van Eijk, D.; Eisenhardt, S.; Eitschberger, U.; Ekelhof, R.; Eklund, L.; El Rifai, I.; Elsasser, Ch.; Falabella, A.; Färber, C.; Fardell, G.; Farinelli, C.; Farry, S.; Ferguson, D.; Fernandez Albor, V.; Ferreira Rodrigues, F.; Ferro-Luzzi, M.; Filippov, S.; Fiore, M.; Fitzpatrick, C.; Fontana, M.; Fontanelli, F.; Forty, R.; Francisco, O.; Frank, M.; Frei, C.; Frosini, M.; Furcas, S.; Furfaro, E.; Gallas Torreira, A.; Galli, D.; Gandelman, M.; Gandini, P.; Gao, Y.; Garofoli, J.; Garosi, P.; Garra Tico, J.; Garrido, L.; Gaspar, C.; Gauld, R.; Gersabeck, E.; Gersabeck, M.; Gershon, T.; Ghez, Ph.; Gibson, V.; Giubega, L.; Gligorov, V. V.; Göbel, C.; Golubkov, D.; Golutvin, A.; Gomes, A.; Gorbounov, P.; Gordon, H.; Gotti, C.; Grabalosa Gándara, M.; Graciani Diaz, R.; Granado Cardoso, L. A.; Graugés, E.; Graziani, G.; Grecu, A.; Greening, E.; Gregson, S.; Griffith, P.; Grünberg, O.; Gui, B.; Gushchin, E.; Guz, Yu.; Gys, T.; Hadjivasiliou, C.; Haefeli, G.; Haen, C.; Haines, S. C.; Hall, S.; Hamilton, B.; Hampson, T.; Hansmann-Menzemer, S.; Harnew, N.; Harnew, S. T.; Harrison, J.; Hartmann, T.; He, J.; Head, T.; Heijne, V.; Hennessy, K.; Henrard, P.; Hernando Morata, J. A.; van Herwijnen, E.; Hess, M.; Hicheur, A.; Hicks, E.; Hill, D.; Hoballah, M.; Hombach, C.; Hopchev, P.; Hulsbergen, W.; Hunt, P.; Huse, T.; Hussain, N.; Hutchcroft, D.; Hynds, D.; Iakovenko, V.; Idzik, M.; Ilten, P.; Jacobsson, R.; Jaeger, A.; Jans, E.; Jaton, P.; Jawahery, A.; Jing, F.; John, M.; Johnson, D.; Jones, C. R.; Joram, C.; Jost, B.; Kaballo, M.; Kandybei, S.; Kanso, W.; Karacson, M.; Karbach, T. M.; Kenyon, I. R.; Ketel, T.; Keune, A.; Khanji, B.; Kochebina, O.; Komarov, I.; Koopman, R. F.; Koppenburg, P.; Korolev, M.; Kozlinskiy, A.; Kravchuk, L.; Kreplin, K.; Kreps, M.; Krocker, G.; Krokovny, P.; Kruse, F.; Kucharczyk, M.; Kudryavtsev, V.; Kurek, K.; Kvaratskheliya, T.; La Thi, V. N.; Lacarrere, D.; Lafferty, G.; Lai, A.; Lambert, D.; Lambert, R. W.; Lanciotti, E.; Lanfranchi, G.; Langenbruch, C.; Latham, T.; Lazzeroni, C.; Le Gac, R.; van Leerdam, J.; Lees, J.-P.; Lefèvre, R.; Leflat, A.; Lefrançois, J.; Leo, S.; Leroy, O.; Lesiak, T.; Leverington, B.; Li, Y.; Li Gioi, L.; Liles, M.; Lindner, R.; Linn, C.; Liu, B.; Liu, G.; Lohn, S.; Longstaff, I.; Lopes, J. H.; Lopez-March, N.; Lu, H.; Lucchesi, D.; Luisier, J.; Luo, H.; Machefert, F.; Machikhiliyan, I. V.; Maciuc, F.; Maev, O.; Malde, S.; Manca, G.; Mancinelli, G.; Maratas, J.; Marconi, U.; Marino, P.; Märki, R.; Marks, J.; Martellotti, G.; Martens, A.; Martín Sánchez, A.; Martinelli, M.; Martinez Santos, D.; Martins Tostes, D.; Martynov, A.; Massafferri, A.; Matev, R.; Mathe, Z.; Matteuzzi, C.; Maurice, E.; Mazurov, A.; McCarthy, J.; McNab, A.; McNulty, R.; McSkelly, B.; Meadows, B.; Meier, F.; Meissner, M.; Merk, M.; Milanes, D. A.; Minard, M.-N.; Molina Rodriguez, J.; Monteil, S.; Moran, D.; Morawski, P.; Mordà, A.; Morello, M. J.; Mountain, R.; Mous, I.; Muheim, F.; Müller, K.; Muresan, R.; Muryn, B.; Muster, B.; Naik, P.; Nakada, T.; Nandakumar, R.; Nasteva, I.; Needham, M.; Neubert, S.; Neufeld, N.; Nguyen, A. D.; Nguyen, T. D.; Nguyen-Mau, C.; Nicol, M.; Niess, V.; Niet, R.; Nikitin, N.; Nikodem, T.; Nomerotski, A.; Novoselov, A.; Oblakowska-Mucha, A.; Obraztsov, V.; Oggero, S.; Ogilvy, S.; Okhrimenko, O.; Oldeman, R.; Orlandea, M.; Otalora Goicochea, J. M.; Owen, P.; Oyanguren, A.; Pal, B. K.; Palano, A.; Palczewski, T.; Palutan, M.; Panman, J.; Papanestis, A.; Pappagallo, M.; Parkes, C.; Parkinson, C. J.; Passaleva, G.; Patel, G. D.; Patel, M.; Patrick, G. N.; Patrignani, C.; Pavel-Nicorescu, C.; Pazos Alvarez, A.; Pellegrino, A.; Penso, G.; Pepe Altarelli, M.; Perazzini, S.; Perez Trigo, E.; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Perret, P.; Perrin-Terrin, M.; Pescatore, L.; Pesen, E.; Petridis, K.; Petrolini, A.; Phan, A.; Picatoste Olloqui, E.; Pietrzyk, B.; Pilař, T.; Pinci, D.; Playfer, S.; Plo Casasus, M.; Polci, F.; Polok, G.; Poluektov, A.; Polycarpo, E.; Popov, A.; Popov, D.; Popovici, B.; Potterat, C.; Powell, A.; Prisciandaro, J.; Pritchard, A.; Prouve, C.; Pugatch, V.; Puig Navarro, A.; Punzi, G.; Qian, W.; Rademacker, J. H.; Rakotomiaramanana, B.; Rangel, M. S.; Raniuk, I.; Rauschmayr, N.; Raven, G.; Redford, S.; Reid, M. M.; dos Reis, A. C.; Ricciardi, S.; Richards, A.; Rinnert, K.; Rives Molina, V.; Roa Romero, D. A.; Robbe, P.; Roberts, D. A.; Rodrigues, E.; Rodriguez Perez, P.; Roiser, S.; Romanovsky, V.; Romero Vidal, A.; Rouvinet, J.; Ruf, T.; Ruffini, F.; Ruiz, H.; Ruiz Valls, P.; Sabatino, G.; Saborido Silva, J. J.; Sagidova, N.; Sail, P.; Saitta, B.; Salustino Guimaraes, V.; Sanmartin Sedes, B.; Sannino, M.; Santacesaria, R.; Santamarina Rios, C.; Santovetti, E.; Sapunov, M.; Sarti, A.; Satriano, C.; Satta, A.; Savrie, M.; Savrina, D.; Schaack, P.; Schiller, M.; Schindler, H.; Schlupp, M.; Schmelling, M.; Schmidt, B.; Schneider, O.; Schopper, A.; Schune, M.-H.; Schwemmer, R.; Sciascia, B.; Sciubba, A.; Seco, M.; Semennikov, A.; Senderowska, K.; Sepp, I.; Serra, N.; Serrano, J.; Seyfert, P.; Shapkin, M.; Shapoval, I.; Shatalov, P.; Shcheglov, Y.; Shears, T.; Shekhtman, L.; Shevchenko, O.; Shevchenko, V.; Shires, A.; Silva Coutinho, R.; Sirendi, M.; Skwarnicki, T.; Smith, N. A.; Smith, E.; Smith, J.; Smith, M.; Sokoloff, M. D.; Soler, F. J. P.; Soomro, F.; Souza, D.; Souza De Paula, B.; Spaan, B.; Sparkes, A.; Spradlin, P.; Stagni, F.; Stahl, S.; Steinkamp, O.; Stevenson, S.; Stoica, S.; Stone, S.; Storaci, B.; Straticiuc, M.; Straumann, U.; Subbiah, V. K.; Sun, L.; Swientek, S.; Syropoulos, V.; Szczekowski, M.; Szczypka, P.; Szumlak, T.; T'Jampens, S.; Teklishyn, M.; Teodorescu, E.; Teubert, F.; Thomas, C.; Thomas, E.; van Tilburg, J.; Tisserand, V.; Tobin, M.; Tolk, S.; Tonelli, D.; Topp-Joergensen, S.; Torr, N.; Tournefier, E.; Tourneur, S.; Tran, M. T.; Tresch, M.; Tsaregorodtsev, A.; Tsopelas, P.; Tuning, N.; Ubeda Garcia, M.; Ukleja, A.; Urner, D.; Ustyuzhanin, A.; Uwer, U.; Vagnoni, V.; Valenti, G.; Vallier, A.; Van Dijk, M.; Vazquez Gomez, R.; Vazquez Regueiro, P.; Vázquez Sierra, C.; Vecchi, S.; Velthuis, J. J.; Veltri, M.; Veneziano, G.; Vesterinen, M.; Viaud, B.; Vieira, D.; Vilasis-Cardona, X.; Vollhardt, A.; Volyanskyy, D.; Voong, D.; Vorobyev, A.; Vorobyev, V.; Voß, C.; Voss, H.; Waldi, R.; Wallace, C.; Wallace, R.; Wandernoth, S.; Wang, J.; Ward, D. R.; Watson, N. K.; Webber, A. D.; Websdale, D.; Whitehead, M.; Wicht, J.; Wiechczynski, J.; Wiedner, D.; Wiggers, L.; Wilkinson, G.; Williams, M. P.; Williams, M.; Wilson, F. F.; Wimberley, J.; Wishahi, J.; Wislicki, W.; Witek, M.; Wotton, S. A.; Wright, S.; Wu, S.; Wyllie, K.; Xie, Y.; Xing, Z.; Yang, Z.; Young, R.; Yuan, X.; Yushchenko, O.; Zangoli, M.; Zavertyaev, M.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, W. C.; Zhang, Y.; Zhelezov, A.; Zhokhov, A.; Zhong, L.; Zvyagin, A.

2013-11-01

We present a measurement of form-factor-independent angular observables in the decay B0→K*(892)0μ+μ-. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0fb-1, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Four observables are measured in six bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared q2 in the range 0.1measurements. A local discrepancy, corresponding to 3.7 Gaussian standard deviations is observed in one q2 bin for one of the observables. Considering the 24 measurements as independent, the probability to observe such a discrepancy, or larger, in one is 0.5%.

Intra- and Inter-observer Variability of Measurements of the Laxity Index on Stress Radiographs Performed with the Vezzoni-Modified Badertscher Hip Distension Device.

PubMed

Bertal, Mileva; Vezzoni, Aldo; Houdellier, Blandine; Bogaerts, Evelien; Stock, Emmelie; Polis, Ingeborgh; Deforce, Dieter; Saunders, Jimmy H; Broeckx, Bart J G

2018-06-02

 To describe and evaluate the accuracy, intra- and inter-observer variability of the laxity index (LI), used to quantify hip laxity on stress radiographs obtained with the Vezzoni-modified Badertscher distension device (VMBDD).  Stress radiographs of 10 dogs obtained with the VMBDD were measured three times by an experienced observer. Six participants with different backgrounds (two ECVDI residents, two PhD students, two veterinary assistants) followed a short presentation and performed subsequently the measurements four times in two separate sessions. The effect of self-learning, feedback and specialization on the accuracy of the measurements was assessed.  While the intra- and inter-observer variability were in agreement with other studies, the results of the experienced observer indicated that the variability can be very low. Neither feedback nor self-learning improved the results. A high degree of experience in radiographic assessment was not necessary to perform the measurements correctly.  As the LI measurements were acceptable after a short presentation, they support the use of VMBDD for a complete and correct in-house evaluation of the hip joint by trained clinicians. However, we propose that, in the context of screening, measurements should be performed by a limited number of experienced examiners, to limit the impact of the inter-observer variability. Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart.

Total solar eclipse effects on VLF signals: Observations and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clilverd, Mark A.; Rodger, Craig J.; Thomson, Neil R.; Lichtenberger, János; Steinbach, Péter; Cannon, Paul; Angling, Matthew J.

During the total solar eclipse observed in Europe on August 11, 1999, measurements were made of the amplitude and phase of four VLF transmitters in the frequency range 16-24 kHz. Five receiver sites were set up, and significant variations in phase and amplitude are reported for 17 paths, more than any previously during an eclipse. Distances from transmitter to receiver ranged from 90 to 14,510 km, although the majority were <2000 km. Typically, positive amplitude changes were observed throughout the whole eclipse period on path lengths <2000 km, while negative amplitude changes were observed on paths >10,000 km. Negative phase changes were observed on most paths, independent of path length. Although there was significant variation from path to path, the typical changes observed were ~3 dB and ~50°. The changes observed were modeled using the Long Wave Propagation Capability waveguide code. Maximum eclipse effects occurred when the Wait inverse scale height parameter β was 0.5 km-1 and the effective ionospheric height parameter H' was 79 km, compared with β=0.43km-1 and H'=71km for normal daytime conditions. The resulting changes in modeled amplitude and phase show good agreement with the majority of the observations. The modeling undertaken provides an interpretation of why previous estimates of height change during eclipses have shown such a range of values. A D region gas-chemistry model was compared with electron concentration estimates inferred from the observations made during the solar eclipse. Quiet-day H' and β parameters were used to define the initial ionospheric profile. The gas-chemistry model was then driven only by eclipse-related solar radiation levels. The calculated electron concentration values at 77 km altitude throughout the period of the solar eclipse show good agreement with the values determined from observations at all times, which suggests that a linear variation in electron production rate with solar ionizing radiation is reasonable

Relativistic effects of spacecraft with circumnavigating observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shanklin, Nathaniel; West, Joseph

A variation of the recently introduced Trolley Paradox, itself is a variation of the Ehrenfest Paradox is presented. In the Trolley Paradox, a ``stationary'' set of observers tracking a wheel rolling with a constant velocity find that the wheel travels further than its rest length circumference during one revolution of the wheel, despite the fact that the Lorentz contracted circumference is less than its rest value. In the variation presented, a rectangular spacecraft with onboard observers moves with constant velocity and is circumnavigated by several small ``sloops'' forming teams of inertial observers. This whole precession moves relative to a set of ``stationary'' Earth observers. Two cases are presented, one in which the sloops are evenly spaced according to the spacecraft observers, and one in which the sloops are evenly spaced according to the Earth observes. These two cases, combined with the rectangular geometry and an emphasis on what is seen by, and what is measured by, each set of observers is very helpful in sorting out the apparent contradictions. To aid in the visualizations stationary representations in excel along with animation in Visual Python and Unity are presented. The analysis presented is suitable for undergraduate physics majors.

Reconciling aerosol light extinction measurements from spaceborne lidar observations and in-situ measurements in the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tesche, M.; Rastak, N.; Charlson, R. J.; Glantz, P.; Zieger, P.; Hansson, H.-C.

2014-03-01

In this study we investigate to what degree it is possible to reconcile continuously recorded particle light extinction coefficients derived from dry in-situ measurements at Zeppelin station (78.92° N, 11.85° E, 475 m a.s.l.) at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, that are recalculated to ambient relative humidity, and simultaneous ambient observations with the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite. To our knowledge, this represents the first study that compares spaceborne lidar measurements to optical aerosol properties from short-term in-situ observations (averaged over 5 h) on a case-by-case basis. Finding suitable comparison cases requires an elaborate screening and matching of the CALIOP data with respect to the location of the Zeppelin station as well as in the selection of temporal and spatial averaging intervals for both the ground-based and spaceborne observations. Trustworthy reconciliation of these data cannot be achieved with the closest approach method that is often used in matching CALIOP observations to those taken at ground sites due to the transport pathways of the air parcels that were sampled. The use of trajectories allowed us to establish a connection between spaceborne and ground-based observations for 57 individual overpasses out of a total of 2018 that occurred in our region of interest around Svalbard (0 to 25° E; 75 to 82° N) in the considered year of 2008. Matches could only be established during winter and spring, since the low aerosol load during summer in connection with the strong solar background and the high occurrence rate of clouds strongly influences the performance and reliability of CALIOP observations. Extinction coefficients in the range from 1 to 100 Mm-1 were found for successful matches with an agreement of a factor of 1.85 (median value for a range from 0.38 to 17.9) between the findings of in-situ and spaceborne

Observability during planetary approach navigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, Robert H.; Burkhart, P. Daniel; Thurman, Sam W.

1993-01-01

The objective of the research is to develop an analytic technique to predict the relative navigation capability of different Earth-based radio navigation measurements. In particular, the problem is to determine the relative ability of geocentric range and Doppler measurements to detect the effects of the target planet gravitational attraction on the spacecraft during the planetary approach and near-encounter mission phases. A complete solution to the two-dimensional problem has been developed. Relatively simple analytic formulas are obtained for range and Doppler measurements which describe the observability content of the measurement data along the approach trajectories. An observability measure is defined which is based on the observability matrix for nonlinear systems. The results show good agreement between the analytic observability analysis and the computational batch processing method.

Measuring the effectiveness of protected area networks in reducing deforestation.

PubMed

Andam, Kwaw S; Ferraro, Paul J; Pfaff, Alexander; Sanchez-Azofeifa, G Arturo; Robalino, Juan A

2008-10-21

Global efforts to reduce tropical deforestation rely heavily on the establishment of protected areas. Measuring the effectiveness of these areas is difficult because the amount of deforestation that would have occurred in the absence of legal protection cannot be directly observed. Conventional methods of evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas can be biased because protection is not randomly assigned and because protection can induce deforestation spillovers (displacement) to neighboring forests. We demonstrate that estimates of effectiveness can be substantially improved by controlling for biases along dimensions that are observable, measuring spatial spillovers, and testing the sensitivity of estimates to potential hidden biases. We apply matching methods to evaluate the impact on deforestation of Costa Rica's renowned protected-area system between 1960 and 1997. We find that protection reduced deforestation: approximately 10% of the protected forests would have been deforested had they not been protected. Conventional approaches to evaluating conservation impact, which fail to control for observable covariates correlated with both protection and deforestation, substantially overestimate avoided deforestation (by over 65%, based on our estimates). We also find that deforestation spillovers from protected to unprotected forests are negligible. Our conclusions are robust to potential hidden bias, as well as to changes in modeling assumptions. Our results show that, with appropriate empirical methods, conservation scientists and policy makers can better understand the relationships between human and natural systems and can use this to guide their attempts to protect critical ecosystem services.

Measuring marketing effectiveness.

PubMed

Gluckman, J; Michaelis, T

1987-09-01

The most frequent question about the marketing function in hospitals today is, What are we getting for our money? To answer this, marketing directors must convince the board first of the need for marketing, then of marketing's effectiveness. To measure marketing effectiveness, some basic needs are a staff, equipment, cooperation between departments, utilization data, and a research budget. Some steps to be followed include developing a marketing data base--consisting of demographic projections, demand projections, and market share--testing a marketing strategy through experimentation, documenting the expected results and measurement techniques, and calculating the expected return on investments. In dealing with those "impossible-to-measure" cases, such as a physician who is not advertising but finds that a competitor is, a decision tree can help determine whether to advertise and how much to spend by indicating what the return on investment might be.

An attempt to determine the effect of increase of observation correlations on detectability and identifiability of a single gross error

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prószyński, Witold; Kwaśniak, Mieczysław

2016-12-01

The paper presents the results of investigating the effect of increase of observation correlations on detectability and identifiability of a single gross error, the outlier test sensitivity and also the response-based measures of internal reliability of networks. To reduce in a research a practically incomputable number of possible test options when considering all the non-diagonal elements of the correlation matrix as variables, its simplest representation was used being a matrix with all non-diagonal elements of equal values, termed uniform correlation. By raising the common correlation value incrementally, a sequence of matrix configurations could be obtained corresponding to the increasing level of observation correlations. For each of the measures characterizing the above mentioned features of network reliability the effect is presented in a diagram form as a function of the increasing level of observation correlations. The influence of observation correlations on sensitivity of the w-test for correlated observations (Förstner 1983, Teunissen 2006) is investigated in comparison with the original Baarda's w-test designated for uncorrelated observations, to determine the character of expected sensitivity degradation of the latter when used for correlated observations. The correlation effects obtained for different reliability measures exhibit mutual consistency in a satisfactory extent. As a by-product of the analyses, a simple formula valid for any arbitrary correlation matrix is proposed for transforming the Baarda's w-test statistics into the w-test statistics for correlated observations.

Effect of individual shades on reliability and validity of observers in colour matching.

PubMed

Lagouvardos, P E; Diamanti, H; Polyzois, G

2004-06-01

The effect of individual shades in shade guides, on the reliability and validity of measurements in a colour matching process is very important. Observer's agreement on shades and sensitivity/specificity of shades, can give us an estimate of shade's effect on observer's reliability and validity. In the present study, a group of 16 students, matched 15 shades of a Kulzer's guide and 10 human incisors to Kulzer's and/or Vita's shade tabs, in 4 different tests. The results showed shades I, B10, C40, A35 and A10 were those with the highest reliability and validity values. In conclusion, a) the matching process with shades of different materials was not accurate enough, b) some shades produce a more reliable and valid match than others and c) teeth are matched with relative difficulty.

Is the Factor Observed in Investigations on the Item-Position Effect Actually the Difficulty Factor?

PubMed

Schweizer, Karl; Troche, Stefan

2018-02-01

In confirmatory factor analysis quite similar models of measurement serve the detection of the difficulty factor and the factor due to the item-position effect. The item-position effect refers to the increasing dependency among the responses to successively presented items of a test whereas the difficulty factor is ascribed to the wide range of item difficulties. The similarity of the models of measurement hampers the dissociation of these factors. Since the item-position effect should theoretically be independent of the item difficulties, the statistical ex post manipulation of the difficulties should enable the discrimination of the two types of factors. This method was investigated in two studies. In the first study, Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) data of 300 participants were investigated. As expected, the factor thought to be due to the item-position effect was observed. In the second study, using data simulated to show the major characteristics of the APM data, the wide range of items with various difficulties was set to zero to reduce the likelihood of detecting the difficulty factor. Despite this reduction, however, the factor now identified as item-position factor, was observed in virtually all simulated datasets.

Measurement of evapotranspiration with combined reflective and thermal infrared radiance observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hope, Allen S.

1993-01-01

The broad goal of the research summarized in this report was 'To facilitate the evaluation of regional evapotranspiration (ET) through the combined use of solar reflective and thermal infrared radiance observations.' The specific objectives stated by Goward and Hope (1986) were to: (1) investigate the nature of the relationship between surface temperature (T(sub S)) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and develop an understanding of this relationship in terms of energy exchange processes, particularly latent flux heat (LE); (2) develop procedures to estimate large area LE using combined T(sub S) and NDVI observations obtained from AVHRR data; and (3) determine whether measurements derived from satellite observations relate directly to measurements made at the surface or from aircraft platforms. Both empirical and modeling studies were used to develop an understanding of the T(sub S)-NDVI relationship. Most of the modeling was based on the Tergra model as originally proposed by Goward. This model, and modified versions developed in this project, simulates the flows of water and energy in the soil-plant-atmosphere system using meteorological, soil and vegetation inputs. Model outputs are the diurnal course of soil moisture, T(sub S), LE and the other individual components of the surface energy balance.

Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood: development and validation of a behavioral observation measure.

PubMed

Rohlf, Helena L; Krahé, Barbara

2015-01-01

An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the in situ assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6-10 years (M = 8.12, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. Construct validity of the measure was examined through correlations with parent- and self-reports of anger regulation and anger reactivity. Criterion validity was established through links with teacher-rated aggression and social rejection measured by parent-, teacher-, and self-reports. The observational measure correlated significantly with parent- and self-reports of anger reactivity, whereas it was unrelated to parent- and self-reports of anger regulation. It also made a unique contribution to predicting aggression and social rejection.

Assessing anger regulation in middle childhood: development and validation of a behavioral observation measure

PubMed Central

Rohlf, Helena L.; Krahé, Barbara

2015-01-01

An observational measure of anger regulation in middle childhood was developed that facilitated the in situ assessment of five maladaptive regulation strategies in response to an anger-eliciting task. 599 children aged 6–10 years (M = 8.12, SD = 0.92) participated in the study. Construct validity of the measure was examined through correlations with parent- and self-reports of anger regulation and anger reactivity. Criterion validity was established through links with teacher-rated aggression and social rejection measured by parent-, teacher-, and self-reports. The observational measure correlated significantly with parent- and self-reports of anger reactivity, whereas it was unrelated to parent- and self-reports of anger regulation. It also made a unique contribution to predicting aggression and social rejection. PMID:25964767

Validating the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure in First and Third Grade Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tang, Xin; Pakarinen, Eija; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Kikas, Eve; Muotka, Joona; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2017-01-01

The present study reports on the psychometric properties of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Measure (ECCOM) in Finnish and Estonian first and third grade classrooms. The observation data were collected from 91 first grade teachers and 70 third grade teachers. Teachers' curriculum goals, teaching experience and the classroom size were…

Radiation damage in Tb-implanted CaF 2 observed by channeling and luminescence measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aono, K.; Kumagai, M.; Iwaki, M.; Aoyagi, Y.; Namba, S.

1993-06-01

The effects of 100 keV Tb ion implantation in CaF 2 single crystals have been investigated using Rutherford backscattering/channeling technique and luminescence spectra during ion implantation, depending on ion doses. Terbium ions were implanted into (111)-cut CaF 2 single crystals in random directions with doses ranging from 1 × 10 13 to 1 × 10 17 Tb +/cm 2 at -100°C, 25°C and 100°C. The luminescence signals were measured by 100 keV Ar ion beam irradiation at room temperature to Tb-implanted specimens in order to detect the ionic state of Tb. Two broad emission peaks (near 380 and 545 nm) in visible regions were observed, originating from Tb 3+ in CaF 2. The same luminescence was also observed even during Tb implantation to CaF 2. The luminescence near 380 nm is identified as an emission of 5D 3→ 7F 6 and that near 545 nm is 5D 4→ 7F 5. The emission peak intensities depend on ion dose. Channeling measurements suggest that most of the Tb atoms occupy substitutional lattice sites. Intensities of luminescence and Tb depth profiles depend on the target temperature. In conclusion, implanted Tb atoms occupy Ca lattice sites and emit green luminescence light.

On measuring bird habitat: influence of observer variability and sample size

Treesearch

William M. Block; Kimberly A. With; Michael L. Morrison

1987-01-01

We studied the effects of observer variability when estimating vegetation characteristics at 75 0.04-ha bird plots. Observer estimates were significantly different for 31 of 49 variables. Multivariate analyses showed significant interobserver differences for five of the seven classes of variables studied. Variable classes included the height, number, and diameter of...

Of blind men and elephants: suggesting SDM-MASS as a compound measure for shared decision making integrating patient, physician and observer views.

PubMed

Geiger, Friedemann; Kasper, Jürgen

2012-01-01

Shared decision making (SDM) between patient and physician is an interpersonal process. Most SDM measures use the view of one party (patient, physician or observer) as a proxy to capture this process although these views typically diverge. This study suggests the compound measure SDM(MASS) (SDM Meeting its concept's ASSumptions) integrating these three perspectives in one single index. SDM(MASS) was derived theoretically and compared empirically to unilateral perspectives of patients, physicians and observers by application to a data set of 10 physicians (40 consultations) receiving an SDM training. The constituting parts of SDM(MASS) were highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha .94; interrater reliability .74-.87). Unilateral appraisal of training effects was divergent. SDM(MASS) revealed no effect. SDM(MASS) combines noteworthy information about SDM processes from different viewpoints and thereby delivers plausible assessments. It could overcome immanent shortcomings of unilateral approaches. However, it is a complex measure needing further validation. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Effect of simultaneous model observation and self-modeling of volleyball skill acquisition.

PubMed

Barzouka, Karolina; Bergeles, Nikolaos; Hatziharistos, Dimitris

2007-02-01

This study examined the effect of feedback with simultaneous skilled model observation and self-modeling on volleyball skill acquisition. 53 pupils 12 to 15 years old formed two experimental groups and one control group who followed an intervention program with 12 practice sessions for acquisition and retention of how to receive a ball. Groups received different types of feedback before and in the middle of each practice session. Reception performance outcome (score) and technique in every group were assessed before and at the end of the intervention program and during the retention phase. A 3 (Group) x 3 (Measurement Period) multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to investigate differences. Results showed equivalent improvement in all three groups at the end of the intervention program. In conclusion, types of augmented feedback from the physical education teacher are effective in acquisition and retention of the skill for reception in volleyball.

Observable measure of quantum coherence in finite dimensional systems.

PubMed

Girolami, Davide

2014-10-24

Quantum coherence is the key resource for quantum technology, with applications in quantum optics, information processing, metrology, and cryptography. Yet, there is no universally efficient method for quantifying coherence either in theoretical or in experimental practice. I introduce a framework for measuring quantum coherence in finite dimensional systems. I define a theoretical measure which satisfies the reliability criteria established in the context of quantum resource theories. Then, I present an experimental scheme implementable with current technology which evaluates the quantum coherence of an unknown state of a d-dimensional system by performing two programmable measurements on an ancillary qubit, in place of the O(d2) direct measurements required by full state reconstruction. The result yields a benchmark for monitoring quantum effects in complex systems, e.g., certifying nonclassicality in quantum protocols and probing the quantum behavior of biological complexes.

A Practical Solution to Optimizing the Reliability of Teaching Observation Measures under Budget Constraints

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, J. Patrick; Liu, Xiang; Mashburn, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

Researchers often use generalizability theory to estimate relative error variance and reliability in teaching observation measures. They also use it to plan future studies and design the best possible measurement procedures. However, designing the best possible measurement procedure comes at a cost, and researchers must stay within their budget…

Observational determination of the greenhouse effect

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raval, A.; Ramanathan, V.

1989-01-01

Satellite measurements are used to quantify the atmospheric greenhouse effect, defined here as the infrared radiation energy trapped by atmospheric gases and clouds. The greenhouse effect is found to increase significantly with sea surface temperature. The rate of increase gives compelling evidence for the positive feedback between surface temperature, water vapor and the greenhouse effect; the magnitude of the feedback is consistent with that predicted by climate models. This study demonstrates an effective method for directly monitoring, from space, future changes in the greenhouse effect.

Measurement of new observables from the pi+pi - electroproduction off the proton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trivedi, Arjun

Knowledge of the Universe as constructed by human beings, in order to tackle its complexity, can be thought to be organized at varying scales at which it is observed. Implicit in such an approach is the idea of a smooth evolution of knowledge between scales and, therefore, access to how Nature constructs the visible Universe beginning from its most fundamental constituents. New and, in a sense, fundamental phenomena may typically be emergent as the scale of observation changes. The study of the Strong Interaction, which is responsible for the construction of the bulk of the visible matter in the Universe (98% by mass), in this sense, is a labor of exploring evolutions and unifying aspects of its knowledge found at varying scales ranging from interaction of quarks and gluons as represented by the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at small space-time scale to emerging dressed quark and even mesonbaryon degrees of freedom mostly described by effective models as the space-time scale increases. A direct effort to study the Strong Interaction over this scale forms the basis of an international collaborative effort often referred to as the N* program. The core work of this thesis is an experimental analysis prompted by the need to measure experimental observables that are of particular interest to the theory-experiment epistemological framework of this collaboration. While the core of this thesis, therefore, discusses the nature of the experimental analysis and presents its results which will serve as input to the N* program's epistemological framework, the particular nature of this framework in the context of not only the Strong Interaction, but also that of the physical science and human knowledge in general will be used to motivate and introduce the experimental analysis and its related observables.

Measurement of New Observables from the pi+pi- Electroproduction off the Proton

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

Trivedi, Arjun

Knowledge of the Universe as constructed by human beings, in order to tackle its complexity, can be thought to be organized at varying scales at which it is observed. Implicit in such an approach is the idea of a smooth evolution of knowledge between scales and, therefore, access to how Nature constructs the visible Universe beginning from its most fundamental constituents. New and, in a sense, fundamental phenomena may typically be emergent as the scale of observation changes. The study of the Strong Interaction, which is responsible for the construction of the bulk of the visible matter in the Universemore » (98% by mass), in this sense, is a labor of exploring evolutions and unifying aspects of its knowledge found at varying scales ranging from interaction of quarks and gluons as represented by the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) at small space-time scale to emerging dressed quark and even meson-baryon degrees of freedom mostly described by effective models as the space-time scale increases. A direct effort to study the Strong Interaction over this scale forms the basis of an international collaborative effort often referred to as the N* program. The core work of this thesis is an experimental analysis prompted by the need to measure experimental observables that are of particular interest to the theory-experiment epistemological framework of this collaboration. While the core of this thesis, therefore, discusses the nature of the experimental analysis and presents its results which will serve as input to the N* program's epistemological framework, the particular nature of this framework in the context of not only the Strong Interaction, but also that of the physical science and human knowledge in general will be used to motivate and introduce the experimental analysis and its related observables.« less

Reliability of a store observation tool in measuring availability of alcohol and selected foods.

PubMed

Cohen, Deborah A; Schoeff, Diane; Farley, Thomas A; Bluthenthal, Ricky; Scribner, Richard; Overton, Adrian

2007-11-01

Alcohol and food items can compromise or contribute to health, depending on the quantity and frequency with which they are consumed. How much people consume may be influenced by product availability and promotion in local retail stores. We developed and tested an observational tool to objectively measure in-store availability and promotion of alcoholic beverages and selected food items that have an impact on health. Trained observers visited 51 alcohol outlets in Los Angeles and southeastern Louisiana. Using a standardized instrument, two independent observations were conducted documenting the type of outlet, the availability and shelf space for alcoholic beverages and selected food items, the purchase price of standard brands, the placement of beer and malt liquor, and the amount of in-store alcohol advertising. Reliability of the instrument was excellent for measures of item availability, shelf space, and placement of malt liquor. Reliability was lower for alcohol advertising, beer placement, and items that measured the "least price" of apples and oranges. The average kappa was 0.87 for categorical items and the average intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83 for continuous items. Overall, systematic observation of the availability and promotion of alcoholic beverages and food items was feasible, acceptable, and reliable. Measurement tools such as the one we evaluated should be useful in studies of the impact of availability of food and beverages on consumption and on health outcomes.

Hierarchical structure observation and nanoindentation size effect characterization for a limnetic shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Jingru; Fan, Cuncai; Ma, Hansong; Wei, Yueguang

2015-06-01

In the present research, hierarchical structure observation and mechanical property characterization for a type of biomaterial are carried out. The investigated biomaterial is Hyriopsis cumingii, a typical limnetic shell, which consists of two different structural layers, a prismatic "pillar" structure and a nacreous "brick and mortar" structure. The prismatic layer looks like a "pillar forest" with variation-section pillars sized on the order of several tens of microns. The nacreous material looks like a "brick wall" with bricks sized on the order of several microns. Both pillars and bricks are composed of nanoparticles. The mechanical properties of the hierarchical biomaterial are measured by using the nanoindentation test. Hardness and modulus are measured for both the nacre layer and the prismatic layer, respectively. The nanoindentation size effects for the hierarchical structural materials are investigated experimentally. The results show that the prismatic nanostructured material has a higher stiffness and hardness than the nacre nanostructured material. In addition, the nanoindentation size effects for the hierarchical structural materials are described theoretically, by using the trans-scale mechanics theory considering both strain gradient effect and the surface/interface effect. The modeling results are consistent with experimental ones.

A Simulation-based Approach to Measuring Team Situational Awareness in Emergency Medicine: A Multicenter, Observational Study.

PubMed

Rosenman, Elizabeth D; Dixon, Aurora J; Webb, Jessica M; Brolliar, Sarah; Golden, Simon J; Jones, Kerin A; Shah, Sachita; Grand, James A; Kozlowski, Steve W J; Chao, Georgia T; Fernandez, Rosemarie

2018-02-01

Team situational awareness (TSA) is critical for effective teamwork and supports dynamic decision making in unpredictable, time-pressured situations. Simulation provides a platform for developing and assessing TSA, but these efforts are limited by suboptimal measurement approaches. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel approach to TSA measurement in interprofessional emergency medicine (EM) teams. We performed a multicenter, prospective, simulation-based observational study to evaluate an approach to TSA measurement. Interprofessional emergency medical teams, consisting of EM resident physicians, nurses, and medical students, were recruited from the University of Washington (Seattle, WA) and Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). Each team completed a simulated emergency resuscitation scenario. Immediately following the simulation, team members completed a TSA measure, a team perception of shared understanding measure, and a team leader effectiveness measure. Subject matter expert reviews and pilot testing of the TSA measure provided evidence of content and response process validity. Simulations were recorded and independently coded for team performance using a previously validated measure. The relationships between the TSA measure and other variables (team clinical performance, team perception of shared understanding, team leader effectiveness, and team experience) were explored. The TSA agreement metric was indexed by averaging the pairwise agreement for each dyad on a team and then averaging across dyads to yield agreement at the team level. For the team perception of shared understanding and team leadership effectiveness measures, individual team member scores were aggregated within a team to create a single team score. We computed descriptive statistics for all outcomes. We calculated Pearson's product-moment correlations to determine bivariate correlations between outcome variables with two-tailed significance testing (p < 0.05). A

Faster Hall-Effect Current-Measuring Circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullender, Craig C.; Johnson, Daniel D.; Walker, Daniel D.

1993-01-01

Current-measuring circuit operates on Hall-effect-sensing and magnetic-field-nulling principles similar to those described in article, "Nulling Hall-Effect Current-Measuring Circuit" (LEW-15023), but simpler and responds faster. Designed without feedback loop, and analog pulse-width-modulated output indicates measured current. Circuit measures current at frequency higher than bandwidth of its Hall-effect sensor.

Accuracy of blood pressure measurement and anthropometry among volunteer observers in a large community survey.

PubMed

Adams, Claire; Burke, Valerie; Beilin, Lawrie J

2002-04-01

The Busselton Survey is a population survey that is held about every three years. In 1994-1995 a re-survey was held of all past participants and 8,502 attended. Financial constraints precluded employing staff for data collection for blood pressure and anthropometry, these therefore were collected by unpaid lay volunteers. Quality control by a health professional was critical to the assessment and maintenance of accuracy in these measurements. For blood pressure three readings were taken simultaneously by a quality control person and the volunteer using a dual stethoscope. Duplicate anthropometric measurements were taken by a criterion anthropometrist and the volunteer. Inter and intra-observer technical errors of measurement (TEM) were calculated. Sixty-two volunteers were trained to take BP measurements; of these, 38 collected data, and 63 were trained in anthropometry; of these, 30 were suitable as measurers. Training was conducted on a group and individual basis by the quality assurance person for the study both in the Perth metropolitan area and rural Busselton. The TEM for SBP was 1.6 mm Hg (SD 1.0 mm Hg) and 1.5 mm Hg (SD 0.8) for DBP. For skin-folds intra-observer TEM ranged from 0.6 mm to 1.0 mm. Between-observer TEM ranged from 2.1 mm to 5.4 mm. For limb and waist circumferences, intra-observer TEM ranged from 0.3 cm to 1.6 cm. Between-observer TEM for circumferences ranged from 0.5 cm to 1.9 cm. Unpaid volunteer measurers can, if carefully trained and supervised, provide acceptable blood pressure data and anthropometry in large population surveys.

Observational methods in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Concato, John; Lawler, Elizabeth V; Lew, Robert A; Gaziano, J Michael; Aslan, Mihaela; Huang, Grant D

2010-12-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) may be defined informally as an assessment of available options for treating specific medical conditions in selected groups of patients. In this context, the most prominent features of CER are the various patient populations, medical ailments, and treatment options involved in any particular project. Yet, each research investigation also has a corresponding study design or "architecture," and in patient-oriented research a common distinction used to describe such designs are randomized controlled trials (RCTs) versus observational studies. The purposes of this overview, with regard to CER, are to (1) understand how observational studies can provide accurate results, comparable to RCTs; (2) recognize strategies used in selected newer methods for conducting observational studies; (3) review selected observational studies from the Veterans Health Administration; and (4) appreciate the importance of fundamental methodological principles when conducting or evaluating individual studies. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Alternative outcome definitions and their effect on the performance of methods for observational outcome studies.

PubMed

Reich, Christian G; Ryan, Patrick B; Schuemie, Martijn J

2013-10-01

A systematic risk identification system has the potential to test marketed drugs for important Health Outcomes of Interest or HOI. For each HOI, multiple definitions are used in the literature, and some of them are validated for certain databases. However, little is known about the effect of different definitions on the ability of methods to estimate their association with medical products. Alternative definitions of HOI were studied for their effect on the performance of analytical methods in observational outcome studies. A set of alternative definitions for three HOI were defined based on literature review and clinical diagnosis guidelines: acute kidney injury, acute liver injury and acute myocardial infarction. The definitions varied by the choice of diagnostic codes and the inclusion of procedure codes and lab values. They were then used to empirically study an array of analytical methods with various analytical choices in four observational healthcare databases. The methods were executed against predefined drug-HOI pairs to generate an effect estimate and standard error for each pair. These test cases included positive controls (active ingredients with evidence to suspect a positive association with the outcome) and negative controls (active ingredients with no evidence to expect an effect on the outcome). Three different performance metrics where used: (i) Area Under the Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC) as a measure of a method's ability to distinguish between positive and negative test cases, (ii) Measure of bias by estimation of distribution of observed effect estimates for the negative test pairs where the true effect can be assumed to be one (no relative risk), and (iii) Minimal Detectable Relative Risk (MDRR) as a measure of whether there is sufficient power to generate effect estimates. In the three outcomes studied, different definitions of outcomes show comparable ability to differentiate true from false control cases (AUC) and a

Effect of electrolytes on bubble coalescence in columns observed with visualization techniques.

PubMed

Aguilera, María Eugenia; Ojeda, Antonieta; Rondón, Carolina; López De Ramos, Aura

2002-10-01

Bubble coalescence and the effect of electrolytes on this phenomenon have been previously studied. This interfacial phenomenon has attracted attention for reactor design/operation and enhanced oil recovery. Predicting bubble coalescence may help prevent low yields in reactors and predict crude oil recovery. Because of the importance of bubble coalescence, the objectives of this work were to improve the accuracy of measuring the percentage of coalescing bubbles and to observe the interfacial gas-liquid behavior. An experimental setup was designed and constructed. Bubble interactions were monitored with a visualization setup. The percentage of air bubble coalescence was 100% in distilled water, about 50% in 0.1 M sodium chloride (NaCl) aqueous solution, and 0% in 0.145 M NaCl aqueous solution. A reduction of the contact gas-liquid area was observed in distillate water. The volume of the resulting bubble was the sum of the original bubble volumes. Repulsion of bubbles was observed in NaCl solutions exceeding 0.07 M. The percentage of bubble coalescence diminishes as the concentration of NaCl chloride increases. High-speed video recording is an accurate technique to measure the percentage of bubble coalescence, and represents an important advance in gas-liquid interfacial studies.

Atmospheric Effects on InSAR Measurements and Their Mitigation

PubMed Central

Ding, Xiao-li; Li, Zhi-wei; Zhu, Jian-jun; Feng, Guang-cai; Long, Jiang-ping

2008-01-01

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technology for observing the Earth surface, especially for mapping the Earth's topography and deformations. InSAR measurements are however often significantly affected by the atmosphere as the radar signals propagate through the atmosphere whose state varies both in space and in time. Great efforts have been made in recent years to better understand the properties of the atmospheric effects and to develop methods for mitigating the effects. This paper provides a systematic review of the work carried out in this area. The basic principles of atmospheric effects on repeat-pass InSAR are first introduced. The studies on the properties of the atmospheric effects, including the magnitudes of the effects determined in the various parts of the world, the spectra of the atmospheric effects, the isotropic properties and the statistical distributions of the effects, are then discussed. The various methods developed for mitigating the atmospheric effects are then reviewed, including the methods that are based on PSInSAR processing, the methods that are based on interferogram modeling, and those that are based on external data such as GPS observations, ground meteorological data, and satellite data including those from the MODIS and MERIS. Two examples that use MODIS and MERIS data respectively to calibrate atmospheric effects on InSAR are also given. PMID:27873822

Atmospheric Effects on InSAR Measurements and Their Mitigation.

PubMed

Ding, Xiao-Li; Li, Zhi-Wei; Zhu, Jian-Jun; Feng, Guang-Cai; Long, Jiang-Ping

2008-09-03

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a powerful technology for observing the Earth surface, especially for mapping the Earth's topography and deformations. InSAR measurements are however often significantly affected by the atmosphere as the radar signals propagate through the atmosphere whose state varies both in space and in time. Great efforts have been made in recent years to better understand the properties of the atmospheric effects and to develop methods for mitigating the effects. This paper provides a systematic review of the work carried out in this area. The basic principles of atmospheric effects on repeat-pass InSAR are first introduced. The studies on the properties of the atmospheric effects, including the magnitudes of the effects determined in the various parts of the world, the spectra of the atmospheric effects, the isotropic properties and the statistical distributions of the effects, are then discussed. The various methods developed for mitigating the atmospheric effects are then reviewed, including the methods that are based on PSInSAR processing, the methods that are based on interferogram modeling, and those that are based on external data such as GPS observations, ground meteorological data, and satellite data including those from the MODIS and MERIS. Two examples that use MODIS and MERIS data respectively to calibrate atmospheric effects on InSAR are also given.

The Effects of Observing Others versus Self-Observation on Teacher Accuracy in Presenting Learn Unit Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarto, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

In Experiment I, I tested whether training teacher trainers to conduct TPRA observations to a calibrated standard by teaching them to 1) measure the accuracy of other individuals presenting learn unit instruction, then 2) measure their own accuracy in presenting learn unit instruction, would influence the accuracy of the teacher trainer's…

The Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer: Balloon-Borne Measurements, Satellite Observations and Modeling Approaches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fairlie, T. D.; Vernier, J.-P.; Natarajan, M.; Deshler, Terry; Liu, H.; Wegner, T.; Baker, N.; Gadhavi, H.; Jayaraman, A.; Pandit, A.;

Do Effect-Size Measures Measure up?: A Brief Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Levin, Joel R.; Leech, Nancy L.

2003-01-01

Because of criticisms leveled at statistical hypothesis testing, some researchers have argued that measures of effect size should replace the significance-testing practice. We contend that although effect-size measures have logical appeal, they are also associated with a number of limitations that may result in problematic interpretations of them…

Estimating vertical profiles of water-cloud droplet effective radius from SWIR satellite measurements via a statistical model derived from CloudSat observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagao, T. M.; Murakami, H.; Nakajima, T. Y.

2017-12-01

This study proposes an algorithm to estimate vertical profiles of cloud droplet effective radius (CDER-VP) for water clouds from shortwave infrared (SWIR) measurements of Himawari-8/AHI via a statistical model of CDER-VP derived from CloudSat observation. Several similar algorithms in previous studies utilize a spectral radiance matching on the assumption of simultaneous observations of CloudSat and Aqua/MODIS. However, our algorithm does not assume simultaneous observations with CloudSat. First, in advance, a database (DB) of CDER-VP is prepared by the following procedure: TOA radiances at 0.65, 2.3 and 10.4-μm bands of the AHI are simulated using CDER-VP and cloud optical depth vertical profile (COD-VP) contained in the CloudSat 2B-CWC-RVOD and 2B-TAU products. Cloud optical thickness (COT), Column-CDER and cloud top height (CTH) are retrieved from the simulated radiances using a traditional retrieval algorithm with vertically homogeneous cloud model (1-SWIR VHC method). The CDER-VP is added to the DB by using the COT and Column-CDER retrievals as a key of the DB. Then by using principal component (PC) analysis, up to three PC vectors of the CDER-VPs in the DB are extracted. Next, the algorithm retrieves CDER-VP from actual AHI measurements by the following procedure: First, COT, Column-CDER and CTH are retrieved from TOA radiances at 0.65, 2.3 and 10.4-μm bands of the AHI using by 1-SWIR VHC method. Then, the PC vectors of CDER-VP is fetched from the DB using the COT and Column-CDER retrievals as the key of the DB. Finally, using coefficients of the PC vectors of CDER-VP as variables for retrieval, CDER-VP, COT and CTH are retrieved from TOA radiances at 0.65, 1.6, 2.3, 3.9 and 10.4-μm bands of the AHI based on optimal estimation method with iterative radiative transfer calculation. The simulation result showed the CDER-VP retrieval errors were almost smaller than 3 - 4 μm. The CDER retrieval errors at the cloud base were almost larger than the others (e

Effect of Turbulence in Wind-Tunnel Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dryden, H L; Kuethe, A M

1931-01-01

This paper gives some quantitative measurements of wind tunnel turbulence and its effect on the air resistance of spheres and airship models, measurements made possible by the hot wire anemometer and associated apparatus in its original form was described in Technical Report no. 320 and some modifications are presented in an appendix to the present paper. One important result of the investigation is a curve by means of which measurements of the air resistance of spheres can be interpreted to give the turbulence quantitatively. Another is the definite proof that the discrepancies in the results on the N. P. L. Standard airship models are due mainly to differences in the turbulences of the wind tunnels in which the tests were made. An attempt is made to interpret the observed results in terms of the boundary layer theory and for this purpose a brief account is given of the physical bases of this theory and of conceptions that have been obtained by analogy with the laws of flow in pipes.

Predicting out-of-office blood pressure level using repeated measurements in the clinic: an observational cohort study

PubMed Central

Sheppard, James P.; Holder, Roger; Nichols, Linda; Bray, Emma; Hobbs, F.D. Richard; Mant, Jonathan; Little, Paul; Williams, Bryan; Greenfield, Sheila; McManus, Richard J.

2014-01-01

Objectives: Identification of people with lower (white-coat effect) or higher (masked effect) blood pressure at home compared to the clinic usually requires ambulatory or home monitoring. This study assessed whether changes in SBP with repeated measurement at a single clinic predict subsequent differences between clinic and home measurements. Methods: This study used an observational cohort design and included 220 individuals aged 35–84 years, receiving treatment for hypertension, but whose SBP was not controlled. The characteristics of change in SBP over six clinic readings were defined as the SBP drop, the slope and the quadratic coefficient using polynomial regression modelling. The predictive abilities of these characteristics for lower or higher home SBP readings were investigated with logistic regression and repeated operating characteristic analysis. Results: The single clinic SBP drop was predictive of the white-coat effect with a sensitivity of 90%, specificity of 50%, positive predictive value of 56% and negative predictive value of 88%. Predictive values for the masked effect and those of the slope and quadratic coefficient were slightly lower, but when the slope and quadratic variables were combined, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for the masked effect were improved to 91, 48, 24 and 97%, respectively. Conclusion: Characteristics obtainable from multiple SBP measurements in a single clinic in patients with treated hypertension appear to reasonably predict those unlikely to have a large white-coat or masked effect, potentially allowing better targeting of out-of-office monitoring in routine clinical practice. PMID:25144295

Does observability affect prosociality?

PubMed Central

Lawrence, Claire

2018-01-01

The observation of behaviour is a key theoretical parameter underlying a number of models of prosociality. However, the empirical findings showing the effect of observability on prosociality are mixed. In this meta-analysis, we explore the boundary conditions that may account for this variability, by exploring key theoretical and methodological moderators of this link. We identified 117 papers yielding 134 study level effects (total n = 788 164) and found a small but statistically significant, positive association between observability and prosociality (r = 0.141, 95% confidence interval = 0.106, 0.175). Moderator analysis showed that observability produced stronger effects on prosociality: (i) in the presence of passive observers (i.e. people whose role was to only observe participants) versus perceptions of being watched, (ii) when participants’ decisions were consequential (versus non-consequential), (iii) when the studies were performed in the laboratory (as opposed to in the field/online), (iv) when the studies used repeated measures (instead of single games), and (v) when the studies involved social dilemmas (instead of bargaining games). These effects show the conditions under which observability effects on prosociality will be maximally observed. We describe the theoretical and practical significance of these results. PMID:29593114

Does observability affect prosociality?

PubMed

Bradley, Alex; Lawrence, Claire; Ferguson, Eamonn

2018-03-28

The observation of behaviour is a key theoretical parameter underlying a number of models of prosociality. However, the empirical findings showing the effect of observability on prosociality are mixed. In this meta-analysis, we explore the boundary conditions that may account for this variability, by exploring key theoretical and methodological moderators of this link. We identified 117 papers yielding 134 study level effects (total n = 788 164) and found a small but statistically significant, positive association between observability and prosociality ( r = 0.141, 95% confidence interval = 0.106, 0.175). Moderator analysis showed that observability produced stronger effects on prosociality: (i) in the presence of passive observers (i.e. people whose role was to only observe participants) versus perceptions of being watched, (ii) when participants' decisions were consequential (versus non-consequential), (iii) when the studies were performed in the laboratory (as opposed to in the field/online), (iv) when the studies used repeated measures (instead of single games), and (v) when the studies involved social dilemmas (instead of bargaining games). These effects show the conditions under which observability effects on prosociality will be maximally observed. We describe the theoretical and practical significance of these results. © 2018 The Authors.

Fragmentation uncertainties in hadronic observables for top-quark mass measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corcella, Gennaro; Franceschini, Roberto; Kim, Doojin

2018-04-01

We study the Monte Carlo uncertainties due to modeling of hadronization and showering in the extraction of the top-quark mass from observables that use exclusive hadronic final states in top decays, such as t →anything + J / ψ or t →anything + (B →charged tracks), where B is a B-hadron. To this end, we investigate the sensitivity of the top-quark mass, determined by means of a few observables already proposed in the literature as well as some new proposals, to the relevant parameters of event generators, such as HERWIG 6 and PYTHIA 8. We find that constraining those parameters at O (1%- 10%) is required to avoid a Monte Carlo uncertainty on mt greater than 500 MeV. For the sake of achieving the needed accuracy on such parameters, we examine the sensitivity of the top-quark mass measured from spectral features, such as peaks, endpoints and distributions of EB, mBℓ, and some mT2-like variables. We find that restricting oneself to regions sufficiently close to the endpoints enables one to substantially decrease the dependence on the Monte Carlo parameters, but at the price of inflating significantly the statistical uncertainties. To ameliorate this situation we study how well the data on top-quark production and decay at the LHC can be utilized to constrain the showering and hadronization variables. We find that a global exploration of several calibration observables, sensitive to the Monte Carlo parameters but very mildly to mt, can offer useful constraints on the parameters, as long as such quantities are measured with a 1% precision.

The effect of the atmosphere on the classification of satellite observations to identify surface features

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, R. S.; Bahethi, O. P.; Al-Abbas, A. H.

1977-01-01

The effect of differences in atmospheric turbidity on the classification of Landsat 1 observations of a rural scene is presented. The observations are classified by an unsupervised clustering technique. These clusters serve as a training set for use of a maximum-likelihood algorithm. The measured radiances in each of the four spectral bands are then changed by amounts measured by Landsat 1. These changes can be associated with a decrease in atmospheric turbidity by a factor of 1.3. The classification of 22% of the pixels changes as a result of the modification. The modified observations are then reclassified as an independent set. Only 3% of the pixels have a different classification than the unmodified set. Hence, if classification errors of rural areas are not to exceed 15%, a new training set has to be developed whenever the difference in turbidity between the training and test sets reaches unity.

Measuring the seeds of ion outflow: auroral sounding rocket observations of low-altitude ion heating and circulation

DOE PAGES

Fernandes, P. A.; Lynch, K. A.; Zettergren, M.; ...

2016-01-25

Here, we present an analysis of in situ measurements from the MICA (Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfvén Resonator) nightside auroral sounding rocket with comparisons to a multifluid ionospheric model. MICA made observations at altitudes below 325 km of the thermal ion kinetic particle distributions that are the origins of ion outflow. Late flight, in the vicinity of an auroral arc, we observe frictional processes controlling the ion temperature. Upflow of these cold ions is attributed to either the ambipolar field resulting from the heated electrons or possibly to ion-neutral collisions. We measure E →xB → convection away from the arcmore » (poleward) and downflows of hundreds of m s -1 poleward of this arc, indicating small-scale low-altitude plasma circulation. In the early flight we observe DC electromagnetic Poynting flux and associated ELF wave activity influencing the thermal ion temperature in regions of Alfvénic aurora. We observe enhanced, anisotropic ion temperatures which we conjecture are caused by transverse heating by wave-particle interactions (WPI) even at these low altitudes. Throughout this region we observe several hundred m s -1 upflow of the bulk thermal ions colocated with WPI; however, the mirror force is negligible at these low energies; thus, the upflow is attributed to ambipolar fields (or possibly neutral upwelling drivers). Moreover, the low-altitude MICA observations serve to inform future ionospheric modeling and simulations of (a) the need to consider the effects of heating by WPI at altitudes lower than previously considered viable and (b) the occurrence of structured and localized upflows/downflows below where higher-altitude heating rocesses are expected.« less

Measuring the seeds of ion outflow: auroral sounding rocket observations of low-altitude ion heating and circulation

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

Fernandes, P. A.; Lynch, K. A.; Zettergren, M.

Here, we present an analysis of in situ measurements from the MICA (Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Alfvén Resonator) nightside auroral sounding rocket with comparisons to a multifluid ionospheric model. MICA made observations at altitudes below 325 km of the thermal ion kinetic particle distributions that are the origins of ion outflow. Late flight, in the vicinity of an auroral arc, we observe frictional processes controlling the ion temperature. Upflow of these cold ions is attributed to either the ambipolar field resulting from the heated electrons or possibly to ion-neutral collisions. We measure E →xB → convection away from the arcmore » (poleward) and downflows of hundreds of m s -1 poleward of this arc, indicating small-scale low-altitude plasma circulation. In the early flight we observe DC electromagnetic Poynting flux and associated ELF wave activity influencing the thermal ion temperature in regions of Alfvénic aurora. We observe enhanced, anisotropic ion temperatures which we conjecture are caused by transverse heating by wave-particle interactions (WPI) even at these low altitudes. Throughout this region we observe several hundred m s -1 upflow of the bulk thermal ions colocated with WPI; however, the mirror force is negligible at these low energies; thus, the upflow is attributed to ambipolar fields (or possibly neutral upwelling drivers). Moreover, the low-altitude MICA observations serve to inform future ionospheric modeling and simulations of (a) the need to consider the effects of heating by WPI at altitudes lower than previously considered viable and (b) the occurrence of structured and localized upflows/downflows below where higher-altitude heating rocesses are expected.« less

Spatial and spectral interpolation of ground-motion intensity measure observations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Worden, Charles; Thompson, Eric M.; Baker, Jack W.; Bradley, Brendon A.; Luco, Nicolas; Wilson, David

2018-01-01

Following a significant earthquake, ground‐motion observations are available for a limited set of locations and intensity measures (IMs). Typically, however, it is desirable to know the ground motions for additional IMs and at locations where observations are unavailable. Various interpolation methods are available, but because IMs or their logarithms are normally distributed, spatially correlated, and correlated with each other at a given location, it is possible to apply the conditional multivariate normal (MVN) distribution to the problem of estimating unobserved IMs. In this article, we review the MVN and its application to general estimation problems, and then apply the MVN to the specific problem of ground‐motion IM interpolation. In particular, we present (1) a formulation of the MVN for the simultaneous interpolation of IMs across space and IM type (most commonly, spectral response at different oscillator periods) and (2) the inclusion of uncertain observation data in the MVN formulation. These techniques, in combination with modern empirical ground‐motion models and correlation functions, provide a flexible framework for estimating a variety of IMs at arbitrary locations.

Measuring Effect Sizes: The Effect of Measurement Error. Working Paper 19

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Donald; Grossman, Pamela; Lankford, Hamilton; Loeb, Susanna; Wyckoff, James

2008-01-01

Value-added models in education research allow researchers to explore how a wide variety of policies and measured school inputs affect the academic performance of students. Researchers typically quantify the impacts of such interventions in terms of "effect sizes", i.e., the estimated effect of a one standard deviation change in the…

Observations of the Weddell Sea Anomaly in the ground-based and space-borne TEC measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharenkova, Irina; Cherniak, Iurii; Shagimuratov, Irk

2017-08-01

The Weddell Sea Anomaly (WSA) is a summer ionospheric anomaly, which is characterized by a greater nighttime ionospheric density than that in daytime in the region near the Weddell Sea. We investigate the WSA signatures in the ground-based TEC (vertical total electron content) by using GPS and GLONASS measurements of the dense regional GNSS networks in South America. We constructed the high-resolution regional TEC maps for December 2014-January 2015. The WSA effects of the TEC exceed the noontime values are registered starting from 17 LT, it reaches its maximum at 01-05 LT and starts to disappear after 09 LT. Maximal TEC enhancements were as large as a factor of 2.5-3.5 and were registered at 03-04 LT. This effect was mainly localized in the geographical region of 55°S-75°S latitude and 80°W-30°W longitude, close to the Antarctic Peninsula. Further, we examined the WSA occurrence in the topside ionosphere by using GPS measurements from a zenith-looking GPS antenna on board three Swarm satellites to determine topside TEC (above ∼500 km altitude) at the topside ionosphere-plasmasphere system. Global maps of the topside TEC indicated that the zone with significant WSA effect in the topside TEC (TEC increase ∼2-4 times the noontime level) had a large spatial extent over southern Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. It was observed around 150°W-20°W and between 40°S and 70°S during 23 LT - 06 LT. For the first time, the WSA signatures were shown in the topside TEC data derived from the GPS measurements onboard the Swarm constellation. Independently, two other instruments - FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC radio occultation electron density profiles and in situ measurements by the Langmuir Probe instrument onboard Swarm satellites - were able to confirm: (1) the same location of the WSA zone as revealed in Swarm TEC; (2) the most-pronounced WSA effect, as a maximal electron density exceed over the noontime values, corresponds to altitudes above 400-500 km.

Performance measures in the earth observations commercialization applications program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macauley, Molly K.

1996-03-01

Performance measures in the Earth Observations Commercialization Application Program (EOCAP) are key to its success and include net profitability; enhancements to industry productivity through generic innovations in industry practices, standards, and protocols; and documented contributions to public policy governing the newly developing remote sensing industry. Because EOCAP requires company co-funding, both parties to the agreement (the government and the corporate partner) have incentives to pursue these goals. Further strengthening progress towards these goals are requirements for business plans in the company's EOCAP proposal, detailed scrutiny given these plans during proposal selection, and regularly documented progress reports during project implementation.

Comparing simulated and observed EMIC wave amplitudes using in situ Van Allen Probes’ measurements

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

Saikin, A. A.; Jordanova, Vania Koleva; Zhang, J. C.

In this study, we perform a statistical study calculating electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave amplitudes based off in situ plasma measurements taken by the Van Allen Probes’ (1.1–5.8 R e) Helium, Oxygen, Proton, Electron (HOPE) instrument. Calculated wave amplitudes are compared to EMIC waves observed by the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science on board the Van Allen Probes during the same period. The survey covers a 22-month period (1 November 2012 to 31 August 2014), a full Van Allen Probe magnetic local time (MLT) precession. The linear theory proxy was used to identify EMIC wave eventsmore » with plasma conditions favorable for EMIC wave excitation. Two hundred and thirty-two EMIC wave events (103 H +-band and 129 He +-band) were selected for this comparison. Nearly all events selected are observed beyond L = 4. Results show that calculated wave amplitudes exclusively using the in situ HOPE measurements produce amplitudes too low compared to the observed EMIC wave amplitudes. Hot proton anisotropy (Ahp) distributions are asymmetric in MLT within the inner (L < 7) magnetosphere with peak (minimum) A hp, ~0.81 to 1.00 (~0.62), observed in the dawn (dusk), 0000 < MLT ≤ 1200 (1200 < MLT ≤ 2400), sectors. Measurements of A hp are found to decrease in the presence of EMIC wave activity. A hp amplification factors are determined and vary with respect to EMIC wave-band and MLT. Lastly, He +-band events generally require double (quadruple) the measured A hp for the dawn (dusk) sector to reproduce the observed EMIC wave amplitudes.« less

Comparing simulated and observed EMIC wave amplitudes using in situ Van Allen Probes’ measurements

DOE PAGES

Saikin, A. A.; Jordanova, Vania Koleva; Zhang, J. C.; ...

2018-02-02

In this study, we perform a statistical study calculating electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) wave amplitudes based off in situ plasma measurements taken by the Van Allen Probes’ (1.1–5.8 R e) Helium, Oxygen, Proton, Electron (HOPE) instrument. Calculated wave amplitudes are compared to EMIC waves observed by the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science on board the Van Allen Probes during the same period. The survey covers a 22-month period (1 November 2012 to 31 August 2014), a full Van Allen Probe magnetic local time (MLT) precession. The linear theory proxy was used to identify EMIC wave eventsmore » with plasma conditions favorable for EMIC wave excitation. Two hundred and thirty-two EMIC wave events (103 H +-band and 129 He +-band) were selected for this comparison. Nearly all events selected are observed beyond L = 4. Results show that calculated wave amplitudes exclusively using the in situ HOPE measurements produce amplitudes too low compared to the observed EMIC wave amplitudes. Hot proton anisotropy (Ahp) distributions are asymmetric in MLT within the inner (L < 7) magnetosphere with peak (minimum) A hp, ~0.81 to 1.00 (~0.62), observed in the dawn (dusk), 0000 < MLT ≤ 1200 (1200 < MLT ≤ 2400), sectors. Measurements of A hp are found to decrease in the presence of EMIC wave activity. A hp amplification factors are determined and vary with respect to EMIC wave-band and MLT. Lastly, He +-band events generally require double (quadruple) the measured A hp for the dawn (dusk) sector to reproduce the observed EMIC wave amplitudes.« less

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1987-01-01

A statistical model of water vapor fluctuations is used to describe the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on radio interferometric measurements. It is assumed that the spatial structure of refractivity is approximated by Kolmogorov turbulence theory, and that the temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns moved over a site by the wind, and these assumptions are examined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. The results suggest that the delay rate measurement error is usually dominated by water vapor fluctuations, and water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are determined as a function of the delay observable errors. A method is proposed for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation method to obtain improved parameter estimates and parameter covariances.

THE NANOGRAV NINE-YEAR DATA SET: OBSERVATIONS, ARRIVAL TIME MEASUREMENTS, AND ANALYSIS OF 37 MILLISECOND PULSARS

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

Arzoumanian, Zaven; Brazier, Adam; Chatterjee, Shami

2015-11-01

We present high-precision timing observations spanning up to nine years for 37 millisecond pulsars monitored with the Green Bank and Arecibo radio telescopes as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project. We describe the observational and instrumental setups used to collect the data, and methodology applied for calculating pulse times of arrival; these include novel methods for measuring instrumental offsets and characterizing low signal-to-noise ratio timing results. The time of arrival data are fit to a physical timing model for each source, including terms that characterize time-variable dispersion measure and frequency-dependent pulse shape evolution. Inmore » conjunction with the timing model fit, we have performed a Bayesian analysis of a parameterized timing noise model for each source, and detect evidence for excess low-frequency, or “red,” timing noise in 10 of the pulsars. For 5 of these cases this is likely due to interstellar medium propagation effects rather than intrisic spin variations. Subsequent papers in this series will present further analysis of this data set aimed at detecting or limiting the presence of nanohertz-frequency gravitational wave signals.« less

Generalised observer design for dissipative Lipschitz nonlinear systems in the presence of measurement noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijayaraghavan, Krishna

2014-11-01

This paper presents two novel observer concepts. First, it develops a globally exponentially stable nonlinear observer for noise-free dissipative nonlinear systems. Second, for a dissipative nonlinear system with measurement noise, the paper develops an observer to guarantee a desired performance, namely an upper limit on the ratio of the square of the weighted L2 norm of the error to the square of the weighted L2 norm of the measurement noise. The necessary and sufficient conditions for both observers are reformulated as algebraic Riccati equations (AREs) so that standard solvers can be utilised. In addition, the paper presents necessary and sufficient conditions to be satisfied by the nonlinear system in order to ensure that the ARE (and hence the observer design problem) has a solution. The use of the methodology developed in this paper is demonstrated through illustrative examples. In literature, there is no previous observer for dissipative system that provides both necessary and sufficient conditions. Results for noisy system either rely on linearising the system about state trajectory (requiring initial estimates to be close to the actual states) or are for specialised systems that cannot be extended to dissipative systems.

An information measure for class discrimination. [in remote sensing of crop observation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shen, S. S.; Badhwar, G. D.

1986-01-01

This article describes a separability measure for class discrimination. This measure is based on the Fisher information measure for estimating the mixing proportion of two classes. The Fisher information measure not only provides a means to assess quantitatively the information content in the features for separating classes, but also gives the lower bound for the variance of any unbiased estimate of the mixing proportion based on observations of the features. Unlike most commonly used separability measures, this measure is not dependent on the form of the probability distribution of the features and does not imply a specific estimation procedure. This is important because the probability distribution function that describes the data for a given class does not have simple analytic forms, such as a Gaussian. Results of applying this measure to compare the information content provided by three Landsat-derived feature vectors for the purpose of separating small grains from other crops are presented.

Developing Effective Performance Measures

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-14

University When Performance Measurement Goes Bad Laziness Vanity Narcissism Too Many Pettiness Inanity 52 Developing Effective...Kasunic, October 14, 2014 © 2014 Carnegie Mellon University Narcissism Measuring performance from the organization’s point of view, rather than from

The effect of sampling rate on observed statistics in a correlated random walk

PubMed Central

Rosser, G.; Fletcher, A. G.; Maini, P. K.; Baker, R. E.

2013-01-01

Tracking the movement of individual cells or animals can provide important information about their motile behaviour, with key examples including migrating birds, foraging mammals and bacterial chemotaxis. In many experimental protocols, observations are recorded with a fixed sampling interval and the continuous underlying motion is approximated as a series of discrete steps. The size of the sampling interval significantly affects the tracking measurements, the statistics computed from observed trajectories, and the inferences drawn. Despite the widespread use of tracking data to investigate motile behaviour, many open questions remain about these effects. We use a correlated random walk model to study the variation with sampling interval of two key quantities of interest: apparent speed and angle change. Two variants of the model are considered, in which reorientations occur instantaneously and with a stationary pause, respectively. We employ stochastic simulations to study the effect of sampling on the distributions of apparent speeds and angle changes, and present novel mathematical analysis in the case of rapid sampling. Our investigation elucidates the complex nature of sampling effects for sampling intervals ranging over many orders of magnitude. Results show that inclusion of a stationary phase significantly alters the observed distributions of both quantities. PMID:23740484

The Hawthorne effect in direct observation research with physicians and patients.

PubMed

Goodwin, Meredith A; Stange, Kurt C; Zyzanski, Stephen J; Crabtree, Benjamin F; Borawski, Elaine A; Flocke, Susan A

2017-12-01

This study examines the degree to which a "Hawthorne effect" alters outpatient-visit content. Trained research nurses directly observed 4454 visits to 138 family physicians. Multiple data sources were used to examine the Hawthorne effect including differences in medical record documentation for observed visits and the prior visit by the same patient, time use during visits on the first versus the second observation day of each physician, and report by the patient, physician, and observer of the effect of observation. Visits on the first versus the second observation day were longer by an average of 1 minute (P < .001); there were time-use differences for 4 of 20 behaviour categories evaluated. No effect of the observer on the interaction was reported by 74% of patients and 55% of physicians. Most of those that reported an affect indicated it was slight. Patients with non-White race, lower-educational level, and poorer health were more likely to report being affected by the observer. In a study that was designed to minimize the Hawthorne effect, the presence of an observer had little effect on most patient-physician visits but appeared to at least slightly effect a subgroup of vulnerable patients. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Path length dependent neutron diffraction peak shifts observed during residual strain measurements in U–8 wt% Mo castings

DOE PAGES

Steiner, M. A.; Bunn, J. R.; Einhorn, J. R.; ...

2017-05-16

This study reports an angular diffraction peak shift that scales linearly with the neutron beam path length traveled through a diffracting sample. This shift was observed in the context of mapping the residual stress state of a large U–8 wt% Mo casting, as well as during complementary measurements on a smaller casting of the same material. If uncorrected, this peak shift implies a non-physical level of residual stress. A hypothesis for the origin of this shift is presented, based upon non-ideal focusing of the neutron monochromator in combination with changes to the wavelength distribution reaching the detector due to factorsmore » such as attenuation. The magnitude of the shift is observed to vary linearly with the width of the diffraction peak reaching the detector. Consideration of this shift will be important for strain measurements requiring long path lengths through samples with significant attenuation. This effect can probably be reduced by selecting smaller voxel slit widths.« less

Measurements of outflow velocities in on-disk plumes from EIS/Hinode observations

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

Fu, Hui; Xia, Lidong; Li, Bo

2014-10-20

The contribution of plumes to the solar wind has been subject to hot debate in the past decades. The EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on board Hinode provides a unique means to deduce outflow velocities at coronal heights via direct Doppler shift measurements of coronal emission lines. Such direct Doppler shift measurements were not possible with previous spectrometers. We measure the outflow velocity at coronal heights in several on-disk long-duration plumes, which are located in coronal holes (CHs) and show significant blueshifts throughout the entire observational period. In one case, a plume is measured four hours apart. The deduced outflow velocitiesmore » are consistent, suggesting that the flows are quasi-steady. Furthermore, we provide an outflow velocity profile along the plumes, finding that the velocity corrected for the line-of-sight effect can reach 10 km s{sup –1} at 1.02 R {sub ☉}, 15 km s{sup –1} at 1.03 R {sub ☉}, and 25 km s{sup –1} at 1.05 R {sub ☉}. This clear signature of steady acceleration, combined with the fact that there is no significant blueshift at the base of plumes, provides an important constraint on plume models. At the height of 1.03 R {sub ☉}, EIS also deduced a density of 1.3 × 10{sup 8} cm{sup –3}, resulting in a proton flux of about 4.2 × 10{sup 9} cm{sup –2} s{sup –1} scaled to 1 AU, which is an order of magnitude higher than the proton input to a typical solar wind if a radial expansion is assumed. This suggests that CH plumes may be an important source of the solar wind.« less

National environmental observing system to mitigate the effects of nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attacks: strategic and tactical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleming, Rex J.

2003-09-01

The challenge of obtaining an adequate environmental support system to help mitigate the effects of various terrorist generated plumes is articulated and a fiscally responsible solution is presented. A substantially improved national system of upper air data observing systems serves as a powerful information source prior to a terrorist event. A mobile tactical observing system for measuring the environment and for measuring the composition and intensity of the plume is implemented immediately following an event. Only proven and tested technologies are used. Program costs, benefits for the fight against terrorism, and multiple benefits to other aspects of the economy are summarized.

Seeing mental states: An experimental strategy for measuring the observability of other minds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becchio, Cristina; Koul, Atesh; Ansuini, Caterina; Bertone, Cesare; Cavallo, Andrea

2018-03-01

Is it possible to perceive others' mental states? Are mental states visible in others' behavior? In contrast to the traditional view that mental states are hidden and not directly accessible to perception, in recent years a phenomenologically-motivated account of social cognition has emerged: direct social perception. However, despite numerous published articles that both defend and critique direct perception, researchers have made little progress in articulating the conditions under which direct perception of others' mental states is possible. This paper proposes an empirically anchored approach to the observability of others' mentality - not just in the weak sense of discussing relevant empirical evidence for and against the phenomenon of interest, but also, and more specifically, in the stronger sense of identifying an experimental strategy for measuring the observability of mental states and articulating the conditions under which mental states are observable. We conclude this article by reframing the problem of direct perception in terms of establishing a definable and measurable relationship between movement features and perceived mental states.

Development and evaluation of the "BRISK Scale," a brief observational measure of risk communication competence.

PubMed

Han, Paul K J; Joekes, Katherine; Mills, Greg; Gutheil, Caitlin; Smith, Kahsi; Cochran, Nancy E; Elwyn, Glyn

2016-12-01

To develop and evaluate a brief observational measure of clinical risk communication competence. A 4-item checklist-type measure, the BRISK (Brief Risk Information Skill) Scale, was developed by selecting and refining items from a more comprehensive measure of clinical risk communication competence. Six volunteer raters received brief training on the measure and then used the BRISK Scale to evaluate 52 video-recorded encounters between 2nd-year medical students and standardized patients conducted as part of an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) involving a risk communication task. Internal consistency reliability, inter-rater reliability, and criterion validity were assessed. Raters reported no difficulties using the BRISK Scale; scores across all raters and subjects ranged from 0 to 16 with a mean score of 6.49 (SD=3.17). The BRISK Scale showed good internal consistency reliability (α=0.64), and inter-rater reliability at the scale level (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC)=0.79 for consistency, and 0.75 for absolute agreement) and individual-item level (ICC range: 0.62-.91). Novice raters' BRISK Scale scores were highly correlated (r=0.84, p<0.01) with expert raters' scores on the Risk Communication Content measure, a more comprehensive measure of risk communication competence. The BRISK Scale is a promising new brief observational measure of clinical risk communication competence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative effectiveness research in cancer with observational data.

PubMed

Giordano, Sharon H

2015-01-01

Observational studies are increasingly being used for comparative effectiveness research. These studies can have the greatest impact when randomized trials are not feasible or when randomized studies have not included the population or outcomes of interest. However, careful attention must be paid to study design to minimize the likelihood of selection biases. Analytic techniques, such as multivariable regression modeling, propensity score analysis, and instrumental variable analysis, also can also be used to help address confounding. Oncology has many existing large and clinically rich observational databases that can be used for comparative effectiveness research. With careful study design, observational studies can produce valid results to assess the benefits and harms of a treatment or intervention in representative real-world populations.

Systematic effects in LOD from SLR observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloßfeld, Mathis; Gerstl, Michael; Hugentobler, Urs; Angermann, Detlef; Müller, Horst

2014-09-01

Beside the estimation of station coordinates and the Earth’s gravity field, laser ranging observations to near-Earth satellites can be used to determine the rotation of the Earth. One parameter of this rotation is ΔLOD (excess Length Of Day) which describes the excess revolution time of the Earth w.r.t. 86,400 s. Due to correlations among the different parameter groups, it is difficult to obtain reliable estimates for all parameters. In the official ΔLOD products of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), the ΔLOD information determined from laser ranging observations is excluded from the processing. In this paper, we study the existing correlations between ΔLOD, the orbital node Ω, the even zonal gravity field coefficients, cross-track empirical accelerations and relativistic accelerations caused by the Lense-Thirring and deSitter effect in detail using first order Gaussian perturbation equations. We found discrepancies due to different a priories by using different gravity field models of up to 1.0 ms for polar orbits at an altitude of 500 km and up to 40.0 ms, if the gravity field coefficients are estimated using only observations to LAGEOS 1. If observations to LAGEOS 2 are included, reliable ΔLOD estimates can be achieved. Nevertheless, an impact of the a priori gravity field even on the multi-satellite ΔLOD estimates can be clearly identified. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of empirical cross-track accelerations and the effect of relativistic accelerations of near-Earth satellites on ΔLOD. A total effect of 0.0088 ms is caused by not modeled Lense-Thirring and deSitter terms. The partial derivatives of these accelerations w.r.t. the position and velocity of the satellite cause very small variations (0.1 μs) on ΔLOD.

Development of a direct observation Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings.

PubMed

King, Gillian; Rigby, Patty; Batorowicz, Beata; McMain-Klein, Margot; Petrenchik, Theresa; Thompson, Laura; Gibson, Michelle

2014-08-01

The aim of this study was to develop an observer-rated measure of aesthetic, physical, social, and opportunity-related qualities of leisure activity settings for young people (with or without disabilities). Eighty questionnaires were completed by sets of raters who independently rated 22 community/home activity settings. The scales of the 32-item Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS; Opportunities for Social Activities, Opportunities for Physical Activities, Pleasant Physical Environment, Opportunities for Choice, Opportunities for Personal Growth, and Opportunities to Interact with Adults) were determined using principal components analyses. Test-retest reliability was determined for eight activity settings, rated twice (4-6wk interval) by a trained rater. The factor structure accounted for 80% of the variance. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy was 0.73. Cronbach's alphas for the scales ranged from 0.76 to 0.96, and interrater reliabilities (ICCs) ranged from 0.60 to 0.93. Test-retest reliabilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.90. Results suggest that the MEQAS has a sound factor structure and preliminary evidence of internal consistency, interrater, and test-retest reliability. The MEQAS is the first observer-completed measure of environmental qualities of activity settings. The MEQAS allows researchers to assess comprehensively qualities and affordances of activity settings, and can be used to design and assess environmental qualities of programs for young people. © 2014 Mac Keith Press.

Ambient observations of hygroscopic growth factor and f(RH) below 1: Case studies from surface and airborne measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shingler, Taylor; Sorooshian, Armin; Ortega, Amber; Crosbie, Ewan; Wonaschütz, Anna; Perring, Anne E.; Beyersdorf, Andreas; Ziemba, Luke; Jimenez, Jose L.; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Mikoviny, Tomas; Wisthaler, Armin; Russell, Lynn M.

2016-11-01

This study reports a detailed set of ambient observations of optical/physical shrinking of particles from exposure to water vapor with consistency across different instruments and regions. Data have been utilized from (i) a shipboard humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer during the Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment in 2011, (ii) multiple instruments on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft during the Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys in 2013, and (iii) the Differential Aerosol Sizing and Hygroscopicity Spectrometer Probe during ambient measurements in Tucson, Arizona, during summer 2014 and winter 2015. Hygroscopic growth factor (ratio of humidified-to-dry diameter, GF = Dp,wet/Dp,dry) and f(RH) (ratio of humidified-to-dry scattering coefficients) values below 1 were observed across the range of relative humidity (RH) investigated (75-95%). A commonality of observations of GF and f(RH) below 1 in these experiments was the presence of particles enriched with carbonaceous matter, especially from biomass burning. Evidence of externally mixed aerosol, and thus multiple GFs with at least one GF < 1, was observed concurrently with f(RH) < 1 during smoke periods. Possible mechanisms responsible for observed shrinkage are discussed and include particle restructuring, volatilization effects, and refractive index modifications due to aqueous processing resulting in optical size modification. To further investigate ambient observations of GFs and f(RH) values less than 1, it is recommended to add an optional prehumidification bypass module to hygroscopicity instruments, to preemptively collapse particles prior to controlled RH measurements.

ChinaSpec: a network of SIF observations to bridge flux measurements and remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Y.; Wang, S.; Liu, L.; Ju, W.; Zhu, X.

2017-12-01

Accurately quantifying atmosphere-biosphere interactions across multiple scale still remains a challenge. Remote sensing, especially satellite data, has been widely used as a solution to resolve the broad scale estimation of carbon flux by upscaling the point measurements of eddy covariance (EC) technique. However, critical gaps remain between the EC observations and coarse satellite data due to the scale mismatch. In this regard, it is necessary to build a network of in situ optical observations to bridge the scale-mismatch between EC measurements and satellite remote sensing data. Internationally, a few networks have already been established (e.g., SpecNet and EuroSpec), but still at its early stage. ChinaSpec is a network of linking in situ spectral measurements, especially sun-induce chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), with point EC observations for better understanding the interactions of atmosphere-biosphere. One main focus of ChinsSpec is to conduct continuous field SIF measurements at multiple EC sites across the mainland of China. This will help us better understand the mechanics of SIF and photosynthesis, and resolve the missing gaps between recent SIF retrievals from coarse satellite data and EC observations. In this presentation, we introduce the background, current stage, and the development of ChinaSpec network.

Upper limit on NUT charge from the observed terrestrial Sagnac effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulbakova, A.; Karimov, R. Kh; Izmailov, R. N.; Nandi, K. K.

2018-06-01

The exact Sagnac delay in the Kerr–Taub–NUT (Newman–Unti–Tamburino) spacetime is derived in the equatorial plane for non-geodesic as well as geodesic circular orbits. The resulting formula, being exact, can be directly applied to motion in the vicinity of any spinning object including black holes but here we are considering only the terrestrial case since observational data are available. The formula reveals that, in the limit of spin , the delay does not vanish. This fact is similar to the non-vanishing of Lense–Thirring precession under even though the two effects originate from different premises. Assuming a reasonable input that the Kerr–Taub–NUT corrections are subsumed in the average residual uncertainty in the measured Sagnac delay, we compute upper limits on the NUT charge n. It is found that the upper limits on n are far larger than the Earth’s gravitational mass, which has not been detected in observations, implying that the Sagnac effect cannot constrain n to smaller values near zero. We find a curious difference between the delays for non-geodesic and geodesic clock orbits and point out its implication for the well known ‘twin paradox’ of special relativity.

Measuring neutron star tidal deformability with Advanced LIGO: A Bayesian analysis of neutron star-black hole binary observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Prayush; Pürrer, Michael; Pfeiffer, Harald P.

2017-02-01

The pioneering discovery of gravitational waves (GWs) by Advanced LIGO has ushered us into an era of observational GW astrophysics. Compact binaries remain the primary target sources for GW observation, of which neutron star-black hole (NSBH) binaries form an important subset. GWs from NSBH sources carry signatures of (a) the tidal distortion of the neutron star by its companion black hole during inspiral, and (b) its potential tidal disruption near merger. In this paper, we present a Bayesian study of the measurability of neutron star tidal deformability ΛNS∝(R /M )NS5 using observation(s) of inspiral-merger GW signals from disruptive NSBH coalescences, taking into account the crucial effect of black hole spins. First, we find that if nontidal templates are used to estimate source parameters for an NSBH signal, the bias introduced in the estimation of nontidal physical parameters will only be significant for loud signals with signal-to-noise ratios greater than ≃30 . For similarly loud signals, we also find that we can begin to put interesting constraints on ΛNS (factor of 1-2) with individual observations. Next, we study how a population of realistic NSBH detections will improve our measurement of neutron star tidal deformability. For an astrophysically likely population of disruptive NSBH coalescences, we find that 20-35 events are sufficient to constrain ΛNS within ±25 %- 50 % , depending on the neutron star equation of state. For these calculations we assume that LIGO will detect black holes with masses within the astrophysical mass gap. In case the mass gap remains preserved in NSBHs detected by LIGO, we estimate that approximately 25% additional detections will furnish comparable ΛNS measurement accuracy. In both cases, we find that it is the loudest 5-10 events that provide most of the tidal information, and not the combination of tens of low-SNR events, thereby facilitating targeted numerical-GR follow-ups of NSBHs. We find these results

Low-Energy Electron Effects on the Polar Wind Observed by the POLAR Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horwitz, J. L.; Su, Y.-J.; Dors, E. E.; Moore, Thomas E.; Giles, Barbara L.; Chandler, Michael O.; Craven, Paul D.; Chang, S.-W.; Scudder, J.

1998-01-01

Large ion outflow velocity variation at POLAR apogee have been observed. The observed H+ flow velocities were in the range of 23-110 km/s and 0+ flow velocities were in the range of 5-25 km/s. These velocity ranges lie between those predicted by simulations of the photoelectron-driven polar wind and "baseline" polar wind. The electric current contributions of the photoelectrons and polar rain are expected to control the size and altitude of an electric potential drop which accelerates the polar wind at relatively high altitudes. In this presentation, we compare polar wind characteristics observed near 5000 km and 8 RE altitudes by the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment (TIDE) with measurements of low-energy electrons sampled by HYDRA, both from the POLAR spacecraft, to examine possible effects of the polar rain and photoelectrons on the polar wind. Both correlations and anti-correlations are found between the polar wind velocities and the polar rain fluxes at POLAR apogee during different polar cap crossings. Also, the low-altitude upward/downward photoelectron spectra are used to estimates the potential drops above the spacecraft. We interpret these observations in terms of the effects that both photoelectrons and polar rain may have on the electric potential and polar wind acceleration along polar cap magnetic field lines.

Admittance measurements in the quantum Hall effect regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández, C.; Consejo, C.; Chaubet, C.

2014-11-01

In this work we present an admittance study of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the quantum Hall effect (QHE) regime. We have studied several Hall bars in different contacts configurations in the frequency range 100 Hz-1 MHz. Our interpretation is based on the Landauer-Büttiker theory and takes into account both the capacitance and the topology of the coaxial cables which are connected to the sample holder. We show that we always observe losses through the capacitive impedance of the coaxial cables, except in the two contacts configuration in which the cable capacitance does not influence the admittance measurement of the sample. In this case, we measure the electrochemical capacitance of the 2DEG and show its dependence with the filling factor ν.

Observational attachment theory-based parenting measures predict children's attachment narratives independently from social learning theory-based measures.

PubMed

Matias, Carla; O'Connor, Thomas G; Futh, Annabel; Scott, Stephen

2014-01-01

Conceptually and methodologically distinct models exist for assessing quality of parent-child relationships, but few studies contrast competing models or assess their overlap in predicting developmental outcomes. Using observational methodology, the current study examined the distinctiveness of attachment theory-based and social learning theory-based measures of parenting in predicting two key measures of child adjustment: security of attachment narratives and social acceptance in peer nominations. A total of 113 5-6-year-old children from ethnically diverse families participated. Parent-child relationships were rated using standard paradigms. Measures derived from attachment theory included sensitive responding and mutuality; measures derived from social learning theory included positive attending, directives, and criticism. Child outcomes were independently-rated attachment narrative representations and peer nominations. Results indicated that Attachment theory-based and Social Learning theory-based measures were modestly correlated; nonetheless, parent-child mutuality predicted secure child attachment narratives independently of social learning theory-based measures; in contrast, criticism predicted peer-nominated fighting independently of attachment theory-based measures. In young children, there is some evidence that attachment theory-based measures may be particularly predictive of attachment narratives; however, no single model of measuring parent-child relationships is likely to best predict multiple developmental outcomes. Assessment in research and applied settings may benefit from integration of different theoretical and methodological paradigms.

Zeeman Effect observations toward 36 GHz methanol masers in the Galactic Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potvin, Justin A.; Momjian, Emmanuel; Pratim Sarma, Anuj

2017-01-01

We present observations of 36 GHz Class I methanol masers taken with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in the B configuration with the aim of detecting the Zeeman Effect. We targeted several 36 GHz Class I methanol masers associated with supernova remnants (SNRs) toward the Galactic Center. Each source was observed in dual circular polarizations for three hours. The observed spectral profiles of the masers are complex, with several components blended in velocity. In only one case was the Stokes V maser profile prominent enough to reveal a 2-sigma hint of a magnetic field of zBlos = 14.56 +/- 5.60 Hz; we have chosen to express our results in terms of zBlos since the Zeeman splitting factor (z) for 36 GHz methanol masers has not been measured. There are several hints that these spectra would reveal significant magnetic fields if they could be spatially and spectrally resolved.

Made-to-measure modelling of observed galaxy dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bovy, Jo; Kawata, Daisuke; Hunt, Jason A. S.

2018-01-01

Amongst dynamical modelling techniques, the made-to-measure (M2M) method for modelling steady-state systems is amongst the most flexible, allowing non-parametric distribution functions in complex gravitational potentials to be modelled efficiently using N-body particles. Here, we propose and test various improvements to the standard M2M method for modelling observed data, illustrated using the simple set-up of a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator. We demonstrate that nuisance parameters describing the modelled system's orientation with respect to the observer - e.g. an external galaxy's inclination or the Sun's position in the Milky Way - as well as the parameters of an external gravitational field can be optimized simultaneously with the particle weights. We develop a method for sampling from the high-dimensional uncertainty distribution of the particle weights. We combine this in a Gibbs sampler with samplers for the nuisance and potential parameters to explore the uncertainty distribution of the full set of parameters. We illustrate our M2M improvements by modelling the vertical density and kinematics of F-type stars in Gaia DR1. The novel M2M method proposed here allows full probabilistic modelling of steady-state dynamical systems, allowing uncertainties on the non-parametric distribution function and on nuisance parameters to be taken into account when constraining the dark and baryonic masses of stellar systems.

Deriving brown carbon from multiwavelength absorption measurements: Method and application to AERONET and Aethalometer observations

DOE PAGES

Wang, X.; Heald, C. L.; Sedlacek, A.; ...

2016-10-13

The radiative impact of organic aerosols (OA) is a large source of uncertainty in estimating the global direct radiative effect (DRE) of aerosols. This radiative impact includes not only light scattering but also light absorption from a subclass of OA referred to as brown carbon (BrC). However the absorption properties of BrC are poorly understood leading to large uncertainties in modelling studies. To obtain observational constraints from measurements, a simple Absorption Ångström Exponent (AAE) method is often used to separate the contribution of BrC absorption from that of black carbon (BC). However, this attribution method is based on assumptions regardingmore » the spectral dependence of BC that are often violated in the ambient atmosphere. Here we develop a new method that decreases the uncertainties associated with estimating BrC absorption. By applying this method to multi-wavelength absorption aerosol optical depth (AAOD) measurements at AERONET sites worldwide and surface aerosol absorption measurements at multiple ambient sites, we estimate that BrC globally contributes 6-40% of the absorption at 440nm. We find that the mass absorption coefficient of OA (OA-MAC) is positively correlated with BC/OA mass ratio. Based on the variability of BC properties and BC/OA emission ratio, we estimate a range of 0.05-1.2 m 2/g for OA-MAC at 440nm. Using the combination of AERONET and OMI UV absorption observations we estimate that the AAE 388/440nm for BrC is generally ~4 world-wide, with a smaller value in Europe (< 2). Our analyses of two surface sites (Cape Cod, to the southeast of Boston, and the GoAmazon2014/5 T3 site, to the west of Manaus, Brazil) reveal no significant relationship between BrC absorptivity and photochemical aging in typical urban influenced conditions. However, the absorption of BrC measured during the biomass burning season near Manaus is found to decrease with photochemical aging with a lifetime of ~1 day. This lifetime is comparable to

Estimating the effectiveness of early control measures through school absenteeism surveillance in observed outbreaks at rural schools in Hubei, China.

PubMed

Fan, Yunzhou; Yang, Mei; Jiang, Hongbo; Wang, Ying; Yang, Wenwen; Zhang, Zhixia; Yan, Weirong; Diwan, Vinod K; Xu, Biao; Dong, Hengjin; Palm, Lars; Liu, Li; Nie, Shaofa

2014-01-01

School absenteeism is a common data source in syndromic surveillance, which allows for the detection of outbreaks at an early stage. Previous studies focused on its correlation with other data sources. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of control measures based on early warning signals from school absenteeism surveillance in rural Chinese schools. A school absenteeism surveillance system was established in all 17 primary schools in 3 adjacent towns in the Chinese region of Hubei. Three outbreaks (varicella, mumps, and influenza-like illness) were detected and controlled successfully from April 1, 2012, to January 15, 2014. An impulse susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model was used to fit the epidemics of these three outbreaks. Moreover, it simulated the potential epidemics under interventions resulting from traditional surveillance signals. The effectiveness of the absenteeism-based control measures was evaluated by comparing the simulated datasets. The school absenteeism system generated 52 signals. Three outbreaks were verified through epidemiological investigation. Compared to traditional surveillance, the school absenteeism system generated simultaneous signals for the varicella outbreak, but 3 days in advance for the mumps outbreak and 2-4 days in advance for the influenza-like illness outbreak. The estimated excess protection rates of control measures based on early signals were 0.0%, 19.0-44.1%, and 29.0-37.0% for the three outbreaks, respectively. Although not all outbreak control measures can benefit from early signals through school absenteeism surveillance, the effectiveness of early signal-based interventions is obvious. School absenteeism surveillance plays an important role in reducing outbreak spread.

Direct Radiative Effect of Aerosols Based on PARASOL and OMI Satellite Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lacagnina, Carlo; Hasekamp, Otto P.; Torres, Omar

2017-01-01

Accurate portrayal of the aerosol characteristics is crucial to determine aerosol contribution to the Earth's radiation budget. We employ novel satellite retrievals to make a new measurement-based estimate of the shortwave direct radiative effect of aerosols (DREA), both over land and ocean. Global satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth, single-scattering albedo (SSA), and phase function from PARASOL (Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar) are used in synergy with OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) SSA. Aerosol information is combined with land-surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function and cloud characteristics from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite products. Eventual gaps in observations are filled with the state-of-the-art global aerosol model ECHAM5-HAM2. It is found that our estimate of DREA is largely insensitive to model choice. Radiative transfer calculations show that DREA at top-of-atmosphere is -4.6 +/- 1.5 W/sq m for cloud-free and -2.1 +/- 0.7 W/sq m for all-sky conditions, during year 2006. These fluxes are consistent with, albeit generally less negative over ocean than, former assessments. Unlike previous studies, our estimate is constrained by retrievals of global coverage SSA, which may justify different DREA values. Remarkable consistency is found in comparison with DREA based on CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System) and MODIS observations.

Observation of the continuous stern-gerlach effect on an electron bound in an atomic Ion

PubMed

Hermanspahn; Haffner; Kluge; Quint; Stahl; Verdu; Werth

2000-01-17

We report on the first observation of the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect on an electron bound in an atomic ion. The measurement was performed on a single hydrogenlike ion ( 12C5+) in a Penning trap. The measured g factor of the bound electron, g = 2.001 042(2), is in excellent agreement with the theoretical value, confirming the relativistic correction at a level of 0.1%. This proves the possibility of g-factor determinations on atomic ions to high precision by using the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect. The result demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experiments on single heavy highly charged ions to test quantum electrodynamics in the strong electric field of the nucleus.

Observing Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Caused by Tsunamis Using GPS TEC Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galvan, David A.; Komjathy, Attila; Hickey, Michael; Foster, James; Mannucci, Anthony J.

2010-01-01

Ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) show variations consistent with atmospheric internal gravity waves caused by ocean tsunamis following two recent seismic events: the American Samoa earthquake of September 29, 2009, and the Chile earthquake of February 27, 2010. Fluctuations in TEC correlated in time, space, and wave properties with these tsunamis were observed in TEC estimates processed using JPL's Global Ionospheric Mapping Software. These TEC estimates were band-pass filtered to remove ionospheric TEC variations with wavelengths and periods outside the typical range of internal gravity waves caused by tsunamis. Observable variations in TEC appear correlated with the tsunamis in certain locations, but not in others. Where variations are observed, the typical amplitude tends to be on the order of 1% of the background TEC value. Variations with amplitudes 0.1 - 0.2 TECU are observable with periods and timing affiliated with the tsunami. These observations are compared to estimates of expected tsunami-driven TEC variations produced by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Spectral Full Wave Model, an atmosphere-ionosphere coupling model, and found to be in good agreement in some locations, though there are cases when the model predicts an observable tsunami-driven signature and none is observed. These TEC variations are not always seen when a tsunami is present, but in these two events the regions where a strong ocean tsunami was observed did coincide with clear TEC observations, while a lack of clear TEC observations coincided with smaller tsunami amplitudes. There exists the potential to apply these detection techniques to real-time GPS TEC data, providing estimates of tsunami speed and amplitude that may be useful for early warning systems.

An Observational Measure of Children's Behavioural Style: Evidence Supporting a Multi-Method Approach to Studying Temperament

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karp, Jennifer; Serbin, Lisa A.; Stack, Dale M.; Schwartzman, Alex E.

2004-01-01

This study demonstrates the potential utility of the Behavioural Style Observational System (BSOS) as a new observational measure of children's behavioural style. The BSOS is an objective, short and easy to use measure that can be readily adapted to a variety of home and laboratory situations. In the present study, 160 mother-child dyads from the…

Observing Tsunamis in the Ionosphere Using Ground Based GPS Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galvan, D. A.; Komjathy, A.; Song, Y. Tony; Stephens, P.; Hickey, M. P.; Foster, J.

2011-01-01

Ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) show variations consistent with atmospheric internal gravity waves caused by ocean tsunamis following recent seismic events, including the Tohoku tsunami of March 11, 2011. We observe fluctuations correlated in time, space, and wave properties with this tsunami in TEC estimates processed using JPL's Global Ionospheric Mapping Software. These TEC estimates were band-pass filtered to remove ionospheric TEC variations with periods outside the typical range of internal gravity waves caused by tsunamis. Observable variations in TEC appear correlated with the Tohoku tsunami near the epicenter, at Hawaii, and near the west coast of North America. Disturbance magnitudes are 1-10% of the background TEC value. Observations near the epicenter are compared to estimates of expected tsunami-driven TEC variations produced by Embry Riddle Aeronautical University's Spectral Full Wave Model, an atmosphere-ionosphere coupling model, and found to be in good agreement. The potential exists to apply these detection techniques to real-time GPS TEC data, providing estimates of tsunami speed and amplitude that may be useful for future early warning systems.

Observed aerosol effects on marine cloud nucleation and supersaturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, Lynn M.; Sorooshian, Armin; Seinfeld, John H.; Albrecht, Bruce A.; Nenes, Athanasios; Leaitch, W. Richard; Macdonald, Anne Marie; Ahlm, Lars; Chen, Yi-Chun; Coggon, Matthew; Corrigan, Ashley; Craven, Jill S.; Flagan, Richard C.; Frossard, Amanda A.; Hawkins, Lelia N.; Jonsson, Haflidi; Jung, Eunsil; Lin, Jack J.; Metcalf, Andrew R.; Modini, Robin; Mülmenstädt, Johannes; Roberts, Greg C.; Shingler, Taylor; Song, Siwon; Wang, Zhen; Wonaschütz, Anna

2013-05-01

Aerosol particles in the marine boundary layer include primary organic and salt particles from sea spray and combustion-derived particles from ships and coastal cities. These particle types serve as nuclei for marine cloud droplet activation, although the particles that activate depend on the particle size and composition as well as the supersaturation that results from cloud updraft velocities. The Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment (EPEACE) 2011 was a targeted aircraft campaign to assess how different particle types nucleate cloud droplets. As part of E-PEACE 2011, we studied the role of marine particles as cloud droplet nuclei and used emitted particle sources to separate particle-induced feedbacks from dynamical variability. The emitted particle sources included shipboard smoke-generated particles with 0.05-1 μm diameters (which produced tracks measured by satellite and had drop composition characteristic of organic smoke) and combustion particles from container ships with 0.05-0.2 μm diameters (which were measured in a variety of conditions with droplets containing both organic and sulfate components) [1]. Three central aspects of the collaborative E-PEACE results are: (1) the size and chemical composition of the emitted smoke particles compared to ship-track-forming cargo ship emissions as well as background marine particles, with particular attention to the role of organic particles, (2) the characteristics of cloud track formation for smoke and cargo ships, as well as the role of multi-layered low clouds, and (3) the implications of these findings for quantifying aerosol indirect effects. For comparison with the E-PEACE results, the preliminary results of the Stratocumulus Observations of Los-Angeles Emissions Derived Aerosol-Droplets (SOLEDAD) 2012 provided evidence of the cloud-nucleating roles of both marine organic particles and coastal urban pollution, with simultaneous measurements of the effective supersaturations of the clouds in the

Lewis and Clark's observations and measurements of geomorphology and hydrology, and changes with time

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moody, John A.; Meade, Robert H.; Jones, David R.

2003-01-01

Two VERY different men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, joined to J, ~ake the first recorded set of scientific observations and measurements of geomorphology and hydrology west of the Mississippi River. They did not limit themselves to these two scientific topics but were true naturalists, making observations and measurements related to astronomy (Large, 1979; Bedini, 1984; Plamondon, 1991; Bergantino, 1998), biology (Cutright, 1969), ecology, ethnology (Ronda, 1984a), geology (Bluemle, 2001; Bergantino, 1998), and phenology, as well as to the general geographical understanding of the arrangements of rivers and other topographical features of the trans-Mississippi West (Allen, 1975) .

Metrological challenges for measurements of key climatological observables Part 2: oceanic salinity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlowicz, R.; Feistel, R.; McDougall, T. J.; Ridout, P.; Seitz, S.; Wolf, H.

2016-02-01

Salinity is a key variable in the modelling and observation of ocean circulation and ocean-atmosphere fluxes of heat and water. In this paper, we examine the climatological relevance of ocean salinity, noting fundamental deficiencies in the definition of this key observable, and its lack of a secure foundation in the International System of Units, the SI. The metrological history of salinity is reviewed, problems with its current definitions and measurement practices are analysed, and options for future improvements are discussed in conjunction with the recent seawater standard TEOS-10.

Nulling Hall-Effect Current-Measuring Circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullender, Craig C.; Vazquez, Juan M.; Berru, Robert I.

1993-01-01

Circuit measures electrical current via combination of Hall-effect-sensing and magnetic-field-nulling techniques. Known current generated by feedback circuit adjusted until it causes cancellation or near cancellation of magnetic field produced in toroidal ferrite core by current measured. Remaining magnetic field measured by Hall-effect sensor. Circuit puts out analog signal and digital signal proportional to current measured. Accuracy of measurement does not depend on linearity of sensing components.

Spectrometeric measurements of vertical profile and column abundance of NO2 at Zvenigorod, Russia: Fourteen years of observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gruzdev, A.; Elokhov, A.

Since 1990, NO2 measurements are carried out at Zvenigorod Research Station (56°N, 37°E), Moscow region, with the help of zenith viewing spectrophotometer in spectral range 435-450 nm. The instrument and method of observations were verified in comparison campaigns within the framework of the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change. Measurements are done during morning and evening twilight at solar zenith angles 84-96°. Slant column NO2 abundances are derived from observed spectra taking into account O3 and NO2 absorption, single molecular and aerosol scattering, and the Ring effect. The NO2 abundances in the vertical column as well as vertical NO2 profiles are derived as solution of inverse mathematical problem (with Chahine method) using a spherical single scattering model and a one-dimensional photochemical model. Derived quantities are (1) NO2 abundances within 5-km thick layers in the stratosphere and troposphere, (2) NO2 abundance in the thin atmospheric near-surface layer and (3) columnar NO2 abundances in the troposphere (0-10 km) and the stratosphere (10-50 km) as integrals over appropriate layers. Results of measurements show variability of stratospheric and tropospheric NO2 at different time scales from the diurnal to the interannual scale. Out of the period affected by the Pinatubo eruption (1992-1994), a general decline of the stratospheric column NO2 abundance is occurring, superimposed by interannual variations. A linear, statistically significant, negative annual trend of about 12% per decade has been detected for both morning and evening stratospheric column NO2 abundances. For interpretation of the observed trend, a simple photochemical model is used, which takes into account the observed changes in N2O and stratospheric ozone abundances, and in temperature. The estimated model trend of the stratospheric column NO2 abundance in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere is about -5% per decade, which is less than observed. Dynamical variability

Experiments and hands-on activities for geoscience observing and measuring by using low-priced instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, S. S.; Lin, Y. Y.; Tang-Iunn, S. S.

2016-12-01

In this presentation, we will introduce five experiments and hands-on activities for geoscience observing and measuring by using low-priced and small-sized commercial instruments. The Black Box for Environmental Measuring (BBEM) system is based on Arduino platform, low-power consumption sensors are employed to measure meteorological and environmental parameters. Commercial GPS receiver is used to observe the influence of geomagnetic storms on GPS system. Webcam is an accessible instrument which is suitable for detecting and recording sprites, thunders, and the development of cumulonimbus. Real-time flight trackers and websites are employed to determine the altitude of cloud base. A simple VLF receiver is built by using the audio interface on computer, and the observed signals showed the variations of the D-region of the ionosphere. All these experiments and activities are practical and have been applied in classroom and science outreach in Taiwan.

Direct observation of the skyrmion Hall effect

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Wanjun; Zhang, Xichao; Yu, Guoqiang; ...

2016-09-19

The well-known Hall effect describes the transverse deflection of charged particles (electrons/holes) as a result of the Lorentz force. Similarly, it is intriguing to examine if quasi-particles without an electric charge, but with a topological charge, show related transverse motion. Magnetic skyrmions with a well-defined spin texture with a unit topological charge serve as good candidates to test this hypothesis. In spite of the recent progress made on investigating magnetic skyrmions, direct observation of the skyrmion Hall effect has remained elusive. Here, by using a current-induced spin Hall spin torque, we experimentally demonstrate the skyrmion Hall effect, and the resultantmore » skyrmion accumulation, by driving skyrmions from the creep-motion regime (where their dynamics are influenced by pinning defects) into the steady-flow-motion regime. Lastly, the experimental observation of transverse transport of skyrmions due to topological charge may potentially create many exciting opportunities, such as topological selection.« less

Direct observation of the skyrmion Hall effect

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

Jiang, Wanjun; Zhang, Xichao; Yu, Guoqiang

The well-known Hall effect describes the transverse deflection of charged particles (electrons/holes) as a result of the Lorentz force. Similarly, it is intriguing to examine if quasi-particles without an electric charge, but with a topological charge, show related transverse motion. Magnetic skyrmions with a well-defined spin texture with a unit topological charge serve as good candidates to test this hypothesis. In spite of the recent progress made on investigating magnetic skyrmions, direct observation of the skyrmion Hall effect has remained elusive. Here, by using a current-induced spin Hall spin torque, we experimentally demonstrate the skyrmion Hall effect, and the resultantmore » skyrmion accumulation, by driving skyrmions from the creep-motion regime (where their dynamics are influenced by pinning defects) into the steady-flow-motion regime. Lastly, the experimental observation of transverse transport of skyrmions due to topological charge may potentially create many exciting opportunities, such as topological selection.« less

The effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on VLBI measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Treuhaft, R. N.; Lanyi, G. E.

1986-01-01

Calculations using a statistical model of water vapor fluctuations yield the effect of the dynamic wet troposphere on Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) measurements. The statistical model arises from two primary assumptions: (1) the spatial structure of refractivity fluctuations can be closely approximated by elementary (Kolmogorov) turbulence theory, and (2) temporal fluctuations are caused by spatial patterns which are moved over a site by the wind. The consequences of these assumptions are outlined for the VLBI delay and delay rate observables. For example, wet troposphere induced rms delays for Deep Space Network (DSN) VLBI at 20-deg elevation are about 3 cm of delay per observation, which is smaller, on the average, than other known error sources in the current DSN VLBI data set. At 20-deg elevation for 200-s time intervals, water vapor induces approximately 1.5 x 10 to the minus 13th power s/s in the Allan standard deviation of interferometric delay, which is a measure of the delay rate observable error. In contrast to the delay error, the delay rate measurement error is dominated by water vapor fluctuations. Water vapor induced VLBI parameter errors and correlations are calculated. For the DSN, baseline length parameter errors due to water vapor fluctuations are in the range of 3 to 5 cm. The above physical assumptions also lead to a method for including the water vapor fluctuations in the parameter estimation procedure, which is used to extract baseline and source information from the VLBI observables.

Estimating the Effectiveness of Early Control Measures through School Absenteeism Surveillance in Observed Outbreaks at Rural Schools in Hubei, China

PubMed Central

Fan, Yunzhou; Yang, Mei; Jiang, Hongbo; Wang, Ying; Yang, Wenwen; Zhang, Zhixia; Yan, Weirong; Diwan, Vinod K.; Xu, Biao; Dong, Hengjin; Palm, Lars; Liu, Li; Nie, Shaofa

2014-01-01

Background School absenteeism is a common data source in syndromic surveillance, which allows for the detection of outbreaks at an early stage. Previous studies focused on its correlation with other data sources. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of control measures based on early warning signals from school absenteeism surveillance in rural Chinese schools. Methods A school absenteeism surveillance system was established in all 17 primary schools in 3 adjacent towns in the Chinese region of Hubei. Three outbreaks (varicella, mumps, and influenza-like illness) were detected and controlled successfully from April 1, 2012, to January 15, 2014. An impulse susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered model was used to fit the epidemics of these three outbreaks. Moreover, it simulated the potential epidemics under interventions resulting from traditional surveillance signals. The effectiveness of the absenteeism-based control measures was evaluated by comparing the simulated datasets. Results The school absenteeism system generated 52 signals. Three outbreaks were verified through epidemiological investigation. Compared to traditional surveillance, the school absenteeism system generated simultaneous signals for the varicella outbreak, but 3 days in advance for the mumps outbreak and 2–4 days in advance for the influenza-like illness outbreak. The estimated excess protection rates of control measures based on early signals were 0.0%, 19.0–44.1%, and 29.0–37.0% for the three outbreaks, respectively. Conclusions Although not all outbreak control measures can benefit from early signals through school absenteeism surveillance, the effectiveness of early signal-based interventions is obvious. School absenteeism surveillance plays an important role in reducing outbreak spread. PMID:25250786

Emotion dysregulation and dyadic conflict in depressed and typical adolescents: Evaluating concordance across psychophysiological and observational measures

PubMed Central

Crowell, Sheila E.; Baucom, Brian R.; Yaptangco, Mona; Bride, Daniel; Hsiao, Ray; McCauley, Elizabeth; Beauchaine, Theodore P.

2014-01-01

Many depressed adolescents experience difficulty regulating their emotions. These emotion regulation difficulties appear to emerge in part from socialization processes within families and then generalize to other contexts. However, emotion dysregulation is typically assessed within the individual, rather than in the social relationships that shape and maintain dysregulation. In this study, we evaluated concordance of physiological and observational measures of emotion dysregulation during interpersonal conflict, using a multilevel actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). Participants were 75 mother-daughter dyads, including 50 depressed adolescents with or without a history of self-injury, and 25 typically developing controls. Behavior dysregulation was operationalized as observed aversiveness during a conflict discussion, and physiological dysregulation was indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Results revealed different patterns of concordance for control versus depressed participants. Controls evidenced a concordant partner (between-person) effect, and showed increased physiological regulation during minutes when their partner was more aversive. In contrast, clinical dyad members displayed a concordant actor (within-person) effect, becoming simultaneously physiologically and behaviorally dysregulated. Results inform current understanding of emotion dysregulation across multiple levels of analysis. PMID:24607894

Effective Measures of Continuing Education

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

with increased participation in charitable or public service activities. The percentage of people who donate their time to organizations and the... Effective Measures of Continuing Education by Colonel Morris A. Turner United States Army United...STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT .33 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Effective Measures of Continuing Education 5a. CONTRACT

Networked high-speed auroral observations combined with radar measurements for multi-scale insights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirsch, M.; Semeter, J. L.

2015-12-01

Networks of ground-based instruments to study terrestrial aurora for the purpose of analyzing particle precipitation characteristics driving the aurora have been established. Additional funding is pouring into future ground-based auroral observation networks consisting of combinations of tossable, portable, and fixed installation ground-based legacy equipment. Our approach to this problem using the High Speed Tomography (HiST) system combines tightly-synchronized filtered auroral optical observations capturing temporal features of order 10 ms with supporting measurements from incoherent scatter radar (ISR). ISR provides a broader spatial context up to order 100 km laterally on one minute time scales, while our camera field of view (FOV) is chosen to be order 10 km at auroral altitudes in order to capture 100 m scale lateral auroral features. The dual-scale observations of ISR and HiST fine-scale optical observations may be coupled through a physical model using linear basis functions to estimate important ionospheric quantities such as electron number density in 3-D (time, perpendicular and parallel to the geomagnetic field).Field measurements and analysis using HiST and PFISR are presented from experiments conducted at the Poker Flat Research Range in central Alaska. Other multiscale configuration candidates include supplementing networks of all-sky cameras such as THEMIS with co-locations of HiST-like instruments to fuse wide FOV measurements with the fine-scale HiST precipitation characteristic estimates. Candidate models for this coupling include GLOW and TRANSCAR. Future extensions of this work may include incorporating line of sight total electron count estimates from ground-based networks of GPS receivers in a sensor fusion problem.

Observation of the decay Bc+/--->J/psipi+/- and measurement of the Bc+/- mass.

PubMed

Aaltonen, T; Adelman, J; Akimoto, T; Albrow, M G; Alvarez González, B; Amerio, S; Amidei, D; Anastassov, A; Annovi, A; Antos, J; Aoki, M; Apollinari, G; Apresyan, A; Arisawa, T; Artikov, A; Ashmanskas, W; Attal, A; Aurisano, A; Azfar, F; Azzi-Bacchetta, P; Azzurri, P; Bacchetta, N; Badgett, W; Barbaro-Galtieri, A; Barnes, V E; Barnett, B A; Baroiant, S; Bartsch, V; Bauer, G; Beauchemin, P-H; Bedeschi, F; Bednar, P; Behari, S; Bellettini, G; Bellinger, J; Belloni, A; Benjamin, D; Beretvas, A; Beringer, J; Berry, T; Bhatti, A; Binkley, M; Bisello, D; Bizjak, I; Blair, R E; Blocker, C; Blumenfeld, B; Bocci, A; Bodek, A; Boisvert, V; Bolla, G; Bolshov, A; Bortoletto, D; Boudreau, J; Boveia, A; Brau, B; Bridgeman, A; Brigliadori, L; Bromberg, C; Brubaker, E; Budagov, J; Budd, H S; Budd, S; Burkett, K; Busetto, G; Bussey, P; Buzatu, A; Byrum, K L; Cabrera, S; Campanelli, M; Campbell, M; Canelli, F; Canepa, A; Carlsmith, D; Carosi, R; Carrillo, S; Carron, S; Casal, B; Casarsa, M; Castro, A; Catastini, P; Cauz, D; Cavalli-Sforza, M; Cerri, A; Cerrito, L; Chang, S H; Chen, Y C; Chertok, M; Chiarelli, G; Chlachidze, G; Chlebana, F; Cho, K; Chokheli, D; Chou, J P; Choudalakis, G; Chuang, S H; Chung, K; Chung, W H; Chung, Y S; Ciobanu, C I; Ciocci, M A; Clark, A; Clark, D; Compostella, G; Convery, M E; Conway, J; Cooper, B; Copic, K; Cordelli, M; Cortiana, G; Crescioli, F; Cuenca Almenar, C; Cuevas, J; Culbertson, R; Cully, J C; Dagenhart, D; Datta, M; Davies, T; de Barbaro, P; De Cecco, S; Deisher, A; De Lentdecker, G; De Lorenzo, G; Dell'Orso, M; Demortier, L; Deng, J; Deninno, M; De Pedis, D; Derwent, P F; Di Giovanni, G P; Dionisi, C; Di Ruzza, B; Dittmann, J R; D'Onofrio, M; Donati, S; Dong, P; Donini, J; Dorigo, T; Dube, S; Efron, J; Erbacher, R; Errede, D; Errede, S; Eusebi, R; Fang, H C; Farrington, S; Fedorko, W T; Feild, R G; Feindt, M; Fernandez, J P; Ferrazza, C; Field, R; Flanagan, G; Forrest, R; Forrester, S; Franklin, M; Freeman, J C; Furic, I; Gallinaro, M; Galyardt, J; Garberson, F; Garcia, J E; Garfinkel, A F; Genser, K; Gerberich, H; Gerdes, D; Giagu, S; Giakoumopolou, V; Giannetti, P; Gibson, K; Gimmell, J L; Ginsburg, C M; Giokaris, N; Giordani, M; Giromini, P; Giunta, M; Glagolev, V; Glenzinski, D; Gold, M; Goldschmidt, N; Golossanov, A; Gomez, G; Gomez-Ceballos, G; Goncharov, M; González, O; Gorelov, I; Goshaw, A T; Goulianos, K; Gresele, A; Grinstein, S; Grosso-Pilcher, C; Grundler, U; Guimaraes da Costa, J; Gunay-Unalan, Z; Haber, C; Hahn, K; Hahn, S R; Halkiadakis, E; Hamilton, A; Han, B-Y; Han, J Y; Handler, R; Happacher, F; Hara, K; Hare, D; Hare, M; Harper, S; Harr, R F; Harris, R M; Hartz, M; Hatakeyama, K; Hauser, J; Hays, C; Heck, M; Heijboer, A; Heinemann, B; Heinrich, J; Henderson, C; Herndon, M; Heuser, J; Hewamanage, S; Hidas, D; Hill, C S; Hirschbuehl, D; Hocker, A; Hou, S; Houlden, M; Hsu, S-C; Huffman, B T; Hughes, R E; Husemann, U; Huston, J; Incandela, J; Introzzi, G; Iori, M; Ivanov, A; Iyutin, B; James, E; Jayatilaka, B; Jeans, D; Jeon, E J; Jindariani, S; Johnson, W; Jones, M; Joo, K K; Jun, S Y; Jung, J E; Junk, T R; Kamon, T; Kar, D; Karchin, P E; Kato, Y; Kephart, R; Kerzel, U; Khotilovich, V; Kilminster, B; Kim, D H; Kim, H S; Kim, J E; Kim, M J; Kim, S B; Kim, S H; Kim, Y K; Kimura, N; Kirsch, L; Klimenko, S; Klute, M; Knuteson, B; Ko, B R; Koay, S A; Kondo, K; Kong, D J; Konigsberg, J; Korytov, A; Kotwal, A V; Kraus, J; Kreps, M; Kroll, J; Krumnack, N; Kruse, M; Krutelyov, V; Kubo, T; Kuhlmann, S E; Kuhr, T; Kulkarni, N P; Kusakabe, Y; Kwang, S; Laasanen, A T; Lai, S; Lami, S; Lammel, S; Lancaster, M; Lander, R L; Lannon, K; Lath, A; Latino, G; Lazzizzera, I; Lecompte, T; Lee, J; Lee, J; Lee, Y J; Lee, S W; Lefèvre, R; Leonardo, N; Leone, S; Levy, S; Lewis, J D; Lin, C; Lin, C S; Linacre, J; Lindgren, M; Lipeles, E; Lister, A; Litvintsev, D O; Liu, T; Lockyer, N S; Loginov, A; Loreti, M; Lovas, L; Lu, R-S; Lucchesi, D; Lueck, J; Luci, C; Lujan, P; Lukens, P; Lungu, G; Lyons, L; Lys, J; Lysak, R; Lytken, E; Mack, P; Macqueen, D; Madrak, R; Maeshima, K; Makhoul, K; Maki, T; Maksimovic, P; Malde, S; Malik, S; Manca, G; Manousakis, A; Margaroli, F; Marino, C; Marino, C P; Martin, A; Martin, M; Martin, V; Martínez, M; Martínez-Ballarín, R; Maruyama, T; Mastrandrea, P; Masubuchi, T; Mattson, M E; Mazzanti, P; McFarland, K S; McIntyre, P; McNulty, R; Mehta, A; Mehtala, P; Menzemer, S; Menzione, A; Merkel, P; Mesropian, C; Messina, A; Miao, T; Miladinovic, N; Miles, J; Miller, R; Mills, C; Milnik, M; Mitra, A; Mitselmakher, G; Miyake, H; Moed, S; Moggi, N; Moon, C S; Moore, R; Morello, M; Movilla Fernandez, P; Mülmenstädt, J; Mukherjee, A; Muller, Th; Mumford, R; Murat, P; Mussini, M; Nachtman, J; Nagai, Y; Nagano, A; Naganoma, J; Nakamura, K; Nakano, I; Napier, A; Necula, V; Neu, C; Neubauer, M S; Nielsen, J; Nodulman, L; Norman, M; Norniella, O; Nurse, E; Oh, S H; Oh, Y D; Oksuzian, I; Okusawa, T; Oldeman, R; Orava, R; Osterberg, K; Pagan Griso, S; Pagliarone, C; Palencia, E; Papadimitriou, V; Papaikonomou, A; Paramonov, A A; Parks, B; Pashapour, S; Patrick, J; Pauletta, G; Paulini, M; Paus, C; Pellett, D E; Penzo, A; Phillips, T J; Piacentino, G; Piedra, J; Pinera, L; Pitts, K; Plager, C; Pondrom, L; Portell, X; Poukhov, O; Pounder, N; Prakoshyn, F; Pronko, A; Proudfoot, J; Ptohos, F; Punzi, G; Pursley, J; Rademacker, J; Rahaman, A; Ramakrishnan, V; Ranjan, N; Redondo, I; Reisert, B; Rekovic, V; Renton, P; Rescigno, M; Richter, S; Rimondi, F; Ristori, L; Robson, A; Rodrigo, T; Rogers, E; Rolli, S; Roser, R; Rossi, M; Rossin, R; Roy, P; Ruiz, A; Russ, J; Rusu, V; Saarikko, H; Safonov, A; Sakumoto, W K; Salamanna, G; Saltó, O; Santi, L; Sarkar, S; Sartori, L; Sato, K; Savoy-Navarro, A; Scheidle, T; Schlabach, P; Schmidt, E E; Schmidt, M A; Schmidt, M P; Schmitt, M; Schwarz, T; Scodellaro, L; Scott, A L; Scribano, A; Scuri, F; Sedov, A; Seidel, S; Seiya, Y; Semenov, A; Sexton-Kennedy, L; Sfyria, A; Shalhout, S Z; Shapiro, M D; Shears, T; Shepard, P F; Sherman, D; Shimojima, M; Shochet, M; Shon, Y; Shreyber, I; Sidoti, A; Sinervo, P; Sisakyan, A; Slaughter, A J; Slaunwhite, J; Sliwa, K; Smith, J R; Snider, F D; Snihur, R; Soderberg, M; Soha, A; Somalwar, S; Sorin, V; Spalding, J; Spinella, F; Spreitzer, T; Squillacioti, P; Stanitzki, M; St Denis, R; Stelzer, B; Stelzer-Chilton, O; Stentz, D; Strologas, J; Stuart, D; Suh, J S; Sukhanov, A; Sun, H; Suslov, I; Suzuki, T; Taffard, A; Takashima, R; Takeuchi, Y; Tanaka, R; Tecchio, M; Teng, P K; Terashi, K; Thom, J; Thompson, A S; Thompson, G A; Thomson, E; Tipton, P; Tiwari, V; Tkaczyk, S; Toback, D; Tokar, S; Tollefson, K; Tomura, T; Tonelli, D; Torre, S; Torretta, D; Tourneur, S; Trischuk, W; Tu, Y; Turini, N; Ukegawa, F; Uozumi, S; Vallecorsa, S; van Remortel, N; Varganov, A; Vataga, E; Vázquez, F; Velev, G; Vellidis, C; Veszpremi, V; Vidal, M; Vidal, R; Vila, I; Vilar, R; Vine, T; Vogel, M; Volobouev, I; Volpi, G; Würthwein, F; Wagner, P; Wagner, R G; Wagner, R L; Wagner-Kuhr, J; Wagner, W; Wakisaka, T; Wallny, R; Wang, S M; Warburton, A; Waters, D; Weinberger, M; Wester, W C; Whitehouse, B; Whiteson, D; Wicklund, A B; Wicklund, E; Williams, G; Williams, H H; Wilson, P; Winer, B L; Wittich, P; Wolbers, S; Wolfe, C; Wright, T; Wu, X; Wynne, S M; Yagil, A; Yamamoto, K; Yamaoka, J; Yamashita, T; Yang, C; Yang, U K; Yang, Y C; Yao, W M; Yeh, G P; Yoh, J; Yorita, K; Yoshida, T; Yu, G B; Yu, I; Yu, S S; Yun, J C; Zanello, L; Zanetti, A; Zaw, I; Zhang, X; Zheng, Y; Zucchelli, S

2008-05-09

The Bc+/- meson is observed through the decay Bc+/--->J/psipi+/-, in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.4 fb(-1) recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. A signal of 108+/-15 candidates is observed, with a significance that exceeds 8sigma. The mass of the Bc+/- meson is measured to be 6275.6+/-2.9(stat)+/-2.5(syst) MeV/c2.

Hartman effect and weak measurements that are not really weak

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

Sokolovski, D.; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Alameda Urquijo, 36-5, Plaza Bizkaia, 48011, Bilbao, Bizkaia; Akhmatskaya, E.

2011-08-15

We show that in wave packet tunneling, localization of the transmitted particle amounts to a quantum measurement of the delay it experiences in the barrier. With no external degree of freedom involved, the envelope of the wave packet plays the role of the initial pointer state. Under tunneling conditions such ''self-measurement'' is necessarily weak, and the Hartman effect just reflects the general tendency of weak values to diverge, as postselection in the final state becomes improbable. We also demonstrate that it is a good precision, or a 'not really weak' quantum measurement: no matter how wide the barrier d, itmore » is possible to transmit a wave packet with a width {sigma} small compared to the observed advancement. As is the case with all weak measurements, the probability of transmission rapidly decreases with the ratio {sigma}/d.« less

The Gaia spectrophotometric standard stars survey: II. Instrumental effects of six ground-based observing campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altavilla, G.; Marinoni, S.; Pancino, E.; Galleti, S.; Ragaini, S.; Bellazzini, M.; Cocozza, G.; Bragaglia, A.; Carrasco, J. M.; Castro, A.; Di Fabrizio, L.; Federici, L.; Figueras, F.; Gebran, M.; Jordi, C.; Masana, E.; Schuster, W.; Valentini, G.; Voss, H.

2015-08-01

The Gaia SpectroPhotometric Standard Stars (SPSS) survey started in 2006, was awarded almost 450 observing nights and accumulated almost 100 000 raw data frames with both photometric and spectroscopic observations. Such large observational effort requires careful, homogeneous, and automatic data reduction and quality control procedures. In this paper, we quantitatively evaluate instrumental effects that might have a significant (i.e., ≥ 1 %) impact on the Gaia SPSS flux calibration. The measurements involve six different instruments, monitored over the eight years of observations dedicated to the Gaia flux standards campaigns: DOLORES@TNG in La Palma, EFOSC2@NTT and ROSS@REM in La Silla, CAFOS@2.2 m in Calar Alto, BFOSC@Cassini in Loiano, and LaRuca@1.5 m in San Pedro Mártir. We examine and quantitatively evaluate the following effects: CCD linearity and shutter times, calibration frames stability, lamp flexures, second order contamination, light polarization, and fringing. We present methods to correct for the relevant effects which can be applied to a wide range of observational projects at similar instruments. Based on data obtained with BFOSC@Cassini in Loiano, Italy; EFOSC2@NTT in La Silla, Chile; DOLORES@TNG in La Palma, Spain; CAFOS@2.2 m in Calar Alto, Spain; LaRuca@1.5 m in San Pedro Mártir, Mexico (see acknowledgements for more details).

Solutions Network Formulation Report. Integrating Salinity Measurements from Aquarius into the Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Daniel; Lewis, David; Hilbert, Kent

2007-01-01

This Candidate Solution suggests the use of Aquarius sea surface salinity measurements to improve the NOAA/NCDDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s National Coastal Data Development Center) HABSOS (Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System) DST (decision support tool) by enhancing development and movement forecasts of HAB events as well as potential species identification. In the proposed configuration, recurring salinity measurements from the Aquarius mission would augment HABSOS sea surface temperature and in situ ocean current measurements. Thermohaline circulation observations combined with in situ measurements increase the precision of HAB event movement forecasting. These forecasts allow coastal managers and public health officials to make more accurate and timely warnings to the public and to better direct science teams to event sites for collection and further measurements.

Improving the quality of preclinical research echocardiography: Observations, training and guidelines for measurement.

PubMed

Donner, Daniel G; Kiriazis, Helen; Du, Xiao-Jun; Marwick, Thomas H; McMullen, Julie R

2018-04-20

Informal training in preclinical research may be a contributor to the poor reproducibility of preclinical cardiology research and low rates of translation into clinical research and practice. Mouse echocardiography is a widely used technique to assess cardiac structure and function in drug intervention studies using disease models. The inter-observer variability (IOV) of clinical echocardiographic measurements has been shown to improve with formalized training, but preclinical echocardiography lacks similarly critical standardization of training. The aims of this investigation were to assess the IOV of echocardiographic measurements from studies in mice, and address any technical impediments to reproducibility by implementing standardized guidelines through formalized training. In this prospective, single-site, observational cohort study, 13 scientists performing preclinical echocardiographic image analysis were assessed for measurement of short-axis M-mode-derived dimensions and calculated left ventricular mass (LVMass). Ten M-mode images of mouse hearts acquired and analyzed by an expert researcher with a spectrum of LVMass were selected for assessment, and validated by autopsy weight. Following the initial observation, a structured formal training program was introduced, and accuracy and reproducibility were re-evaluated. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) for Expert-calculated LVMass was 6{plus minus}4% compared to autopsy LVMass, and 25{plus minus}21% for participants before training. Standardized formal training improved participant MAPE by approximately 30% relative to expert-calculated LVMass (p<0.001). Participants initially categorized with high-range error (25-45%) improved to low-moderate error ranges (<15-25%). This report reveals an example of technical skill training insufficiency likely endemic to preclinical research and provides validated guidelines for echocardiographic measurement for adaptation to formalized in-training programs.

Measurement of energetic radiation caused by thunderstorm activities by a sounding balloon and ground observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torii, T.

2015-12-01

Energetic radiation caused by thunderstorm activity is observed at various places, such as the ground, high mountain areas, and artificial satellites. In order to investigate the radiation source and its energy distribution, we measured energetic radiation by a sounding balloon, and the ground observation. On the measurement inside/above the thundercloud, we conducted a sounding observation using a radiosonde mounted two GM tubes (for gamma-rays, and for beta/gamma-rays), in addition to meteorological instruments. The balloon passed through a region of strong echoes in a thundercloud shown by radar image, at which time an increase in counting rate of the GM tube about 2 orders of magnitude occurred at the altitude from 5 km to 7.5 km. Furthermore, the counting rate of two GM tubes indicated the tendency different depending on movement of a balloon. This result suggests that the ratio for the gamma-rays (energetic photons) of the beta-rays (energetic electrons) varies according to the place in the thundercloud. Furthermore, we carried out a ground observation of the energetic gamma rays during winter thunderstorm at a coastal area facing the Sea of Japan. Two types of the energetic radiation have been observed at this time. We report the outline of these measurements and analysis in the session of the AGU meeting.

Measurements of top quark spin observables in $$ t\\overline{t} $$ events using dilepton final states in $$ \\sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

DOE PAGES

Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; ...

2017-03-22

Measurements of top quark spin observables in tt¯ events are presented based on 20.2 fb –1 of √s = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The analysis is performed in the dilepton final state, characterised by the presence of two isolated leptons (electrons or muons). There are 15 observables, each sensitive to a different coefficient of the spin density matrix of tt¯ production, which are measured independently. Ten of these observables are measured for the first time. All of them are corrected for detector resolution and acceptance effects back to the parton and stable-particlemore » levels. The measured values of the observables at parton level are compared to Standard Model predictions at next-to-leading order in QCD. The corrected distributions at stable-particle level are presented and the means of the distributions are compared to Monte Carlo predictions. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed for any observable.« less

Measurements of top quark spin observables in $$ t\\overline{t} $$ events using dilepton final states in $$ \\sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

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

Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.

Measurements of top quark spin observables in tt¯ events are presented based on 20.2 fb –1 of √s = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The analysis is performed in the dilepton final state, characterised by the presence of two isolated leptons (electrons or muons). There are 15 observables, each sensitive to a different coefficient of the spin density matrix of tt¯ production, which are measured independently. Ten of these observables are measured for the first time. All of them are corrected for detector resolution and acceptance effects back to the parton and stable-particlemore » levels. The measured values of the observables at parton level are compared to Standard Model predictions at next-to-leading order in QCD. The corrected distributions at stable-particle level are presented and the means of the distributions are compared to Monte Carlo predictions. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed for any observable.« less

Measurement of Aharonov-Casher effect in a Josephson junction chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pop, Ioan Mihai; Lecocq, Florent; Pannetier, Bernard; Buisson, Olivier; Guichard, Wiebke

2011-03-01

We have recently measured the effect of superconducting phase-slips on the ground state of a Josephson junction chain and a rhombi chain. Here we report clear evidence of Aharonov-Casher effect in a chain of Josephson junctions. This phenomenon is the dual of the well known Aharonov-Bohm interference. Using a capacitively coupled gate to the islands of the chain, we induce oscillations of the supercurrent by tuning the polarization charges on the islands. We observe complex interference patterns for different quantum phase slip amplitudes, that we understand quantitatively as Aharonov-Casher vortex interferences. European STREP MIDAS.

Effects of pretesting implicit self-determined motivation on behavioral engagement: evidence for the mere measurement effect at the implicit level.

PubMed

Keatley, David A; Clarke, David D; Ferguson, Eamonn; Hagger, Martin S

2014-01-01

Research into individuals' intended behavior and performance has traditionally adopted explicitly measured, self-report constructs, and outcomes. More recently, research has shown that completing explicit self-report measures of constructs may effect subsequent behavior, termed the "mere measurement" effect. The aim of the present experiment was to investigate whether implicit measures of motivation showed a similar mere measurement effect on subsequent behavior. It may be the case that measuring the implicit systems affects subsequent implicit interventions (e.g., priming), observable on subsequent behavior. Priming manipulations were also given to participants in order to investigate the interaction between measurement and priming of motivation. Initially, a 2 [implicit association test (IAT: present vs. absent) ×2 (Prime: autonomous vs. absent) and a 2 (IAT: present vs. absent) × 2 (Prime: controlled vs. absent)] between participants designs were conducted, these were them combined into a 2 (IAT: present vs. absent) ×3 (Prime: autonomous vs. controlled vs. absent) between participants design, with attempts at a novel task taken as the outcome measure. Implicit measure completion significantly decreased behavioral engagement. Priming autonomous motivation significantly facilitated, and controlled motivation significantly inhibited performance. Finally, there was a significant implicit measurement × priming interaction, such that priming autonomous motivation only improved performance in the absence of the implicit measure. Overall, this research provides an insight into the effects of implicit measurement and priming of motivation and the combined effect of completing both tasks on behavior.

Measures of disturbance and incompatibility for quantum measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandayam, Prabha; Srinivas, M. D.

2014-06-01

We propose a class of incompatibility measures for quantum observables based on quantifying the effect of a measurement of one observable on the statistics of the outcomes of another. Specifically, for a pair of observables A and B with purely discrete spectra, we compare the following two probability distributions: one resulting from a measurement of A followed by a measurement of B on a given state and the other obtained from a measurement of B alone on the same state. We show that maximizing the distance between these two distributions over all states yields a valid measure of the incompatibility of observables A and B, which is zero if and only if they commute and is strictly greater than zero (and less than or equal to one) otherwise. For finite-dimensional systems, we obtain a tight upper bound on the incompatibility of any pair of observables and show that the bound is attained when the observables are totally nondegenerate and associated with mutually unbiased bases. In the process, we also establish an important relation between the incompatibility of a pair of observables and the maximal disturbances due to their measurements. Finally, we indicate how these measures of incompatibility and disturbance can be extended to the more general class of nonprojective measurements. In particular, we obtain a nontrivial upper bound on the incompatibility of one Lüders instrument with another.

The effects of stereotypes and observer pressure on athletic performance.

PubMed

Krendl, Anne; Gainsburg, Izzy; Ambady, Nalini

2012-02-01

Although the effects of negative stereotypes and observer pressure on athletic performance have been well researched, the effects of positive stereotypes on performance, particularly in the presence of observers, is not known. In the current study, White males watched a video either depicting Whites basketball players as the best free throwers in the NBA (positive stereotype), Black basketball players as the best free throwers in the NBA (negative stereotype), or a neutral sports video (control). Participants then shot a set of free throws, during which half the participants were also videotaped (observer condition), whereas the other half were not (no observer condition). Results demonstrated that positive stereotypes improved free throw performance, but only in the no observer condition. Interestingly, observer pressure interacted with the positive stereotype to lead to performance decrements. In the negative stereotype condition, performance decrements were observed both in the observer and no observer conditions.

Observation of a pretransitional effect near a virtual smectic-A--smectic-C* transition.

PubMed

Shibahara, S; Takanishi, Y; Yamamoto, J; Ogasawara, T; Ishikawa, K; Yokoyama, H; Takezoe, H

2001-06-01

Unusual softening of the layer compression modulus B has been observed near the phase boundary where the smectic-C* phase vanishes in a naphtalene-based liquid crystal mixture. From the systematic study of x-ray and layer compression measurements, this unusual effect is attributed to the pretransitional softening near a virtual smectic-A-smectic-C* phase transition in the smectic-A phase, which no longer appears on the thermoequilibrium phase diagram. This phenomenon is similar but not equivalent to supercritical behavior.

Probe pressure effects on human skin diffuse reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy measurements

PubMed Central

Lim, Liang; Nichols, Brandon; Rajaram, Narasimhan; Tunnell, James W.

2011-01-01

Diffuse reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy are popular research techniques for noninvasive disease diagnostics. Most systems include an optical fiber probe that transmits and collects optical spectra in contact with the suspected lesion. The purpose of this study is to investigate probe pressure effects on human skin spectroscopic measurements. We conduct an in-vivo experiment on human skin tissue to study the short-term (<2 s) and long-term (>30 s) effects of probe pressure on diffuse reflectance and fluorescence measurements. Short-term light probe pressure (P0 < 9 mN∕mm2) effects are within 0 ± 10% on all physiological properties extracted from diffuse reflectance and fluorescence measurements, and less than 0 ± 5% for diagnostically significant physiological properties. Absorption decreases with site-specific variations due to blood being compressed out of the sampled volume. Reduced scattering coefficient variation is site specific. Intrinsic fluorescence shows a large standard error, although no specific pressure-related trend is observed. Differences in tissue structure and morphology contribute to site-specific probe pressure effects. Therefore, the effects of pressure can be minimized when the pressure is small and applied for a short amount of time; however, long-term and large pressures induce significant distortions in measured spectra. PMID:21280899

Model-Observation "Data Cubes" for the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) Workflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogelmann, A. M.; Gustafson, W. I., Jr.; Toto, T.; Endo, S.; Cheng, X.; Li, Z.; Xiao, H.

2015-12-01

The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facilities' Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) Workflow is currently being designed to provide output from routine LES to complement its extensive observations. The modeling portion of the LASSO workflow is presented by Gustafson et al., which will initially focus on shallow convection over the ARM megasite in Oklahoma, USA. This presentation describes how the LES output will be combined with observations to construct multi-dimensional and dynamically consistent "data cubes", aimed at providing the best description of the atmospheric state for use in analyses by the community. The megasite observations are used to constrain large-eddy simulations that provide a complete spatial and temporal coverage of observables and, further, the simulations also provide information on processes that cannot be observed. Statistical comparisons of model output with their observables are used to assess the quality of a given simulated realization and its associated uncertainties. A data cube is a model-observation package that provides: (1) metrics of model-observation statistical summaries to assess the simulations and the ensemble spread; (2) statistical summaries of additional model property output that cannot be or are very difficult to observe; and (3) snapshots of the 4-D simulated fields from the integration period. Searchable metrics are provided that characterize the general atmospheric state to assist users in finding cases of interest, such as categorization of daily weather conditions and their specific attributes. The data cubes will be accompanied by tools designed for easy access to cube contents from within the ARM archive and externally, the ability to compare multiple data streams within an event as well as across events, and the ability to use common grids and time sampling, where appropriate.

Impact of parasitic thermal effects on thermoelectric property measurements by Harman method.

PubMed

Kwon, Beomjin; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Kim, Seong Keun; Kim, Jin-Sang

2014-04-01

Harman method is a rapid and simple technique to measure thermoelectric properties. However, its validity has been often questioned due to the over-simplified assumptions that this method relies on. Here, we quantitatively investigate the influence of the previously ignored parasitic thermal effects on the Harman method and develop a method to determine an intrinsic ZT. We expand the original Harman relation with three extra terms: heat losses via both the lead wires and radiation, and Joule heating within the sample. Based on the expanded Harman relation, we use differential measurement of the sample geometry to measure the intrinsic ZT. To separately evaluate the parasitic terms, the measured ZTs with systematically varied sample geometries and the lead wire types are fitted to the expanded relation. A huge discrepancy (∼28%) of the measured ZTs depending on the measurement configuration is observed. We are able to separately evaluate those parasitic terms. This work will help to evaluate the intrinsic thermoelectric property with Harman method by eliminating ambiguities coming from extrinsic effects.

Impact of parasitic thermal effects on thermoelectric property measurements by Harman method

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

Kwon, Beomjin, E-mail: bkwon@kist.re.kr; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Keun Kim, Seong

2014-04-15

Harman method is a rapid and simple technique to measure thermoelectric properties. However, its validity has been often questioned due to the over-simplified assumptions that this method relies on. Here, we quantitatively investigate the influence of the previously ignored parasitic thermal effects on the Harman method and develop a method to determine an intrinsic ZT. We expand the original Harman relation with three extra terms: heat losses via both the lead wires and radiation, and Joule heating within the sample. Based on the expanded Harman relation, we use differential measurement of the sample geometry to measure the intrinsic ZT. Tomore » separately evaluate the parasitic terms, the measured ZTs with systematically varied sample geometries and the lead wire types are fitted to the expanded relation. A huge discrepancy (∼28%) of the measured ZTs depending on the measurement configuration is observed. We are able to separately evaluate those parasitic terms. This work will help to evaluate the intrinsic thermoelectric property with Harman method by eliminating ambiguities coming from extrinsic effects.« less

Observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in graphene.

PubMed

Bolotin, Kirill I; Ghahari, Fereshte; Shulman, Michael D; Stormer, Horst L; Kim, Philip

2009-11-12

When electrons are confined in two dimensions and subject to strong magnetic fields, the Coulomb interactions between them can become very strong, leading to the formation of correlated states of matter, such as the fractional quantum Hall liquid. In this strong quantum regime, electrons and magnetic flux quanta bind to form complex composite quasiparticles with fractional electronic charge; these are manifest in transport measurements of the Hall conductivity as rational fractions of the elementary conductance quantum. The experimental discovery of an anomalous integer quantum Hall effect in graphene has enabled the study of a correlated two-dimensional electronic system, in which the interacting electrons behave like massless chiral fermions. However, owing to the prevailing disorder, graphene has so far exhibited only weak signatures of correlated electron phenomena, despite intense experimental and theoretical efforts. Here we report the observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in ultraclean, suspended graphene. In addition, we show that at low carrier density graphene becomes an insulator with a magnetic-field-tunable energy gap. These newly discovered quantum states offer the opportunity to study correlated Dirac fermions in graphene in the presence of large magnetic fields.

Some Observations on Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geske, Terry G.

1979-01-01

The general nature of cost-effectiveness analysis is discussed, analytical frameworks for conducting cost-effectiveness studies are described, and some of the problems inherent in measuring educational costs and in assessing program effectiveness are addressed. (Author/IRT)

SPECKLE OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE WIYN TELESCOPE. VII. MEASURES DURING 2008-2009

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

Horch, Elliott P.; Bahi, Lizzie Anne P.; Gaulin, Joseph R.

2012-01-15

Five hundred thirty-one speckle measures of binary stars are reported. These data were taken mainly during the period 2008 June through 2009 October at the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak and represent the last data set of single-filter speckle observations taken in the WIYN speckle program prior to the use of the current two-channel speckle camera. The astrometric and photometric precision of these observations is consistent with previous papers in this series: we obtain a typical linear measurement uncertainty of approximately 2.5 mas, and the magnitude differences reported have typical uncertainties in the range of 0.1-0.14 mag. Inmore » combination with measures already in the literature, the data presented here permit the revision of the orbit of A 1634AB (= HIP 76041) and the first determination of visual orbital elements for HDS 1895 (= HIP 65982).« less

Effect of accreditation on the quality of chronic disease management: a comparative observational study.

PubMed

van Doorn-Klomberg, Arna L; Braspenning, Jozé C C; Wolters, René J; Bouma, Margriet; Wensing, Michel

2014-11-04

Practice accreditation is widely used to assess and improve quality of healthcare providers. Little is known about its effectiveness, particularly in primary care. In this study we examined the effect of accreditation on quality of care regarding diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A comparative observational study with two cohorts was performed. We included 138 Dutch family practices that participated in the national accreditation program for primary care. A first cohort of 69 practices was measured at start and completion of a 3-year accreditation program. A second cohort of 69 practices was included and measured simultaneously with the final measurement of the first cohort. In separate multilevel regression analyses, we compared both within-group changes in the first cohort and between-groups differences at follow-up (first cohort) and start (second cohort). Outcome measures consisted of 24 systematically developed indicators of quality of care in targeted chronic diseases. In the within-group comparison, we found improvements on 6 indicators related to diabetes (feet examination, cholesterol measurement, lipid lowering medication prescription) and COPD (spirometry performance, stop smoking advice). In the between-groups comparison we found that first cohort practices performed better on 4 indicators related to diabetes (cholesterol outcome) and CVD (blood pressure outcome, smoke status registration, glucose measurement). Improvements of the quality of primary care for patients with chronic diseases were found, but few could be attributed to the accreditation program. Further development of accreditation is needed to enhance its effectiveness on chronic disease management.

Effects of trunk stability on isometric knee extension muscle strength measurement while sitting.

PubMed

Hirano, Masahiro; Gomi, Masahiro; Katoh, Munenori

2016-09-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to investigate the effect of trunk stability on isometric knee extension muscle strength measurement while sitting by performing simultaneous measurements with a handheld dynamometer (HHD) and an isokinetic dynamometer (IKD) in the same seated condition. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were 30 healthy volunteers. Isometric knee extension muscle strength was simultaneously measured with a HHD and an IKD by using an IKD-specific chair. The measurement was performed twice. Measurement instrument variables and the number of measurements were examined by using the analysis of variance and correlation tests. [Results] The measurement instrument variables and the number of measurements were not significantly different. The correlation coefficients between the HHD and IKD measurements were ≥0.96. [Conclusion] Isometric knee extension muscle strength measurement using the HHD in the sitting position resulted in a lower value than that using the IKD, presumably because of the effect of trunk stability on the measurement. In the same seated posture with trunk stability, no significant difference in measurement values was observed between the HHD and IKD. The present findings suggest that trunk stability while seated during isometric knee extension muscle strength measurement influenced the HHD measurement.

Measurements of 427 Double Stars With Speckle Interferometry: The Winter/Spring 2017 Observing Program at Brilliant Sky Observatory, Part 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harshaw, Richard

2018-04-01

In the winter and spring of 2017, an aggressive observing program of measuring close double stars with speckle interferometry and CCD imaging was undertaken at Brilliant Sky Observatory, my observing site in Cave Creek, Arizona. A total of 596 stars were observed, 8 of which were rejected for various reasons, leaving 588 pairs. Of these, 427 were observed and measured with speckle interferometry, while the remaining 161 were measured with a CCD. This paper reports the results of the observations of the 427 speckle cases. A separate paper in this issue will report the CCD measurements of the 161 other pairs.

Scale effects on information theory-based measures applied to streamflow patterns in two rural watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Feng; Pachepsky, Yakov A.; Guber, Andrey K.; McPherson, Brian J.; Hill, Robert L.

2012-01-01

SummaryUnderstanding streamflow patterns in space and time is important for improving flood and drought forecasting, water resources management, and predictions of ecological changes. Objectives of this work include (a) to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of streamflow using information theory-based measures at two thoroughly-monitored agricultural watersheds located in different hydroclimatic zones with similar land use, and (b) to elucidate and quantify temporal and spatial scale effects on those measures. We selected two USDA experimental watersheds to serve as case study examples, including the Little River experimental watershed (LREW) in Tifton, Georgia and the Sleepers River experimental watershed (SREW) in North Danville, Vermont. Both watersheds possess several nested sub-watersheds and more than 30 years of continuous data records of precipitation and streamflow. Information content measures (metric entropy and mean information gain) and complexity measures (effective measure complexity and fluctuation complexity) were computed based on the binary encoding of 5-year streamflow and precipitation time series data. We quantified patterns of streamflow using probabilities of joint or sequential appearances of the binary symbol sequences. Results of our analysis illustrate that information content measures of streamflow time series are much smaller than those for precipitation data, and the streamflow data also exhibit higher complexity, suggesting that the watersheds effectively act as filters of the precipitation information that leads to the observed additional complexity in streamflow measures. Correlation coefficients between the information-theory-based measures and time intervals are close to 0.9, demonstrating the significance of temporal scale effects on streamflow patterns. Moderate spatial scale effects on streamflow patterns are observed with absolute values of correlation coefficients between the measures and sub-watershed area

Strategy of thunderstorm measurement with super dense ground-based observation network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Y.; Sato, M.

2014-12-01

It's not easy to understand the inside structure and developing process of thunderstorm only with existing meteorological instruments since its horizontal extent of the storm cell is sometimes smaller than an order of 10 km while one of the densest ground network in Japan, AMEDAS, consists of sites located every 17 km in average and the resolution of meteorological radar is 1-2 km in general. Even the X-band radar realizes the resolution of 250 m or larger. Here we suggest a new super dense observation network with simple and low cost sensors that can be used for measurement both of raindrop and vertical electric field change caused by cloud-to-ground lightning discharge. This sensor consists of two aluminum plates with a diameter of 10-20 cm. We carried out an observation campaign in summer of 2013 in the foothills of Mt. Yastugatake, Yamanashi and Nagano prefectures in Japan, installing 6 plate-type sensors at a distance of about 4 km. Horizontal location, height and charge amount of each lightning discharge are estimated successfully based on the information of electric field changes at several observing sites. Moreover, it was found that the thunderstorm has a very narrow structure well smaller than 300 m that cannot be measured by any other ways, counting the positive and negative pulses caused by attachment of raindrop to the sensor plate, respectively. We plan to construct a new super dense observation network in the north Kanto region, Japan, where the lightning activity is most prominent in summer Japan, distributing more than several tens of sensors at every 4 km or shorter, such as an order of 100 m at minimum. This kind of new type network will reveal the unknown fine structures of thunderstorms and open the door for constructing real time alert system of torrential rainfall and lightning stroke especially in the city area.

The Relations among Observational, Physiological, and Self-Report Measures of Children's Anger

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Julie A.; Parker, Elizabeth H.; Ramsden, Sally R.; Flanagan, Kelly D.; Relyea, Nicole; Dearing, Karen F.; Smithmyer, Catherine M.; Simons, Robert F.; Hyde, Christopher T.

2004-01-01

Our first goal was to examine the relations among observational, physiological, and self-report measures of children's anger. Our second goal was to investigate whether these relations varied by reactive or proactive aggression. Children (272 second-grade boys and girls) participated in a procedure in which they lost a game and prize to a…

Observation of measurement-induced entanglement and quantum trajectories of remote superconducting qubits.

PubMed

Roch, N; Schwartz, M E; Motzoi, F; Macklin, C; Vijay, R; Eddins, A W; Korotkov, A N; Whaley, K B; Sarovar, M; Siddiqi, I

2014-05-02

The creation of a quantum network requires the distribution of coherent information across macroscopic distances. We demonstrate the entanglement of two superconducting qubits, separated by more than a meter of coaxial cable, by designing a joint measurement that probabilistically projects onto an entangled state. By using a continuous measurement scheme, we are further able to observe single quantum trajectories of the joint two-qubit state, confirming the validity of the quantum Bayesian formalism for a cascaded system. Our results allow us to resolve the dynamics of continuous projection onto the entangled manifold, in quantitative agreement with theory.

Using the brief observation of social communication change (BOSCC) to measure autism-specific development.

PubMed

Kitzerow, Janina; Teufel, Karoline; Wilker, Christian; Freitag, Christine M

2016-09-01

To date no reliable and objective, change sensitive instrument for autistic symptoms is available. The brief observation of social communication change (BOSCC) was specifically developed to measure change of core autistic symptoms, for example, for use as outcome measure in early intervention trials. This study investigated quality criteria of a preliminary research version of the BOSCC in N = 21 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who had participated for 1 year in the Frankfurt early intervention program (FFIP). BOSCC rating was done on play based ADOS video scenes. Inter-rater agreement on the BOSCC average total was very high. The BOSCC showed a significant decrease of autistic symptoms after 1 year with a medium effect size. Symptom specific improvements were captured by the social communication subscale and most single items. The BOSCC showed comparable change sensitivity to other autism specific instruments. Future studies should focus on the finalized BOSCC version, and replicate findings in a larger sample. Autism Res 2016, 9: 940-950. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comments on {open_quotes}interpretations of quantum mechanics, joint measurement of incompatible observables, and counterfactual definiteness{close_quotes}

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

Stapp, H.P.

1994-12-01

Some seeming logical deficiencies in a recent paper are described. The author responds to the arguments of the work by de Muynck, De Baere, and Martens (MDM), who argue it is widely accepted today that some sort of nonlocal effect is needed to resolve the problems raised by the works of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) and John Bell. In MBM a variety of arguments are set forth that aim to invalidate the existing purported proofs of nonlocality and to provide, moreover, a local solution to the problems uncovered by EPR and Bell. Much of the argumentation in MBM ismore » based on the idea of introducing `nonideal` measurements, which, according to MBM, allow one to construct joint probability distributions for incompatible observables. The existence of a bona fide joint probability distribution for the incompatible observables occurring in the EPRB experiments would entail that Bell`s inequalities can be satisfied, and hence that the mathematical basis for the nonlocal effects would disappear. This relult would apparently allow one to eliminate the need for nonlocal effects by considering experiments of this new kind.« less

Exhaust pressure pulsation observation from turbocharger instantaneous speed measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macián, V.; Luján, J. M.; Bermúdez, V.; Guardiola, C.

2004-06-01

In internal combustion engines, instantaneous exhaust pressure measurements are difficult to perform in a production environment. The high temperature of the exhaust manifold and its pulsating character make its application to exhaust gas recirculation control algorithms impossible. In this paper an alternative method for estimating the exhaust pressure pulsation is presented. A numerical model is built which enables the exhaust pressure pulses to be predicted from instantaneous turbocharger speed measurements. Although the model is data based, a theoretical description of the process is also provided. This combined approach makes it possible to export the model for different engine operating points. Also, compressor contribution in the turbocharger speed pulsation is discussed extensively. The compressor contribution is initially neglected, and effects of this simplified approach are analysed.

Measuring attention using flash-lag effect.

PubMed

Shioiri, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Ken; Oshida, Hiroki; Matsubara, Kazuya; Yaguchi, Hirohisa

2010-08-13

We investigated the effect of attention on the flash-lag effect (FLE) in order to determine whether the FLE can be used to estimate the effect of visual attention. The FLE is the effect that a flash aligned with a moving object is perceived to lag the moving object, and several studies have shown that attention reduces its magnitude. We measured the FLE as a function of the number or speed of moving objects. The results showed that the effect of cueing, which we attributed the effect of attention, on the FLE increased monotonically with the number or the speed of the objects. This suggests that the amount of attention can be estimated by measuring the FLE, assuming that more amount of attention is required for a larger number or faster speed of objects to attend. On the basis of this presumption, we attempted to measure the spatial spread of visual attention by FLE measurements. The estimated spatial spreads were similar to those estimated by other experimental methods.

Observational studies in systematic [corrected] reviews of comparative effectiveness: AHRQ and the Effective Health Care Program.

PubMed

Norris, Susan L; Atkins, David; Bruening, Wendy; Fox, Steven; Johnson, Eric; Kane, Robert; Morton, Sally C; Oremus, Mark; Ospina, Maria; Randhawa, Gurvaneet; Schoelles, Karen; Shekelle, Paul; Viswanathan, Meera

2011-11-01

Systematic reviewers disagree about the ability of observational studies to answer questions about the benefits or intended effects of pharmacotherapeutic, device, or procedural interventions. This study provides a framework for decision making on the inclusion of observational studies to assess benefits and intended effects in comparative effectiveness reviews (CERs). The conceptual model and recommendations were developed using a consensus process by members of the methods workgroup of the Effective Health Care Program of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In considering whether to use observational studies in CERs for addressing beneficial effects, reviewers should answer two questions: (1) Are there gaps in the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs)? (2) Will observational studies provide valid and useful information? The latter question involves the following: (a) refocusing the study questions on gaps in the evidence from RCTs, (b) assessing the risk of bias of the body of evidence of observational studies, and (c) assessing whether available observational studies address the gap review questions. Because it is unusual to find sufficient evidence from RCTs to answer all key questions concerning benefit or the balance of benefits and harms, comparative effectiveness reviewers should routinely assess the appropriateness of inclusion of observational studies for questions of benefit. Furthermore, reviewers should explicitly state the rationale for inclusion or exclusion of observational studies when conducting CERs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Making limb and nadir measurements comparable: A common volume study of PMC brightness observed by Odin OSIRIS and AIM CIPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benze, Susanne; Gumbel, Jörg; Randall, Cora E.; Karlsson, Bodil; Hultgren, Kristoffer; Lumpe, Jerry D.; Baumgarten, Gerd

2018-01-01

Combining limb and nadir satellite observations of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) has long been recognized as problematic due to differences in observation geometry, scattering conditions, and retrieval approaches. This study offers a method of comparing PMC brightness observations from the nadir-viewing Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument and the limb-viewing Odin Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS). OSIRIS and CIPS measurements are made comparable by defining a common volume for overlapping OSIRIS and CIPS observations for two northern hemisphere (NH) PMC seasons: NH08 and NH09. We define a scattering intensity quantity that is suitable for either nadir or limb observations and for different scattering conditions. A known CIPS bias is applied, differences in instrument sensitivity are analyzed and taken into account, and effects of cloud inhomogeneity and common volume definition on the comparison are discussed. Not accounting for instrument sensitivity differences or inhomogeneities in the PMC field, the mean relative difference in cloud brightness (CIPS - OSIRIS) is -102 ± 55%. The differences are largest for coincidences with very inhomogeneous clouds that are dominated by pixels that CIPS reports as non-cloud points. Removing these coincidences, the mean relative difference in cloud brightness reduces to -6 ± 14%. The correlation coefficient between the CIPS and OSIRIS measurements of PMC brightness variations in space and time is remarkably high, at 0.94. Overall, the comparison shows excellent agreement despite different retrieval approaches and observation geometries.

Using satellite observations in performance evaluation for regulatory air quality modeling: Comparison with ground-level measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odman, M. T.; Hu, Y.; Russell, A.; Chai, T.; Lee, P.; Shankar, U.; Boylan, J.

2012-12-01

retrievals. Evaluation results are assessed against recommended criteria and peer studies in the literature. Further analysis is conducted, based upon these assessments, to discover likely errors in model inputs and potential deficiencies in the model itself. Correlations as well as differences in input errors and model deficiencies revealed by ground-level measurements versus satellite observations are discussed. Additionally, sensitivity analyses are employed to investigate errors in emission-rate estimates using either ground-level measurements or satellite retrievals, and the results are compared against each other considering observational uncertainties. Recommendations are made for how to effectively utilize satellite retrievals in regulatory air quality modeling.

Direct quantum process tomography via measuring sequential weak values of incompatible observables.

PubMed

Kim, Yosep; Kim, Yong-Su; Lee, Sang-Yun; Han, Sang-Wook; Moon, Sung; Kim, Yoon-Ho; Cho, Young-Wook

2018-01-15

The weak value concept has enabled fundamental studies of quantum measurement and, recently, found potential applications in quantum and classical metrology. However, most weak value experiments reported to date do not require quantum mechanical descriptions, as they only exploit the classical wave nature of the physical systems. In this work, we demonstrate measurement of the sequential weak value of two incompatible observables by making use of two-photon quantum interference so that the results can only be explained quantum physically. We then demonstrate that the sequential weak value measurement can be used to perform direct quantum process tomography of a qubit channel. Our work not only demonstrates the quantum nature of weak values but also presents potential new applications of weak values in analyzing quantum channels and operations.

HUMeral shaft fractures: measuring recovery after operative versus non-operative treatment (HUMMER): a multicenter comparative observational study.

PubMed

Mahabier, Kiran C; Van Lieshout, Esther M M; Bolhuis, Hugo W; Bos, P Koen; Bronkhorst, Maarten Wga; Bruijninckx, Milko M M; De Haan, Jeroen; Deenik, Axel R; Dwars, Boudewijn J; Eversdijk, Martin G; Goslings, J Carel; Haverlag, Robert; Heetveld, Martin J; Kerver, Albert J H; Kolkman, Karel A; Leenhouts, Peter A; Meylaerts, Sven A G; Onstenk, Ron; Poeze, Martijn; Poolman, Rudolf W; Punt, Bas J; Roerdink, W Herbert; Roukema, Gert R; Sintenie, Jan Bernard; Soesman, Nicolaj M R; Tanka, Andras K F; Ten Holder, Edgar J T; Van der Elst, Maarten; Van der Heijden, Frank H W M; Van der Linden, Frits M; Van der Zwaal, Peer; Van Dijk, Jan P; Van Jonbergen, Hans-Peter W; Verleisdonk, Egbert J M M; Vroemen, Jos P A M; Waleboer, Marco; Wittich, Philippe; Zuidema, Wietse P; Polinder, Suzanne; Verhofstad, Michael H J; Den Hartog, Dennis

2014-02-11

Fractures of the humeral shaft are associated with a profound temporary (and in the elderly sometimes even permanent) impairment of independence and quality of life. These fractures can be treated operatively or non-operatively, but the optimal tailored treatment is an unresolved problem. As no high-quality comparative randomized or observational studies are available, a recent Cochrane review concluded there is no evidence of sufficient scientific quality available to inform the decision to operate or not. Since randomized controlled trials for this injury have shown feasibility issues, this study is designed to provide the best achievable evidence to answer this unresolved problem. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate functional recovery after operative versus non-operative treatment in adult patients who sustained a humeral shaft fracture. Secondary aims include the effect of treatment on pain, complications, generic health-related quality of life, time to resumption of activities of daily living and work, and cost-effectiveness. The main hypothesis is that operative treatment will result in faster recovery. The design of the study will be a multicenter prospective observational study of 400 patients who have sustained a humeral shaft fracture, AO type 12A or 12B. Treatment decision (i.e., operative or non-operative) will be left to the discretion of the treating surgeon. Critical elements of treatment will be registered and outcome will be monitored at regular intervals over the subsequent 12 months. The primary outcome measure is the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score. Secondary outcome measures are the Constant score, pain level at both sides, range of motion of the elbow and shoulder joint at both sides, radiographic healing, rate of complications and (secondary) interventions, health-related quality of life (Short-Form 36 and EuroQol-5D), time to resumption of ADL/work, and cost-effectiveness. Data will be analyzed using univariate

Validity of a practitioner-administered observational tool to measure physical activity, nutrition, and screen time in school-age programs.

PubMed

Lee, Rebekka M; Emmons, Karen M; Okechukwu, Cassandra A; Barrett, Jessica L; Kenney, Erica L; Cradock, Angie L; Giles, Catherine M; deBlois, Madeleine E; Gortmaker, Steven L

2014-11-28

Nutrition and physical activity interventions have been effective in creating environmental changes in afterschool programs. However, accurate assessment can be time-consuming and expensive as initiatives are scaled up for optimal population impact. This study aims to determine the criterion validity of a simple, low-cost, practitioner-administered observational measure of afterschool physical activity, nutrition, and screen time practices and child behaviors. Directors from 35 programs in three cities completed the Out-of-School Nutrition and Physical Activity Observational Practice Assessment Tool (OSNAP-OPAT) on five days. Trained observers recorded snacks served and obtained accelerometer data each day during the same week. Observations of physical activity participation and snack consumption were conducted on two days. Correlations were calculated to validate weekly average estimates from OSNAP-OPAT compared to criterion measures. Weekly criterion averages are based on 175 meals served, snack consumption of 528 children, and physical activity levels of 356 children. OSNAP-OPAT validly assessed serving water (r = 0.73), fruits and vegetables (r = 0.84), juice >4oz (r = 0.56), and grains (r = 0.60) at snack; sugary drinks (r = 0.70) and foods (r = 0.68) from outside the program; and children's water consumption (r = 0.56) (all p <0.05). Reports of physical activity time offered were correlated with accelerometer estimates (minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity r = 0.59, p = 0.02; vigorous physical activity r = 0.63, p = 0.01). The reported proportion of children participating in moderate and vigorous physical activity was correlated with observations (r = 0.48, p = 0.03), as were reports of computer (r = 0.85) and TV/movie (r = 0.68) time compared to direct observations (both p < 0.01). OSNAP-OPAT can assist researchers and practitioners in validly assessing nutrition and physical

Robust cubature Kalman filter for GNSS/INS with missing observations and colored measurement noise.

PubMed

Cui, Bingbo; Chen, Xiyuan; Tang, Xihua; Huang, Haoqian; Liu, Xiao

2018-01-01

In order to improve the accuracy of GNSS/INS working in GNSS-denied environment, a robust cubature Kalman filter (RCKF) is developed by considering colored measurement noise and missing observations. First, an improved cubature Kalman filter (CKF) is derived by considering colored measurement noise, where the time-differencing approach is applied to yield new observations. Then, after analyzing the disadvantages of existing methods, the measurement augment in processing colored noise is translated into processing the uncertainties of CKF, and new sigma point update framework is utilized to account for the bounded model uncertainties. By reusing the diffused sigma points and approximation residual in the prediction stage of CKF, the RCKF is developed and its error performance is analyzed theoretically. Results of numerical experiment and field test reveal that RCKF is more robust than CKF and extended Kalman filter (EKF), and compared with EKF, the heading error of land vehicle is reduced by about 72.4%. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aerosol Absorption in the Atmosphere: Perspectives from Global Model, Ground-Based Measurements, and Field Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Mian; Dubovik, Oleg; Holben, Brent; Torres, Omar; Anderson, Tad; Quinn, Patricia; Ginoux, Paul

2004-01-01

Aerosol absorption in the atmosphere poses a major uncertainty in assessing the aerosol climate effects. This uncertainty arises from the poorly quantified aerosol sources, especially black carbon emissions, and our limited knowledge of aerosol mixing state and optical properties. Here we use a global model GOCART to simulate atmospheric aerosols, including sulfate, black carbon, organic carbon, dust, and sea salt. We compare the model calculated total aerosol optical thickness, extinction, and absorption with those quantities from the ground-based sun photometer measurements from AERONET, satellite retrievals from the TOMS instrument, and field observations from ACE-Asia. We will examine the most sensitive factors in determining the aerosol absorption. and the consequences of assessing the aerosol radiative forcing and atmospheric heating associated with those factors.

Aerosol Absorption in the Atmosphere: Perspectives from Global Model, Ground-Based Measurements, and Field Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Mian; Dubovik, Oleg; Holben, Brent; Anderson, Tad; Quinn, Patricia; Duncan, Bryan; Ginoux, Paul

2003-01-01

Aerosol absorption in the atmosphere poses a major uncertainty in assessing the aerosol climate effects. This uncertainty arises from the poorly quantified aerosol sources, especially black carbon emissions, and our limited knowledge of aerosol mixing state and optical properties. Here we use a global model GOCART to simulate atmospheric aerosols, including sulfate, black carbon, organic carbon, dust, and sea salt. We compare the model calculated total aerosol optical thickness, extinction, and absorption with those quantities from the ground-based sun photometer measurements from AERONET at several different wavelengths and the field observations from ACE-Asia. We will examine what are the most sensitive factors in determining the aerosol absorption, and the consequences of assessing the aerosol radiative forcing and atmospheric heating associated with those factors.

Aerosol Absorption in the Atmosphere: Perspectives from Global Model, Ground-Based Measurements, and Field Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chin, Main; Dubovik, Oleg; Holben, Brent; Anderson, Tad; Quinn, Patricia; Duncan, Bryan; Ginoux, Paul

2004-01-01

Aerosol absorption in the atmosphere poses a major uncertainty in assessing the aerosol climate effects. This uncertainty arises from the poorly quantified aerosol sources, especially black carbon emissions, and our limited knowledge of aerosol mixing state and optical properties. Here we use a global model GOCART to simulate atmospheric aerosols, including sulfate, black carbon, organic carbon, dust, and sea salt. We compare the model calculated total aerosol optical thickness, extinction, and absorption with those quantities from the ground-based sun photometer measurements from AERONET at several different wavelengths and the field observations from ACE-Asia. We will examine the most sensitive factors in determining the aerosol absorption, and the consequences of assessing the aerosol radiative forcing and atmospheric heating associated with those factors.

Using propensity scores to estimate the effects of insecticides on stream invertebrates from observational data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lester L. Yuan,; Amina I. Pollard,; Carlisle, Daren M.

2009-01-01

Analyses of observational data can provide insights into relationships between environmental conditions and biological responses across a broader range of natural conditions than experimental studies, potentially complementing insights gained from experiments. However, observational data must be analyzed carefully to minimize the likelihood that confounding variables bias observed relationships. Propensity scores provide a robust approach for controlling for the effects of measured confounding variables when analyzing observational data. Here, we use propensity scores to estimate changes in mean invertebrate taxon richness in streams that have experienced insecticide concentrations that exceed aquatic life use benchmark concentrations. A simple comparison of richness in sites exposed to elevated insecticides with those that were not exposed suggests that exposed sites had on average 6.8 fewer taxa compared to unexposed sites. The presence of potential confounding variables makes it difficult to assert a causal relationship from this simple comparison. After controlling for confounding factors using propensity scores, the difference in richness between exposed and unexposed sites was reduced to 4.1 taxa, a difference that was still statistically significant. Because the propensity score analysis controlled for the effects of a wide variety of possible confounding variables, we infer that the change in richness observed in the propensity score analysis was likely caused by insecticide exposure.

Using propensity scores to estimate the effects of insecticides on stream invertebrates from observational data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yuan, L.L.; Pollard, A.I.; Carlisle, D.M.

2009-01-01

Analyses of observational data can provide insights into relationships between environmental conditions and biological responses across a broader range of natural conditions than experimental studies, potentially complementing insights gained from experiments. However, observational data must be analyzed carefully to minimize the likelihood that confounding variables bias observed relationships. Propensity scores provide a robust approach for controlling for the effects of measured confounding variables when analyzing observational data. Here, we use propensity scores to estimate changes in mean invertebrate taxon richness in streams that have experienced insecticide concentrations that exceed aquatic life use benchmark concentrations. A simple comparison of richness in sites exposed to elevated insecticides with those that were not exposed suggests that exposed sites had on average 6.8 fewer taxa compared to unexposed sites. The presence of potential confounding variables makes it difficult to assert a causal relationship from this simple comparison. After controlling for confounding factors using propensity scores, the difference in richness between exposed and unexposed sites was reduced to 4.1 taxa, a difference that was still statistically significant. Because the propensity score analysis controlled for the effects of a wide variety of possible confounding variables, we infer that the change in richness observed in the propensity score analysis was likely caused by insecticide exposure. ?? 2009 SETAC.

Is Structured Observation a Valid Technique to Measure Handwashing Behavior? Use of Acceleration Sensors Embedded in Soap to Assess Reactivity to Structured Observation

PubMed Central

Ram, Pavani K.; Halder, Amal K.; Granger, Stewart P.; Jones, Therese; Hall, Peter; Hitchcock, David; Wright, Richard; Nygren, Benjamin; Islam, M. Sirajul; Molyneaux, John W.; Luby, Stephen P.

2010-01-01

Structured observation is often used to evaluate handwashing behavior. We assessed reactivity to structured observation in rural Bangladesh by distributing soap containing acceleration sensors and performing structured observation 4 days later. Sensors recorded the number of times soap was moved. In 45 participating households, the median number of sensor soap movements during the 5-hour time block on pre-observation days was 3.7 (range 0.3–10.6). During the structured observation, the median number of sensor soap movements was 5.0 (range 0–18.0), a 35% increase, P = 0.0004. Compared with the same 5-hour time block on pre-observation days, the number of sensor soap movements increased during structured observation by ≥ 20% in 62% of households, and by ≥ 100% in 22% of households. The increase in sensor soap movements during structured observation, compared with pre-observation days, indicates substantial reactivity to the presence of the observer. These findings call into question the validity of structured observation for measurement of handwashing behavior. PMID:21036840

Is structured observation a valid technique to measure handwashing behavior? Use of acceleration sensors embedded in soap to assess reactivity to structured observation.

PubMed

Ram, Pavani K; Halder, Amal K; Granger, Stewart P; Jones, Therese; Hall, Peter; Hitchcock, David; Wright, Richard; Nygren, Benjamin; Islam, M Sirajul; Molyneaux, John W; Luby, Stephen P

2010-11-01

Structured observation is often used to evaluate handwashing behavior. We assessed reactivity to structured observation in rural Bangladesh by distributing soap containing acceleration sensors and performing structured observation 4 days later. Sensors recorded the number of times soap was moved. In 45 participating households, the median number of sensor soap movements during the 5-hour time block on pre-observation days was 3.7 (range 0.3-10.6). During the structured observation, the median number of sensor soap movements was 5.0 (range 0-18.0), a 35% increase, P = 0.0004. Compared with the same 5-hour time block on pre-observation days, the number of sensor soap movements increased during structured observation by ≥ 20% in 62% of households, and by ≥ 100% in 22% of households. The increase in sensor soap movements during structured observation, compared with pre-observation days, indicates substantial reactivity to the presence of the observer. These findings call into question the validity of structured observation for measurement of handwashing behavior.

Observed Measures of Negative Parenting Predict Brain Development during Adolescence.

PubMed

Whittle, Sarah; Vijayakumar, Nandita; Dennison, Meg; Schwartz, Orli; Simmons, Julian G; Sheeber, Lisa; Allen, Nicholas B

2016-01-01

Limited attention has been directed toward the influence of non-abusive parenting behaviour on brain structure in adolescents. It has been suggested that environmental influences during this period are likely to impact the way that the brain develops over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between aggressive and positive parenting behaviors on brain development from early to late adolescence, and in turn, psychological and academic functioning during late adolescence, using a multi-wave longitudinal design. Three hundred and sixty seven magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained over three time points from 166 adolescents (11-20 years). At the first time point, observed measures of maternal aggressive and positive behaviors were obtained. At the final time point, measures of psychological and academic functioning were obtained. Results indicated that a higher frequency of maternal aggressive behavior was associated with alterations in the development of right superior frontal and lateral parietal cortical thickness, and of nucleus accumbens volume, in males. Development of the superior frontal cortex in males mediated the relationship between maternal aggressive behaviour and measures of late adolescent functioning. We suggest that our results support an association between negative parenting and adolescent functioning, which may be mediated by immature or delayed brain maturation.

Observed Measures of Negative Parenting Predict Brain Development during Adolescence

PubMed Central

Whittle, Sarah; Vijayakumar, Nandita; Dennison, Meg; Schwartz, Orli; Simmons, Julian G.; Sheeber, Lisa; Allen, Nicholas B.

2016-01-01

Limited attention has been directed toward the influence of non-abusive parenting behaviour on brain structure in adolescents. It has been suggested that environmental influences during this period are likely to impact the way that the brain develops over time. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between aggressive and positive parenting behaviors on brain development from early to late adolescence, and in turn, psychological and academic functioning during late adolescence, using a multi-wave longitudinal design. Three hundred and sixty seven magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained over three time points from 166 adolescents (11–20 years). At the first time point, observed measures of maternal aggressive and positive behaviors were obtained. At the final time point, measures of psychological and academic functioning were obtained. Results indicated that a higher frequency of maternal aggressive behavior was associated with alterations in the development of right superior frontal and lateral parietal cortical thickness, and of nucleus accumbens volume, in males. Development of the superior frontal cortex in males mediated the relationship between maternal aggressive behaviour and measures of late adolescent functioning. We suggest that our results support an association between negative parenting and adolescent functioning, which may be mediated by immature or delayed brain maturation. PMID:26824348

Association of environmental indicators with teen alcohol use and problem behavior: Teens' observations vs. objectively-measured indicators.

PubMed

Byrnes, Hilary F; Miller, Brenda A; Morrison, Christopher N; Wiebe, Douglas J; Woychik, Marcie; Wiehe, Sarah E

2017-01-01

Most prior studies use objectively measured data (e.g., census-based indicators) to assess contextual risks. However, teens' observations might be more important for their risk behavior. 1) determine relationships between observed and objective indicators of contextual risks 2) determine relations of observed and objective indicators with teen alcohol use and problem behavior. Teens aged 14-16 (N=170) carried GPS-enabled smartphones for one month, with locations documented. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measured teens' observations via texts regarding risk behaviors and environmental observations. Objective indicators of alcohol outlets and disorganization were spatially joined to EMAs based on teens' location at the time of the texts. Observed and objective disorganization, and objective indicators of alcohol outlets were related to alcohol use. Observed disorganization was related to problem behavior, while objective indicators were unrelated. Findings suggest the importance of considering teens' observations of contextual risk for understanding influences on risk behavior and suggest future directions for research and prevention strategies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of Environmental Indicators with Teen Alcohol Use and Problem Behavior: Teens’ Observations vs. Objectively-Measured Indicators

PubMed Central

Byrnes, Hilary F.; Miller, Brenda A.; Morrison, Christopher N.; Wiebe, Douglas J.; Woychik, Marcie; Wiehe, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

Most prior studies use objectively measured data (e.g., census-based indicators) to assess contextual risks. However, teens’ observations might be more important for their risk behavior. Objectives: 1) determine relationships between observed and objective indicators of contextual risks 2) determine relations of observed and objective indicators with teen alcohol use and problem behavior. Teens aged 14–16 (N=170) carried GPS-enabled smartphones for one month, with locations documented. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) measured teens’ observations via texts regarding risk behaviors and environmental observations. Objective indicators of alcohol outlets and disorganization were spatially joined to EMAs based on teens’ location at the time of the texts. Observed and objective disorganization, and objective indicators of alcohol outlets were related to alcohol use. Observed disorganization was related to problem behavior, while objective indicators were unrelated. Findings suggest the importance of considering teens’ observations of contextual risk for understanding influences on risk behavior and suggest future directions for research and prevention strategies. PMID:28061392

Observation of the Spin Nernst Effect in Platinum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goennenwein, Sebastian

Thermoelectric effects - arising from the interplay between thermal and charge transport phenomena - have been extensively studied and are considered well established. Upon taking into account the spin degree of freedom, however, qualitatively new phenomena arise. A prototype example for these so-called magneto-thermoelectric or spin-caloritronic effects is the spin Seebeck effect, in which a thermal gradient drives a pure spin current. In contrast to their thermoelectric counterparts, not all the spin-caloritronic effects predicted from theory have yet been observed in experiment. One of these `missing' phenomena is the spin Nernst effect, in which a thermal gradient gives rise to a transverse pure spin current. We have observed the spin Nernst effect in yttrium iron garnet/platinum (YIG/Pt) thin film bilayers. Upon applying a thermal gradient within the YIG/Pt bilayer plane, a pure spin current flows in the direction orthogonal to the thermal drive. We detect this spin current as a thermopower voltage, generated via magnetization-orientation dependent spin transfer into the adjacent YIG layer. Our data shows that the spin Nernst and the spin Hall effect in in Pt have different sign, but comparable magnitude, in agreement with first-principles calculations. Financial support via Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Priority Programme SPP 1538 Spin-Caloric Transport is gratefully acknowledged.

Measurement of filling factor 5/2 quasiparticle interference with observation of charge e/4 and e/2 period oscillations.

PubMed

Willett, R L; Pfeiffer, L N; West, K W

2009-06-02

A standing problem in low-dimensional electron systems is the nature of the 5/2 fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state: Its elementary excitations are a focus for both elucidating the state's properties and as candidates in methods to perform topological quantum computation. Interferometric devices may be used to manipulate and measure quantum Hall edge excitations. Here we use a small-area edge state interferometer designed to observe quasiparticle interference effects. Oscillations consistent in detail with the Aharonov-Bohm effect are observed for integer quantum Hall and FQH states (filling factors nu = 2, 5/3, and 7/3) with periods corresponding to their respective charges and magnetic field positions. With these factors as charge calibrations, periodic transmission through the device consistent with quasiparticle charge e/4 is observed at nu = 5/2 and at lowest temperatures. The principal finding of this work is that, in addition to these e/4 oscillations, periodic structures corresponding to e/2 are also observed at 5/2 nu and at lowest temperatures. Properties of the e/4 and e/2 oscillations are examined with the device sensitivity sufficient to observe temperature evolution of the 5/2 quasiparticle interference. In the model of quasiparticle interference, this presence of an effective e/2 period may empirically reflect an e/2 quasiparticle charge or may reflect multiple passes of the e/4 quasiparticle around the interferometer. These results are discussed within a picture of e/4 quasiparticle excitations potentially possessing non-Abelian statistics. These studies demonstrate the capacity to perform interferometry on 5/2 excitations and reveal properties important for understanding this state and its excitations.

Measurement of filling factor 5/2 quasiparticle interference with observation of charge e/4 and e/2 period oscillations

PubMed Central

Willett, R. L.; Pfeiffer, L. N.; West, K. W.

2009-01-01

A standing problem in low-dimensional electron systems is the nature of the 5/2 fractional quantum Hall (FQH) state: Its elementary excitations are a focus for both elucidating the state's properties and as candidates in methods to perform topological quantum computation. Interferometric devices may be used to manipulate and measure quantum Hall edge excitations. Here we use a small-area edge state interferometer designed to observe quasiparticle interference effects. Oscillations consistent in detail with the Aharonov–Bohm effect are observed for integer quantum Hall and FQH states (filling factors ν = 2, 5/3, and 7/3) with periods corresponding to their respective charges and magnetic field positions. With these factors as charge calibrations, periodic transmission through the device consistent with quasiparticle charge e/4 is observed at ν = 5/2 and at lowest temperatures. The principal finding of this work is that, in addition to these e/4 oscillations, periodic structures corresponding to e/2 are also observed at 5/2 ν and at lowest temperatures. Properties of the e/4 and e/2 oscillations are examined with the device sensitivity sufficient to observe temperature evolution of the 5/2 quasiparticle interference. In the model of quasiparticle interference, this presence of an effective e/2 period may empirically reflect an e/2 quasiparticle charge or may reflect multiple passes of the e/4 quasiparticle around the interferometer. These results are discussed within a picture of e/4 quasiparticle excitations potentially possessing non-Abelian statistics. These studies demonstrate the capacity to perform interferometry on 5/2 excitations and reveal properties important for understanding this state and its excitations. PMID:19433804

Emotion dysregulation and dyadic conflict in depressed and typical adolescents: evaluating concordance across psychophysiological and observational measures.

PubMed

Crowell, Sheila E; Baucom, Brian R; Yaptangco, Mona; Bride, Daniel; Hsiao, Ray; McCauley, Elizabeth; Beauchaine, Theodore P

2014-04-01

Many depressed adolescents experience difficulty in regulating their emotions. These emotion regulation difficulties appear to emerge in part from socialization processes within families and then generalize to other contexts. However, emotion dysregulation is typically assessed within the individual, rather than in the social relationships that shape and maintain dysregulation. In this study, we evaluated concordance of physiological and observational measures of emotion dysregulation during interpersonal conflict, using a multilevel actor-partner interdependence model (APIM). Participants were 75 mother-daughter dyads, including 50 depressed adolescents with or without a history of self-injury, and 25 typically developing controls. Behavior dysregulation was operationalized as observed aversiveness during a conflict discussion, and physiological dysregulation was indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Results revealed different patterns of concordance for control versus depressed participants. Controls evidenced a concordant partner (between-person) effect, and showed increased physiological regulation during minutes when their partner was more aversive. In contrast, clinical dyad members displayed a concordant actor (within-person) effect, becoming simultaneously physiologically and behaviorally dysregulated. Results inform current understanding of emotion dysregulation across multiple levels of analysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of citizen engagement levels in flood forecasting by assimilating crowdsourced observations in hydrological models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazzoleni, Maurizio; Cortes Arevalo, Juliette; Alfonso, Leonardo; Wehn, Uta; Norbiato, Daniele; Monego, Martina; Ferri, Michele; Solomatine, Dimitri

2017-04-01

In the past years, a number of methods have been proposed to reduce uncertainty in flood prediction by means of model updating techniques. Traditional physical observations are usually integrated into hydrological and hydraulic models to improve model performances and consequent flood predictions. Nowadays, low-cost sensors can be used for crowdsourced observations. Different type of social sensors can measure, in a more distributed way, physical variables such as precipitation and water level. However, these crowdsourced observations are not integrated into a real-time fashion into water-system models due to their varying accuracy and random spatial-temporal coverage. We assess the effect in model performance due to the assimilation of crowdsourced observations of water level. Our method consists in (1) implementing a Kalman filter into a cascade of hydrological and hydraulic models. (2) defining observation errors depending on the type of sensor either physical or social. Randomly distributed errors are based on accuracy ranges that slightly improve according to the citizens' expertise level. (3) Using a simplified social model to realistically represent citizen engagement levels based on population density and citizens' motivation scenarios. To test our method, we synthetically derive crowdsourced observations for different citizen engagement levels from a distributed network of physical and social sensors. The observations are assimilated during a particular flood event occurred in the Bacchiglione catchment, Italy. The results of this study demonstrate that sharing crowdsourced water level observations (often motivated by a feeling of belonging to a community of friends) can help in improving flood prediction. On the other hand, a growing participation of individual citizens or weather enthusiasts sharing hydrological observations in cities can help to improve model performance. This study is a first step to assess the effects of crowdsourced observations in

Laser-induced pressure-wave and barocaloric effect during flash diffusivity measurements

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

Wang, Hsin; Porter, Wallace D.; Dinwiddie, Ralph Barton

We report laser-induced pressure-wave and barocaloric effect captured by an infrared detector during thermal diffusivity measurements. Very fast (< 1 ms) and negative transients during laser flash measurements were captured by the infrared detector on thin, high thermal conductivity samples. Standard thermal diffusivity analysis only focuses the longer time scale thermal transient measured from the back surface due to thermal conduction. These negative spikes are filtered out and ignored as noise or anomaly from instrument. This study confirmed that the initial negative signal was indeed a temperature drop induced by the laser pulse. The laser pulse induced instantaneous volume expansionmore » and the associated cooling in the specimen can be explained by the barocaloric effect. The initial cooling (< 100 microsecond) is also known as thermoelastic effect in which a negative temperature change is generated when the material is elastically deformed by volume expansion. A subsequent temperature oscillation in the sample was observed and only lasted about one millisecond. The pressure-wave induced thermal signal was systematically studied and analyzed. In conclusion, the underlying physics of photon-mechanical-thermal energy conversions and the potential of using this signal to study barocaloric effects in solids are discussed.« less

Laser-induced pressure-wave and barocaloric effect during flash diffusivity measurements

DOE PAGES

Wang, Hsin; Porter, Wallace D.; Dinwiddie, Ralph Barton

2017-08-01

We report laser-induced pressure-wave and barocaloric effect captured by an infrared detector during thermal diffusivity measurements. Very fast (< 1 ms) and negative transients during laser flash measurements were captured by the infrared detector on thin, high thermal conductivity samples. Standard thermal diffusivity analysis only focuses the longer time scale thermal transient measured from the back surface due to thermal conduction. These negative spikes are filtered out and ignored as noise or anomaly from instrument. This study confirmed that the initial negative signal was indeed a temperature drop induced by the laser pulse. The laser pulse induced instantaneous volume expansionmore » and the associated cooling in the specimen can be explained by the barocaloric effect. The initial cooling (< 100 microsecond) is also known as thermoelastic effect in which a negative temperature change is generated when the material is elastically deformed by volume expansion. A subsequent temperature oscillation in the sample was observed and only lasted about one millisecond. The pressure-wave induced thermal signal was systematically studied and analyzed. In conclusion, the underlying physics of photon-mechanical-thermal energy conversions and the potential of using this signal to study barocaloric effects in solids are discussed.« less

Observation of the Leggett-Rice Effect in a Unitary Fermi Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trotzky, S.; Beattie, S.; Luciuk, C.; Smale, S.; Bardon, A. B.; Enss, T.; Taylor, E.; Zhang, S.; Thywissen, J. H.

2015-01-01

We observe that the diffusive spin current in a strongly interacting degenerate Fermi gas of 40K precesses about the local magnetization. As predicted by Leggett and Rice, precession is observed both in the Ramsey phase of a spin-echo sequence, and in the nonlinearity of the magnetization decay. At unitarity, we measure a Leggett-Rice parameter γ =1.08 (9 ) and a bare transverse spin diffusivity D0⊥=2.3 (4 )ℏ/m for a normal-state gas initialized with full polarization and at one-fifth of the Fermi temperature, where m is the atomic mass. One might expect γ =0 at unitarity, where two-body scattering is purely dissipative. We observe γ →0 as temperature is increased towards the Fermi temperature, consistent with calculations that show the degenerate Fermi sea restores a nonzero γ . Tuning the scattering length a , we find that a sign change in γ occurs in the range 0 <(kFa )-1≲1.3 , where kF is the Fermi momentum. We discuss how γ reveals the effective interaction strength of the gas, such that the sign change in γ indicates a switching of branch between a repulsive and an attractive Fermi gas.

Observation Versus Initial Treatment for Men With Localized, Low-Risk Prostate Cancer A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

PubMed Central

Hayes, Julia H.; Ollendorf, Daniel A.; Pearson, Steven D.; Barry, Michael J.; Kantoff, Philip W.; Lee, Pablo A.; McMahon, Pamela M.

2015-01-01

Background Observation is underused among men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer. Objective To assess the costs and benefits of observation versus initial treatment. Design Decision analysis simulating treatment or observation. Data Sources Medicare schedules, published literature. Target Population Men ages 65 and 75 years with newly diagnosed low-risk prostate cancer (prostate-specific antigen level <10 μg/L, stage ≤T2a, Gleason score ≤3+3). Time Horizon Lifetime. Perspective Societal. Intervention Treatment (brachytherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or radical prostatectomy) or observation (active surveillance [AS] or watchful waiting [WW]). Outcome Measures Quality-adjusted life expectancy, costs. Results of Base-Case Analysis Observation was more effective and less costly than initial treatment. Compared with AS, WW provided 2 additional months of quality-adjusted life expectancy (9.02 vs. 8.85 years) at a savings of $15 374 ($24 520 vs. $39 894) in men aged 65 years and 2 additional months (6.14 vs. 5.98 years) at a savings of $11 746 ($18 302 vs. $30 048) in men aged 75 years. Brachytherapy was the most effective and least expensive initial treatment. Results of Sensitivity Analysis Treatment became more effective than observation when it led to more dramatic reductions in prostate cancer death (hazard ratio, 0.47 vs. WW and 0.64 vs. AS). Active surveillance became as effective as WW in men aged 65 years when the probability of progressing to treatment on AS decreased below 63% or when the quality of life with AS versus WW was 4% higher in men aged 65 years or 1% higher in men aged 75 years. Watchful waiting remained least expensive in all analyses. Limitation Results depend on outcomes reported in the published literature, which is limited. Conclusion Among these men, observation is more effective and costs less than initial treatment, and WW is most effective and least expensive under a wide range of clinical scenarios. Primary

Pulsar and CV Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malina, R. F.

PSR_0656+14: Measurement of surface thermal emission from neutron stars (NS) is essential to theories regarding the condensed matter state equation, the thermal evolution of NS, and of NS atmospheres. We propose to conduct 50 Ang band FUV photometric observations of PSR B0656+14, an X-ray, SXR and EUV bright isolated NS with an optical counterpart. FUV photometry will provide critical characterization of the NS's surface thermal radiation. Higher energy observations may be effected by poorly established effects including magnetized atmospheres, chemical compositions, temperature gradients and gravitational effects. Optical observations may be subject to non-thermal effects. V3885 Sgr: V3885 Sgr is one of the brightest nonmagnetic cataclysmic variables. We propose to observe V3885 Sgr for 5 to 6 contiguous FUSE orbits, achieving a S/N of about 12 at full resolution even at the troughs of the source's O VI absorption lines in each spectrum (assuming 2000 sec visibility per orbit). The primary purpose of the observations is to use the source as a bright continuum against which to study local interstellar absorption lines. Although observed on Malina's Co-I Program, the data will be analyzed in collaboration with members of the O VI Project.

MCNP modelling of the wall effects observed in tissue-equivalent proportional counters.

PubMed

Hoff, J L; Townsend, L W

2002-01-01

Tissue-equivalent proportional counters (TEPCs) utilise tissue-equivalent materials to depict homogeneous microscopic volumes of human tissue. Although both the walls and gas simulate the same medium, they respond to radiation differently. Density differences between the two materials cause distortions, or wall effects, in measurements, with the most dominant effect caused by delta rays. This study uses a Monte Carlo transport code, MCNP, to simulate the transport of secondary electrons within a TEPC. The Rudd model, a singly differential cross section with no dependence on electron direction, is used to describe the energy spectrum obtained by the impact of two iron beams on water. Based on the models used in this study, a wall-less TEPC had a higher lineal energy (keV.micron-1) as a function of impact parameter than a solid-wall TEPC for the iron beams under consideration. An important conclusion of this study is that MCNP has the ability to model the wall effects observed in TEPCs.

Behavioral observations of positive and negative valence systems in early childhood predict physiological measures of emotional processing three years later.

PubMed

Kessel, Ellen M; Kujawa, Autumn; Goldstein, Brandon; Hajcak, Greg; Bufferd, Sara J; Dyson, Margaret; Klein, Daniel N

2017-07-01

The Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) constructs of Positive Valence Systems (PVS) and Negative Valence Systems (NVS) are presumed to manifest behaviorally through early-emerging temperamental negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA). The late positive potential (LPP) is a physiological measure of attention towards both negative and positive emotional stimuli; however, its associations with behavioral aspects of PVS and NVS have yet to be examined. In a community sample of children (N = 340), we examined longitudinal relationships between observational measures of temperamental PA and NA assessed at age 6, and the LPP to both pleasant and unpleasant images assessed at age 9. Lower PA at age 6 predicted reduced LPP amplitudes to pleasant, but not unpleasant, images. NA as a composite measure was not related to the LPP, but specific associations were observed with facets of NA: greater fear predicted an enhanced LPP to unpleasant images, whereas greater sadness predicted a reduced LPP to unpleasant images. We were unable to evaluate concurrent associations between behavioral observations of temperament and the LPP, and effect sizes were modest. Results support correspondence between behavioral and physiological measures of emotional processing across development, and provide evidence of discriminant validity in that PA was specifically related to the LPP to pleasant images, while facets of NA were specifically linked to the LPP to unpleasant images. Distinct associations of temperamental sadness and fear with the LPP highlight the importance of further evaluating subconstructs of NVS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

First measurement of the polarization observable E and helicity-dependent cross sections in single π 0 photoproduction from quasi-free nucleons

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

Dieterle, M.; Witthauer, L.; Cividini, F.

The double-polarization observable Eand the helicity-dependent cross sections σ 1/2 and σ 3/2have been measured for the first time for single π0photoproduction from protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron at the electron accelerator facility MAMI in Mainz, Germany. The experiment used a circularly polarized photon beam and a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products, recoil nucleons and decay photons from the π0meson were detected with the Crystal Ball and TAPS electromagnetic calorimeters. Effects from nuclear Fermi motion were removed by a kinematic reconstruction of the π 0N final state. A comparison to data measured with a freemore » proton target showed that the absolute scale of the cross sections is significantly modified by nuclear final-state interaction (FSI) effects. However, there is no significant effect on the asymmetry E since the σ 1/2 and σ 3/2components appear to be influenced in a similar way. Thus, the best approximation of the two helicity-dependent cross sections for the free neutron is obtained by combining the asymmetry E measured with quasi-free neutrons and the unpolarized cross section corrected for FSI effects under the assumption that the FSI effects are similar for neutrons and protons.« less

First measurement of the polarization observable E and helicity-dependent cross sections in single π 0 photoproduction from quasi-free nucleons

DOE PAGES

Dieterle, M.; Witthauer, L.; Cividini, F.; ...

2017-05-10

The double-polarization observable Eand the helicity-dependent cross sections σ 1/2 and σ 3/2have been measured for the first time for single π0photoproduction from protons and neutrons bound in the deuteron at the electron accelerator facility MAMI in Mainz, Germany. The experiment used a circularly polarized photon beam and a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products, recoil nucleons and decay photons from the π0meson were detected with the Crystal Ball and TAPS electromagnetic calorimeters. Effects from nuclear Fermi motion were removed by a kinematic reconstruction of the π 0N final state. A comparison to data measured with a freemore » proton target showed that the absolute scale of the cross sections is significantly modified by nuclear final-state interaction (FSI) effects. However, there is no significant effect on the asymmetry E since the σ 1/2 and σ 3/2components appear to be influenced in a similar way. Thus, the best approximation of the two helicity-dependent cross sections for the free neutron is obtained by combining the asymmetry E measured with quasi-free neutrons and the unpolarized cross section corrected for FSI effects under the assumption that the FSI effects are similar for neutrons and protons.« less

A Hilbert Space Representation of Generalized Observables and Measurement Processes in the ESR Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sozzo, Sandro; Garola, Claudio

2010-12-01

The extended semantic realism ( ESR) model recently worked out by one of the authors embodies the mathematical formalism of standard (Hilbert space) quantum mechanics in a noncontextual framework, reinterpreting quantum probabilities as conditional instead of absolute. We provide here a Hilbert space representation of the generalized observables introduced by the ESR model that satisfy a simple physical condition, propose a generalization of the projection postulate, and suggest a possible mathematical description of the measurement process in terms of evolution of the compound system made up of the measured system and the measuring apparatus.

Breath acidification in adolescent runners exposed to atmospheric pollution: A prospective, repeated measures observational study

PubMed Central

Ferdinands, Jill M; Crawford, Carol A Gotway; Greenwald, Roby; Van Sickle, David; Hunter, Eric; Teague, W Gerald

2008-01-01

Background Vigorous outdoors exercise during an episode of air pollution might cause airway inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of vigorous outdoor exercise during peak smog season on breath pH, a biomarker of airway inflammation, in adolescent athletes. Methods We measured breath pH both pre- and post-exercise on ten days during peak smog season in 16 high school athletes engaged in daily long-distance running in a downwind suburb of Atlanta. The association of post-exercise breath pH with ambient ozone and particulate matter concentrations was tested with linear regression. Results We collected 144 pre-exercise and 146 post-exercise breath samples from 16 runners (mean age 14.9 years, 56% male). Median pre-exercise breath pH was 7.58 (interquartile range: 6.90 to 7.86) and did not change significantly after exercise. We observed no significant association between ambient ozone or particulate matter and post-exercise breath pH. However both pre- and post-exercise breath pH were strikingly low in these athletes when compared to a control sample of 14 relatively sedentary healthy adults and to published values of breath pH in healthy subjects. Conclusion Although we did not observe an acute effect of air pollution exposure during exercise on breath pH, breath pH was surprisingly low in this sample of otherwise healthy long-distance runners. We speculate that repetitive vigorous exercise may induce airway acidification. PMID:18328105

Using Space Lidar Observations to Decompose Longwave Cloud Radiative Effect Variations Over the Last Decade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaillant de Guélis, Thibault; Chepfer, Hélène; Noel, Vincent; Guzman, Rodrigo; Winker, David M.; Plougonven, Riwal

2017-12-01

Measurements of the longwave cloud radiative effect (LWCRE) at the top of the atmosphere assess the contribution of clouds to the Earth warming but do not quantify the cloud property variations that are responsible for the LWCRE variations. The CALIPSO space lidar observes directly the detailed profile of cloud, cloud opacity, and cloud cover. Here we use these observations to quantify the influence of cloud properties on the variations of the LWCRE observed between 2008 and 2015 in the tropics and at global scale. At global scale, the method proposed here gives good results except over the Southern Ocean. We find that the global LWCRE variations observed over ocean are mostly due to variations in the opaque cloud properties (82%); transparent cloud columns contributed 18%. Variation of opaque cloud cover is the first contributor to the LWCRE evolution (58%); opaque cloud temperature is the second contributor (28%).

Faraday-effect polarimeter diagnostic for internal magnetic field fluctuation measurements in DIII-D.

PubMed

Chen, J; Ding, W X; Brower, D L; Finkenthal, D; Muscatello, C; Taussig, D; Boivin, R

2016-11-01

Motivated by the need to measure fast equilibrium temporal dynamics, non-axisymmetric structures, and core magnetic fluctuations (coherent and broadband), a three-chord Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer system with fast time response and high phase resolution has recently been installed on the DIII-D tokamak. A novel detection scheme utilizing two probe beams and two detectors for each chord results in reduced phase noise and increased time response [δb ∼ 1G with up to 3 MHz bandwidth]. First measurement results were obtained during the recent DIII-D experimental campaign. Simultaneous Faraday and density measurements have been successfully demonstrated and high-frequency, up to 100 kHz, Faraday-effect perturbations have been observed. Preliminary comparisons with EFIT are used to validate diagnostic performance. Principle of the diagnostic and first experimental results is presented.

Increasing Reliability of Direct Observation Measurement Approaches in Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders Research Using Generalizability Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gage, Nicholas A.; Prykanowski, Debra; Hirn, Regina

2014-01-01

Reliability of direct observation outcomes ensures the results are consistent, dependable, and trustworthy. Typically, reliability of direct observation measurement approaches is assessed using interobserver agreement (IOA) and the calculation of observer agreement (e.g., percentage of agreement). However, IOA does not address intraobserver…

Constraining Atmospheric Particle Size in Gale Crater Using REMS UV Measurements and Mastcam Observations at 440 and 880 nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mason, E. L.; Lemmon, M. T.; de la Torre-Juárez, M.; Vicente-Retortillo, A.; Martinez, G.

2015-12-01

Optical depth measured in Gale crater has been shown to vary seasonally, and this variation is potentially linked to a change in dust size visible from the surface. The Mast Camera (Mastcam) on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has performed cross-sky brightness surveys similar to those obtained at the Phoenix Lander site. Since particle size can be constrained by observing airborne dust across multiple wavelengths and angles, surveys at 440 and 880 nm can be used to characterize atmospheric dust within and above the crater. In addition, Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on MSL provides downward radiation flux from 250 nm (UVD) to 340 nm (UVA), which would further constrain aerosol properties. The dust, which is not spherical and likely contains irregular particles, can be modeled using randomly oriented triaxial ellipsoids with predetermined microphysical optical properties and fit to sky survey observations to retrieve an effective radius. This work provides a discussion on the constraints of particle size distribution using REMS measurements as well as shape of the particle in Gale crater in comparison to Mastcam at the specified wavelengths.

Understanding effects of topical ingredients on electrical measurement of skin hydration.

PubMed

Crowther, J M

2016-12-01

Methods that assess skin hydration based on changes in its electrical properties are widely used in both cosmetic and medical research. However, the devices themselves often give results which are significantly different to each other. Although some work has previously been carried out to try and understand what these devices are actually reading, it was based on a technique for measuring the devices' responses to filter discs impregnated with different liquids, which could in itself be influencing the measurements. Presented here is a new method for measuring the devices' direct responses to different materials and solutions which removes any other confounding effects, thereby providing a clearer insight into their operation. The responses of a variety of different liquids and solutions were measured using the Corneometer ® and Skicon ® . A new method is presented, based on the use of a custom-designed PTFE block to hold the liquids, allowing their measurement without using a filter paper. This method was developed and tested against the existing filter paper-based approach. Differences were observed in results between filter paper- and PTFE block-based approach, indicating that the filter paper itself is capable of influencing the measurements and as such is not to be recommended for assessing how different liquids impact on results from the devices. A positive correlation was observed between Corneometer ® and Skicon ® readings for certain solutions and under certain conditions. A large influence of salt concentration was noted for the Skicon ® device with no or minimal impact from the actual water itself, humectants and emollients. Salts, emollients, water and humectants were observed to have an effect on Corneometer ® readings. Both the Corneometer ® and Skicon ® were influenced to different extents by chemicals other than water and therefore cannot be seen purely as measures of skin 'hydration'. Although there is strong evidence that the devices do

Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties.

PubMed

Khachatryan, V; Sirunyan, A M; Tumasyan, A; Adam, W; Bergauer, T; Dragicevic, M; Erö, J; Fabjan, C; Friedl, M; Frühwirth, R; Ghete, V M; Hartl, C; Hörmann, N; Hrubec, J; Jeitler, M; Kiesenhofer, W; Knünz, V; Krammer, M; Krätschmer, I; Liko, D; Mikulec, I; Rabady, D; Rahbaran, B; Rohringer, H; Schöfbeck, R; Strauss, J; Taurok, A; Treberer-Treberspurg, W; Waltenberger, W; Wulz, C-E; Mossolov, V; Shumeiko, N; Suarez Gonzalez, J; Alderweireldt, S; Bansal, M; Bansal, S; Cornelis, T; De Wolf, E A; Janssen, X; Knutsson, A; Luyckx, S; Ochesanu, S; Roland, B; Rougny, R; Van De Klundert, M; Van Haevermaet, H; Van Mechelen, P; Van Remortel, N; Van Spilbeeck, A; Blekman, F; Blyweert, S; D'Hondt, J; Daci, N; Heracleous, N; Keaveney, J; Lowette, S; Maes, M; Olbrechts, A; Python, Q; Strom, D; Tavernier, S; Van Doninck, W; Van Mulders, P; Van Onsem, G P; Villella, I; Caillol, C; Clerbaux, B; De Lentdecker, G; Dobur, D; Favart, L; Gay, A P R; Grebenyuk, A; Léonard, A; Mohammadi, A; Perniè, L; Reis, T; Seva, T; Thomas, L; Vander Velde, C; Vanlaer, P; Wang, J; Adler, V; Beernaert, K; Benucci, L; Cimmino, A; Costantini, S; Crucy, S; Dildick, S; Fagot, A; Garcia, G; Mccartin, J; Ocampo Rios, A A; Ryckbosch, D; Salva Diblen, S; Sigamani, M; Strobbe, N; Thyssen, F; Tytgat, M; Yazgan, E; Zaganidis, N; Basegmez, S; Beluffi, C; Bruno, G; Castello, R; Caudron, A; Ceard, L; Da Silveira, G G; Delaere, C; du Pree, T; Favart, D; Forthomme, L; Giammanco, A; Hollar, J; Jez, P; Komm, M; Lemaitre, V; Nuttens, C; Pagano, D; Perrini, L; Pin, A; Piotrzkowski, K; Popov, A; Quertenmont, L; Selvaggi, M; Vidal Marono, M; Vizan Garcia, J M; Beliy, N; Caebergs, T; Daubie, E; Hammad, G H; Júnior, W L Aldá; Alves, G A; Correa Martins Junior, M; Martins, T Dos Reis; Pol, M E; Carvalho, W; Chinellato, J; Custódio, A; Da Costa, E M; De Jesus Damiao, D; De Oliveira Martins, C; Fonseca De Souza, S; Malbouisson, H; Matos Figueiredo, D; Mundim, L; Nogima, H; Prado Da Silva, W L; Santaolalla, J; Santoro, A; Sznajder, A; Tonelli Manganote, E J; Vilela Pereira, A; Bernardes, C A; Fernandez Perez Tomei, T R; Gregores, E M; Mercadante, P G; Novaes, S F; Padula, Sandra S; Aleksandrov, A; Genchev, V; Iaydjiev, P; Marinov, A; Piperov, S; Rodozov, M; Sultanov, G; Vutova, M; Dimitrov, A; Glushkov, I; Hadjiiska, R; Kozhuharov, V; Litov, L; Pavlov, B; Petkov, P; Bian, J G; Chen, G M; Chen, H S; Chen, M; Du, R; Jiang, C H; Liang, D; Liang, S; Plestina, R; Tao, J; Wang, X; Wang, Z; Asawatangtrakuldee, C; Ban, Y; Guo, Y; Li, Q; Li, W; Liu, S; Mao, Y; Qian, S J; Wang, D; Zhang, L; Zou, W; Avila, C; Chaparro Sierra, L F; Florez, C; Gomez, J P; Gomez Moreno, B; Sanabria, J C; Godinovic, N; Lelas, D; Polic, D; Puljak, I; Antunovic, Z; Kovac, M; Brigljevic, V; Kadija, K; Luetic, J; Mekterovic, D; Sudic, L; Attikis, A; Mavromanolakis, G; Mousa, J; Nicolaou, C; Ptochos, F; Razis, P A; Bodlak, M; Finger, M; Finger, M; Assran, Y; Mahmoud, M A; Radi, A; Kadastik, M; Murumaa, M; Raidal, M; Tiko, A; Eerola, P; Fedi, G; Voutilainen, M; Härkönen, J; Karimäki, V; Kinnunen, R; Kortelainen, M J; Lampén, T; Lassila-Perini, K; Lehti, S; Lindén, T; Luukka, P; Mäenpää, T; Peltola, T; Tuominen, E; Tuominiemi, J; Tuovinen, E; Wendland, L; Tuuva, T; Besancon, M; Couderc, F; Dejardin, M; Denegri, D; Fabbro, B; Faure, J L; Favaro, C; Ferri, F; Ganjour, S; Givernaud, A; Gras, P; Hamel de Monchenault, G; Jarry, P; Locci, E; Malcles, J; Rander, J; Rosowsky, A; Titov, M; Baffioni, S; Beaudette, F; Busson, P; Charlot, C; Dahms, T; Dalchenko, M; Dobrzynski, L; Filipovic, N; Florent, A; Granier de Cassagnac, R; Mastrolorenzo, L; Miné, P; Mironov, C; Naranjo, I N; Nguyen, M; Ochando, C; Paganini, P; Salerno, R; Sauvan, J B; Sirois, Y; Veelken, C; Yilmaz, Y; Zabi, A; Agram, J-L; Andrea, J; Aubin, A; Bloch, D; Brom, J-M; Chabert, E C; Collard, C; Conte, E; Fontaine, J-C; Gelé, D; Goerlach, U; Goetzmann, C; Le Bihan, A-C; Van Hove, P; Gadrat, S; Beauceron, S; Beaupere, N; Boudoul, G; Brochet, S; Carrillo Montoya, C A; Chasserat, J; Chierici, R; Contardo, D; Depasse, P; El Mamouni, H; Fan, J; Fay, J; Gascon, S; Gouzevitch, M; Ille, B; Kurca, T; Lethuillier, M; Mirabito, L; Perries, S; Ruiz Alvarez, J D; Sabes, D; Sgandurra, L; Sordini, V; Vander Donckt, M; Verdier, P; Viret, S; Xiao, H; Tsamalaidze, Z; Autermann, C; Beranek, S; Bontenackels, M; Edelhoff, M; Feld, L; Hindrichs, O; Klein, K; Ostapchuk, A; Perieanu, A; Raupach, F; Sammet, J; Schael, S; Weber, H; Wittmer, B; Zhukov, V; Ata, M; Dietz-Laursonn, E; Duchardt, D; Erdmann, M; Fischer, R; Güth, A; Hebbeker, T; Heidemann, C; Hoepfner, K; Klingebiel, D; Knutzen, S; Kreuzer, P; Merschmeyer, M; Meyer, A; Olschewski, M; Padeken, K; Papacz, P; Reithler, H; Schmitz, S A; Sonnenschein, L; Teyssier, D; Thüer, S; Weber, M; Cherepanov, V; Erdogan, Y; Flügge, G; Geenen, H; Geisler, M; Haj Ahmad, W; Hoehle, F; Kargoll, B; Kress, T; Kuessel, Y; Lingemann, J; Nowack, A; Nugent, I M; Perchalla, L; Pooth, O; Stahl, A; Asin, I; Bartosik, N; Behr, J; Behrenhoff, W; Behrens, U; Bell, A J; Bergholz, M; Bethani, A; Borras, K; Burgmeier, A; Cakir, A; Calligaris, L; Campbell, A; Choudhury, S; Costanza, F; Diez Pardos, C; Dooling, S; Dorland, T; Eckerlin, G; Eckstein, D; Eichhorn, T; Flucke, G; Garcia, J Garay; Geiser, A; Gunnellini, P; Hauk, J; Hellwig, G; Hempel, M; Horton, D; Jung, H; Kalogeropoulos, A; Kasemann, M; Katsas, P; Kieseler, J; Kleinwort, C; Krücker, D; Lange, W; Leonard, J; Lipka, K; Lobanov, A; Lohmann, W; Lutz, B; Mankel, R; Marfin, I; Melzer-Pellmann, I-A; Meyer, A B; Mnich, J; Mussgiller, A; Naumann-Emme, S; Nayak, A; Novgorodova, O; Nowak, F; Ntomari, E; Perrey, H; Pitzl, D; Placakyte, R; Raspereza, A; Ribeiro Cipriano, P M; Ron, E; Sahin, M Ö; Salfeld-Nebgen, J; Saxena, P; Schmidt, R; Schoerner-Sadenius, T; Schröder, M; Seitz, C; Spannagel, S; Vargas Trevino, A D R; Walsh, R; Wissing, C; Aldaya Martin, M; Blobel, V; Centis Vignali, M; Draeger, A R; Erfle, J; Garutti, E; Goebel, K; Görner, M; Haller, J; Hoffmann, M; Höing, R S; Kirschenmann, H; Klanner, R; Kogler, R; Lange, J; Lapsien, T; Lenz, T; Marchesini, I; Ott, J; Peiffer, T; Pietsch, N; Rathjens, D; Sander, C; Schettler, H; Schleper, P; Schlieckau, E; Schmidt, A; Seidel, M; Sibille, J; Sola, V; Stadie, H; Steinbrück, G; Troendle, D; Usai, E; Vanelderen, L; Barth, C; Baus, C; Berger, J; Böser, C; Butz, E; Chwalek, T; De Boer, W; Descroix, A; Dierlamm, A; Feindt, M; Frensch, F; Giffels, M; Hartmann, F; Hauth, T; Husemann, U; Katkov, I; Kornmayer, A; Kuznetsova, E; Lobelle Pardo, P; Mozer, M U; Müller, Th; Nürnberg, A; Quast, G; Rabbertz, K; Ratnikov, F; Röcker, S; Simonis, H J; Stober, F M; Ulrich, R; Wagner-Kuhr, J; Wayand, S; Weiler, T; Wolf, R; Anagnostou, G; Daskalakis, G; Geralis, T; Giakoumopoulou, V A; Kyriakis, A; Loukas, D; Markou, A; Markou, C; Psallidas, A; Topsis-Giotis, I; Panagiotou, A; Saoulidou, N; Stiliaris, E; Aslanoglou, X; Evangelou, I; Flouris, G; Foudas, C; Kokkas, P; Manthos, N; Papadopoulos, I; Paradas, E; Bencze, G; Hajdu, C; Hidas, P; Horvath, D; Sikler, F; Veszpremi, V; Vesztergombi, G; Zsigmond, A J; Beni, N; Czellar, S; Karancsi, J; Molnar, J; Palinkas, J; Szillasi, Z; Raics, P; Trocsanyi, Z L; Ujvari, B; Swain, S K; Beri, S B; Bhatnagar, V; Dhingra, N; Gupta, R; Bhawandeep, U; Kalsi, A K; Kaur, M; Mittal, M; Nishu, N; Singh, J B; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, S; Bhardwaj, A; Choudhary, B C; Kumar, A; Malhotra, S; Naimuddin, M; Ranjan, K; Sharma, V; Banerjee, S; Bhattacharya, S; Chatterjee, K; Dutta, S; Gomber, B; Jain, Sa; Jain, Sh; Khurana, R; Modak, A; Mukherjee, S; Roy, D; Sarkar, S; Sharan, M; Abdulsalam, A; Dutta, D; Kailas, S; Kumar, V; Mohanty, A K; Pant, L M; Shukla, P; Topkar, A; Aziz, T; Banerjee, S; Bhowmik, S; Chatterjee, R M; Dewanjee, R K; Dugad, S; Ganguly, S; Ghosh, S; Guchait, M; Gurtu, A; Kole, G; Kumar, S; Maity, M; Majumder, G; Mazumdar, K; Mohanty, G B; Parida, B; Sudhakar, K; Wickramage, N; Bakhshiansohi, H; Behnamian, H; Etesami, S M; Fahim, A; Goldouzian, R; Jafari, A; Khakzad, M; Mohammadi Najafabadi, M; Naseri, M; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, S; Safarzadeh, B; Zeinali, M; Felcini, M; Grunewald, M; Abbrescia, M; Barbone, L; Calabria, C; Chhibra, S S; Colaleo, A; Creanza, D; De Filippis, N; De Palma, M; Fiore, L; Iaselli, G; Maggi, G; Maggi, M; My, S; Nuzzo, S; Pompili, A; Pugliese, G; Radogna, R; Selvaggi, G; Silvestris, L; Singh, G; Venditti, R; Verwilligen, P; Zito, G; Abbiendi, G; Benvenuti, A C; Bonacorsi, D; Braibant-Giacomelli, S; Brigliadori, L; Campanini, R; Capiluppi, P; Castro, A; Cavallo, F R; Codispoti, G; Cuffiani, M; Dallavalle, G M; Fabbri, F; Fanfani, A; Fasanella, D; Giacomelli, P; Grandi, C; Guiducci, L; Marcellini, S; Masetti, G; Montanari, A; Navarria, F L; Perrotta, A; Primavera, F; Rossi, A M; Rovelli, T; Siroli, G P; Tosi, N; Travaglini, R; Albergo, S; Cappello, G; Chiorboli, M; Costa, S; Giordano, F; Potenza, R; Tricomi, A; Tuve, C; Barbagli, G; Ciulli, V; Civinini, C; D'Alessandro, R; Focardi, E; Gallo, E; Gonzi, S; Gori, V; Lenzi, P; Meschini, M; Paoletti, S; Sguazzoni, G; Tropiano, A; Benussi, L; Bianco, S; Fabbri, F; Piccolo, D; Ferro, F; Lo Vetere, M; Robutti, E; Tosi, S; Dinardo, M E; Fiorendi, S; Gennai, S; Gerosa, R; Ghezzi, A; Govoni, P; Lucchini, M T; Malvezzi, S; Manzoni, R A; Martelli, A; Marzocchi, B; Menasce, D; Moroni, L; Paganoni, M; Pedrini, D; Ragazzi, S; Redaelli, N; Tabarelli de Fatis, T; Buontempo, S; Cavallo, N; Di Guida, S; Fabozzi, F; Iorio, A O M; Lista, L; Meola, S; Merola, M; Paolucci, P; Azzi, P; Bacchetta, N; Bisello, D; Branca, A; Carlin, R; Checchia, P; Dall'Osso, M; Dorigo, T; Dosselli, U; Galanti, M; Gasparini, F; Gasparini, U; Giubilato, P; Gozzelino, A; Kanishchev, K; Lacaprara, S; Margoni, M; Meneguzzo, A T; Pazzini, J; Pozzobon, N; Ronchese, P; Simonetto, F; Torassa, E; Tosi, M; Zotto, P; Zucchetta, A; Zumerle, G; Gabusi, M; Ratti, S P; Riccardi, C; Salvini, P; Vitulo, P; Biasini, M; Bilei, G M; Ciangottini, D; Fanò, L; Lariccia, P; Mantovani, G; Menichelli, M; Romeo, F; Saha, A; Santocchia, A; Spiezia, A; Androsov, K; Azzurri, P; Bagliesi, G; Bernardini, J; Boccali, T; Broccolo, G; Castaldi, R; Ciocci, M A; Dell'Orso, R; Donato, S; Fiori, F; Foà, L; Giassi, A; Grippo, M T; Ligabue, F; Lomtadze, T; Martini, L; Messineo, A; Moon, C S; Palla, F; Rizzi, A; Savoy-Navarro, A; Serban, A T; Spagnolo, P; Squillacioti, P; Tenchini, R; Tonelli, G; Venturi, A; Verdini, P G; Vernieri, C; Barone, L; Cavallari, F; Del Re, D; Diemoz, M; Grassi, M; Jorda, C; Longo, E; Margaroli, F; Meridiani, P; Micheli, F; Nourbakhsh, S; Organtini, G; Paramatti, R; Rahatlou, S; Rovelli, C; Santanastasio, F; Soffi, L; Traczyk, P; Amapane, N; Arcidiacono, R; Argiro, S; Arneodo, M; Bellan, R; Biino, C; Cartiglia, N; Casasso, S; Costa, M; Degano, A; Demaria, N; Finco, L; Mariotti, C; Maselli, S; Migliore, E; Monaco, V; Musich, M; Obertino, M M; Ortona, G; Pacher, L; Pastrone, N; Pelliccioni, M; Pinna Angioni, G L; Potenza, A; Romero, A; Ruspa, M; Sacchi, R; Solano, A; Staiano, A; Tamponi, U; Belforte, S; Candelise, V; Casarsa, M; Cossutti, F; Della Ricca, G; Gobbo, B; La Licata, C; Marone, M; Montanino, D; Schizzi, A; Umer, T; Zanetti, A; Kim, T J; Chang, S; Kropivnitskaya, A; Nam, S K; Kim, D H; Kim, G N; Kim, M S; Kim, M S; Kong, D J; Lee, S; Oh, Y D; Park, H; Sakharov, A; Son, D C; Kim, J Y; Song, S; Choi, S; Gyun, D; Hong, B; Jo, M; Kim, H; Kim, Y; Lee, B; Lee, K S; Park, S K; Roh, Y; Choi, M; Kim, J H; Park, I C; Park, S; Ryu, G; Ryu, M S; Choi, Y; Choi, Y K; Goh, J; Kim, D; Kwon, E; Lee, J; Seo, H; Yu, I; Juodagalvis, A; Komaragiri, J R; Castilla-Valdez, H; De La Cruz-Burelo, E; Heredia-de La Cruz, I; Lopez-Fernandez, R; Sanchez-Hernandez, A; Carrillo Moreno, S; Vazquez Valencia, F; Pedraza, I; Salazar Ibarguen, H A; Casimiro Linares, E; Morelos Pineda, A; Krofcheck, D; Butler, P H; Reucroft, S; Ahmad, A; Ahmad, M; Hassan, Q; Hoorani, H R; Khalid, S; Khan, W A; Khurshid, T; Shah, M A; Shoaib, M; Bialkowska, H; Bluj, M; Boimska, B; Frueboes, T; Górski, M; Kazana, M; Nawrocki, K; Romanowska-Rybinska, K; Szleper, M; Zalewski, P; Brona, G; Bunkowski, K; Cwiok, M; Dominik, W; Doroba, K; Kalinowski, A; Konecki, M; Krolikowski, J; Misiura, M; Olszewski, M; Wolszczak, W; Bargassa, P; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, C; Faccioli, P; Ferreira Parracho, P G; Gallinaro, M; Nguyen, F; Rodrigues Antunes, J; Seixas, J; Varela, J; Vischia, P; Bunin, P; Golutvin, I; Gorbunov, I; Kamenev, A; Karjavin, V; Konoplyanikov, V; Lanev, A; Malakhov, A; Matveev, V; Moisenz, P; Palichik, V; Perelygin, V; Savina, M; Shmatov, S; Shulha, S; Skatchkov, N; Smirnov, V; Zarubin, A; Golovtsov, V; Ivanov, Y; Kim, V; Levchenko, P; Murzin, V; Oreshkin, V; Smirnov, I; Sulimov, V; Uvarov, L; Vavilov, S; Vorobyev, A; Vorobyev, An; Andreev, Yu; Dermenev, A; Gninenko, S; Golubev, N; Kirsanov, M; Krasnikov, N; Pashenkov, A; Tlisov, D; Toropin, A; Epshteyn, V; Gavrilov, V; Lychkovskaya, N; Popov, V; Safronov, G; Semenov, S; Spiridonov, A; Stolin, V; Vlasov, E; Zhokin, A; Andreev, V; Azarkin, M; Dremin, I; Kirakosyan, M; Leonidov, A; Mesyats, G; Rusakov, S V; Vinogradov, A; Belyaev, A; Boos, E; Bunichev, V; Dubinin, M; Dudko, L; Gribushin, A; Klyukhin, V; Kodolova, O; Lokhtin, I; Obraztsov, S; Petrushanko, S; Savrin, V; Snigirev, A; Azhgirey, I; Bayshev, I; Bitioukov, S; Kachanov, V; Kalinin, A; Konstantinov, D; Krychkine, V; Petrov, V; Ryutin, R; Sobol, A; Tourtchanovitch, L; Troshin, S; Tyurin, N; Uzunian, A; Volkov, A; Adzic, P; Ekmedzic, M; Milosevic, J; Rekovic, V; Alcaraz Maestre, J; Battilana, C; Calvo, E; Cerrada, M; Chamizo Llatas, M; Colino, N; De La Cruz, B; Delgado Peris, A; Domínguez Vázquez, D; Escalante Del Valle, A; Fernandez Bedoya, C; Fernández Ramos, J P; Flix, J; Fouz, M C; Garcia-Abia, P; Gonzalez Lopez, O; Goy Lopez, S; Hernandez, J M; Josa, M I; Merino, G; Navarro De Martino, E; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A; Puerta Pelayo, J; Quintario Olmeda, A; Redondo, I; Romero, L; Soares, M S; Albajar, C; de Trocóniz, J F; Missiroli, M; Moran, D; Brun, H; Cuevas, J; Fernandez Menendez, J; Folgueras, S; Gonzalez Caballero, I; Lloret Iglesias, L; Brochero Cifuentes, J A; Cabrillo, I J; Calderon, A; Duarte Campderros, J; Fernandez, M; Gomez, G; Graziano, A; Lopez Virto, A; Marco, J; Marco, R; Martinez Rivero, C; Matorras, F; Munoz Sanchez, F J; Piedra Gomez, J; Rodrigo, T; Rodríguez-Marrero, A Y; Ruiz-Jimeno, A; Scodellaro, L; Vila, I; Vilar Cortabitarte, R; Abbaneo, D; Auffray, E; Auzinger, G; Bachtis, M; Baillon, P; Ball, A H; Barney, D; Benaglia, A; Bendavid, J; Benhabib, L; Benitez, J F; Bernet, C; Bianchi, G; Bloch, P; Bocci, A; Bonato, A; Bondu, O; Botta, C; Breuker, H; Camporesi, T; Cerminara, G; Colafranceschi, S; D'Alfonso, M; d'Enterria, D; Dabrowski, A; David, A; De Guio, F; De Roeck, A; De Visscher, S; Dobson, M; Dordevic, M; Dupont-Sagorin, N; Elliott-Peisert, A; Eugster, J; Franzoni, G; Funk, W; Gigi, D; Gill, K; Giordano, D; Girone, M; Glege, F; Guida, R; Gundacker, S; Guthoff, M; Guida, R; Hammer, J; Hansen, M; Harris, P; Hegeman, J; Innocente, V; Janot, P; Kousouris, K; Krajczar, K; Lecoq, P; Lourenço, C; Magini, N; Malgeri, L; Mannelli, M; Marrouche, J; Masetti, L; Meijers, F; Mersi, S; Meschi, E; Moortgat, F; Morovic, S; Mulders, M; Musella, P; Orsini, L; Pape, L; Perez, E; Perrozzi, L; Petrilli, A; Petrucciani, G; Pfeiffer, A; Pierini, M; Pimiä, M; Piparo, D; Plagge, M; Racz, A; Rolandi, G; Rovere, M; Sakulin, H; Schäfer, C; Schwick, C; Sharma, A; Siegrist, P; Silva, P; Simon, M; Sphicas, P; Spiga, D; Steggemann, J; Stieger, B; Stoye, M; Treille, D; Tsirou, A; Veres, G I; Vlimant, J R; Wardle, N; Wöhri, H K; Wollny, H; Zeuner, W D; Bertl, W; Deiters, K; Erdmann, W; Horisberger, R; Ingram, Q; Kaestli, H C; König, S; Kotlinski, D; Langenegger, U; Renker, D; Rohe, T; Bachmair, F; Bäni, L; Bianchini, L; Bortignon, P; Buchmann, M A; Casal, B; Chanon, N; Deisher, A; Dissertori, G; Dittmar, M; Donegà, M; Dünser, M; Eller, P; Grab, C; Hits, D; Lustermann, W; Mangano, B; Marini, A C; Martinez Ruiz Del Arbol, P; Meister, D; Mohr, N; Nägeli, C; Nessi-Tedaldi, F; Pandolfi, F; Pauss, F; Peruzzi, M; Quittnat, M; Rebane, L; Rossini, M; Starodumov, A; Takahashi, M; Theofilatos, K; Wallny, R; Weber, H A; Amsler, C; Canelli, M F; Chiochia, V; De Cosa, A; Hinzmann, A; Hreus, T; Kilminster, B; Millan Mejias, B; Ngadiuba, J; Robmann, P; Ronga, F J; Taroni, S; Verzetti, M; Yang, Y; Cardaci, M; Chen, K H; Ferro, C; Kuo, C M; Lin, W; Lu, Y J; Volpe, R; Yu, S S; Chang, P; Chang, Y H; Chang, Y W; Chao, Y; Chen, K F; Chen, P H; Dietz, C; Grundler, U; Hou, W-S; Kao, K Y; Lei, Y J; Liu, Y F; Lu, R-S; Majumder, D; Petrakou, E; Tzeng, Y M; Wilken, R; Asavapibhop, B; Srimanobhas, N; Suwonjandee, N; Adiguzel, A; Bakirci, M N; Cerci, S; Dozen, C; Dumanoglu, I; Eskut, E; Girgis, S; Gokbulut, G; Gurpinar, E; Hos, I; Kangal, E E; Kayis Topaksu, A; Onengut, G; Ozdemir, K; Ozturk, S; Polatoz, A; Sogut, K; Sunar Cerci, D; Tali, B; Topakli, H; Vergili, M; Akin, I V; Bilin, B; Bilmis, S; Gamsizkan, H; Karapinar, G; Ocalan, K; Sekmen, S; Surat, U E; Yalvac, M; Zeyrek, M; Gülmez, E; Isildak, B; Kaya, M; Kaya, O; Bahtiyar, H; Barlas, E; Cankocak, K; Vardarlı, F I; Yücel, M; Levchuk, L; Sorokin, P; Brooke, J J; Clement, E; Cussans, D; Flacher, H; Frazier, R; Goldstein, J; Grimes, M; Heath, G P; Heath, H F; Jacob, J; Kreczko, L; Lucas, C; Meng, Z; Newbold, D M; Paramesvaran, S; Poll, A; Senkin, S; Smith, V J; Williams, T; Bell, K W; Belyaev, A; Brew, C; Brown, R M; Cockerill, D J A; Coughlan, J A; Harder, K; Harper, S; Olaiya, E; Petyt, D; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C H; Thea, A; Tomalin, I R; Womersley, W J; Worm, S D; Baber, M; Bainbridge, R; Buchmuller, O; Burton, D; Colling, D; Cripps, N; Cutajar, M; Dauncey, P; Davies, G; Della Negra, M; Dunne, P; Ferguson, W; Fulcher, J; Futyan, D; Gilbert, A; Hall, G; Iles, G; Jarvis, M; Karapostoli, G; Kenzie, M; Lane, R; Lucas, R; Lyons, L; Magnan, A-M; Malik, S; Mathias, B; Nash, J; Nikitenko, A; Pela, J; Pesaresi, M; Petridis, K; Raymond, D M; Rogerson, S; Rose, A; Seez, C; Sharp, P; Tapper, A; Vazquez Acosta, M; Virdee, T; Cole, J E; Hobson, P R; Khan, A; Kyberd, P; Leggat, D; Leslie, D; Martin, W; Reid, I D; Symonds, P; Teodorescu, L; Turner, M; Dittmann, J; Hatakeyama, K; Kasmi, A; Liu, H; Scarborough, T; Charaf, O; Cooper, S I; Henderson, C; Rumerio, P; Avetisyan, A; Bose, T; Fantasia, C; Heister, A; Lawson, P; Richardson, C; Rohlf, J; Sperka, D; St John, J; Sulak, L; Alimena, J; Berry, E; Bhattacharya, S; Christopher, G; Cutts, D; Demiragli, Z; Ferapontov, A; Garabedian, A; Heintz, U; Kukartsev, G; Laird, E; Landsberg, G; Luk, M; Narain, M; Segala, M; Sinthuprasith, T; Speer, T; Swanson, J; Breedon, R; Breto, G; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, M; Chauhan, S; Chertok, M; Conway, J; Conway, R; Cox, P T; Erbacher, R; Gardner, M; Ko, W; Lander, R; Miceli, T; Mulhearn, M; Pellett, D; Pilot, J; Ricci-Tam, F; Searle, M; Shalhout, S; Smith, J; Squires, M; Stolp, D; Tripathi, M; Wilbur, S; Yohay, R; Cousins, R; Everaerts, P; Farrell, C; Hauser, J; Ignatenko, M; Rakness, G; Takasugi, E; Valuev, V; Weber, M; Babb, J; Burt, K; Clare, R; Ellison, J; Gary, J W; Hanson, G; Heilman, J; Ivova Rikova, M; Jandir, P; Kennedy, E; Lacroix, F; Liu, H; Long, O R; Luthra, A; Malberti, M; Nguyen, H; Negrete, M Olmedo; Shrinivas, A; Sumowidagdo, S; Wimpenny, S; Andrews, W; Branson, J G; Cerati, G B; Cittolin, S; D'Agnolo, R T; Evans, D; Holzner, A; Kelley, R; Klein, D; Kovalskyi, D; Lebourgeois, M; Letts, J; Macneill, I; Olivito, D; Padhi, S; Palmer, C; Pieri, M; Sani, M; Sharma, V; Simon, S; Sudano, E; Tu, Y; Vartak, A; Welke, C; Würthwein, F; Yagil, A; Yoo, J; Barge, D; Bradmiller-Feld, J; Campagnari, C; Danielson, T; Dishaw, A; Flowers, K; Franco Sevilla, M; Geffert, P; George, C; Golf, F; Gouskos, L; Incandela, J; Justus, C; Mccoll, N; Richman, J; Stuart, D; To, W; West, C; Apresyan, A; Bornheim, A; Bunn, J; Chen, Y; Di Marco, E; Duarte, J; Mott, A; Newman, H B; Pena, C; Rogan, C; Spiropulu, M; Timciuc, V; Wilkinson, R; Xie, S; Zhu, R Y; Azzolini, V; Calamba, A; Ferguson, T; Iiyama, Y; Paulini, M; Russ, J; Vogel, H; Vorobiev, I; Cumalat, J P; Ford, W T; Gaz, A; Luiggi Lopez, E; Nauenberg, U; Smith, J G; Stenson, K; Ulmer, K A; Wagner, S R; Alexander, J; Chatterjee, A; Chu, J; Dittmer, S; Eggert, N; Mirman, N; Nicolas Kaufman, G; Patterson, J R; Ryd, A; Salvati, E; Skinnari, L; Sun, W; Teo, W D; Thom, J; Thompson, J; Tucker, J; Weng, Y; Winstrom, L; Wittich, P; Winn, D; Abdullin, S; Albrow, M; Anderson, J; Apollinari, G; Bauerdick, L A T; Beretvas, A; Berryhill, J; Bhat, P C; Burkett, K; Butler, J N; Cheung, H W K; Chlebana, F; Cihangir, S; Elvira, V D; Fisk, I; Freeman, J; Gao, Y; Gottschalk, E; Gray, L; Green, D; Grünendahl, S; Gutsche, O; Hanlon, J; Hare, D; Harris, R M; Hirschauer, J; Hooberman, B; Jindariani, S; Johnson, M; Joshi, U; Kaadze, K; Klima, B; Kreis, B; Kwan, S; Linacre, J; Lincoln, D; Lipton, R; Liu, T; Lykken, J; Maeshima, K; Marraffino, J M; Martinez Outschoorn, V I; Maruyama, S; Mason, D; McBride, P; Mishra, K; Mrenna, S; Musienko, Y; Nahn, S; Newman-Holmes, C; O'Dell, V; Prokofyev, O; Sexton-Kennedy, E; Sharma, S; Soha, A; Spalding, W J; Spiegel, L; Taylor, L; Tkaczyk, S; Tran, N V; Uplegger, L; Vaandering, E W; Vidal, R; Whitbeck, A; Whitmore, J; Yang, F; Acosta, D; Avery, P; Bourilkov, D; Carver, M; Cheng, T; Curry, D; Das, S; De Gruttola, M; Di Giovanni, G P; Field, R D; Fisher, M; Furic, I K; Hugon, J; Konigsberg, J; Korytov, A; Kypreos, T; Low, J F; Matchev, K; Milenovic, P; Mitselmakher, G; Muniz, L; Rinkevicius, A; Shchutska, L; Skhirtladze, N; Snowball, M; Yelton, J; Zakaria, M; Hewamanage, S; Linn, S; Markowitz, P; Martinez, G; Rodriguez, J L; Adams, T; Askew, A; Bochenek, J; Diamond, B; Haas, J; Hagopian, S; Hagopian, V; Johnson, K F; Prosper, H; Veeraraghavan, V; Weinberg, M; Baarmand, M M; Hohlmann, M; Kalakhety, H; Yumiceva, F; Adams, M R; Apanasevich, L; Bazterra, V E; Berry, D; Betts, R R; Bucinskaite, I; Cavanaugh, R; Evdokimov, O; Gauthier, L; Gerber, C E; Hofman, D J; Khalatyan, S; Kurt, P; Moon, D H; O'Brien, C; Silkworth, C; Turner, P; Varelas, N; Albayrak, E A; Bilki, B; Clarida, W; Dilsiz, K; Duru, F; Haytmyradov, M; Merlo, J-P; Mermerkaya, H; Mestvirishvili, A; Moeller, A; Nachtman, J; Ogul, H; Onel, Y; Ozok, F; Penzo, A; Rahmat, R; Sen, S; Tan, P; Tiras, E; Wetzel, J; Yetkin, T; Yi, K; Barnett, B A; Blumenfeld, B; Bolognesi, S; Fehling, D; Gritsan, A V; Maksimovic, P; Martin, C; Swartz, M; Baringer, P; Bean, A; Benelli, G; Bruner, C; Gray, J; Kenny, R P; Malek, M; Murray, M; Noonan, D; Sanders, S; Sekaric, J; Stringer, R; Wang, Q; Wood, J S; Barfuss, A F; Chakaberia, I; Ivanov, A; Khalil, S; Makouski, M; Maravin, Y; Saini, L K; Shrestha, S; Svintradze, I; Gronberg, J; Lange, D; Rebassoo, F; Wright, D; Baden, A; Calvert, B; Eno, S C; Gomez, J A; Hadley, N J; Kellogg, R G; Kolberg, T; Lu, Y; Marionneau, M; Mignerey, A C; Pedro, K; Skuja, A; Tonjes, M B; Tonwar, S C; Apyan, A; Barbieri, R; Bauer, G; Busza, W; Cali, I A; Chan, M; Di Matteo, L; Dutta, V; Gomez Ceballos, G; Goncharov, M; Gulhan, D; Klute, M; Lai, Y S; Lee, Y-J; Levin, A; Luckey, P D; Ma, T; Paus, C; Ralph, D; Roland, C; Roland, G; Stephans, G S F; Stöckli, F; Sumorok, K; Velicanu, D; Veverka, J; Wyslouch, B; Yang, M; Yoon, A S; Zanetti, M; Zhukova, V; Dahmes, B; De Benedetti, A; Gude, A; Kao, S C; Klapoetke, K; Kubota, Y; Mans, J; Pastika, N; Rusack, R; Singovsky, A; Tambe, N; Turkewitz, J; Acosta, J G; Cremaldi, L M; Kroeger, R; Oliveros, S; Perera, L; Sanders, D A; Summers, D; Avdeeva, E; Bloom, K; Bose, S; Claes, D R; Dominguez, A; Gonzalez Suarez, R; Keller, J; Knowlton, D; Kravchenko, I; Lazo-Flores, J; Malik, S; Meier, F; Snow, G R; Dolen, J; Godshalk, A; Iashvili, I; Jain, S; Kharchilava, A; Kumar, A; Rappoccio, S; Alverson, G; Barberis, E; Baumgartel, D; Chasco, M; Haley, J; Massironi, A; Nash, D; Orimoto, T; Trocino, D; Wood, D; Zhang, J; Anastassov, A; Hahn, K A; Kubik, A; Lusito, L; Mucia, N; Odell, N; Pollack, B; Pozdnyakov, A; Schmitt, M; Stoynev, S; Sung, K; Velasco, M; Won, S; Brinkerhoff, A; Chan, K M; Drozdetskiy, A; Hildreth, M; Jessop, C; Karmgard, D J; Kellams, N; Lannon, K; Luo, W; Lynch, S; Marinelli, N; Pearson, T; Planer, M; Ruchti, R; Valls, N; Wayne, M; Wolf, M; Woodard, A; Antonelli, L; Brinson, J; Bylsma, B; Durkin, L S; Flowers, S; Hill, C; Hughes, R; Kotov, K; Ling, T Y; Puigh, D; Rodenburg, M; Smith, G; Vuosalo, C; Winer, B L; Wolfe, H; Wulsin, H W; Driga, O; Elmer, P; Hebda, P; Hunt, A; Koay, S A; Lujan, P; Marlow, D; Medvedeva, T; Mooney, M; Olsen, J; Piroué, P; Quan, X; Saka, H; Stickland, D; Tully, C; Werner, J S; Zenz, S C; Zuranski, A; Brownson, E; Mendez, H; Ramirez Vargas, J E; Alagoz, E; Barnes, V E; Benedetti, D; Bolla, G; Bortoletto, D; De Mattia, M; Hu, Z; Jha, M K; Jones, M; Jung, K; Kress, M; Leonardo, N; Lopes Pegna, D; Maroussov, V; Merkel, P; Miller, D H; Neumeister, N; Radburn-Smith, B C; Shi, X; Shipsey, I; Silvers, D; Svyatkovskiy, A; Wang, F; Xie, W; Xu, L; Yoo, H D; Zablocki, J; Zheng, Y; Parashar, N; Stupak, J; Adair, A; Akgun, B; Ecklund, K M; Geurts, F J M; Li, W; Michlin, B; Padley, B P; Redjimi, R; Roberts, J; Zabel, J; Betchart, B; Bodek, A; Covarelli, R; de Barbaro, P; Demina, R; Eshaq, Y; Ferbel, T; Garcia-Bellido, A; Goldenzweig, P; Han, J; Harel, A; Khukhunaishvili, A; Petrillo, G; Vishnevskiy, D; Ciesielski, R; Demortier, L; Goulianos, K; Lungu, G; Mesropian, C; Arora, S; Barker, A; Chou, J P; Contreras-Campana, C; Contreras-Campana, E; Duggan, D; Ferencek, D; Gershtein, Y; Gray, R; Halkiadakis, E; Hidas, D; Lath, A; Panwalkar, S; Park, M; Patel, R; Salur, S; Schnetzer, S; Somalwar, S; Stone, R; Thomas, S; Thomassen, P; Walker, M; Rose, K; Spanier, S; York, A; Bouhali, O; Eusebi, R; Flanagan, W; Gilmore, J; Kamon, T; Khotilovich, V; Krutelyov, V; Montalvo, R; Osipenkov, I; Pakhotin, Y; Perloff, A; Roe, J; Rose, A; Safonov, A; Sakuma, T; Suarez, I; Tatarinov, A; Akchurin, N; Cowden, C; Damgov, J; Dragoiu, C; Dudero, P R; Faulkner, J; Kovitanggoon, K; Kunori, S; Lee, S W; Libeiro, T; Volobouev, I; Appelt, E; Delannoy, A G; Greene, S; Gurrola, A; Johns, W; Maguire, C; Mao, Y; Melo, A; Sharma, M; Sheldon, P; Snook, B; Tuo, S; Velkovska, J; Arenton, M W; Boutle, S; Cox, B; Francis, B; Goodell, J; Hirosky, R; Ledovskoy, A; Li, H; Lin, C; Neu, C; Wood, J; Harr, R; Karchin, P E; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, C; Lamichhane, P; Sturdy, J; Belknap, D A; Carlsmith, D; Cepeda, M; Dasu, S; Duric, S; Friis, E; Hall-Wilton, R; Herndon, M; Hervé, A; Klabbers, P; Lanaro, A; Lazaridis, C; Levine, A; Loveless, R; Mohapatra, A; Ojalvo, I; Perry, T; Pierro, G A; Polese, G; Ross, I; Sarangi, T; Savin, A; Smith, W H; Woods, N

Observation of the diphoton decay mode of the recently discovered Higgs boson and measurement of some of its properties are reported. The analysis uses the entire dataset collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions during the 2011 and 2012 LHC running periods. The data samples correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.1[Formula: see text]at [Formula: see text] and 19.7[Formula: see text]at 8[Formula: see text] . A clear signal is observed in the diphoton channel at a mass close to 125[Formula: see text] with a local significance of [Formula: see text], where a significance of [Formula: see text] is expected for the standard model Higgs boson. The mass is measured to be [Formula: see text] , and the best-fit signal strength relative to the standard model prediction is [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]. Additional measurements include the signal strength modifiers associated with different production mechanisms, and hypothesis tests between spin-0 and spin-2 models.

The role of observational investigations in comparative effectiveness research.

PubMed

Marko, Nicholas F; Weil, Robert J

2010-12-01

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) seeks to inform clinical decisions between alternate treatment strategies using data that reflects real patient populations and real-world clinical scenarios for the purpose of improving patient outcomes. There are multiple clinical situations where the unique characteristics of observational investigations can inform medical decision-making within the CER paradigm. Accordingly, it is critical for clinicians to appreciate the strengths and limitations of observational research, particularly as they apply to CER. This review focuses on the role of observational research in CER. We discuss the concept of evidence hierarchies as they relate to observational research and CER, review the scope and nature of observational research, present the rationale for its inclusion in CER investigations, discuss potential sources of bias in observational investigations as well as strategies used to compensate for these biases, and discuss a framework to implement observational research in CER. The CER paradigm recognizes the limitations of hierarchical models of evidence and favors application of a strength-of-evidence model. In this model, observational research fills gaps in randomized clinical trial data and is particularly valuable to investigate effectiveness, harms, prognosis, and infrequent outcomes as well as in circumstances where randomization is not possible and in studies of many surgical populations. Observational investigations must be designed with careful consideration of potential sources of bias and must incorporate strategies to control such bias prospectively, and their results must be reported in a uniform and transparent fashion. When these conditions can be achieved, observational research represents a valuable and critical component of modern CER. © 2010, International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

Overlap between treatment and control distributions as an effect size measure in experiments.

PubMed

Hedges, Larry V; Olkin, Ingram

2016-03-01

The proportion π of treatment group observations that exceed the control group mean has been proposed as an effect size measure for experiments that randomly assign independent units into 2 groups. We give the exact distribution of a simple estimator of π based on the standardized mean difference and use it to study the small sample bias of this estimator. We also give the minimum variance unbiased estimator of π under 2 models, one in which the variance of the mean difference is known and one in which the variance is unknown. We show how to use the relation between the standardized mean difference and the overlap measure to compute confidence intervals for π and show that these results can be used to obtain unbiased estimators, large sample variances, and confidence intervals for 3 related effect size measures based on the overlap. Finally, we show how the effect size π can be used in a meta-analysis. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Evaluating the effectiveness of rosuvastatin in preventing the progression of diastolic dysfunction in aortic stenosis: A substudy of the aortic stenosis progression observation measuring effects of rosuvastatin (ASTRONOMER) study

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is a noninvasive echocardiographic method for the diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction in patients with varying degrees of aortic stenosis (AS). Little is known however, on the utility of TDI in the serial assessment of diastolic abnormalities in AS. Objective The aim of the current proposal was to examine whether treatment with rosuvastatin was successful in improving diastolic abnormalities in patients enrolled in the Aortic Stenosis Progression Observation Measuring Effects of Rosuvastatin (ASTRONOMER) study. Methods Conventional Doppler indices including peak early (E) and late (A) transmitral velocities, and E/A ratio were measured from spectral Doppler. Tissue Doppler measurements including early (E') and late (A') velocities of the lateral annulus were determined, and E/E' was calculated. Results The study population included 168 patients (56 ± 13 years), whose AS severity was categorized based on peak velocity at baseline (Group I: 2.5-3.0 m/s; Group II: 3.1-3.5 m/s; Group III: 3.6-4.0 m/s). Baseline and follow-up hemodynamics, LV dimensions and diastolic functional parameters were evaluated in all three groups. There was increased diastolic dysfunction from baseline to follow-up in each of the placebo and rosuvastatin groups. In patients with increasing severity of AS in Groups I and II, the lateral E' was lower and the E/E' (as an estimate of increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure) was higher at baseline (p < 0.05). However, treatment with rosuvastatin did not affect the progression of diastolic dysfunction from baseline to 3.5 year follow-up between patients in any of the three predefined groups. Conclusion In patients with mild to moderate asymptomatic AS, rosuvastatin did not attenuate the progression of diastolic dysfunction. PMID:21299902

The importance of deep, basinwide measurements in optimized Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation observing arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, G. D.; Menary, M. B.; Mecking, J. V.; Moat, B. I.; Johns, W. E.; Andrews, M. B.; Rayner, D.; Smeed, D. A.

2017-03-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key process in the global redistribution of heat. The AMOC is defined as the maximum of the overturning stream function, which typically occurs near 30°N in the North Atlantic. The RAPID mooring array has provided full-depth, basinwide, continuous estimates of this quantity since 2004. Motivated by both the need to deliver near real-time data and optimization of the array to reduce costs, we consider alternative configurations of the mooring array. Results suggest that the variability observed since 2004 could be reproduced by a single tall mooring on the western boundary and a mooring to 1500 m on the eastern boundary. We consider the potential future evolution of the AMOC in two generations of the Hadley Centre climate models and a suite of additional CMIP5 models. The modeling studies show that deep, basinwide measurements are essential to capture correctly the future decline of the AMOC. We conclude that, while a reduced array could be useful for estimates of the AMOC on subseasonal to decadal time scales as part of a near real-time data delivery system, extreme caution must be applied to avoid the potential misinterpretation or absence of a climate time scale AMOC decline that is a key motivation for the maintenance of these observations.