Neuropsychological study of IQ scores in offspring of parents with bipolar I disorder.

PubMed

Sharma, Aditya; Camilleri, Nigel; Grunze, Heinz; Barron, Evelyn; Le Couteur, James; Close, Andrew; Rushton, Steven; Kelly, Thomas; Ferrier, Ian Nicol; Le Couteur, Ann

2017-01-01

Studies comparing IQ in Offspring of Bipolar Parents (OBP) with Offspring of Healthy Controls (OHC) have reported conflicting findings. They have included OBP with mental health/neurodevelopmental disorders and/or pharmacological treatment which could affect results. This UK study aimed to assess IQ in OBP with no mental health/neurodevelopmental disorder and assess the relationship of sociodemographic variables with IQ. IQ data using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) from 24 OBP and 34 OHC from the North East of England was analysed using mixed-effects modelling. All participants had IQ in the average range. OBP differed statistically significantly from OHC on Full Scale IQ (p = .001), Performance IQ (PIQ) (p = .003) and Verbal IQ (VIQ) (p = .001) but not on the PIQ-VIQ split. OBP and OHC groups did not differ on socio-economic status (SES) and gender. SES made a statistically significant contribution to the variance of IQ scores (p = .001). Using a robust statistical model of analysis, the OBP with no current/past history of mental health/neurodevelopmental disorders had lower IQ scores compared to OHC. This finding should be borne in mind when assessing and recommending interventions for OBP.

Molecular Genetic Analysis of Activation-tagged Transcription Factors Thought to be Involved in Photomorphogenesis

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

Neff, Michael

2011-06-23

Plants utilize light as a source of information via families of photoreceptors such as the red/far-red absorbing phytochromes (PHY) and the blue/UVA absorbing cryptochromes (CRY). The main goal of the Neff lab is to use molecular-genetic mutant screens to elucidate signaling components downstream of these photoreceptors. Activation-tagging mutagenesis led to the identification of two putative transcription factors that may be involved in both photomorphogenesis and hormone signaling pathways. sob1-D (suppressor of phyB-dominant) mutant phenotypes are caused by the over-expression of a Dof transcription factor previously named OBP3. Our previous studies indicate that OBP3 is a negative regulator of light-mediated cotyledonmore » expansion and may be involved in modulating responsiveness to the growth-regulating hormone auxin. The sob2-D mutant uncovers a role for LEP, a putative AP2/EREBP-like transcription factor, in seed germination, hypocotyl elongation and responsiveness to the hormone abscisic acid. Based on photobiological and genetic analysis of OBP3-knockdown and LEP-null mutations, we hypothesize that these transcription factors are involved in both light-mediated seedling development and hormone signaling. To examine the role that these genes play in photomorphogenesis we will: 1) Further explore the genetic role of OBP3 in cotyledon/leaf expansion and other photomorphogenic processes as well as examine potential physical interactions between OBP3 and CRY1 or other signaling components that genetically interact with this transcription factor 2) Test the hypothesis that OBP3 is genetically involved in auxin signaling and root development as well as examine the affects of this hormone and light on OBP3 protein accumulation. 3) Test the hypothesis that LEP is involved in seed germination, seedling photomorphogenesis and hormone signaling. Together these experiments will lead to a greater understanding of the complexity of interactions between photoreceptors and DNA-interacting proteins during photomorphogenesis. These studies also address the roles OBP3 and LEP may play as points of intersection between hormone signaling and photomorphogenesis. In the future, phenotypes caused by altered expression of these genes may generate useful traits for improving crop yield.« less

Various Bee Pheromones Binding Affinity, Exclusive Chemosensillar Localization, and Key Amino Acid Sites Reveal the Distinctive Characteristics of Odorant-Binding Protein 11 in the Eastern Honey Bee, Apis cerana.

PubMed

Song, Xin-Mi; Zhang, Lin-Ya; Fu, Xiao-Bin; Wu, Fan; Tan, Jing; Li, Hong-Liang

2018-01-01

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are the critical elements responsible for binding and transporting odors and pheromones in the sensitive olfactory system in insects. Honey bees are representative social insects that have complex odorants and pheromone communication systems relative to solitary insects. Here, we first cloned and characterized OBP11 ( AcerOBP11 ), from the worker bees antennae of Eastern honey bee, Apis cerana . Based on sequence and phylogenetic analysis, most sequences homologous to AcerOBP11 belong to the typical OBPs family. The transcriptional expression profiles showed that AcerOBP11 was expressed throughout the developmental stages and highly specifically expressed in adult antennae. Using immunofluorescence localization, AcerOBP11 in worker bee's antennae was only localized in the sensilla basiconica (SB) near the fringe of each segment. Fluorescence ligand-binding assay showed that AcerOBP11 protein had strong binding affinity with the tested various bee pheromones components, including the main queen mandibular pheromones (QMPs), methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (HOB), and ( E )-9-oxo-2-decanoic acid (9-ODA), alarm pheromone (n-hexanol), and worker pheromone components. AcerOBP11 also had strong binding affinity to plant volatiles, such as 4-Allylveratrole. Based on the docking and site-directed mutagenesis, two key amino acid residues (Ile97 and Ile140) were involved in the binding of AcerOBP11 to various bee pheromones. Taken together, we identified that AcerOBP11 was localized in a single type of antennal chemosensilla and had complex ligand-binding properties, which confer the dual-role with the primary characteristics of sensing various bee pheromones and secondary characteristics of sensing general odorants. This study not only prompts the theoretical basis of OBPs-mediated bee pheromones recognition of honey bee, but also extends the understanding of differences in pheromone communication between social and solitary insects.

Temperature correction and usefulness of ocean bottom pressure data from cabled seafloor observatories around Japan for analyses of tsunamis, ocean tides, and low-frequency geophysical phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inazu, D.; Hino, R.

2011-11-01

Ocean bottom pressure (OBP) data obtained by cabled seafloor observatories deployed around Japan, are known to be significantly affected by temperature changes. This paper examines the relationship between the OBP and temperature records of six OBP gauges in terms of a regression coefficient and lag at a wide range of frequencies. No significant temperature dependency is recognized in secular variations, while substantial increases, at rates of the order of 1 hPa/year, are commonly evident in the OBP records. Strong temperature dependencies are apparent for periods of hours to days, and we correct the OBP data based on the estimated OBP-temperature relationship. At periods longer than days, the temperature corrections work well for extracting geophysical signals for OBP data at a station off Hokkaido (KPG2), while other corrected data show insufficient signal-to-noise ratios. At a tsunami frequency, the correction can reduce OBP fluctuations, due to rapid temperature changes, by as much as millimeters, and is especially effective for data at a station off Shikoku (MPG2) at which rapid temperature changes most frequently occur. A tidal analysis shows that OBP data at a station off Honshu (TM1), and at KPG2, are useful for studies on the long-term variations of tidal constituents.

In the aftermath of SPRINT: further comparison of unattended automated office blood pressure measurement and 24-hour blood pressure monitoring.

PubMed

Seidlerová, Jitka; Gelžinský, Julius; Mateřánková, Markéta; Ceral, Jiří; König, Petr; Filipovský, Jan

2018-03-22

Several papers reported that unattended automated office blood pressure (uAutoOBP) is closely related to daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). In the present study, we aim to study uAutoOBP and its relation to 24-hour ABPM and ABPM variability. Stable treated hypertensive subjects were examined in two Czech academic hypertension centres. uAutoOBP was measured with the BP Tru device; attended BP three times with auscultatory method (AuscOBP) by the physician. ABPM was performed within one week from the clinical visit. Data on 98 subjects aged 67.7 ± 9.3 years with 24-hour ABPM 120.3 ± 10.6/72.7 ± 7.9 mm Hg are reported. uAutoOBP was lower than 24-hour (by -5.2 ± 11.3/-0.5 ± 6.9 mm Hg) and daytime (by -6.7 ± 12.82.4 ± 8.0 mm Hg) ABPM and the individual variability of the difference was very large (up to 30 mm Hg). The correlation coefficients between ABPM and uAutoOBP were similar compared to AuscOBP (p ≥ .17). Variability of uAutoOBP, but not AuscOBP, readings during one clinical visit was related to short-term blood pressure variability of ABPM. The difference between AuscOBP and uAutoOBP was larger in patients with white-coat effect compared to other blood pressure control groups (25.1 ± 7.0 vs. 2.2 ± 10.3 mm Hg; p = .0036). Our study shows that uAutoOBP is not good predictor of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, not even of the daytime values. It might, however, indicate short-term blood pressure variability and, when compared with AuscOBP, also detect patients with white-coat effect.

Insights into structural features determining odorant affinities to honey bee odorant binding protein 14.

PubMed

Schwaighofer, Andreas; Pechlaner, Maria; Oostenbrink, Chris; Kotlowski, Caroline; Araman, Can; Mastrogiacomo, Rosa; Pelosi, Paolo; Knoll, Wolfgang; Nowak, Christoph; Larisika, Melanie

2014-04-18

Molecular interactions between odorants and odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are of major importance for understanding the principles of selectivity of OBPs towards the wide range of semiochemicals. It is largely unknown on a structural basis, how an OBP binds and discriminates between odorant molecules. Here we examine this aspect in greater detail by comparing the C-minus OBP14 of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) to a mutant form of the protein that comprises the third disulfide bond lacking in C-minus OBPs. Affinities of structurally analogous odorants featuring an aromatic phenol group with different side chains were assessed based on changes of the thermal stability of the protein upon odorant binding monitored by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Our results indicate a tendency that odorants show higher affinity to the wild-type OBP suggesting that the introduced rigidity in the mutant protein has a negative effect on odorant binding. Furthermore, we show that OBP14 stability is very sensitive to the position and type of functional groups in the odorant. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-185: Study of the Robustness of a Proton Arc Technique Based On PBS Beams

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

Wang, Z; Zheng, Y

Purpose: One potential technique to realize proton arc is through using PBS beams from many directions to form overlaid Bragg peak (OBP) spots and placing these OBP spots throughout the target volume to achieve desired dose distribution. In this study, we analyzed the robustness of this proton arc technique. Methods: We used a cylindrical water phantom of 20 cm in radius in our robustness analysis. To study the range uncertainty effect, we changed the density of the phantom by ±3%. To study the setup uncertainty effect, we shifted the phantom by 3 & 5 mm. We also combined the rangemore » and setup uncertainties (3mm/±3%). For each test plan, we performed dose calculation for the nominal and 6 disturbed scenarios. Two test plans were used, one with single OBP spot and the other consisting of 121 OBP spots covering a 10×10cm{sup 2} area. We compared the dose profiles between the nominal and disturbed scenarios to estimate the impact of the uncertainties. Dose calculation was performed with Gate/GEANT based Monte Carlo software in cloud computing environment. Results: For each of the 7 scenarios, we simulated 100k & 10M events for plans consisting of single OBP spot and 121 OBP spots respectively. For single OBP spot, the setup uncertainty had minimum impact on the spot’s dose profile while range uncertainty had significant impact on the dose profile. For plan consisting of 121 OBP spots, similar effect was observed but the extent of disturbance was much less compared to single OBP spot. Conclusion: For PBS arc technique, range uncertainty has significantly more impact than setup uncertainty. Although single OBP spot can be severely disturbed by the range uncertainty, the overall effect is much less when a large number of OBP spots are used. Robustness optimization for PBS arc technique should consider range uncertainty with priority.« less

Role of zoledronic acid in oncolytic virotherapy: Promotion of antitumor effect and prevention of bone destruction.

PubMed

Yamakawa, Yasuaki; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Hasei, Joe; Osaki, Shuhei; Omori, Toshinori; Sugiu, Kazuhisa; Komatsubara, Tadashi; Uotani, Kouji; Fujiwara, Tomohiro; Yoshida, Aki; Kunisada, Toshiyuki; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Ozaki, Toshifumi; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi

2017-09-01

Osteosarcoma is an aggressive malignant bone tumor that causes bone destruction. Although tumor-specific replicating oncolytic adenovirus OBP-301 induces an antitumor effect in an osteosarcoma tumor, it cannot prevent bone destruction. Zoledronic acid (ZOL) is a clinically available agent that inhibits bone destruction. In this study, we investigated the potential of combination therapy with OBP-301 and ZOL against osteosarcomas with bone destruction. The antitumor activity of OBP-301 and ZOL in monotherapy or combination therapy was assessed using three human osteosarcoma cell lines (143B, MNNG/HOS, SaOS-2). The cytotoxic effect of OBP-301 and/or ZOL was measured by assay of cell apoptosis. The effect of OBP-301 and ZOL on osteoclast activation was investigated. The potential of combination therapy against tumor growth and bone destruction was analyzed using an orthotopic 143B osteosarcoma xenograft tumor model. OBP-301 and ZOL decreased the viability of human osteosarcoma cells. Combination therapy with OBP-301 and ZOL displayed a synergistic antitumor effect, in which OBP-301 promoted apoptosis through suppression of anti-apoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1). Combination therapy significantly inhibited tumor-mediated osteoclast activation, tumor growth and bone destruction compared to monotherapy. These results suggest that combination therapy of OBP-301 and ZOL suppresses osteosarcoma progression via suppression of MCL1 and osteoclast activation. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer Science published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Cancer Association.

Transcriptome-Based Identification of Highly Similar Odorant-Binding Proteins among Neotropical Stink Bugs and Their Egg Parasitoid

PubMed Central

Farias, Luciana R.; Schimmelpfeng, Pedro H. C.; Togawa, Roberto C.; Costa, Marcos M. C.; Grynberg, Priscila; Martins, Natália F.; Borges, Miguel; Blassioli-Moraes, Maria Carolina; Laumann, Raul A.; Báo, Sônia N.; Paula, Débora P.

2015-01-01

Olfaction plays a fundamental role in insect survival through resource location and intra and interspecific communications. We used RNA-Seq to analyze transcriptomes for odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) from major stink bug pest species in Brazil, Euschistus heros, Chinavia ubica, and Dichelops melacanthus, and from their egg parasitoid, Telenomus podisi. We identified 23 OBPs in E. heros, 25 OBPs in C. ubica, 9 OBPs in D. melacanthus, and 7 OBPs in T. podisi. The deduced amino acid sequences of the full-length OBPs had low intraspecific similarity, but very high similarity between two pairs of OBPs from E. heros and C. ubica (76.4 and 84.0%) and between two pairs of OBPs from the parasitoid and its preferred host E. heros (82.4 and 88.5%), confirmed by a high similarity of their predicted tertiary structures. The similar pairs of OBPs from E. heros and C. ubica may suggest that they have derived from a common ancestor, and retain the same biological function to bind a ligand perceived or produced in both species. The T. podisi OBPs similar to E. heros were not orthologous to any known hymenopteran OBPs, and may have evolved independently and converged to the host OBPs, providing a possible basis for the host location of T. podisi using E. heros semiochemical cues. PMID:26161752

Preliminary investigation of the relationships between sleep duration, reward circuitry function, and mood dysregulation in youth offspring of parents with bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Soehner, Adriane M; Bertocci, Michele A; Manelis, Anna; Bebko, Genna; Ladouceur, Cecile D; Graur, Simona; Monk, Kelly; Bonar, Lisa K; Hickey, Mary Beth; Axelson, David; Goldstein, Benjamin I; Goldstein, Tina R; Birmaher, Boris; Phillips, Mary L

2016-11-15

Altered reward circuitry function is observed in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) and their unaffected offspring (OBP). While OBP are at elevated risk for BD, modifiable risk factors that may exacerbate neural vulnerabilities in OBP remain under-characterized. As sleep loss is strongly linked to mania in BD, this study tested associations between sleep duration, reward circuitry function, and mood dysregulation in OBP. Two groups of youth unaffected with BD (9-17yr) completed a number-guessing fMRI reward paradigm: 25 OBP and 21 age-sex-IQ-matched offspring of control parents with non-BD psychopathology (OCP), to differentiate risk for BD from risk for psychopathology more broadly. Regressions tested effects of group status, self-reported past-week sleep duration, and their interaction on neural activity and bilateral ventral striatum (VS) functional connectivity to win>control. Correlations with parent-reported mood dysregulation were assessed. Group effects were observed for right posterior insula activity (OCP>OBP) and VS-left posterior insula connectivity (OBP>OCP). Group ⁎ sleep duration interactions were observed for left dorsal anterior-mid-cingulate (daMCC) activity and VS-left anterior insula/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) connectivity. Specifically, sleep duration and daMCC activity were positively related in OBP, but negatively related in OCP and sleep duration and VS-left anterior insula/VLPFC connectivity were negatively related in OBP, but positively in OCP. Additionally, increased VS-left posterior insula connectivity and VS-left anterior insula/VLPFC connectivity were associated with greater mood dysregulation in OBP only. Cross-sectional design and small sample size. Altered reward-related VS-insula connectivity could represent a neural pathway underpinning mood dysregulation in OBP, and may be modulated by shortened sleep duration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular Characterization and Differential Expression of Olfactory Genes in the Antennae of the Black Cutworm Moth Agrotis ipsilon

PubMed Central

Gu, Shao-Hua; Sun, Liang; Yang, Ruo-Nan; Wu, Kong-Ming; Guo, Yu-Yuan; Li, Xian-Chun; Zhou, Jing-Jiang; Zhang, Yong-Jun

2014-01-01

Insects use their sensitive and selective olfactory system to detect outside chemical odorants, such as female sex pheromones and host plant volatiles. Several groups of olfactory proteins participate in the odorant detection process, including odorant binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs) and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). The identification and functional characterization of these olfactory proteins will enhance our knowledge of the molecular basis of insect chemoreception. In this study, we report the identification and differential expression profiles of these olfactory genes in the black cutworm moth Agrotis ipsilon. In total, 33 OBPs, 12 CSPs, 42 ORs, 24 IRs, 2 SNMPs and 1 gustatory receptor (GR) were annotated from the A. ipsilon antennal transcriptomes, and further RT-PCR and RT-qPCR revealed that 22 OBPs, 3 CSPs, 35 ORs, 14 IRs and the 2 SNMPs are uniquely or primarily expressed in the male and female antennae. Furthermore, one OBP (AipsOBP6) and one CSP (AipsCSP2) were exclusively expressed in the female sex pheromone gland. These antennae-enriched OBPs, CSPs, ORs, IRs and SNMPs were suggested to be responsible for pheromone and general odorant detection and thus could be meaningful target genes for us to study their biological functions in vivo and in vitro. PMID:25083706

Intriguing olfactory proteins from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishida, Yuko; Chen, Angela M.; Tsuruda, Jennifer M.; Cornel, Anthon J.; Debboun, Mustapha; Leal, Walter S.

2004-09-01

Four antennae-specific proteins (AaegOBP1, AaegOBP2, AaegOBP3, and AaegASP1) were isolated from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti and their full-length cDNAs were cloned. RT-PCR indicated that they are expressed in female and, to a lesser extent, in male antennae, but not in control tissues (legs). AaegOBP1 and AaegOBP3 showed significant similarity to previously identified mosquito odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) in cysteine spacing pattern and sequence. Two of the isolated proteins have a total of eight cysteine residues. The similarity of the spacing pattern of the cysteine residues and amino acid sequence to those of previously identified olfactory proteins suggests that one of the cysteine-rich proteins (AaegOBP2) is an OBP. The other (AaegASP1) did not belong to any group of known OBPs. Structural analyses indicate that six of the cysteine residues in AaegOBP2 are linked in a similar pattern to the previously known cysteine pairing in OBPs, i.e., Cys-24 Cys-55, Cys-51 Cys-104, Cys-95 Cys-113. The additional disulfide bridge, Cys-38 Cys-125, knits the extended C-terminal segment of the protein to a predicted α2-helix. As indicated by circular dichroism (CD) spectra, the extra rigidity seems to prevent the predicted formation of a C-terminal α-helix at low pH.

Effects of insecticides chlorpyrifos, emamectin benzoate and fipronil on Spodoptera litura might be mediated by OBPs and CSPs.

PubMed

Lin, X; Jiang, Y; Zhang, L; Cai, Y

2017-12-04

Spodoptera litura is a widespread polyphagous insect pest that can develop resistance and cross-resistance to insecticides, making it difficult to control. Insecticide exposure has previously been linked with induction of specific olfactory-related proteins, including some chemosensory proteins (CSPs) and odorant-binding proteins (OPBs), which may disrupt detection of environmental factors and reduce fitness. However, functional evidence supporting insecticide and OBPs/CSPs mediation remains unknown. Here we fed male S. litura moths with sucrose water containing one of three insecticides, chlorpyrifos, emamectin benzoate or fipronil, and used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and RNAi to investigate OBPs and CSPs expression and their correlations with survival. Chlorpyrifos and emamectin benzoate increased expression of 78% of OBPs, plus 63 and 56% of CSP genes, respectively, indicating a major impact on these gene families. RNAi knockdown of SlituCSP18, followed by feeding with chlorpyrifos or fipronil, decreased survival rates of male moths significantly compared with controls. Survival rate also decreased significantly with the downregulation of SlituOBP9 followed by feeding with chlorpyrifos. Thus, although these three insecticides had different effects on OBP and CSP gene expression, we hypothesize that SlituOBPs and SlituCSPs might mediate their effects by increasing their expression levels to improve survival. Moreover, the differential response of S. litura male moths to the three insecticides indicated the potential specificity of chlorpyrifos affect SlituCSP18 and SlituOBP9 expression.

Co- and postseismic slip distribution for the 2011 March 9 earthquake based on the geodetic data: Role on the initiation of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohta, Y.; Hino, R.; Inazu, D.; Ohzono, M.; Mishina, M.; Nakajima, J.; Ito, Y.; Sato, T.; Tamura, Y.; Fujimoto, H.; Tachibana, K.; Demachi, T.; Osada, Y.; Shinohara, M.; Miura, S.

2012-04-01

A large foreshock with M7.3 occurred on March 9, 2011 at the subducting Pacific plate interface followed by the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake 51 hours later. We propose a slip distribution of the foreshock deduced from dense inland GPS sites and Ocean Bottom Pressure gauge (OBP) sites. The multiple OBP gauges were installed before the M7.3 foreshock in and around the focal area. We succeed to collect the OBP gauge data in 9 sites, which included two cabled OBPs in off Kamaishi (TM1, TM2). The inland GPS horizontal coseismic displacements are estimated based on baseline analyses to show the broad area of displacement field up to ~30mm directing to the focal area. In contrast, there is no coherent signal in the vertical components. The several OBP sites, for example, P2 and P6 sites located the westward from the epicenter of the foreshock clearly detected the coseismic displacement. The estimated coseismic displacement reached more than 100mm in P6 sites. Intriguingly, GJT3 sites, which the most nearly OBP sites from the epicenter, did not show the significant displacement. Based on the inland GPS sites and OBPs data, we estimated a coseismic slip distribution in the subducting plate interface. The estimated slip distribution can explain observations including the vertical displacement obtained at the OBP sites. The amount of moment release is equivalent to Mw 7.2. The spatio-temporal aftershock distribution of the foreshock shows a southward migration from our estimated fault model. We suggest that aseismic slip occurred after the M7.3 earthquake. The onshore GPS data also supports the occurrence of the afterslip in the southwestward area of the coseismic fault. We estimated the sub-daily coordinates every three hours at the several coastal GPS sites to reveal the time evolutional sequences suggesting the postseismic deformation, especially in the horizontal components. We also examine volumetric strain data at Kinka-san Island, which is situated at the closest distance from the hypocenter. The time series also clearly show the postseismic signal after the M7.3 earthquake. The both of strain meter and GPS time series did not show any acceleration expected as a nucleation process of the M9.0 event; rather, both time series show deceleration of the postseismic deformation before the M9.0 event, even for only two days after the M7.3 earthquake. The OBPs data also indicated the postseismic deformation after the foreshock until the M9 mainshock. Based on the GPS and OBPs data, we estimated the afterslip distribution. The estimated slip distribution is located the southeastern part of the foreshock coseismic distribution. We suggest that aftershocks of the March 9 event may have been caused by stress concentrations along the edge of the afterslip. One of these aftershocks may trigger the huge M 9.0 Tohoku earthquake, although more investigations are required to confirm this scenario.

Large-scale identification of odorant-binding proteins and chemosensory proteins from expressed sequence tags in insects

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background Insect odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) play an important role in chemical communication of insects. Gene discovery of these proteins is a time-consuming task. In recent years, expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of many insect species have accumulated, thus providing a useful resource for gene discovery. Results We have developed a computational pipeline to identify OBP and CSP genes from insect ESTs. In total, 752,841 insect ESTs were examined from 54 species covering eight Orders of Insecta. From these ESTs, 142 OBPs and 177 CSPs were identified, of which 117 OBPs and 129 CSPs are new. The complete open reading frames (ORFs) of 88 OBPs and 123 CSPs were obtained by electronic elongation. We randomly chose 26 OBPs from eight species of insects, and 21 CSPs from four species for RT-PCR validation. Twenty two OBPs and 16 CSPs were confirmed by RT-PCR, proving the efficiency and reliability of the algorithm. Together with all family members obtained from the NCBI (OBPs) or the UniProtKB (CSPs), 850 OBPs and 237 CSPs were analyzed for their structural characteristics and evolutionary relationship. Conclusions A large number of new OBPs and CSPs were found, providing the basis for deeper understanding of these proteins. In addition, the conserved motif and evolutionary analysis provide some new insights into the evolution of insect OBPs and CSPs. Motif pattern fine-tune the functions of OBPs and CSPs, leading to the minor difference in binding sex pheromone or plant volatiles in different insect Orders. PMID:20034407

Characterization of antennal sensilla, larvae morphology and olfactory genes of Melipona scutellaris stingless bee

PubMed Central

de Carvalho, Washington João; Fujimura, Patrícia Tieme; Bonetti, Ana Maria; Goulart, Luiz Ricardo; Cloonan, Kevin; da Silva, Neide Maria; Araújo, Ester Cristina Borges; Ueira-Vieira, Carlos; Leal, Walter S.

2017-01-01

There is growing evidence in the literature suggesting that caste differentiation in the stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris, and other bees in the genus Melipona, is triggered by environmental signals, particularly a primer pheromone. With the proper amount of food and a chemical stimulus, 25% of females emerge as queens, in agreement with a long-standing “two loci/two alleles model” proposed in the 1950s. We surmised that these larvae must be equipped with an olfactory system for reception of these chemical signals. Here we describe for the first time the diversity of antennal sensilla in adults and the morphology of larvae of M. scutellaris. Having found evidence for putative olfactory sensilla in larvae, we next asked whether olfactory proteins were expressed in larvae. Since the molecular basis of M. scutellaris is still unknown, we cloned olfactory genes encoding chemosensory proteins (CSP) and odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) using M. scutellaris cDNA template and primers designed on the basis CSPs and OBPs previously reported from the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. We cloned two CSP and two OBP genes and then attempted to express the proteins encoded by these genes. With a recombinant OBP, MscuOBP8, and a combinatorial single-chain variable fragment antibody library, we generated anti-MscuOBP8 monoclonal antibody. By immunohistochemistry we demonstrated that the anti-MscuOBP8 binds specifically to the MscuOBP8. Next, we found evidence that MscuOBP8 is expressed in M. scutellaris larvae and it is located in the mandibular region, thus further supporting the hypothesis of olfactory function in immature stages. Lastly, molecular modeling suggests that MscuOBP8 may function as a carrier of primer pheromones or other ligands. PMID:28423045

Characterization of antennal sensilla, larvae morphology and olfactory genes of Melipona scutellaris stingless bee.

PubMed

Carvalho, Washington João de; Fujimura, Patrícia Tieme; Bonetti, Ana Maria; Goulart, Luiz Ricardo; Cloonan, Kevin; da Silva, Neide Maria; Araújo, Ester Cristina Borges; Ueira-Vieira, Carlos; Leal, Walter S

2017-01-01

There is growing evidence in the literature suggesting that caste differentiation in the stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris, and other bees in the genus Melipona, is triggered by environmental signals, particularly a primer pheromone. With the proper amount of food and a chemical stimulus, 25% of females emerge as queens, in agreement with a long-standing "two loci/two alleles model" proposed in the 1950s. We surmised that these larvae must be equipped with an olfactory system for reception of these chemical signals. Here we describe for the first time the diversity of antennal sensilla in adults and the morphology of larvae of M. scutellaris. Having found evidence for putative olfactory sensilla in larvae, we next asked whether olfactory proteins were expressed in larvae. Since the molecular basis of M. scutellaris is still unknown, we cloned olfactory genes encoding chemosensory proteins (CSP) and odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) using M. scutellaris cDNA template and primers designed on the basis CSPs and OBPs previously reported from the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. We cloned two CSP and two OBP genes and then attempted to express the proteins encoded by these genes. With a recombinant OBP, MscuOBP8, and a combinatorial single-chain variable fragment antibody library, we generated anti-MscuOBP8 monoclonal antibody. By immunohistochemistry we demonstrated that the anti-MscuOBP8 binds specifically to the MscuOBP8. Next, we found evidence that MscuOBP8 is expressed in M. scutellaris larvae and it is located in the mandibular region, thus further supporting the hypothesis of olfactory function in immature stages. Lastly, molecular modeling suggests that MscuOBP8 may function as a carrier of primer pheromones or other ligands.

Diagnostic accuracy of manual office blood pressure measurement in ambulatory hypertensive patients in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Sehun; Park, Jin Joo; Lee, Seung-Ah; Cho, Youngjin; Yoon, Yeonyee E; Oh, Il-Young; Yoon, Chang-Hwan; Suh, Jung-Won; Cho, Young-Seok; Youn, Tae-Jin; Cho, Goo-Yeong; Chae, In-Ho; Lee, Hae-Young; Shin, Jinho; Park, Sungha; Choi, Dong-Ju

2018-01-01

Currently, office blood pressure (OBP) is the most widely used method of measuring blood pressure (BP) in daily clinical practice. However, data on the diagnostic accuracy of OBP in reference to ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) are scarce in Korea. In retrospective and prospective cohorts, manual OBP and ABP measurements were compared among ambulatory hypertensive patients. Hypertension was defined as systolic OBP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic OBP ≥ 90 mmHg, and systolic ABP ≥ 130 mmHg and/or diastolic ABP ≥ 80 mmHg. In the retrospective cohort (n = 903), the mean OBP1 (before ABP measurement) was higher than ABP in both systolic (138 ± 17 mmHg vs. 123 ± 13 mmHg, p < 0.001) and diastolic (84 ± 12 mmHg vs. 78 ± 11 mmHg, p < 0.001) measurements. Interestingly, there was only a weak correlation between OBP and ABP ( r 2 = 0.038, p < 0.001). The overall discordance rate of OBP compared to ABP, which is the reference method for measuring BP, was 43.9%. The prospective cohort (n = 57) showed similar results. In a subgroup analysis, male patients had higher false negative results (masked or under-treated hypertension) than did female patients (26.1% vs. 17.8%, p = 0.003), whereas female patients had a higher false positive rate (white-coat or over-treated hypertension) than did male patients (28.7% vs. 15.2%, p < 0.001). The diagnostic accuracy of manual OBP is low in reference to ABP. Men and women have different patterns of discordance. These findings indicate that management of hypertensive patients with manual OBP measurements may be suboptimal and encourages the use of ABP in ambulatory hypertensive patients.

An advanced OBP-based payload operating in an asynchronous network for future data relay satellites utilising CCSDS-standard data structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grant, M.; Vernucci, A.

1991-01-01

A possible Data Relay Satellite System (DRSS) topology and network architecture is introduced. An asynchronous network concept, whereby each link (Inter-orbit, Inter-satellite, Feeder) is allowed to operate on its own clock, without causing loss of information, in conjunction with packet data structures, such as those specified by the CCSDS for advanced orbiting systems is discussed. A matching OBP payload architecture is described, highlighting the advantages provided by the OBP-based concept and then giving some indications on the OBP mass/power requirements.

Molecular and Functional Characterization of Odorant-Binding Protein Genes in an Invasive Vector Mosquito, Aedes albopictus

PubMed Central

Deng, Yuhua; Yan, Hui; Gu, Jinbao; Xu, Jiabao; Wu, Kun; Tu, Zhijian; James, Anthony A.; Chen, Xiaoguang

2013-01-01

Aedes albopictus is a major vector of dengue and Chikungunya viruses. Olfaction plays a vital role in guiding mosquito behaviors and contributes to their ability to transmit pathogens. Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are abundant in insect olfactory tissues and involved in the first step of odorant reception. While comprehensive descriptions are available of OBPs from Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae, only a few genes from Ae. albopictus have been reported. In this study, twenty-one putative AalbOBP genes were cloned using their homologues in Ae. aegypti to query an Ae. albopictus partial genome sequence. Two antenna-specific OBPs, AalbOBP37 and AalbOBP39, display a remarkable similarity in their overall folding and binding pockets, according to molecular modeling. Binding affinity assays indicated that AalbOBP37 and AalbOBP39 had overlapping ligand affinities and are affected in different pH condition. Electroantennagrams (EAG) and behavioral tests show that these two genes were involved in olfactory reception. An improved understanding of the Ae. albopictus OBPs is expected to contribute to the development of more efficient and environmentally-friendly mosquito control strategies. PMID:23935894

Challenge for the accurate CMT estimation of the offshore earthquakes using ocean bottom pressure gauges as seismometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubota, T.; Saito, T.; Suzuki, W.; Hino, R.

2017-12-01

When an earthquake occurs in offshore region, ocean bottom pressure gauges (OBP) observe the low-frequency (> 400s) pressure change due to tsunami and also high-frequency (< 200 s) pressure change due to seismic waves (e.g. Filloux 1983; Matsumoto et al. 2012). When the period of the seafloor motion is sufficiently long (> 20 s), the relation between seafloor dynamic pressure change p and seafloor vertical acceleration az is approximately given as p=ρ0h0az (ρ0: seawater density, h0: sea depth) (e.g., Bolshakova et al. 2011; Matsumoto et al.,2012; Saito and Tsushima, 2016, JGR; Saito, 2017, GJI). Based on this relation, it is expected that OBP can be used as vertical accelerometers. If we use OBP deployed in offshore region as seismometer, the station coverage is improved and then the accuracy of the earthquake location is also improved. In this study, we analyzed seismograms together with seafloor dynamic pressure change records to estimate the CMT of the interplate earthquakes occurred at off the coast of Tohoku on 9 March, 2011 (Mw 7.3 and 6.5) (Kubota et al., 2017, EPSL), and discussed the estimation accuracy of the centroid horizontal location. When the dynamic pressure change recorded by OBP is used in addition to the seismograms, the horizontal location of CMT was reliably constrained. The centroid was located in the center of the rupture area estimated by the tsunami inversion analysis (Kubota et al., 2017). These CMTs had reverse-fault mechanisms consistent with the interplate earthquakes and well reproduces the dynamic pressure signals in the OBP records. Meanwhile, when we used only the inland seismometers, the centroids were estimated to be outside the rupture area. This study proved that the dynamic pressure change in OBP records are available as seismic-wave records, which greatly helped to investigate the source process of offshore earthquakes far from the coast.

Challenge for the accurate CMT estimation of the offshore earthquakes using ocean bottom pressure gauges as seismometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubota, T.; Saito, T.; Suzuki, W.; Hino, R.

2016-12-01

When an earthquake occurs in offshore region, ocean bottom pressure gauges (OBP) observe the low-frequency (> 400s) pressure change due to tsunami and also high-frequency (< 200 s) pressure change due to seismic waves (e.g. Filloux 1983; Matsumoto et al. 2012). When the period of the seafloor motion is sufficiently long (> 20 s), the relation between seafloor dynamic pressure change p and seafloor vertical acceleration az is approximately given as p=ρ0h0az (ρ0: seawater density, h0: sea depth) (e.g., Bolshakova et al. 2011; Matsumoto et al.,2012; Saito and Tsushima, 2016, JGR; Saito, 2017, GJI). Based on this relation, it is expected that OBP can be used as vertical accelerometers. If we use OBP deployed in offshore region as seismometer, the station coverage is improved and then the accuracy of the earthquake location is also improved. In this study, we analyzed seismograms together with seafloor dynamic pressure change records to estimate the CMT of the interplate earthquakes occurred at off the coast of Tohoku on 9 March, 2011 (Mw 7.3 and 6.5) (Kubota et al., 2017, EPSL), and discussed the estimation accuracy of the centroid horizontal location. When the dynamic pressure change recorded by OBP is used in addition to the seismograms, the horizontal location of CMT was reliably constrained. The centroid was located in the center of the rupture area estimated by the tsunami inversion analysis (Kubota et al., 2017). These CMTs had reverse-fault mechanisms consistent with the interplate earthquakes and well reproduces the dynamic pressure signals in the OBP records. Meanwhile, when we used only the inland seismometers, the centroids were estimated to be outside the rupture area. This study proved that the dynamic pressure change in OBP records are available as seismic-wave records, which greatly helped to investigate the source process of offshore earthquakes far from the coast.

Candidate chemosensory genes identified in the endoparasitoid Meteorus pulchricornis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) by antennal transcriptome analysis.

PubMed

Sheng, Sheng; Liao, Cheng-Wu; Zheng, Yu; Zhou, Yu; Xu, Yan; Song, Wen-Miao; He, Peng; Zhang, Jian; Wu, Fu-An

2017-06-01

Meteorus pulchricornis is an endoparasitoid wasp which attacks the larvae of various lepidopteran pests. We present the first antennal transcriptome dataset for M. pulchricornis. A total of 48,845,072 clean reads were obtained and 34,967 unigenes were assembled. Of these, 15,458 unigenes showed a significant similarity (E-value <10 -5 ) to known proteins in the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Gene ontology (GO) and cluster of orthologous groups (COG) analyses were used to classify the functions of M. pulchricornis antennae genes. We identified 16 putative odorant-binding protein (OBP) genes, eight chemosensory protein (CSP) genes, 99 olfactory receptor (OR) genes, 19 ionotropic receptor (IR) genes and one sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMP) gene. BLASTx best hit results and phylogenetic analysis both indicated that these chemosensory genes were most closely related to those found in other hymenopteran species. Real-time quantitative PCR assays showed that 14 MpulOBP genes were antennae-specific. Of these, MpulOBP6, MpulOBP9, MpulOBP10, MpulOBP12, MpulOBP15 and MpulOBP16 were found to have greater expression in the antennae than in other body parts, while MpulOBP2 and MpulOBP3 were expressed predominately in the legs and abdomens, respectively. These results might provide a foundation for future studies of olfactory genes and chemoreception in M. pulchricornis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Relationship between office and home blood pressure with increasing age: The International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO).

PubMed

Ntineri, Angeliki; Stergiou, George S; Thijs, Lutgarde; Asayama, Kei; Boggia, José; Boubouchairopoulou, Nadia; Hozawa, Atsushi; Imai, Yutaka; Johansson, Jouni K; Jula, Antti M; Kollias, Anastasios; Luzardo, Leonella; Niiranen, Teemu J; Nomura, Kyoko; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Tsuji, Ichiro; Tzourio, Christophe; Wei, Fang-Fei; Staessen, Jan A

2016-08-01

Home blood pressure (HBP) measurements are known to be lower than conventional office blood pressure (OBP) measurements. However, this difference might not be consistent across the entire age range and has not been adequately investigated. We assessed the relationship between OBP and HBP with increasing age using the International Database of HOme blood pressure in relation to Cardiovascular Outcome (IDHOCO). OBP, HBP and their difference were assessed across different decades of age. A total of 5689 untreated subjects aged 18-97 years, who had at least two OBP and HBP measurements, were included. Systolic OBP and HBP increased across older age categories (from 112 to 142 mm Hg and from 109 to 136 mm Hg, respectively), with OBP being higher than HBP by ∼7 mm Hg in subjects aged >30 years and lesser in younger subjects (P=0.001). Both diastolic OBP and HBP increased until the age of ∼50 years (from 71 to 79 mm Hg and from 66 to 76 mm Hg, respectively), with OBP being consistently higher than HBP and a trend toward a decreased OBP-HBP difference with aging (P<0.001). Determinants of a larger OBP-HBP difference were younger age, sustained hypertension, nonsmoking and negative cardiovascular disease history. These data suggest that in the general adult population, HBP is consistently lower than OBP across all the decades, but their difference might vary between age groups. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in younger and older subjects and in hypertensive individuals.

Antennal and Abdominal Transcriptomes Reveal Chemosensory Genes in the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri.

PubMed

Wu, Zhongzhen; Zhang, He; Bin, Shuying; Chen, Lei; Han, Qunxin; Lin, Jintian

2016-01-01

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri is the principal vector of the highly destructive citrus disease called Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening, which is a major threat to citrus cultivation worldwide. More effective pest control strategies against this pest entail the identification of potential chemosensory proteins that could be used in the development of attractants or repellents. However, the molecular basis of olfaction in the Asian citrus psyllid is not completely understood. Therefore, we performed this study to analyze the antennal and abdominal transcriptome of the Asian citrus psyllid. We identified a large number of transcripts belonging to nine chemoreception-related gene families and compared their expression in male and female adult antennae and terminal abdomen. In total, 9 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 12 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 46 odorant receptors (ORs), 20 gustatory receptors (GRs), 35 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 4 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) and 4 different gene families encoding odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs): 80 cytochrome P450s (CYPs), 12 esterase (ESTs), and 5 aldehyde dehydrogenases (ADE) were annotated in the D. citri antennal and abdominal transcriptomes. Our results revealed that a large proportion of chemosensory genes exhibited no distinct differences in their expression patterns in the antennae and terminal abdominal tissues. Notably, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data and quantitative real time-PCR (qPCR) analyses showed that 4 DictOBPs, 4 DictCSPs, 4 DictIRs, 1 DictSNMP, and 2 DictCYPs were upregulated in the antennae relative to that in terminal abdominal tissues. Furthermore, 2 DictOBPs (DictOBP8 and DictOBP9), 2 DictCSPs (DictOBP8 and DictOBP12), 4 DictIRs (DictIR3, DictIR6, DictIR10, and DictIR35), and 1 DictCYP (DictCYP57) were expressed at higher levels in the male antennae than in the female antennae. Our study provides the first insights into the molecular basis of chemoreception in this insect pest. Further studies on the identified differentially expressed genes would facilitate the understanding of insect olfaction and their role in the interactions between olfactory system and biological processes.

Ocean Biological Pump Sensitivities and Implications for Climate Change Impacts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romanou, Anastasia

2013-01-01

The ocean is one of the principal reservoirs of CO2, a greenhouse gas, and therefore plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate. Currently, the ocean sequesters about a third of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, mitigating the human impact on climate. At the same time, the deeper ocean represents the largest carbon pool in the Earth System and processes that describe the transfer of carbon from the surface of the ocean to depth are intimately linked to the effectiveness of carbon sequestration.The ocean biological pump (OBP), which involves several biogeochemical processes, is a major pathway for transfer of carbon from the surface mixed layer into the ocean interior. About 75 of the carbon vertical gradient is due to the carbon pump with only 25 attributed to the solubility pump. However, the relative importance and role of the two pumps is poorly constrained. OBP is further divided to the organic carbon pump (soft tissue pump) and the carbonate pump, with the former exporting about 10 times more carbon than the latter through processes like remineralization.Major uncertainties about OBP, and hence in the carbon uptake and sequestration, stem from uncertainties in processes involved in OBP such as particulate organicinorganic carbon sinkingsettling, remineralization, microbial degradation of DOC and uptakegrowth rate changes of the ocean biology. The deep ocean is a major sink of atmospheric CO2 in scales of hundreds to thousands of years, but how the export efficiency (i.e. the fraction of total carbon fixation at the surface that is transported at depth) is affected by climate change remains largely undetermined. These processes affect the ocean chemistry (alkalinity, pH, DIC, particulate and dissolved organic carbon) as well as the ecology (biodiversity, functional groups and their interactions) in the ocean. It is important to have a rigorous, quantitative understanding of the uncertainties involved in the observational measurements, the models and the projections of future changes.

The novel HDAC inhibitor OBP-801/YM753 enhances the effects of 5-fluorouracil with radiation on esophageal squamous carcinoma cells.

PubMed

Furutani, Akinobu; Sowa, Yoshihiro; Fujiwara, Hitoshi; Otsuji, Eigo; Sakai, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been shown to enhance the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) against various cancer cells; however, no report has shown that an HDAC inhibitor may enhance the effects of 5-FU with radiation. Therefore, we investigated whether the novel HDAC inhibitor OBP-801/YM753 could enhance the effects of 5-FU with radiation on esophageal squamous carcinoma KYSE170 cells. The inhibition of the cell growth was significantly stronger with the combination of OBP-801/YM753 with 5-FU than with the 5-FU treatment only. Furthermore, inhibition of the colony formation was the most effective with the combined treatment of OBP-801/YM753, 5-FU, and radiation. Western blot analysis showed that OBP-801/YM753 suppressed the expression of thymidylate synthase induced by 5-FU. Therefore, this three-combined therapy is promising for patients with esophageal squamous carcinoma.

Changes in Dissolved Organic Matter Composition and Disinfection Byproduct Precursors in Advanced Drinking Water Treatment Processes.

PubMed

Phungsai, Phanwatt; Kurisu, Futoshi; Kasuga, Ikuro; Furumai, Hiroaki

2018-03-20

Molecular changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM) from treatment processes at two drinking water treatment plants in Japan were investigated using unknown screening analysis by Orbitrap mass spectrometry. DOM formulas with carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (CHO-DOM) were the most abundant class in water samples, and over half of them were commonly found at both plants. Among the treatment processes, ozonation induced the most drastic changes to DOM. Mass peak intensities of less saturated CHO-DOM (positive (oxygen subtracted double bond equivalent per carbon (DBE-O)/C)) decreased by ozonation, while more saturated oxidation byproducts (negative (DBE-O)/C) increased and new oxidation byproducts (OBPs) were detected. By Kendrick mass analysis, ozone reactions preferred less saturated CHO-DOM in the same alkylation families and produced more saturated alkylation families of OBPs. Following ozonation, biological activated carbon filtration effectively removed <300 Da CHO-DOM, including OBPs. Following chlorination, over 50 chlorinated formulas of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) were found in chlorinated water samples where at least half were unknown. Putative precursors of these DBPs were determined based on electrophilic substitutions and addition reactions. Ozonation demonstrated better decomposition of addition reaction-type precursors than electrophilic substitution-type precursors; over half of both precursor types decreased during biological activated carbon filtration.

Crystal and solution structures of an odorant-binding protein from the southern house mosquito complexed with an oviposition pheromone

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

Mao, Yang; Xu, Xianzhong; Xu, Wei

2010-11-15

Culex mosquitoes introduce the pathogens responsible for filariasis, West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis, and other diseases into humans. Currently, traps baited with oviposition semiochemicals play an important role in detection efforts and could provide an environmentally friendly approach to controlling their populations. The odorant binding proteins (OBPs) in the female's antenna play a crucial, if yet imperfectly understood, role in sensing oviposition cues. Here, we report the X-ray crystallography and NMR 3D structures of OBP1 for Culex quinquefasciatus (CquiOBP1) bound to an oviposition pheromone (5R,6S)-6-acetoxy-5-hexadecanolide (MOP). In both studies, CquiOBP1 had the same overall six-helix structure seen in othermore » insect OBPs, but a detailed analysis revealed an important previously undescribed feature. There are two models for OBP-mediated signal transduction: (i) direct release of the pheromone from an internal binding pocket in a pH-dependent fashion and (ii) detection of a pheromone-induced conformational change in the OBP {center_dot} pheromone complex. Although CquiOBP1 binds MOP in a pH-dependent fashion, it lacks the C terminus required for the pH-dependent release model. This study shows that CquiOBP binds MOP in an unprecedented fashion using both a small central cavity for the lactone head group and a long hydrophobic channel for its tail.« less

Odorant-Binding Protein: Localization to Nasal Glands and Secretions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pevsner, Jonathan; Sklar, Pamela B.; Snyder, Solomon H.

1986-07-01

An odorant-binding protein (OBP) was isolated from bovine olfactory and respiratory mucosa. We have produced polyclonal antisera to this protein and report its immunohistochemical localization to mucus-secreting glands of the olfactory and respiratory mucosa. Although OBP was originally isolated as a pyrazine binding protein, both rat and bovine OBP also bind the odorants [3H]methyldihydrojasmonate and 3,7-dimethyl-octan-1-ol as well as 2-isobutyl-3-[3H]methoxypyrazine. We detect substantial odorant-binding activity attributable to OBP in secreted rat nasal mucus and tears but not in saliva, suggesting a role for OBP in transporting or concentrating odorants.

Teaching Geomorphology at University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sugden, David; Hamilton, Patrick

1978-01-01

Geomorphology courses in British universities emphasize the main landform/process systems rather than more abstract concepts. Recommends a more theoretical focus on fundamental geomorphic processes and methodological problems. Available from: Faculty of Modern Studies, Oxford Polytechnic, Headington, Oxford OX3 OBP, England. (Author/AV)

High Prevalence of Hypertension in a Danish Population Telemedical Home Measurement of Blood Pressure in Citizens Aged 55–64 Years in Holstebro County

PubMed Central

Lauritzen, Torsten; Bech, Jesper Nørgaard; Pedersen, Erling Bjerregaard

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND Home blood pressure (HBP) is prognostically superior to office BP (OBP) and similar to ambulatory BP measurements. We determined the prevalence of hypertension using HBP with telemedical data transmission in the municipality of Holstebro, Denmark (57,000 citizens). METHODS Using the Civil Registration System, we invited citizens aged 55–64 years to have their OBP and HBP measured using telemedical data transmission. Elevated OBP was defined as ≥140/90mm Hg. HBP was measured 3 times daily on 3 consecutive days with 3 measurements on each occasion. HBP was the mean of all measurements on day 1 and 3, and hypertension was defined as ≥135/85mm Hg. RESULTS We included 3,102 citizens who had performed at least 12 HBP measurements during day 2 and 3. Group 1: (n = 1,464, 47%) had both normal OBP and HBP. Group 2: (n = 838, 27%) had both elevated OBP and HBP indicating persistent hypertension. Group 3: (n = 560, 18%) had elevated OBP and normal HBP indicating white coat hypertension (WCH). Group 4: (n = 240, 8%) had normal OBP and elevated HBP indicating masked hypertension (MH). Thus, 1,078 (35%, groups 2 and 4) were untreated or insufficiently treated. Awareness of hypertension was registered in 950 patients (31%) and of these 49% had a normal HBP. CONCLUSIONS This is the first large-scale study to eliminate completely reporting bias by using telemedical transmission of BP data. One third of citizens in the age group 55–64 years had an abnormally high HBP, and one fourth either had WCH or MH. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identification number: NCT02355392 PMID:26208671

High Prevalence of Hypertension in a Danish Population Telemedical Home Measurement of Blood Pressure in Citizens Aged 55-64 Years in Holstebro County.

PubMed

Hoffmann-Petersen, Nikolai; Lauritzen, Torsten; Bech, Jesper Nørgaard; Pedersen, Erling Bjerregaard

2016-04-01

Home blood pressure (HBP) is prognostically superior to office BP (OBP) and similar to ambulatory BP measurements. We determined the prevalence of hypertension using HBP with telemedical data transmission in the municipality of Holstebro, Denmark (57,000 citizens). Using the Civil Registration System, we invited citizens aged 55-64 years to have their OBP and HBP measured using telemedical data transmission. Elevated OBP was defined as ≥140/90mm Hg. HBP was measured 3 times daily on 3 consecutive days with 3 measurements on each occasion. HBP was the mean of all measurements on day 1 and 3, and hypertension was defined as ≥135/85mm Hg. We included 3,102 citizens who had performed at least 12 HBP measurements during day 2 and 3. Group 1: (n = 1,464, 47%) had both normal OBP and HBP. Group 2: (n = 838, 27%) had both elevated OBP and HBP indicating persistent hypertension. Group 3: (n = 560, 18%) had elevated OBP and normal HBP indicating white coat hypertension (WCH). Group 4: (n = 240, 8%) had normal OBP and elevated HBP indicating masked hypertension (MH). Thus, 1,078 (35%, groups 2 and 4) were untreated or insufficiently treated. Awareness of hypertension was registered in 950 patients (31%) and of these 49% had a normal HBP. This is the first large-scale study to eliminate completely reporting bias by using telemedical transmission of BP data. One third of citizens in the age group 55-64 years had an abnormally high HBP, and one fourth either had WCH or MH. ClinicalTrials.gov identification number: NCT02355392. © American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd 2015. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

ABA Suppresses Root Hair Growth via the OBP4 Transcriptional Regulator1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Kawamura, Ayako; Schäfer, Sabine; Breuer, Christian; Shibata, Michitaro; Mitsuda, Nobutaka; Ohme-Takagi, Masaru; Matsui, Minami

2017-01-01

Plants modify organ growth and tune morphogenesis in response to various endogenous and environmental cues. At the cellular level, organ growth is often adjusted by alterations in cell growth, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this control remain poorly understood. In this study, we identify the DNA BINDING WITH ONE FINGER (DOF)-type transcription regulator OBF BINDING PROTEIN4 (OBP4) as a repressor of cell growth. Ectopic expression of OBP4 in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) inhibits cell growth, resulting in severe dwarfism and the repression of genes involved in the regulation of water transport, root hair development, and stress responses. Among the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors known to control root hair growth, OBP4 binds the ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE6-LIKE2 (RSL2) promoter to repress its expression. The accumulation of OBP4 proteins is detected in expanding root epidermal cells, and its expression level is increased by the application of abscisic acid (ABA) at concentrations sufficient to inhibit root hair growth. ABA-dependent induction of OBP4 is associated with the reduced expression of RSL2. Furthermore, ectopic expression of OBP4 or loss of RSL2 function results in ABA-insensitive root hair growth. Taken together, our results suggest that OBP4-mediated transcriptional repression of RSL2 contributes to the ABA-dependent inhibition of root hair growth in Arabidopsis. PMID:28167701

Daily rhythms in antennal protein and olfactory sensitivity in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

PubMed Central

Rund, Samuel S. C.; Bonar, Nicolle A.; Champion, Matthew M.; Ghazi, John P.; Houk, Cameron M.; Leming, Matthew T.; Syed, Zainulabeuddin; Duffield, Giles E.

2013-01-01

We recently characterized 24-hr daily rhythmic patterns of gene expression in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. These include numerous odorant binding proteins (OBPs), soluble odorant carrying proteins enriched in olfactory organs. Here we demonstrate that multiple rhythmically expressed genes including OBPs and takeout proteins, involved in regulating blood feeding behavior, have corresponding rhythmic protein levels as measured by quantitative proteomics. This includes AgamOBP1, previously shown as important to An. gambiae odorant sensing. Further, electrophysiological investigations demonstrate time-of-day specific differences in olfactory sensitivity of antennae to major host-derived odorants. The pre-dusk/dusk peaks in OBPs and takeout gene expression correspond with peak protein abundance at night, and in turn coincide with the time of increased olfactory sensitivity to odorants requiring OBPs and times of increased blood-feeding behavior. This suggests an important role for OBPs in modulating temporal changes in odorant sensitivity, enabling the olfactory system to coordinate with the circadian niche of An. gambiae. PMID:23986098

Carbon nanotube-based biosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramoni, Roberto; Staiano, Maria; Bellucci, Stefano; Grycznyski, Ignacy; Grycznyski, Zygmunt; Crescenzo, Roberta; Iozzino, Luisa; Bharill, Shashank; Conti, Virna; Grolli, Stefano; D'Auria, Sabato

2008-11-01

An easy and rapid detection of hazardous compounds is crucial for making on-the-spot irreversible decisions at airport security gates, luggage storage rooms, and other crowded public places, such as stadia, concert halls, etc. In the present study we carried out a preliminary investigation into the possibility of utilizing as advanced nano-biosensors a mutant form of the bovine odorant-binding protein (bOBP) immobilized onto carbon nanotubes. In particular, after immobilization of the protein on the carbon nanotubes we developed a competitive resonance energy transfer (RET) assay between the protein tryptophan residues located at the positions 17 and 133 (W17 and W133) and the 1-amino-anthracene (AMA), a molecule that fits in the binding site of bOBP. The bOBP-AMA complex emitted light in the visible region upon excitation of the Trp donors. However, the addition of an odorant molecule to the bOBP-AMA complex displaced AMA from the binding site making the carbon nanotubes colorless. The results presented in this work are very promising for the realization of a color on/ color off b-OBP-based biosensor for the initial indication of hazardous compounds in the environment.

Three odorant binding proteins may regulate the behavioural response of Chrysopa pallens to plant volatiles and the aphid alarm pheromone (E)-β-farnesene.

PubMed

Li, Z-Q; Zhang, S; Cai, X-M; Luo, J-Y; Dong, S-L; Cui, J-J; Chen, Z-M

2017-06-01

Artificial Chrysopa pallens release is a well-known method for suppressing aphids, but it is difficult to establish lacewing populations in the field. Understanding the functions of C. pallens odorant-binding proteins (CpalOBPs) and behavioural responses of C. pallens to plant volatiles and aphid alarm pheromone (E)-ß-farnesene has important implications for population establishment after lacewing release. Based on our previous study, five antennae-enriched CpalOBPs were selected. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that these five CpalOBPs were Classic OBPs and separated into different clades. Of them, CpalOBP10 clustered in the same clade with aphid OBP7, which mediates the perception of green leaf volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene. Ligand-binding assays showed 31 compounds, including plant-derived compounds, pest-induced volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene, had high binding affinities for at least one of these five CpalOBPs. Of the 31 compounds, the pest-induced volatiles (Z)-3-hexenyl hexanoate and 2-hexyl-1-decanol, used in host location by the black bean aphid, elicited significant attractive behavioural responses from C. pallens. Conversely, (E)-ß-farnesene elicited strongly repellent behavioural responses. It is conceivable that C. pallens utilizes plant-derived compounds, pest-induced volatiles and (E)-ß-farnesene as foraging cues. Our studies provide new insights into the interrelationships amongst C. pallens, its prey and the host plants. Compounds that elicited significant behavioural responses from C. pallens were also identified. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

Variation of Antarctic circumpolar current and its intensification in relation to the southern annular mode detected in the time-variable gravity signals by GRACE satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liau, Jen-Ru; Chao, Benjamin F.

2017-07-01

The southern annular mode (SAM) in the atmosphere and the Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC) in the ocean play decisive roles in the climatic system of the mid- to high-latitude southern hemisphere. Using the time-variable gravity data from the GRACE satellite mission, we find the link between the space-time variabilities of the ACC and the SAM. We calculate the empirical orthogonal functions (EOF) of the non-seasonal ocean bottom pressure (OBP) field in the circum-Antarctic seas from the GRACE data for the period from 2003 to 2015. We find that the leading EOF mode of the non-seasonal OBP represents a unison OBP oscillation around Antarctica with time history closely in pace with that of the SAM Index with a high correlation of 0.77. This OBP variation gives rise to a variation in the geostrophic flow field; the result for the same EOF mode shows heightened variations in the zonal velocity that resides primarily in the eastern hemispheric portion of the ACC and coincided geographically with the southernmost boundary of the ACC's main stream. Confirming previous oceanographic studies, these geodetic satellite results provide independent information toward better understanding of the ACC-SAM process.

Interactions of two odorant-binding proteins from Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Güenée (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

It is well known that the odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) play important roles in insect olfactory systems. However, little attention has been paid to interactions among different OBPs within the same insect antennal sensilla. To explore the interactions of OBPs in olfactory coding in the rice leaff...

Identification of candidate chemosensory genes in the antennal transcriptome of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).

PubMed

Liu, Su; Rao, Xiang-Jun; Li, Mao-Ye; Feng, Ming-Feng; He, Meng-Zhu; Li, Shi-Guang

2015-03-01

We present the first antennal transcriptome sequencing information for the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Analysis of the transcriptome dataset obtained 52,216,616 clean reads, from which 35,363 unigenes were assembled. Of these, 18,820 unigenes showed significant similarity (E-value <10(-5)) to known proteins in the NCBI non-redundant protein database. Gene ontology (GO) and Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG) analyses were used for functional classification of these unigenes. We identified 19 putative odorant-binding protein (OBP) genes, 12 chemosensory protein (CSP) genes, 20 olfactory receptor (OR) genes, 6 ionotropic receptor (IR) genes and 2 sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMP) genes. BLASTX best hit results indicated that these chemosensory genes were most identical to their respective orthologs from Tribolium castaneum. Phylogenetic analyses also revealed that the T. molitor OBPs and CSPs are closely related to those of T. castaneum. Real-time quantitative PCR assays showed that eight TmolOBP genes were antennae-specific. Of these, TmolOBP5, TmolOBP7 and TmolOBP16 were found to be predominantly expressed in male antennae, while TmolOBP17 was expressed mainly in the legs of males. Several other genes were identified that were neither tissue-specific nor sex-specific. These results establish a firm foundation for future studies of the chemosensory genes in T. molitor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The crystal structure of the AgamOBP1•Icaridin complex reveals alternative binding modes and stereo-selective repellent recognition.

PubMed

Drakou, Christina E; Tsitsanou, Katerina E; Potamitis, Constantinos; Fessas, Dimitrios; Zervou, Maria; Zographos, Spyros E

2017-01-01

Anopheles gambiae Odorant Binding Protein 1 in complex with the most widely used insect repellent DEET, was the first reported crystal structure of an olfactory macromolecule with a repellent, and paved the way for OBP1-structure-based approaches for discovery of new host-seeking disruptors. In this work, we performed STD-NMR experiments to directly monitor and verify the formation of a complex between AgamOBP1 and Icaridin, an efficient DEET alternative. Furthermore, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry experiments provided evidence for two Icaridin-binding sites with different affinities (Kd = 0.034 and 0.714 mM) and thermodynamic profiles of ligand binding. To elucidate the binding mode of Icaridin, the crystal structure of AgamOBP1•Icaridin complex was determined at 1.75 Å resolution. We found that Icaridin binds to the DEET-binding site in two distinct orientations and also to a novel binding site located at the C-terminal region. Importantly, only the most active 1R,2S-isomer of Icaridin's equimolar diastereoisomeric mixture binds to the AgamOBP1 crystal, providing structural evidence for the possible contribution of OBP1 to the stereoselectivity of Icaridin perception in mosquitoes. Structural analysis revealed two ensembles of conformations differing mainly in spatial arrangement of their sec-butyl moieties. Moreover, structural comparison with DEET indicates a common recognition mechanism for these structurally related repellents. Ligand interactions with both sites and binding modes were further confirmed by 2D 1 H- 15 N HSQC NMR spectroscopy. The identification of a novel repellent-binding site in AgamOBP1 and the observed structural conservation and stereoselectivity of its DEET/Icaridin-binding sites open new perspectives for the OBP1-structure-based discovery of next-generation insect repellents.

Reverse chemical ecology: Olfactory proteins from the giant panda and their interactions with putative pheromones and bamboo volatiles

PubMed Central

Zhu, Jiao; Arena, Simona; Spinelli, Silvia; Zhang, Guiquan; Wei, Rongping; Cambillau, Christian; Scaloni, Andrea; Wang, Guirong; Pelosi, Paolo

2017-01-01

The giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca belongs to the family of Ursidae; however, it is not carnivorous, feeding almost exclusively on bamboo. Being equipped with a typical carnivorous digestive apparatus, the giant panda cannot get enough energy for an active life and spends most of its time digesting food or sleeping. Feeding and mating are both regulated by odors and pheromones; therefore, a better knowledge of olfaction at the molecular level can help in designing strategies for the conservation of this species. In this context, we have identified the odorant-binding protein (OBP) repertoire of the giant panda and mapped the protein expression in nasal mucus and saliva through proteomics. Four OBPs have been identified in nasal mucus, while the other two were not detected in the samples examined. In particular, AimelOBP3 is similar to a subset of OBPs reported as pheromone carriers in the urine of rodents, saliva of the boar, and seminal fluid of the rabbit. We expressed this protein, mapped its binding specificity, and determined its crystal structure. Structural data guided the design and preparation of three protein mutants bearing single-amino acid replacements in the ligand-binding pocket, for which the corresponding binding affinity spectra were measured. We also expressed AimelOBP5, which is markedly different from AimelOBP3 and complementary in its binding spectrum. By comparing our binding data with the structures of bamboo volatiles and those of typical mammalian pheromones, we formulate hypotheses on which may be the most relevant semiochemicals for the giant panda. PMID:29078359

Reverse chemical ecology: Olfactory proteins from the giant panda and their interactions with putative pheromones and bamboo volatiles.

PubMed

Zhu, Jiao; Arena, Simona; Spinelli, Silvia; Liu, Dingzhen; Zhang, Guiquan; Wei, Rongping; Cambillau, Christian; Scaloni, Andrea; Wang, Guirong; Pelosi, Paolo

2017-11-14

The giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca belongs to the family of Ursidae; however, it is not carnivorous, feeding almost exclusively on bamboo. Being equipped with a typical carnivorous digestive apparatus, the giant panda cannot get enough energy for an active life and spends most of its time digesting food or sleeping. Feeding and mating are both regulated by odors and pheromones; therefore, a better knowledge of olfaction at the molecular level can help in designing strategies for the conservation of this species. In this context, we have identified the odorant-binding protein (OBP) repertoire of the giant panda and mapped the protein expression in nasal mucus and saliva through proteomics. Four OBPs have been identified in nasal mucus, while the other two were not detected in the samples examined. In particular, AimelOBP3 is similar to a subset of OBPs reported as pheromone carriers in the urine of rodents, saliva of the boar, and seminal fluid of the rabbit. We expressed this protein, mapped its binding specificity, and determined its crystal structure. Structural data guided the design and preparation of three protein mutants bearing single-amino acid replacements in the ligand-binding pocket, for which the corresponding binding affinity spectra were measured. We also expressed AimelOBP5, which is markedly different from AimelOBP3 and complementary in its binding spectrum. By comparing our binding data with the structures of bamboo volatiles and those of typical mammalian pheromones, we formulate hypotheses on which may be the most relevant semiochemicals for the giant panda.

Single-crystal EPR spectra of the first alternating bimetallic chain compound MnCu(obp)(H2O)3·H2O (obp=oxamido bis(n,n‧-propionato))

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gatteschi, Dante; Zanchini, Claudia; Kahn, Olivier; Pei, Yu

1989-08-01

Single-crystal EPR spectra of the heterobimetallic alternating double-chain compound MnCu(obp) (H 2O) 3·H 2O (obp=oxamido bis (N,N'-propionato)) were recorded in the 300-20 K range. Analysis of the spectra indicate a substantially dipolar-determined linewidth with enhancement of the secular term of the second moment due to spin diffusion effects. The anisotropic shifts in the resonance field observed in low-temperature spectra revealed that interchain interactions are relevant in determining the preferred spin orientations.

Grafting odorant binding proteins on diamond bio-MEMS.

PubMed

Manai, R; Scorsone, E; Rousseau, L; Ghassemi, F; Possas Abreu, M; Lissorgues, G; Tremillon, N; Ginisty, H; Arnault, J-C; Tuccori, E; Bernabei, M; Cali, K; Persaud, K C; Bergonzo, P

2014-10-15

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are small soluble proteins found in olfactory systems that are capable of binding several types of odorant molecules. Cantilevers based on polycrystalline diamond surfaces are very promising as chemical transducers. Here two methods were investigated for chemically grafting porcine OBPs on polycrystalline diamond surfaces for biosensor development. The first approach resulted in random orientation of the immobilized proteins over the surface. The second approach based on complexing a histidine-tag located on the protein with nickel allowed control of the proteins' orientation. Evidence confirming protein grafting was obtained using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, fluorescence imaging and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemical sensing performances of these OBP modified transducers were assessed. The second grafting method led to typically 20% more sensitive sensors, as a result of better access of ligands to the proteins active sites and also perhaps a better yield of protein immobilization. This new grafting method appears to be highly promising for further investigation of the ligand binding properties of OBPs in general and for the development of arrays of non-specific biosensors for artificial olfaction applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Peroxidase-like catalytic activity of Mn(3+)-octabromo-tetrakis(4-sulfophenyl)porphine on linoleate hydroperoxide and its analytical application.

PubMed

Mifune, Masaki; Kamiguchi, Hidenori; Tai, Taka-Aki; Kuremoto, Seigo; Yamamoto, Makiko; Tsukamoto, Ikuko; Saito, Madoka; Kitamura, Youji; Saito, Yutaka

2007-01-15

To reveal an enzyme-like catalytic activity of metal-octabromo-tetrakis(sulfophenyl)porphines (M-OBPSs), their peroxidease-like catalytic activity on linoleate hydroperoxide (LOOH) were evaluated on the basis of dye-formation in the coloring reaction between N,N-diethylaniline and 4-aminoantipyrine that yields a quinoid-type dye. Among M-OBPSs tested, Mn(3+)-OBPS allowed to produce the largest amount of dye. The optimal conditions of the coloring reaction catalyzed by Mn(3+)-OBPS for the determination of LOOH were determined. A good linear calibration curve was obtained in the concentration range of 0.025-0.4mumole LOOH with good reproducibility (coefficient of variance=1.23%), suggesting that Mn(3+)-OBPS is a good artificial mimesis of the peroxidase for LOOH. In addition, Mn(3+)-OBPS was highly specific for LOOH even in the presence of cumene hydroxyperoxide or hydrogen peroxide. It was revealed that the peroxidase-like activity of Mn(3+)-OBTP is attributable to the redox cycle of Mn(3+)<-->Mn(4+).

Very poor agreement between routine outpatient clinic office and ambulatory blood pressure: time to improve an old hospital outpatient clinic routine?

PubMed

Reinhard, Mark; Poulsen, Per L; Christensen, Kent L

2016-12-01

We investigated the agreement between elevated outpatient clinic office blood pressure (OC-OBP) as measured in the daily routine in our University Hospital Cardiology Outpatient Clinic and subsequent awake ambulatory blood pressure (AABP). In all patients referred for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring from our Cardiology Outpatient Clinic, we identified OC-OBP and changes in medication in the period from 1 January 2014 to 15 September 2015. The AABP was used as a reference measurement for the OC-OBP. A total of 183 patients were included in the study. Their mean age was 62.1±14.0 years and 49% were women. The mean systolic OC-OBP was 166.8±17.9 mmHg and the difference between the mean systolic OC-OBP and AABP was 28.0±19.5 mmHg (P<0.001) with 95% limits of agreement from -10.2 to +66.3 mmHg. The difference in mean systolic OC-OBP and AABP was 18.6±14.7 mmHg in patients less than 45 years (n=21), 24.8±18.2 mmHg in patients 45-74 years (n=121) and 42.3±18.5 mmHg in patients more than or equal to 75 years (n=41). In 32 (17%) of the patients, the antihypertensive treatment was intensified before the AABP, but in nine (28%) of these patients, the antihypertensive treatment was reduced again after the AABP because of low blood pressure. Routine OC-OBP in a busy cardiology clinic agrees poorly with AABP and may lead to unnecessary treatment and pharmacologically induced symptomatic hypotension, particularly in elderly patients. The results of this study urgently call for alternative solutions to routine OC-OBP in hospital outpatient clinics.

Soluble proteins of chemical communication: an overview across arthropods

PubMed Central

Pelosi, Paolo; Iovinella, Immacolata; Felicioli, Antonio; Dani, Francesca R.

2014-01-01

Detection of chemical signals both in insects and in vertebrates is mediated by soluble proteins, highly concentrated in olfactory organs, which bind semiochemicals and activate, with still largely unknown mechanisms, specific chemoreceptors. The same proteins are often found in structures where pheromones are synthesized and released, where they likely perform a second role in solubilizing and delivering chemical messengers in the environment. A single class of soluble polypeptides, called Odorant-Binding Proteins (OBPs) is known in vertebrates, while two have been identified in insects, OBPs and CSPs (Chemosensory Proteins). Despite their common name, OBPs of vertebrates bear no structural similarity with those of insects. We observed that in arthropods OBPs are strictly limited to insects, while a few members of the CSP family have been found in crustacean and other arthropods, where however, based on their very limited numbers, a function in chemical communication seems unlikely. The question we address in this review is whether another class of soluble proteins may have been adopted by other arthropods to perform the role of OBPs and CSPs in insects. We propose that lipid-transporter proteins of the Niemann-Pick type C2 family could represent likely candidates and report the results of an analysis of their sequences in representative species of different arthropods. PMID:25221516

Effects of SNPs from the differentially expressed swine odorant binding protein (OBP) gene on average daily gain

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study was to analyze genetic mutations in the swine odorant binding protein (OBP), map them on the swine genome, and to investigate the association between genetic variants and growth traits. The tissue sample of intramuscular fat from 10 individuals for each growth stage (0, 9...

Computer-aided rational design of novel EBF analogues with an aromatic ring.

PubMed

Wang, Shanshan; Sun, Yufeng; Du, Shaoqing; Qin, Yaoguo; Duan, Hongxia; Yang, Xinling

2016-06-01

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are important in insect olfactory recognition. These proteins bind specifically to insect semiochemicals and induce their seeking, mating, and alarm behaviors. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to provide computational insight into the interaction mode between AgamOBP7 and novel (E)-β-farnesene (EBF) analogues with an aromatic ring. The ligand-binding cavity in OBP7 was found to be mostly hydrophobic due to the presence of several nonpolar residues. The interactions between the EBF analogues and the hydrophobic residues in the binding cavity increased in strength as the distance between them decreased. The EBF analogues with an N-methyl formamide or ester linkage had higher docking scores than those with an amide linkage. Moreover, delocalized π-π and electrostatic interactions were found to contribute significantly to the binding between the ligand benzene ring and nearby protein residues. To design new compounds with higher activity, four EBF analogues D1-D4 with a benzene ring were synthesized and evaluated based on their docking scores and binding affinities. D2, which had an N-methyl formamide group linkage, exhibited stronger binding than D1, which had an amide linkage. D4 exhibited particularly strong binding due to multiple hydrophobic interactions with the protein. This study provides crucial foundations for designing novel EBF analogues based on the OBP structure. Graphical abstract The design strategy of new EBF analogues based on the OBP7 structure.

The Lepidoptera Odorant Binding Protein gene family: Gene gain and loss within the GOBP/PBP complex of moths and butterflies.

PubMed

Vogt, Richard G; Große-Wilde, Ewald; Zhou, Jing-Jiang

2015-07-01

Butterflies and moths differ significantly in their daily activities: butterflies are diurnal while moths are largely nocturnal or crepuscular. This life history difference is presumably reflected in their sensory biology, and especially the balance between the use of chemical versus visual signals. Odorant Binding Proteins (OBP) are a class of insect proteins, at least some of which are thought to orchestrate the transfer of odor molecules within an olfactory sensillum (olfactory organ), between the air and odor receptor proteins (ORs) on the olfactory neurons. A Lepidoptera specific subclass of OBPs are the GOBPs and PBPs; these were the first OBPs studied and have well documented associations with olfactory sensilla. We have used the available genomes of two moths, Manduca sexta and Bombyx mori, and two butterflies, Danaus plexippus and Heliconius melpomene, to characterize the GOBP/PBP genes, attempting to identify gene orthologs and document specific gene gain and loss. First, we identified the full repertoire of OBPs in the M. sexta genome, and compared these with the full repertoire of OBPs from the other three lepidopteran genomes, the OBPs of Drosophila melanogaster and select OBPs from other Lepidoptera. We also evaluated the tissue specific expression of the M. sexta OBPs using an available RNAseq databases. In the four lepidopteran species, GOBP2 and all PBPs reside in single gene clusters; in two species GOBP1 is documented to be nearby, about 100 kb from the cluster; all GOBP/PBP genes share a common gene structure indicating a common origin. As such, the GOBP/PBP genes form a gene complex. Our findings suggest that (1) the lepidopteran GOBP/PBP complex is a monophyletic lineage with origins deep within Lepidoptera phylogeny, (2) within this lineage PBP gene evolution is much more dynamic than GOBP gene evolution, and (3) butterflies may have lost a PBP gene that plays an important role in moth pheromone detection, correlating with a shift from olfactory (moth) to visual (butterfly) communication, at least regarding long distance mate recognition. These findings will be clarified by additional lepidopteran genomic data, but the observation that moths and butterflies share most of the PBP/GOBP genes suggests that they also share common chemosensory-based behavioral pathways. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The hTERT Promoter Enhances the Antitumor Activity of an Oncolytic Adenovirus under a Hypoxic Microenvironment

PubMed Central

Hashimoto, Yuuri; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Teraishi, Fuminori; Kojima, Toru; Watanabe, Yuichi; Uno, Futoshi; Yano, Shuya; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi

2012-01-01

Hypoxia is a microenvironmental factor that contributes to the invasion, progression and metastasis of tumor cells. Hypoxic tumor cells often show more resistance to conventional chemoradiotherapy than normoxic tumor cells, suggesting the requirement of novel antitumor therapies to efficiently eliminate the hypoxic tumor cells. We previously generated a tumor-specific replication-competent oncolytic adenovirus (OBP-301: Telomelysin), in which the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) promoter drives viral E1 expression. Since the promoter activity of the hTERT gene has been shown to be upregulated by hypoxia, we hypothesized that, under hypoxic conditions, the antitumor effect of OBP-301 with the hTERT promoter would be more efficient than that of the wild-type adenovirus 5 (Ad5). In this study, we investigated the antitumor effects of OBP-301 and Ad5 against human cancer cells under a normoxic (20% oxygen) or a hypoxic (1% oxygen) condition. Hypoxic condition induced nuclear accumulation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and upregulation of hTERT promoter activity in human cancer cells. The cytopathic activity of OBP-301 was significantly higher than that of Ad5 under hypoxic condition. Consistent with their cytopathic activity, the replication of OBP-301 was significantly higher than that of Ad5 under the hypoxic condition. OBP-301-mediated E1A was expressed within hypoxic areas of human xenograft tumors in mice. These results suggest that the cytopathic activity of OBP-301 against hypoxic tumor cells is mediated through hypoxia-mediated activation of the hTERT promoter. Regulation of oncolytic adenoviruses by the hTERT promoter is a promising antitumor strategy, not only for induction of tumor-specific oncolysis, but also for efficient elimination of hypoxic tumor cells. PMID:22720091

Comparisons of automated blood pressures in a primary health care setting with self-measurements at the office and at home using the Omron i-C10 device.

PubMed

Al-Karkhi, Isam; Al-Rubaiy, Raad; Rosenqvist, Ulf; Falk, Magnus; Nystrom, Fredrik H

2015-04-01

We aimed to compare blood pressure (BP) levels recorded using the semiautomatic oscillometric Omron i-C10 BP device in patients with or without hypertension in three different settings: (a) when used by a doctor or a nurse at the office (OBP); (b) when used for self-measurement by the patient at the office (SMOBP); and (c) when used for 7 consecutive days at home (HBP). A total of 247 individuals were invited to participate, but 78 of these individuals declined and a further seven were excluded, leaving a final cohort of 162 participants. The mean OBP was higher than HBP (difference 8.1±14/3.1±8.8 mmHg, P<0.0001) and so was SMOBP compared with HBP (difference 7.0±13/4.2±7.3 mmHg, P<0.0001). Sixteen participants (9.9%) had at least 10 mmHg higher systolic SMOBP than OBP and 28 (17%) participants had at least 10 mmHg lower systolic SMOBP than OBP. Participants who were current smokers had a larger mean difference between systolic OBP and SMOBP than nonsmokers (OBP-SMOBP in smokers: 6.6±9.4 mmHg, OBP-SMOBP in nonsmokers: 0.5±9.2 mmHg, P=0.011 between groups). Self-measurement of BP in the office does not preclude an increase in BP when levels in the individual patients are compared with HBP using the same equipment. Thus, SMOBP with a semiautomatic device does not lead to a reduction in the white-coat effect in the same manner as fully automatic devices.

Night-time ambulatory blood pressure is the best pretreatment blood pressure predictor of 11-year mortality in treated older hypertensives.

PubMed

Wing, Lindon M H; Chowdhury, Enayet K; Reid, Christopher M; Beilin, Lawrence J; Brown, Mark A

2018-06-02

Numerous studies have shown a stronger relationship between ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), particularly night ABP, and cardiovascular events/mortality than for office blood pressure (OBP). A previous clinical trial (Syst-Eur) showed that pretreatment ABP was only a better predictor of outcome than OBP in placebo-treated participants. The current study in treated elderly hypertensives from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study (ANBP2) examined whether pretreatment ABP was a better predictor of mortality than OBP over long-term (∼11 years) follow-up. ANBP2 was a comparative outcome trial in 6083 off-treatment or previously untreated elderly hypertensives. In the ABP substudy, at study entry, participants had ABP and nurse-performed OBP measurements. Cox proportional hazards analysis assessed the relationships between both OBP and ABP at study entry and 11-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with results pooled from both active treatment phases. In 702 participants, over a median of 10.8 years, including 6.7 years after the trial, 167 died (82 cardiovascular). Pretreatment 'night' systolic ABP and pulse pressure were the best predictors of '11-year' cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratios: 1.26; 95% confidence intervals: 1.10-1.45, P=0.001 and 1.18; 1.06-1.31, P=0.003, respectively) and all-cause mortality (hazard ratios: 1.15; 95% confidence intervals:1.05-1.28, P=0.005 and 1.09; 1.10-1.31, P=0.03, respectively). OBP was not a significant predictor of mortality. In actively treated elderly hypertensives participating in ANBP2, all-cause or cardiovascular deaths were significantly related to pretreatment ABP, particularly to night-time systolic ABP and pulse pressure, but not to OBP.

The histone deacetylase inhibitor OBP-801 and eribulin synergistically inhibit the growth of triple-negative breast cancer cells with the suppression of survivin, Bcl-xL, and the MAPK pathway.

PubMed

Ono, Hisako; Sowa, Yoshihiro; Horinaka, Mano; Iizumi, Yosuke; Watanabe, Motoki; Morita, Mie; Nishimoto, Emi; Taguchi, Tetsuya; Sakai, Toshiyuki

2018-05-11

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer. Eribulin was approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer through the EMBRACE trial, and a subgroup analysis in this clinical trial indicated the efficacy of eribulin in patients with TNBC. However, the prognosis of patients with TNBC is still poor due to various molecular characteristics. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a more effective treatment for the management of TNBC. We investigated the synergistic effect of a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, OBP-801, and eribulin in TNBC cell lines because OBP-801 has been known to enhance the anti-tumor activities of other chemotherapeutic agents. The cell growth was analyzed, and the flow cytometry analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects on cell cycle and the induction of apoptosis. The mechanism underlying the enhancement of inhibition of TNBC cell growth was investigated through Western blot analyses. The combination treatment of OBP-801 with eribulin showed the synergistic inhibition of the growth in TNBC cells, involved with the enhancement of apoptosis. We, for the first time, found that eribulin upregulated survivin and also that OBP-801 could remarkably suppress the upregulation of survivin by eribulin. Moreover, this combination potently suppressed Bcl-xL and the MAPK pathway compared with either agent alone. We found that the combination of OBP-801 and eribulin synergistically inhibited the growth with apoptosis in TNBC cells, suggesting that this combination might be a promising novel strategy for treating TNBC patients.

Odorant-binding proteins from a primitive termite.

PubMed

Ishida, Yuko; Chiang, Vicky P; Haverty, Michael I; Leal, Walter S

2002-09-01

Hitherto, odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) have been identified from insects belonging to more highly evolved insect orders (Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Hemiptera), whereas only chemosensory proteins have been identified from more primitive species, such as orthopteran and phasmid species. Here, we report for the first time the isolation and cloning of odorant-binding proteins from a primitive termite species, the dampwood termite. Zootermopsis nevadensis nevadensis (Isoptera: Termopsidae). A major antennae-specific protein was detected by native PAGE along with four other minor proteins, which were also absent in the extract from control tissues (hindlegs). Multiple cDNA cloning led to the full characterization of the major antennae-specific protein (ZnevOBP1) and to the identification of two other antennae-specific cDNAs, encoding putative odorant-binding proteins (ZnevOBP2 and ZnevOBP3). N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the minor antennal bands and cDNA cloning showed that olfaction in Z. n. nevadensis may involve multiple odorant-binding proteins. Database searches suggest that the OBPs from this primitive termite are homologues of the pheromone-binding proteins from scarab beetles and antennal-binding proteins from moths.

Onboard Processor for Compressing HSI Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Sid; Harsanyi, Joe; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

With EO-1 Hyperion and MightySat in orbit NASA and the DoD are showing their continued commitment to hyperspectral imaging (HSI). As HSI sensor technology continues to mature, the ever-increasing amounts of sensor data generated will result in a need for more cost effective communication and data handling systems. Lockheed Martin, with considerable experience in spacecraft design and developing special purpose onboard processors, has teamed with Applied Signal & Image Technology (ASIT), who has an extensive heritage in HSI, to develop a real-time and intelligent onboard processing (OBP) system to reduce HSI sensor downlink requirements. Our goal is to reduce the downlink requirement by a factor greater than 100, while retaining the necessary spectral fidelity of the sensor data needed to satisfy the many science, military, and intelligence goals of these systems. Our initial spectral compression experiments leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) spectral exploitation algorithms for segmentation, material identification and spectral compression that ASIT has developed. ASIT will also support the modification and integration of this COTS software into the OBP. Other commercially available COTS software for spatial compression will also be employed as part of the overall compression processing sequence. Over the next year elements of a high-performance reconfigurable OBP will be developed to implement proven preprocessing steps that distill the HSI data stream in both spectral and spatial dimensions. The system will intelligently reduce the volume of data that must be stored, transmitted to the ground, and processed while minimizing the loss of information.

Odorant-binding proteins display high affinities for behavioral attractants and repellents in the natural predator Chrysopa pallens.

PubMed

Li, Zhao-Qun; Zhang, Shuai; Luo, Jun-Yu; Wang, Si-Bao; Dong, Shuang-Lin; Cui, Jin-Jie

2015-07-01

Chrysopa pallens is an important natural predator of various pests in many different cropping systems. Understanding the sophisticated olfactory system of insect antennae is crucial for studying the physiological bases of olfaction and could also help enhance the effectiveness of C. pallens in biological control. However, functional studies of the olfactory genes in C. pallens are still lacking. In this study, we cloned five odorant-binding protein (OBP) genes from C. pallens (CpalOBPs). Quantitative RT-PCR results indicated that the five CpalOBPs had different tissue expression profiles. Ligand-binding assays showed that farnesol, farnesene, cis-3-hexenyl hexanoate, geranylacetone, beta-ionone, octyl aldehyde, decanal, nerolidol (Ki<20 μM), and especially 2-pentadecanone (Ki=1.19 μM) and 2-hexyl-1-decanol (Ki=0.37 μM) strongly bound to CpalOBP2. CpalOBP15 exhibited high binding affinities for beta-ionone, 2-tridecanone, trans-nerolidol, and dodecyl aldehyde. Behavioral trials using the 14 compounds exhibiting high binding affinities for the CpalOBPs revealed that nine were able to elicit significant behavioral responses from C. pallens. Among them, farnesene and its corresponding alcohol, farnesol, elicited remarkable repellent behavioral responses from C. pallens. Our study provides several compounds that could be selected to develop slow-release agents that attract/repel C. pallens and to improve the search for strategies to eliminate insect pests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mobile telephony through LEO satellites: To OBP or not

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monte, Paul A.; Louie, Ming; Wiedeman, R.

1991-01-01

GLOBALSTAR is a satellite-based mobile communications system that is interoperable with the current and future Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The selection of the transponder type, bent-pipe, or onboard processing (OBP), for GLOBALSTAR is based on many criteria, each of which is essential to the commercial and technological feasibility of GLOBALSTAR. The trade study that was done to determine the pros and cons of a bent-pipe transponder or an onboard processing transponder is described. The design of GLOBALSTAR's telecommunications system is a multi-variable cost optimization between the cost and complexity of individual satellites, the number of satellites required to provide coverage to the service areas, the cost of launching the satellites into their selected orbits, the ground segment cost, user equipment cost, satellite voice channel capacity, and other issues. Emphasis is on the cost and complexity of the individual satellites, specifically the transponder type and the impact of the transponder type on satellite and ground segment cost, satellite power and weight, and satellite voice channel capacity.

Mobile telephony through LEO satellites: To OBP or not

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monte, Paul A.; Louie, Ming; Wiedeman, R.

1991-11-01

GLOBALSTAR is a satellite-based mobile communications system that is interoperable with the current and future Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). The selection of the transponder type, bent-pipe, or onboard processing (OBP), for GLOBALSTAR is based on many criteria, each of which is essential to the commercial and technological feasibility of GLOBALSTAR. The trade study that was done to determine the pros and cons of a bent-pipe transponder or an onboard processing transponder is described. The design of GLOBALSTAR's telecommunications system is a multi-variable cost optimization between the cost and complexity of individual satellites, the number of satellites required to provide coverage to the service areas, the cost of launching the satellites into their selected orbits, the ground segment cost, user equipment cost, satellite voice channel capacity, and other issues. Emphasis is on the cost and complexity of the individual satellites, specifically the transponder type and the impact of the transponder type on satellite and ground segment cost, satellite power and weight, and satellite voice channel capacity.

Studies on interaction of insect repellent compounds with odorant binding receptor proteins by in silico molecular docking approach.

PubMed

Gopal, J Vinay; Kannabiran, K

2013-12-01

The aim of the study was to identify the interactions between insect repellent compounds and target olfactory proteins. Four compounds, camphor (C10H16O), carvacrol (C10H14O), oleic acid (C18H34O2) and firmotox (C22H28O5) were chosen as ligands. Seven olfactory proteins of insects with PDB IDs: 3K1E, 1QWV, 1TUJ, 1OOF, 2ERB, 3R1O and OBP1 were chosen for docking analysis. Patch dock was used and pymol for visualizing the structures. The interactions of these ligands with few odorant binding proteins showed binding energies. The ligand camphor had showed a binding energy of -136 kcal/mol with OBP1 protein. The ligand carvacrol interacted with 1QWV and 1TUJ proteins with a least binding energy of -117.45 kcal/mol and -21.78 kcal/mol respectively. The ligand oleic acid interacted with 1OOF, 2ERB, 3R1O and OBP1 with least binding energies. Ligand firmotox interacted with OBP1 and showed least binding energies. Three ligands (camphor, oleic acid and firmotox) had one, two, three interactions with a single protein OBP1 of Nilaparvatha lugens (Rice pest). From this in silico study we identified the interaction patterns for insect repellent compounds with the target insect odarant proteins. The results of our study revealed that the chosen ligands showed hydrogen bond interactions with the target olfactory receptor proteins.

Identifying Image Manipulation Software from Image Features

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-26

obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:ts:22028:-3:ed-2: v1:en. 24. Popescu, Alin and Hany Farid. “Exposing digital forgeries by detecting traces of resampling”. Signal...Processing, IEEE Transactions on, 53(2):758–767, 2005. 25. Popescu, Alin and Hany Farid. “Statistical tools for digital forensics”. Informa- tion

Surface morphology of chitin highly related with the isolated body part of butterfly (Argynnis pandora).

PubMed

Kaya, Murat; Bitim, Betül; Mujtaba, Muhammad; Koyuncu, Turgay

2015-11-01

This study was conducted to understand the differences in the physicochemical properties of chitin samples isolated from the wings and the other body parts except the wings (OBP) of a butterfly species (Argynnis pandora). The same isolation method was used for obtaining chitin specimens from both types of body parts. The chitin content of the wings (22%) was recorded as being much higher than the OBP (8%). The extracted chitin samples were characterized via FT-IR, TGA, XRD, SEM, and elemental analysis techniques. Results of these characterizations revealed that the chitins from both structures (wings and OBP) were very similar, except for their surface morphologies. SEM results demonstrated one type of surface morphology for the wings and four different surface morphologies for the OBP. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that the surface morphology of the chitin is highly related with the body part. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluorescence-guided surgery of a highly-metastatic variant of human triple-negative breast cancer targeted with a cancer-specific GFP adenovirus prevents recurrence

PubMed Central

Yano, Shuya; Takehara, Kiyoto; Miwa, Shinji; Kishimoto, Hiroyuki; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Bouvet, Michael; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi; Hoffman, Robert M.

2016-01-01

We have previously developed a genetically-engineered GFP-expressing telomerase-dependent adenovirus, OBP-401, which can selectively illuminate cancer cells. In the present report, we demonstrate that targeting a triple-negative high-invasive human breast cancer, orthotopically-growing in nude mice, with OBP-401 enables curative fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS). OBP-401 enabled complete resection and prevented local recurrence and greatly inhibited lymph-node metastasis due to the ability of the virus to selectively label and subsequently kill cancer cells. In contrast, residual breast cancer cells become more aggressive after bright (white)-light surgery (BLS). OBP-401-based FGS also improved the overall survival compared with conventional BLS. Thus, metastasis from a highly-aggressive triple-negative breast cancer can be prevented by FGS in a clinically-relevant mouse model. PMID:27689331

Ocean bottom pressure observations near the source of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inazu, D.; Hino, R.; Suzuki, S.; Osada, Y.; Ohta, Y.; Iinuma, T.; Tsushima, H.; Ito, Y.; Kido, M.; Fujimoto, H.

2011-12-01

A Mw9.0 earthquake occurred off Miyagi, northeast Japan, on 11 March 2011 (hereafter mainshock). An earthquake of M7.3, considered to be the largest foreshock of the mainshock, occurred on 9 March 2011 near the mainshock hypocenter. A suite of seismic and geodetic variations related to these earthquakes was observed by autonomous, ocean bottom pressure (OBP) gauges at multiple sites (4 sites at present) near the sources within a distance of about 100 km. This paper presents the OBP records with a focus on the earthquakes. Thanks to correcting tides, instrumental drifts, and non-tidal oceanic variations, we can detect OBP signals of tsunamis and vertical seafloor deformation of the order of centimeters with timescales of less than months. In the following we review the detected signals and how to correct the OBP data. The coseismic seafloor displacement and the tsunami accompanied by the mainshock were of the order of meters and large enough to be distinctly identified (Ito et al., 2011, GRL). Co- and post-seismic seafloor displacement and tsunami accompanied by the foreshock were of the order of centimeters which is difficult to be identified from the raw OBP records. The first evident pulses of these tsunamis in the deep sea have durations (periods) of ~20 minutes and ~10 minutes, for the mainshock and the foreshock, respectively. Amounts of seafloor vertical displacement due to post-mainshock deformation reached a few tens of centimeters in two months. It is worth noting that elevation and depression of seafloor were detected at rates of a couple of centimeters in a day after the largest foreshock. The seafloor displacement of centimeters between the largest foreshock and the mainshock can be reasonably identified after correcting non-tidal oceanic variations. The oceanic variations are simulated by a barotropic ocean model driven by atmospheric disturbances (Inazu et al., 2011, Ann. Rep. Earth Simulator Center 2011). The model enables residual OBP time series of non-tidal oceanic variations off Miyagi to be reduced by less than 2 cm. In order to accurately detect signals of centimeters, detiding had better be carefully done analyzing in-situ data rather than using existing ocean tide models such as NAO.99Jb and FES2004. A BAYTAP-G program was used in the present study. Instrumental drifts are modeled by a popularly used, linear and exponential form (Watts and Kontoyiannis, 1990, J. Atmos. Oceanic Tech.). Seismological interpretations of the detected OBP signals of the seafloor displacement and the tsunamis will be demonstrated in the separate papers presented in this meeting.

Modes of Arctic Ocean Change from GRACE, ICESat and the PIOMAS and ECCO2 Models of the Arctic Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peralta Ferriz, C.; Morison, J. H.; Bonin, J. A.; Chambers, D. P.; Kwok, R.; Zhang, J.

2012-12-01

EOF analysis of month-to-month variations in GRACE derived Arctic Ocean bottom pressure (OBP) with trend and seasonal variation removed yield three dominant modes. The first mode is a basin wide variation in mass associated with high atmospheric pressure (SLP) over Scandinavia mainly in winter. The second mode is a shift of mass from the central Arctic Ocean to the Siberian shelves due to low pressure over the basins, associated with the Arctic Oscillation. The third mode is a shift in mass between the Eastern and Western Siberian shelves, related to strength of the Beaufort High mainly in summer, and to eastward alongshore winds on the Barents Sea in winter. The PIOMAS and ECCO2 modeled OBP show fair agreement with the form of these modes and provide context in terms of variations in sea surface height SSH. Comparing GRACE OBP from 2007 to 2011 with GRACE OBP from 2002 to 2006 reveals a rising trend over most of the Arctic Ocean but declines in the Kara Sea region and summer East Siberian Sea. ECCO2 bears a faint resemblance to the observed OBP change but appears to be biased negatively. In contrast, PIOMAS SSH and ECCO2 especially, show changes between the two periods that are muted but similar to ICESat dynamic ocean topography and GRACE-ICESat freshwater trends from 2005 through 2008 [Morison et al., 2012] with a rising DOT and freshening in the Beaufort Sea and a trough with decreased freshwater on the Russian side of the Arctic Ocean. Morison, J., R. Kwok, C. Peralta-Ferriz, M. Alkire, I. Rigor, R. Andersen, and M. Steele (2012), Changing Arctic Ocean freshwater pathways, Nature, 481(7379), 66-70.

Optimization of VLf/ELF Wave Generation using Beam Painting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, A.; Moore, R. C.

2017-12-01

A novel optimized beam painting algorithm (OBP) is used to generate high amplitude very low frequency (VLF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) waves in the D-region of the ionosphere above the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) observatory. The OBP method creates a phased array of sources in the ionosphere by varying the azimuth and zenith angles of the high frequency (HF) transmitter to capitalize on the constructive interference of propagating VLF/ELF waves. OBP generates higher amplitude VLF/ELF signals than any other previously proposed method. From April through June during 2014, OBP was performed at HAARP over 1200 times. We compare the BP generated signals against vertical amplitude modulated transmissions at 50 % duty cycle (V), oblique amplitude modulated transmissions at 15 degrees zenith and 81 degrees azimuth at 50 % duty cycle (O), and geometric (circle-sweep) modulation at 15 degrees off-zenith angle at 1562.5 Hz, 3125 Hz, and 5000 Hz. We present an analysis of the directional dependence of each signal, its polarization, and its dependence on the properties of the different source region elements. We find that BP increases the received signal amplitudes of VLF and ELF waves when compared to V, O, and GM methods over a statistically significant number of trials.

Optimization of reverse chemical ecology method: false positive binding of Aenasius bambawalei odorant binding protein 1 caused by uncertain binding mechanism.

PubMed

Li, Q L; Yi, S C; Li, D Z; Nie, X P; Li, S Q; Wang, M-Q; Zhou, A M

2018-06-01

Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are considered as the core molecular targets in reverse chemical ecology, which is a convenient and efficient method by which to screen potential semiochemicals. Herein, we identified a classic OBP, AbamOBP1 from Aenasius bambawalei, which showed high mRNA expression in male antennae. Fluorescence competitive binding assay (FCBA) results demonstrated that AbamOBP1 has higher binding affinity with ligands at acid pH, suggesting the physiologically inconsistent binding affinity of this protein. Amongst the four compounds with the highest binding affinities at acid pH, 2, 4, 4-trimethyl-2-pentene and 1-octen-3-one were shown to have attractant activity for male adults, whereas (-)-limonene and an analogue of 1-octen-3-ol exhibited nonbehavioural activity. Further homology modelling and fluorescence quenching experiments demonstrated that the stoichiometry of the binding of this protein to these ligands was not 1: 1, suggesting that the results of FCBA were false. In contrast, the apparent association constants (Ka) of fluorescence quenching experiments seemed to be more reliable, because 2, 4, 4-trimethyl-2-pentene and 1-octen-3-one had observably higher Ka than (-)-limonene and 1-octen-3-ol at neutral pH. Based on the characteristics of different OBPs, various approaches should be applied to study their binding affinities with ligands, which could modify and complement the results of FCBA and contribute to the application of reverse chemical ecology. © 2018 The Royal Entomological Society.

Efficacy of a Cell-Cycle Decoying Killer Adenovirus on 3-D Gelfoam®-Histoculture and Tumor-Sphere Models of Chemo-Resistant Stomach Carcinomatosis Visualized by FUCCI Imaging

PubMed Central

Yano, Shuya; Takehara, Kiyoto; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Kishimoto, Hiroyuki; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi; Hoffman, Robert M.

2016-01-01

Stomach cancer carcinomatosis peritonitis (SCCP) is a recalcitrant disease. The goal of the present study was to establish an in vitro-in vivo-like imageable model of SCCP to develop cell-cycle-based therapeutics of SCCP. We established 3-D Gelfoam® histoculture and tumor-sphere models of SCCP. FUCCI-expressing MKN-45 stomach cancer cells were transferred to express the fluorescence ubiquinized cell-cycle indicator (FUCCI). FUCCI-expressing MKN-45 cells formed spheres on agarose or on Gelfoam® grew into tumor-like structures with G0/G1 cancer cells in the center and S/G2 cancer cells located in the surface as indicated by FUCCI imaging when the cells fluoresced red or green, respectively. We treated FUCCI-expressing cancer cells forming SCCP tumors in Gelfoam® histoculture with OBP-301, cisplatinum (CDDP), or paclitaxel. CDDP or paclitaxel killed only cycling cancer cells and were ineffective against G1/G2 MKN-45 cells in tumors growing on Gelfoam®. In contrast, the telomerase-dependent adenovirus OBP-301 decoyed the MKN-45 cells in tumors on Gelfoam® to cycle from G0/G1 phase to S/G2 phase and reduced their viability. CDDP- or paclitaxel-treated MKN-45 tumors remained quiescent and did not change in size. In contrast, OB-301 reduced the size of the MKN-45 tumors on Gelfoam®. We examined the cell cycle-related proteins using Western blotting. CDDP increased the expression of p53 and p21 indicating cell cycle arrest. In contrast, OBP-301 decreased the expression of p53 and p21 Furthermore, OBP-301 increased the expression of E2F and pAkt as further indication of cell cycle decoy. This 3-D Gelfoam® histoculture and FUCCI imaging are powerful tools to discover effective therapy of SCCP such as OBP-301. PMID:27673332

The Anopheles stephensi odorant binding protein 1 (AsteObp1) gene: a new molecular marker for biological forms diagnosis.

PubMed

Gholizadeh, S; Firooziyan, S; Ladonni, H; Hajipirloo, H Mohammadzadeh; Djadid, N Dinparast; Hosseini, A; Raz, A

2015-06-01

Anopheles (Cellia) stephensi Liston 1901 is known as an Asian malaria vector. Three biological forms, namely "mysorensis", "intermediate", and "type" have been earlier reported in this species. Nevertheless, the present morphological and molecular information is insufficient to diagnose these forms. During this investigation, An. stephensi biological forms were morphologically identified and sequenced for odorant-binding protein 1 (Obp1) gene. Also, intron I sequences were used to construct phylogenetic trees. Despite nucleotide sequence variation in exon of AsteObp1, nearly 100% identity was observed at the amino acid level among the three biological forms. In order to overcome difficulties in using egg morphology characters, intron I sequences of An. stephensi Obp1 opens new molecular way to the identification of the main Asian malaria vector biological forms. However, multidisciplinary studies are needed to establish the taxonomic status of An. stephensi. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Lysine at the C-Terminus of an Odorant-Binding Protein is Involved in Binding Aldehyde Pheromone Components in Two Helicoverpa Species

PubMed Central

Sun, Ya-Lan; Huang, Ling-Qiao; Pelosi, Paolo; Wang, Chen-Zhu

2013-01-01

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are soluble proteins, whose role in olfaction of insects is being recognized as more and more important. We have cloned, expressed and purified an OBP (HarmOBP7) from the antennae of the moth Helicoverpa armigera. Western blot experiments indicate specific expression of this protein in the antennae of adults. HarmOBP7 binds both pheromone components Z-11-hexadecenal and Z-9-hexadecenal with good affinity. We have also performed a series of binding experiments with linear aldehydes, alcohols and esters, as well as with other compounds and found a requirement of medium size for best affinity. The affinity of OBP7, as well as that of a mutant lacking the last 6 residues does not substantially decrease in acidic conditions, but increases at basic pH values with no significant differences between wild-type and mutant. Binding to both pheromone components, instead, is negatively affected by the lack of the C-terminus. A second mutant, where one of the three lysine residues in the C-terminus (Lys123) was replaced by methionine showed reduced affinity to both pheromone components, as well as to their analogues, thus indicating that Lys123 is involved in binding these compounds, likely forming hydrogen bonds with the functional groups of the ligands. PMID:23372826

Effects of heat treatment on the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of orange by-products.

PubMed

Li, Chien-Chun; Hsu, Hui-Jin; Wang, Yu-Shiang; Cassidy, Jennifer; Sheen, Shiowshuh; Liu, Shih-Chuan

2017-07-19

This study investigated the changes in the functional components, antioxidative activities, antibacterial activities, anti-inflammatory activities of orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) by-products (OBP) on heat treatment at 50 and 100 °C (hereafter denoted 50D and 100D extracts, respectively). Optimal heating conditions were also investigated. The total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidative activities of OBP extracts significantly increased on heat treatment. The lag time of Cu 2+ -induced oxidation of human LDL was increased by 2.61, 8.61 and 8.76-fold with the addition of 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mg ml -1 100D extracts, respectively. The 100D extracts may significantly inhibit the growth of E. coli O157, Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes. 1 μg mL -1 of 100D extract may suppress the TNF-α-induced ICAM-1 protein expression. The optimal heating time for OBP was 26 h at 100 °C, which resulted in the highest antioxidant activities.

Numerical modeling of marine Gravity data for tsunami hazard zone mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porwal, Nipun

2012-07-01

Tsunami is a series of ocean wave with very high wavelengths ranges from 10 to 500 km. Therefore tsunamis act as shallow water waves and hard to predict from various methods. Bottom Pressure Recorders of Poseidon class considered as a preeminent method to detect tsunami waves but Acoustic Modem in Ocean Bottom Pressure (OBP) sensors placed in the vicinity of trenches having depth of more than 6000m fails to propel OBP data to Surface Buoys. Therefore this paper is developed for numerical modeling of Gravity field coefficients from Bureau Gravimetric International (BGI) which do not play a central role in the study of geodesy, satellite orbit computation, & geophysics but by mathematical transformation of gravity field coefficients using Normalized Legendre Polynomial high resolution ocean bottom pressure (OBP) data is generated. Real time sea level monitored OBP data of 0.3° by 1° spatial resolution using Kalman filter (kf080) for past 10 years by Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) has been correlated with OBP data from gravity field coefficients which attribute a feasible study on future tsunami detection system from space and in identification of most suitable sites to place OBP sensors near deep trenches. The Levitus Climatological temperature and salinity are assimilated into the version of the MITGCM using the ad-joint method to obtain the sea height segment. Then TOPEX/Poseidon satellite altimeter, surface momentum, heat, and freshwater fluxes from NCEP reanalysis product and the dynamic ocean topography DOT_DNSCMSS08_EGM08 is used to interpret sea-bottom elevation. Then all datasets are associated under raster calculator in ArcGIS 9.3 using Boolean Intersection Algebra Method and proximal analysis tools with high resolution sea floor topographic map. Afterward tsunami prone area and suitable sites for set up of BPR as analyzed in this research is authenticated by using Passive microwave radiometry system for Tsunami Hazard Zone Mapping by network of seismometers. Thus using such methodology for early Tsunami Hazard Zone Mapping also increase accuracy and reduce time period for tsunami predictions. KEYWORDS:, Tsunami, Gravity Field Coefficients, Ocean Bottom Pressure, ECCO, BGI, Sea Bottom Temperature, Sea Floor Topography.

Arctic Ocean Circulation Patterns Revealed by GRACE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peralta-Ferriz, Cecilia; Morison, James H.; Wallace, John M.; Bonin, Jennifer A.; Zhang, Jinlun

2013-04-01

EOF analysis of non-seasonal, month-to-month variations in GRACE derived Arctic Ocean bottom pressure (OBP) yield three dominant modes. The first mode is a wintertime basin wide variation in mass associated with high atmospheric pressure (SLP) over Scandinavia. The second mode is a shift of mass from the central Arctic Ocean to the Siberian shelves due to low pressure over the basins, associated with the strength of the Arctic Oscillation. The third mode is a shift in mass between the Eastern and Western Siberian shelves, related to strength of the Beaufort High mainly in summer, and to eastward alongshore winds on the Barents Sea in winter. The PIOMAS and ECCO2 modeled OBP are consistent with the form of these modes and provide context in terms of variations in sea surface height. The models are used to investigate the ocean dynamics associated with each mode of OBP variability.

A Record-High Ocean Bottom Pressure in the South Pacific Observed by GRACE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boening, Carmen; Lee, Tong; Zlotnicki, Victor

2011-01-01

In late 2009 to early 2010, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite pair observed a record increase in ocean bottom pressure (OBP) over a large mid-latitude region of the South East Pacific. Its magnitude is substantially larger than other oceanic events in the Southern Hemisphere found in the entire GRACE data records (2003-2010) on multi-month time scales. The OBP data help to understand the nature of a similar signal in sea surface height (SSH) anomaly observed by altimetry: the SSH increase is mainly due to mass convergence. Analysis of the barotropic vorticity equation using scatterometer data, atmospheric reanalysis product, and GRACE and altimeter an atmospheric reanalysis product observations suggests that the observed OBP/SSH signal was primarily caused by wind stress curl associated with a strong and persistent anticyclone in late 2009 in combination with effects of planetary vorticity gradient, bottom topography, and friction

Analysis of the Antennal Transcriptome and Insights into Olfactory Genes in Hyphantria cunea (Drury)

PubMed Central

Wang, Tian-Tian; Zhang, Jing; Sun, Long; Yang, Yun-Qiu; Huang, Chang-Chun; Jiang, Li-Ya; Ding, De-Gui

2016-01-01

Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) is an invasive insect pest which, in China, causes unprecedented damage and economic losses due to its extreme fecundity and wide host range, including forest and shade trees, and even crops. Compared to the better known lepidopteran species which use Type-I pheromones, little is known at the molecular level about the olfactory mechanisms of host location and mate choice in H. cunea, a species using Type-II lepidopteran pheromones. In the present study, the H. cunea antennal transcriptome was constructed by Illumina Hiseq 2500TM sequencing, with the aim of discovering olfaction-related genes. We obtained 64,020,776 clean reads, and 59,243 unigenes from the analysis of the transcriptome, and the putative gene functions were annotated using gene ontology (GO) annotation. We further identified 124 putative chemosensory unigenes based on homology searches and phylogenetic analysis, including 30 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 52 odorant receptors (ORs), 14 ionotropic receptors (IRs), nine gustatory receptors (GRs) and two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). We also found many conserved motif patterns of OBPs and CSPs using a MEME system. Moreover, we systematically analyzed expression patterns of OBPs and CSPs based on reverse transcription PCR and quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR) with RNA extracted from different tissues and life stages of both sexes in H. cunea. The antennae-biased expression may provide a deeper further understanding of olfactory processing in H. cunea. The first ever identification of olfactory genes in H. cunea may provide new leads for control of this major pest. PMID:27741298

Identification and Comparative Study of Chemosensory Genes Related to Host Selection by Legs Transcriptome Analysis in the Tea Geometrid Ectropis obliqua

PubMed Central

Bian, Lei; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Zhang, Yong-Jun; Chen, Zong-Mao

2016-01-01

Host selection by female moths is fundamental to the survival of their larvae. Detecting and perceiving the non-volatile chemicals of the plant surface involved in gustatory detection determine the host preference. In many lepidopteran species, tarsal chemosensilla are sensitive to non-volatile chemicals and responsible for taste detection. The tea geometrid Ectropis obliqua is one devastating chewing pest selectively feeding on limited plants, requiring the specialized sensors to forage certain host for oviposition. In present study, we revealed the distribution of chemosensilla in the ventral side of female fifth tarsomere in E. obliqua. To investigate its molecular mechanism of gustatory perception, we performed HiSeq 2500 sequencing of the male- and female- legs transcriptome and identified 24 candidate odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 21 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 3 gustatory receptors (GRs) and 4 odorant receptors (ORs). Several leg-specific or enriched chemosensory genes were screened by tissue expression analysis, and clustered with functionally validated genes from other moths, suggesting the potential involvement in taste sensation or other physiological processes. The RPKM value analysis revealed that 9 EoblOBPs showed sex discrepancy in the leg expression, 8 being up-regulated in female and only 1 being over expressed in male. These female-biased EoblOBPs indicated an ecological adaption related with host-seeking and oviposition behaviors. Our work will provide basic knowledge for further studies on the molecular mechanism of gustatory perception, and enlighten a host-selection-based control strategy of insect pests. PMID:26930056

Analysis of the Antennal Transcriptome and Insights into Olfactory Genes in Hyphantria cunea (Drury).

PubMed

Zhang, Long-Wa; Kang, Ke; Jiang, Shi-Chang; Zhang, Ya-Nan; Wang, Tian-Tian; Zhang, Jing; Sun, Long; Yang, Yun-Qiu; Huang, Chang-Chun; Jiang, Li-Ya; Ding, De-Gui

2016-01-01

Hyphantria cunea (Drury) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) is an invasive insect pest which, in China, causes unprecedented damage and economic losses due to its extreme fecundity and wide host range, including forest and shade trees, and even crops. Compared to the better known lepidopteran species which use Type-I pheromones, little is known at the molecular level about the olfactory mechanisms of host location and mate choice in H. cunea, a species using Type-II lepidopteran pheromones. In the present study, the H. cunea antennal transcriptome was constructed by Illumina Hiseq 2500TM sequencing, with the aim of discovering olfaction-related genes. We obtained 64,020,776 clean reads, and 59,243 unigenes from the analysis of the transcriptome, and the putative gene functions were annotated using gene ontology (GO) annotation. We further identified 124 putative chemosensory unigenes based on homology searches and phylogenetic analysis, including 30 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 52 odorant receptors (ORs), 14 ionotropic receptors (IRs), nine gustatory receptors (GRs) and two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). We also found many conserved motif patterns of OBPs and CSPs using a MEME system. Moreover, we systematically analyzed expression patterns of OBPs and CSPs based on reverse transcription PCR and quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR) with RNA extracted from different tissues and life stages of both sexes in H. cunea. The antennae-biased expression may provide a deeper further understanding of olfactory processing in H. cunea. The first ever identification of olfactory genes in H. cunea may provide new leads for control of this major pest.

Expression profile and ligand-binding characterization of odorant-binding protein 2 in Batocera horsfieldi (Hope)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are important components in insect olfactory systems that transport semiochemicals through the aqueous sensillum lymph to surface of olfactory receptor neurons. In this study, we cloned the cDNA of odorant-binding protein 2 (BhorOBP2) in Batocera horsfieldi (Hope) and...

Optical back propagation for fiber optic networks with hybrid EDFA Raman amplification.

PubMed

Liang, Xiaojun; Kumar, Shiva

2017-03-06

We have investigated an optical back propagation (OBP) method to compensate for propagation impairments in fiber optic networks with lumped Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and/or distributed Raman amplification. An OBP module consists of an optical phase conjugator (OPC), optical amplifiers and dispersion varying fibers (DVFs). We derived a semi-analytical expression that calculates the dispersion profile of DVF. The OBP module acts as a nonlinear filter that fully compensates for the nonlinear distortions due to signal propagation in a transmission fiber, and is applicable for fiber optic networks with reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs). We studied a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network with 3000 km transmission distance and 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modulation. OBP brings 5.8 dB, 5.9 dB and 6.1 dB Q-factor gains over linear compensation for systems with full EDFA amplification, hybrid EDFA/Raman amplification, and full Raman amplification, respectively. In contrast, digital back propagation (DBP) or OPC-only systems provide only 0.8 ~ 1.5 dB Q-factor gains.

Gene Identification of Pheromone Gland Genes Involved in Type II Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis and Transportation in Female Tea Pest Ectropis grisescens

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Qun; Ma, Long; Yin, Qian; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Bian, Lei; Xin, Zhao-Jun; He, Peng; Chen, Zong-Mao

2018-01-01

Moths can biosynthesize sex pheromones in the female sex pheromone glands (PGs) and can distinguish species-specific sex pheromones using their antennae. However, the biosynthesis and transportation mechanism for Type II sex pheromone components has rarely been documented in moths. In this study, we constructed a massive PG transcriptome database (14.72 Gb) from a moth species, Ectropis grisescens, which uses type II sex pheromones and is a major tea pest in China. We further identified putative sex pheromone biosynthesis and transportation-related unigenes: 111 cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs), 25 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), and 20 chemosensory proteins (CSPs). Tissue expression and phylogenetic tree analyses showed that one CYP (EgriCYP341-fragment3), one OBP (EgriOBP4), and one CSP (EgriCSP10) gene displayed an enriched expression in the PGs, and that EgriOBP2, 3, and 25 are clustered in the moth pheromone-binding protein clade. We considered these our candidate genes. Our results yielded large-scale PG sequence information for further functional studies. PMID:29317471

Automated office and home phone-transmitted blood pressure recordings in uncontrolled hypertension treated with valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide.

PubMed

Girerd, Xavier; Denolle, Thierry; Yau, Caroline; Fiquet, Béatrice; Brunel, Patrick; Moulin, Bruno; Herpin, Daniel

2004-12-01

The study objective was to evaluate, by means of automated office and phone-transmitted home blood pressure (OBP and HBP) recordings, the effects of a fixed combination of valsartan 160 mg and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 25 mg in hypertensive patients previously uncontrolled with the combination of an angiotensin receptor antagonist and HCTZ. From 241 selected patients, 171 (71%) had uncontrolled hypertension OBP and HBP [mean baseline OBP and HBP systolic and diastolic (SBP/DBP): 157/91 and 152/87 mmHg]. In this open-design study, patients were directly switched from other angiotensin receptor blocker combination products to valsartan/HCTZ for 6 weeks. The same validated automated device was used for OBP and HBP recordings. At baseline, mean HBP was 152 +/- 15/87 +/- 10 mmHg and mean OBP was 157 +/- 12/91 +/- 9 mmHg. After 6 weeks of treatment with valsartan 160 mg and HCTZ 25 mg, a significant decrease in BP was observed both at home (146 +/- 17/83 +/- 12 mmHg) and at the office (151 +/- 18/87 +/- 11 mmHg), with a difference from baseline of -4 mmHg, p < 0.001 for DBP and of -6 mmHg for SBP, p < 0.001. The percentage of patients with office and home control was 24% and 23% respectively, with a kappa index at 0.459. Elevated OBP only (office hypertension) was observed in 3.6% and elevated HBP only (masked hypertension) in 10% of patients. In conclusion, treatment with valsartan and HCTZ 25 mg in patients with confirmed uncontrolled hypertension induced a clinically relevant decrease in BP with approximately 23% of additional patients strictly controlled with a single tablet. The use of an automated oscillometric device at the office and at home allowed the detection of controlled subjects with good agreement.

Simultaneous removal of 2,4,6-tribromophenol from water and bromate ion minimization by ozonation.

PubMed

Gounden, Asogan N; Singh, Sooboo; Jonnalagadda, Sreekantha B

2018-06-02

The study investigates the degradation of 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) and the influence of solution pH, alkalinity, H 2 O 2 and O 3 dosage. Debromination efficiency of 2,4,6-TBP was the highest in basic water (pH = 10.61). The extent of TOC removal compared favourably with the amount of substrate converted, suggesting favourable mineralization of oxygenated by-products (OBPs). Ozonation in basic water favoured the formation of toxicBrO 3 - , while in acidic water (pH = 2.27) BrO 3 - yield was lowest. In acidic water the presence of CO 3 2- showed negligible effect on conversion, TOC and  BrO 3 - yield compared to ozonation alone. In basic water both 2,4,6-TBP conversion and TOC removal decreased with an increase in CO 3 2- , hence minimizing BrO 3 - formation. The O 3 /H 2 O 2 process showed an improvement in the debromination efficiency and TOC data revealed that total mineralization of OBP's was achieved. However, only 10% H 2 O 2 was able to effectively decrease BrO 3 - formation. Increasing the ozone concentration from 20 to 100 ppm enhanced the conversion of 2,4,6-TBP and TOC removal. At low ozone concentrations poor mineralization of OBP's occurred, while complete mineralization was achieved at higher ozone dose. The reaction pathways for ozone degradation of 2,4,6-TBP in acidic and basic waters is proposed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the grapevine moth Lobesia botrana antennal transcriptome and expression of odorant-binding and chemosensory proteins.

PubMed

Rojas, Valentina; Jiménez, Héctor; Palma-Millanao, Rubén; González-González, Angélica; Machuca, Juan; Godoy, Ricardo; Ceballos, Ricardo; Mutis, Ana; Venthur, Herbert

2018-04-30

The grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, is considered a harmful pest for vineyards in Chile as well as in North America and Europe. Currently, monitoring and control methods of L. botrana are based on its main sex pheromone component, being effective for low population densities. In order to improve control methods, antennal olfactory proteins in moths, such as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) have been studied as promising targets for the discovery of new potent semiochemicals, which have not been reported for L. botrana. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the repertoire of proteins related to chemoreception in L. botrana by antennal transcriptome and analyze the relative expression of OBPs and CSPs in male and female antennae. Through next-generation sequencing of the antennal transcriptome by Ilumina HiSeq2500 we identified a total of 118 chemoreceptors, from which 61, 42 and 15 transcripts are related to ORs, ionotropic receptors (IRs) and gustatory receptors (GRs), respectively. Furthermore, RNA-Seq data revealed 35 transcripts for OBPs and 18 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs). Analysis by qRT-PCR showed 20 OBPs significantly expressed in female antennae, while 5 were more expressed in males. Similarly, most of the CSPs were significantly expressed in female than male antennae. All the olfactory-related sequences were compared with homologs and their phylogenetic relationships elucidated. Finally, our findings in relation to the improvement of L. botrana management are discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An onion byproduct affects plasma lipids in healthy rats.

PubMed

Roldán-Marín, Eduvigis; Jensen, Runa I; Krath, Britta N; Kristensen, Mette; Poulsen, Morten; Cano, M Pilar; Sánchez-Moreno, Concepción; Dragsted, Lars O

2010-05-12

Onion may contribute to the health effects associated with high fruit and vegetable consumption. A considerable amount of onion production ends up as waste that might find use in foods. Onion byproduct has not yet been explored for potential health benefits. The aim of this study is to elucidate the safety and potential role of onion byproducts in affecting risk markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD). For that purpose, the effects of an onion byproduct, Allium cepa L. cepa 'Recas' (OBP), and its two derived fractions, an ethanolic extract (OE) and a residue (OR), on the distribution of plasma lipids and on factors affecting cholesterol metabolism in healthy rats have been investigated. The OBP or its fractions did not significantly reduce cholesterol or down-regulate hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (Hmgcr) gene expression. The OR even had the effect of increasing plasma triacylglycerides (TAG) and cholesterol in the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL-C) fraction. Neither total bile acids nor total primary or secondary bile acids were significantly affected by feeding rats the OBP or its fractions. Principal component analysis combining all markers revealed that the controls could be completely separated from OBP, OE, and OR groups in the scores plot and also that OE and OR groups were separated. Plasma lipids and bile acid excretion were the discriminating loading factors for separating OE and OR but also contributed to the separation of onion-fed animals and controls. It was concluded that the onion byproduct did not present significant beneficial effects on individual markers related to plasma lipid transport in this healthy rat model but that onion byproduct contains factors with the ability to modulate plasma lipids and lipoprotein levels.

Identification of chemosensory genes from the antennal transcriptome of Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella.

PubMed

Jia, Xiaojian; Zhang, Xiaofang; Liu, Hongmin; Wang, Rongyan; Zhang, Tao

2018-01-01

Olfaction plays an indispensable role in mediating insect behavior, such as locating host plants, mating partners, and avoidance of toxins and predators. Olfactory-related proteins are required for olfactory perception of insects. However, very few olfactory-related genes have been reported in Plodia interpunctella up to now. In the present study, we sequenced the antennae transcriptome of P. interpunctella using the next-generation sequencing technology, and identified 117 candidate olfactory-related genes, including 29 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 15 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 47 odorant receptors (ORs), 14 ionotropic receptors (IRs) and nine gustatory receptors (GRs). Further analysis of qRT-PCR revealed that nine OBPs, three CSPs, two SNMPs, nine ORs and two GRs were specifically expressed in the male antennae, whereas eight OBPs, six CSPs, one SNMP, 16 ORs, two GRs and seven IRs significantly expressed in the female antennae. Taken together, our results provided useful information for further functional studies on insect genes related to recognition of pheromone and odorant, which might be meaningful targets for pest management.

Identification of chemosensory genes from the antennal transcriptome of Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella

PubMed Central

Liu, Hongmin; Wang, Rongyan

2018-01-01

Olfaction plays an indispensable role in mediating insect behavior, such as locating host plants, mating partners, and avoidance of toxins and predators. Olfactory-related proteins are required for olfactory perception of insects. However, very few olfactory-related genes have been reported in Plodia interpunctella up to now. In the present study, we sequenced the antennae transcriptome of P. interpunctella using the next-generation sequencing technology, and identified 117 candidate olfactory-related genes, including 29 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 15 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 47 odorant receptors (ORs), 14 ionotropic receptors (IRs) and nine gustatory receptors (GRs). Further analysis of qRT-PCR revealed that nine OBPs, three CSPs, two SNMPs, nine ORs and two GRs were specifically expressed in the male antennae, whereas eight OBPs, six CSPs, one SNMP, 16 ORs, two GRs and seven IRs significantly expressed in the female antennae. Taken together, our results provided useful information for further functional studies on insect genes related to recognition of pheromone and odorant, which might be meaningful targets for pest management. PMID:29304134

Source models of M-7 class earthquakes in the rupture area of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake by near-field tsunami modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubota, T.; Hino, R.; Inazu, D.; Saito, T.; Iinuma, T.; Suzuki, S.; Ito, Y.; Ohta, Y.; Suzuki, K.

2012-12-01

We estimated source models of small amplitude tsunami associated with M-7 class earthquakes in the rupture area of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake using near-field records of tsunami recorded by ocean bottom pressure gauges (OBPs). The largest (Mw=7.3) foreshock of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake, occurred on 9 Mar., two days before the mainshock. Tsunami associated with the foreshock was clearly recorded by seven OBPs, as well as coseismic vertical deformation of the seafloor. Assuming a planer fault along the plate boundary as a source, the OBP records were inverted for slip distribution. As a result, the most of the coseismic slip was found to be concentrated in the area of about 40 x 40 km in size and located to the north-west of the epicenter, suggesting downdip rupture propagation. Seismic moment of our tsunami waveform inversion is 1.4 x 10^20 Nm, equivalent to Mw 7.3. On 2011 July 10th, an earthquake of Mw 7.0 occurred near the hypocenter of the mainshock. Its relatively deep focus and strike-slip focal mechanism indicate that this earthquake was an intraslab earthquake. The earthquake was associated with small amplitude tsunami. By using the OBP records, we estimated a model of the initial sea-surface height distribution. Our tsunami inversion showed that a pair of uplift/subsiding eyeballs was required to explain the observed tsunami waveform. The spatial pattern of the seafloor deformation is consistent with the oblique strike-slip solution obtained by the seismic data analyses. The location and strike of the hinge line separating the uplift and subsidence zones correspond well to the linear distribution of the aftershock determined by using local OBS data (Obana et al., 2012).

Identification of the genes involved in odorant reception and detection in the palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, an important quarantine pest, by antennal transcriptome analysis.

PubMed

Antony, Binu; Soffan, Alan; Jakše, Jernej; Abdelazim, Mahmoud M; Aldosari, Saleh A; Aldawood, Abdulrahman S; Pain, Arnab

2016-01-22

The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliver) is one of the most damaging invasive insect species in the world. This weevil is highly specialized to thrive in adverse desert climates, and it causes major economic losses due to its effects on palm trees around the world. RPWs locate palm trees by means of plant volatile cues and use an aggregation pheromone to coordinate a mass-attack. Here we report on the high throughput sequencing of the RPW antennal transcriptome and present a description of the highly expressed chemosensory gene families. Deep sequencing and assembly of the RPW antennal transcriptome yielded 35,667 transcripts with an average length of 857 bp and identified a large number of highly expressed transcripts of odorant binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odorant receptors/co-receptors (ORs/Orcos), sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), gustatory receptors (GRs) and ionotropic receptors (IRs). In total, 38 OBPs, 12 CSPs, 76 ORs, 1 Orco, 6 SNMPs, 15 GRs and 10 IRs were annotated in the R. ferrugineus antennal transcriptome. A comparative transcriptome analysis with the bark beetle showed that 25% of the blast hits were unique to R. ferrugineus, indicating a higher, more complete transcript coverage for R. ferrugineus. We categorized the RPW ORs into seven subfamilies of coleopteran ORs and predicted two new subfamilies of ORs. The OR protein sequences were compared with those of the flour beetle, the cerambycid beetle and the bark beetle, and we identified coleopteran-specific, highly conserved ORs as well as unique ORs that are putatively involved in RPW aggregation pheromone detection. We identified 26 Minus-C OBPs and 8 Plus-C OBPs and grouped R. ferrugineus OBPs into different OBP-subfamilies according to phylogeny, which indicated significant species-specific expansion and divergence in R. ferrugineus. We also identified a diverse family of CSP proteins, as well as a coleopteran-specific CSP lineage that diverged from Diptera and Lepidoptera. We identified several extremely diverged IR orthologues as well as highly conserved insect IR co-receptor orthologous transcripts in R. ferrugineus. Notably, GR orthologous transcripts for CO2-sensing and sweet tastants were identified in R. ferrugineus, and we found a great diversity of GRs within the coleopteran family. With respect to SNMP-1 and SNMP-2 orthologous transcripts, one SNMP-1 orthologue was found to be strikingly highly expressed in the R. ferrugineus antennal transcriptome. Our study presents the first comprehensive catalogue of olfactory gene families involved in pheromone and general odorant detection in R. ferrugineus, which are potential novel targets for pest control strategies.

Attended and Unattended Automated Office Blood Pressure Measurements Have Better Agreement With Ambulatory Monitoring Than Conventional Office Readings.

PubMed

Andreadis, Emmanuel A; Geladari, Charalampia V; Angelopoulos, Epameinondas T; Savva, Florentia S; Georgantoni, Anna I; Papademetriou, Vasilios

2018-04-07

Automated office blood pressure (AOBP) measurement is superior to conventional office blood pressure (OBP) because it eliminates the "white coat effect" and shows a strong association with ambulatory blood pressure. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 146 participants with office hypertension, and we compared AOBP readings, taken with or without the presence of study personnel, before and after the conventional office readings to determine whether their variation in blood pressure showed a difference in blood pressure values. We also compared AOBP measurements with daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and conventional office readings. The mean age of the studied population was 56±12 years, and 53.4% of participants were male. Bland-Altman analysis revealed a bias (ie, mean of the differences) of 0.6±6 mm Hg systolic for attended AOBP compared with unattended and 1.4±6 and 0.1±6 mm Hg bias for attended compared with unattended systolic AOBP when measurements were performed before and after conventional readings, respectively. A small bias was observed when unattended and attended systolic AOBP measurements were compared with daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (1.3±13 and 0.6±13 mm Hg, respectively). Biases were higher for conventional OBP readings compared with unattended AOBP (-5.6±15 mm Hg for unattended AOBP and oscillometric OBP measured by a physician, -6.8±14 mm Hg for unattended AOBP and oscillometric OBP measured by a nurse, and -2.1±12 mm Hg for unattended AOBP and auscultatory OBP measured by a second physician). Our findings showed that independent of the presence or absence of medical staff, AOBP readings revealed similar values that were closer to daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring than conventional office readings, further supporting the use of AOBP in the clinical setting. © 2018 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

Molecular genetic analysis of activation-tagged transcription factors thought to be involved in photomorphogenesis

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

Neff, Michael M.

This is a final report for Department of Energy Grant No. DE-FG02-08ER15927 entitled “Molecular Genetic Analysis of Activation-Tagged Transcription Factors Thought to be Involved in Photomorphogenesis”. Based on our preliminary photobiological and genetic analysis of the sob1-D mutant, we hypothesized that OBP3 is a transcription factor involved in both phytochrome and cryptochrome-mediated signal transduction. In addition, we hypothesized that OBP3 is involved in auxin signaling and root development. Based on our preliminary photobiological and genetic analysis of the sob2-D mutant, we also hypothesized that a related gene, LEP, is involved in hormone signaling and seedling development.

Spatiotemporal distribution of interplate slip following the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake deduced from ocean bottom pressure gauges and onland GNSS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Y.; Nishimura, T.; Ariyoshi, K.; Matsumoto, H.

2017-12-01

The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mw 8.0) is an interplate earthquake along the Kurile trench. Its co- and post-seismic deformation has been observed by onland GNSS [e.g., Miyazaki et al. 2004] and modeled with afterslip and/or viscoelastic relaxation [e.g., Itoh and Nishimura 2016]. In the offshore region, two ocean bottom pressure gauges (OBPs) are operated by JAMSTEC since July 1999 [Hirata et al. 2002] and they have continuously observed the pre-, co- and post-seismic pressure change of the 2003 event [Baba et al. 2006]. The observed pressure change can be interpreted as vertical displacement, and the resolution of slip beneath the seafloor far from the land was improved by incorporating these pressure data into onland GNSS data [Baba et al. 2006]. However, no previous studies used postseismic pressure data for several years to estimate an interplate slip. Because, in this region, an M8 class event similar to the 2003 event has occurred in 1952, it is important to clarify a healing process of an interplate coupling which may lead to a next M8 class event in terms of the earthquake cycle. Itoh and Nishimura [2017, JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting] estimated it but used only onland GNSS data. In this study, we use both onland GNSS and OBP data. For OBP data analysis, we first removed the tidal component using BAYTAP08 [Tamura et al. 1991; Tamura and Agnew 2008]. Next, we corrected the temporal fluctuation of data correlating with temperature [Baba et al. 2006]. We estimated the linear trend before the 2003 event using the corrected time series from 2002 Jan. 1 to 2003 Sep. 1 and remove the estimated trend from the data after the 2003 event. Here, we assumed a non-linear drift could be ignored. Finally, we down-sampled the remained time series with an interval of 1 month. For the onland GNSS data, we used the same data set of Itoh and Nishimura [2017, JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting]. We constructed the model consisting of coseismic slip of the 2003 and M6-7 events in the postseismic period, spatiotemporal interplate slip following them and viscoelastic relaxation due to these slips. We estimated these slip distribution using 7.5 years long onland GNSS and OBP data. In the presentation, we'll discuss spatiotemporal evolution of interplate slip and the healing process of the megathrust fault, which is expected to vary with space, as the previous result suggested.

Trends in Arctic Ocean bottom pressure, sea surface height and freshwater content using GRACE and the ice-ocean model PIOMAS from 2008-2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peralta-Ferriz, Cecilia; Morison, James; Zhang, Jinlun; Bonin, Jennifer

2014-05-01

The variability of ocean bottom pressure (OBP) in the Arctic is dominated by the variations in sea surface height (SSH) from daily to monthly timescales. Conversely, OBP variability is dominated by the changes in the steric pressure (StP) at inter-annual timescales, particularly off the continental shelves. The combination of GRACE-derived ocean bottom pressure and ICESat altimetry-derived sea surface height variations in the Arctic Ocean have provided new means of identifying inter-annual trends in StP (StP = OBP-SSH) and associated freshwater content (FWC) of the Arctic region (Morison et al., 2012). Morison et al. (2012) showed that from 2004 to 2008, the FWC increased in the Beaufort Gyre and decreased in the Siberian and Central Arctic, resulting in a relatively small net basin-averaged FWC change. In this work, we investigate the inter-annual trends from 2008 to 2012 in OBP from GRACE, SSH from the state-of-the-art pan-Arctic ocean model PIOMAS -validated with tide and pressure gauges in the Arctic-, and compute the trends in StP and FWC from 2008-2012. We compare these results with the previous trends from 2005-2008 described in Morison et al. (2012). Our initial findings suggest increased salinity in the entire Arctic basin (relative to the climatological seasonal variation) from 2008-2012, compared to the preceding four years (2005-2008). We also find that the trends in OBP, SSH and StP from 2008-2012 present a different behavior during the spring-summer and fall-winter, unlike 2005-2008, in which the trends were generally consistent through all months of the year. It seems since 2009, when the Beaufort Gyre relaxed and the export of freshwater from the Canada Basin into the Canadian Archipelago and Fram Strait, via the Lincoln Sea, was anomalously large (de Steur et al., 2013), the Arctic Ocean has entered a new circulation regime. The causes of such changes in the inter-annual trends of OBP, SSH and StP -hence FWC-, associated with the changes in the shape and strength of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the wind patterns, as well as with the changes in sea ice conditions will be explored. References: Morison, J., R. Kwok, C. Peralta-Ferriz, M. Alkire, I. Rigor, R. Andersen, and M. Steele, Changing Arctic Ocean Freshwater Pathways Measured With ICESat and GRACE, Nature, 481, 66-70, DOI: 10.1038/nature10705, 2012. de Steur, L., et al. (2013), Hydrographic changes in the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean with focus on an upper ocean freshwater anomaly between 2007 and 2010, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 118, 4699-4715, doi:10.1002/jgrc.20341.

The Odorant Receptor Co-Receptor from the Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius L

PubMed Central

Hansen, Immo A.; Rodriguez, Stacy D.; Drake, Lisa L.; Price, David P.; Blakely, Brittny N.; Hammond, John I.; Tsujimoto, Hitoshi; Monroy, Erika Y.; Maio, William A.; Romero, Alvaro

2014-01-01

Recently, the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. has re-emerged as a serious and growing problem in many parts of the world. Presence of resistant bed bugs and the difficulty to eliminate them has renewed interest in alternative control tactics. Similar to other haematophagous arthropods, bed bugs rely on their olfactory system to detect semiochemicals in the environment. Previous studies have morphologically characterized olfactory organs of bed bugs’ antenna and have physiologically evaluated the responses of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) to host-derived chemicals. To date, odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) associated with these olfaction processes have not been studied in bed bugs. Chemoreception in insects requires formation of heteromeric complexes of ORs and a universal OR coreceptor (Orco). Orco is the constant chain of every odorant receptor in insects and is critical for insect olfaction but does not directly bind to odorants. Orco agonists and antagonists have been suggested as high-value targets for the development of novel insect repellents. In this study, we have performed RNAseq of bed bug sensory organs and identified several odorant receptors as well as Orco. We characterized Orco expression and investigated the effect of chemicals targeting Orco on bed bug behavior and reproduction. We have identified partial cDNAs of six C. lectularius OBPs and 16 ORs. Full length bed bug Orco was cloned and sequenced. Orco is widely expressed in different parts of the bed bug including OR neurons and spermatozoa. Treatment of bed bugs with the agonist VUAA1 changed bed bug pheromone-induced aggregation behavior and inactivated spermatozoa. We have described and characterized for the first time OBPs, ORs and Orco in bed bugs. Given the importance of these molecules in chemoreception of this insect they are interesting targets for the development of novel insect behavior modifiers. PMID:25411789

The odorant receptor co-receptor from the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L.

PubMed

Hansen, Immo A; Rodriguez, Stacy D; Drake, Lisa L; Price, David P; Blakely, Brittny N; Hammond, John I; Tsujimoto, Hitoshi; Monroy, Erika Y; Maio, William A; Romero, Alvaro

2014-01-01

Recently, the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. has re-emerged as a serious and growing problem in many parts of the world. Presence of resistant bed bugs and the difficulty to eliminate them has renewed interest in alternative control tactics. Similar to other haematophagous arthropods, bed bugs rely on their olfactory system to detect semiochemicals in the environment. Previous studies have morphologically characterized olfactory organs of bed bugs' antenna and have physiologically evaluated the responses of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) to host-derived chemicals. To date, odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) associated with these olfaction processes have not been studied in bed bugs. Chemoreception in insects requires formation of heteromeric complexes of ORs and a universal OR coreceptor (Orco). Orco is the constant chain of every odorant receptor in insects and is critical for insect olfaction but does not directly bind to odorants. Orco agonists and antagonists have been suggested as high-value targets for the development of novel insect repellents. In this study, we have performed RNAseq of bed bug sensory organs and identified several odorant receptors as well as Orco. We characterized Orco expression and investigated the effect of chemicals targeting Orco on bed bug behavior and reproduction. We have identified partial cDNAs of six C. lectularius OBPs and 16 ORs. Full length bed bug Orco was cloned and sequenced. Orco is widely expressed in different parts of the bed bug including OR neurons and spermatozoa. Treatment of bed bugs with the agonist VUAA1 changed bed bug pheromone-induced aggregation behavior and inactivated spermatozoa. We have described and characterized for the first time OBPs, ORs and Orco in bed bugs. Given the importance of these molecules in chemoreception of this insect they are interesting targets for the development of novel insect behavior modifiers.

De novo analysis of the Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) antenna transcriptome and expression patterns of olfactory genes.

PubMed

Zhou, Shuang-Shuang; Sun, Ze; Ma, Weihua; Chen, Wei; Wang, Man-Qun

2014-03-01

We sequenced the antenna transcriptome of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), a global rice pest, and performed transcriptome analysis on BPH antenna. We obtained about 40million 90bp reads that were assembled into 75,874 unigenes with a mean size of 456bp. Among the antenna transcripts, 32,856 (43%) showed significant similarity (E-value <1e(-5)) to known proteins in the NCBI database. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used to classify functions of BPH antenna genes. We identified 10 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), including 7 previously unidentified, and 11 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), including two new members. The expression profiles of 4 OBPs and 2 CSPs were determined by q-PCR for antenna, abdomen, leg and wing of insects of different age, gender, and mating status including two BPH adult wing-morphology types. NlugCSP10 and 4 OBPs appeared to be antenna-specific because they were highly and differentially expressed in male and female antennae. NlugCSP11 was expressed ubiquitously, with particularly high expression in wings. The transcript levels of several olfactory genes depended on adult wing form, age, gender, and mating status, although no clear expression patterns were determined. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tsunami Source Modeling of the 2015 Volcanic Tsunami Earthquake near Torishima, South of Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandanbata, O.; Watada, S.; Satake, K.; Fukao, Y.; Sugioka, H.; Ito, A.; Shiobara, H.

2017-12-01

An abnormal earthquake occurred at a submarine volcano named Smith Caldera, near Torishima Island on the Izu-Bonin arc, on May 2, 2015. The earthquake, which hereafter we call "the 2015 Torishima earthquake," has a CLVD-type focal mechanism with a moderate seismic magnitude (M5.7) but generated larger tsunami waves with an observed maximum height of 50 cm at Hachijo Island [JMA, 2015], so that the earthquake can be regarded as a "tsunami earthquake." In the region, similar tsunami earthquakes were observed in 1984, 1996 and 2006, but their physical mechanisms are still not well understood. Tsunami waves generated by the 2015 earthquake were recorded by an array of ocean bottom pressure (OBP) gauges, 100 km northeastern away from the epicenter. The waves initiated with a small downward signal of 0.1 cm and reached peak amplitude (1.5-2.0 cm) of leading upward signals followed by continuous oscillations [Fukao et al., 2016]. For modeling its tsunami source, or sea-surface displacement, we perform tsunami waveform simulations, and compare synthetic and observed waveforms at the OBP gauges. The linear Boussinesq equations are adapted with the tsunami simulation code, JAGURS [Baba et al., 2015]. We first assume a Gaussian-shaped sea-surface uplift of 1.0 m with a source size comparable to Smith Caldera, 6-7 km in diameter. By shifting source location around the caldera, we found the uplift is probably located within the caldera rim, as suggested by Sandanbata et al. [2016]. However, synthetic waves show no initial downward signal that was observed at the OBP gauges. Hence, we add a ring of subsidence surrounding the main uplift, and examine sizes and amplitudes of the main uplift and the subsidence ring. As a result, the model of a main uplift of around 1.0 m with a radius of 4 km surrounded by a ring of small subsidence shows good agreement of synthetic and observed waveforms. The results yield two implications for the deformation process that help us to understanding the physical mechanism of the 2015 Torishima earthquake. First, the estimated large uplift within Smith Caldera implies the earthquake may be related to some volcanic activity of the caldera. Secondly, the modeled ring of subsidence surrounding the caldera suggests that the process may have included notable subsidence, at least on the northeastern side out of the caldera.

On the Impact of Sea Level Fingerprints on the Estimation of the Meridional Geostrophic Transport in the Atlantic Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, C. W.; Velicogna, I.

2017-12-01

The mid-ocean geostrophic transport accounts for more than half of the seasonal and inter-annual variabilities in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) based on the in-situ measurement from RAPID MOC/MOCHA array since 2004. Here, we demonstrate that the mid-ocean geostrophic transport estimates derived from ocean bottom pressure (OBP) are affected by the sea level fingerprint (SLF), which is a variation of the equi-geopotential height (relative sea level) due to rapid mass unloading of the entire Earth system and in particular from glaciers and ice sheets. This potential height change, although it alters the OBP, should not be included in the derivation of the mid-ocean geostrophic transport. This "pseudo" geostrophic-transport due to the SLF is in-phase with the seasonal and interannual signal in the upper mid-ocean geostrophic transport. The east-west SLF gradient across the Atlantic basin could be mistaken as a north-south geostrophic transport that increases by 54% of its seasonal variability and by 20% of its inter-annual variability. This study demonstrates for the first time the importance of this pseudo transport in both the annual and interannual signals by comparing the SLF with in-situ observation from RAPID MOC/MOCHA array. The pseudo transport needs to be taken into account if OBP measurements and remote sensing are used to derive mid-ocean geostrophic transport.

Characteristics of self-measured home blood pressure in a Nigerian urban community: the NIPREGH study.

PubMed

Odili, Augustine N; Abdullahi, Bolaji; Nwankwo, Adaku M; Asayama, Kei; Staessen, Jan A

2015-10-01

We investigated the characteristics of self-measured home blood pressure (HBP) in a randomly selected population of Nigerians living in Abuja, Nigeria. HBP was the average of 28 measurements comprising duplicate morning and evening readings obtained over a 7-day period by the participants using a semiautomated oscillometric device. Blood pressure measured five consecutive times by trained observers using mercury sphygmomanometer was averaged as the office blood pressure (OBP). Among the 337 participants included in the analysis, 46.6% were women and their mean age (SD) 40.3 (11.3). The mean, mean+2 SD and 95th percentile of HBP and OBP were 117/76, 147/96 and 145/93 mmHg and 114/73, 147/97 and 142/73 mmHg, respectively. The corresponding values in normotensive individuals were 113/73, 137/89 and 132/88 mmHg and 108/70, 130/88 and 128/84 mmHg. Morning HBPs were significantly higher than that of the evening, with a mean difference (confidence interval) of 1.8 mmHg (1.1-2.5 mmHg) and 1.9 mmHg (1.4-2.3 mmHg) for systolic and diastolic pressures, respectively (P<0.0001). There is a strong correlation between the office and home systolic (r=0.8, P<0.0001) and diastolic (r=0.7, P<0.0001) pressures. Overall, the HBP values were significantly higher than OBP, with a mean difference (confidence interval) of systolic/diastolic of 3.6 mmHg (2.5-4.6 mmHg)/2.3 mmHg (1.4-3.1 mmHg) (P<0.0001). The HBP/OBP difference was maintained in men and normotensive individuals, but in women and hypertensive participants, there was no significant difference between HBP and OBP. Our findings have shown that self-measured blood pressure is feasible and can be used to evaluate blood pressure outside the clinic environment among Nigerians.

Identification and Comparison of Candidate Olfactory Genes in the Olfactory and Non-Olfactory Organs of Elm Pest Ambrostoma quadriimpressum (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Based on Transcriptome Analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Yinliang; Chen, Qi; Zhao, Hanbo; Ren, Bingzhong

2016-01-01

The leaf beetle Ambrostoma quadriimpressum (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a predominant forest pest that causes substantial damage to the lumber industry and city management. However, no effective and environmentally friendly chemical method has been discovered to control this pest. Until recently, the molecular basis of the olfactory system in A. quadriimpressum was completely unknown. In this study, antennae and leg transcriptomes were analyzed and compared using deep sequencing data to identify the olfactory genes in A. quadriimpressum. Moreover, the expression profiles of both male and female candidate olfactory genes were analyzed and validated by bioinformatics, motif analysis, homology analysis, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and RT-qPCR experiments in antennal and non-olfactory organs to explore the candidate olfactory genes that might play key roles in the life cycle of A. quadriimpressum. As a result, approximately 102.9 million and 97.3 million clean reads were obtained from the libraries created from the antennas and legs, respectively. Annotation led to 34344 Unigenes, which were matched to known proteins. Annotation data revealed that the number of genes in antenna with binding functions and receptor activity was greater than that of legs. Furthermore, many pathway genes were differentially expressed in the two organs. Sixteen candidate odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 10 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 34 odorant receptors (ORs), 20 inotropic receptors [1] and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) and their isoforms were identified. Additionally, 15 OBPs, 9 CSPs, 18 ORs, 6 IRs and 2 SNMPs were predicted to be complete ORFs. Using RT-PCR, RT-qPCR and homology analysis, AquaOBP1/2/4/7/C1/C6, AquaCSP3/9, AquaOR8/9/10/14/15/18/20/26/29/33, AquaIR8a/13/25a showed olfactory-specific expression, indicating that these genes might play a key role in olfaction-related behaviors in A. quadriimpressum such as foraging and seeking. AquaOBP4/C5, AquaOBP4/C5, AquaCSP7/9/10, AquaOR17/24/32 and AquaIR4 were highly expressed in the antenna of males, suggesting that these genes were related to sex-specific behaviors, and expression trends that were male specific were observed for most candidate olfactory genes, which supported the existence of a female-produced sex pheromone in A. quadriimpressum. All of these results could provide valuable information and guidance for future functional studies on these genes and provide better molecular knowledge regarding the olfactory system in A. quadriimpressum.

UV-SPR biosensor for biomolecular interaction studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geiss, F. A.; Fossati, S.; Khan, I.; Gisbert Quilis, N.; Knoll, W.; Dostalek, J.

2017-05-01

UV surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for direct in situ detection of protein binding events is reported. A crossed relief aluminum grating was employed for diffraction coupling to surface plasmons as an alternative to more commonly used attenuated total reflection method. Wavelength interrogation of SPR was carried out by using transmission measurements in order to probe odorant-binding protein 14 (OBP14) of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). The native oxide layer on the top of an aluminum grating sensor chip allows for covalent coupling of protein molecules by using regular silane-based linkers. The probing of bound OBP14 protein at UV with confined field of surface plasmons holds potential for further studies of interaction with recently developed artificial fluorescent odorants.

First Transcriptome and Digital Gene Expression Analysis in Neuroptera with an Emphasis on Chemoreception Genes in Chrysopa pallens (Rambur).

PubMed

Li, Zhao-Qun; Zhang, Shuai; Ma, Yan; Luo, Jun-Yu; Wang, Chun-Yi; Lv, Li-Min; Dong, Shuang-Lin; Cui, Jin-Jie

2013-01-01

Chrysopa pallens (Rambur) are the most important natural enemies and predators of various agricultural pests. Understanding the sophisticated olfactory system in insect antennae is crucial for studying the physiological bases of olfaction and also could lead to effective applications of C. pallens in integrated pest management. However no transcriptome information is available for Neuroptera, and sequence data for C. pallens are scarce, so obtaining more sequence data is a priority for researchers on this species. To facilitate identifying sets of genes involved in olfaction, a normalized transcriptome of C. pallens was sequenced. A total of 104,603 contigs were obtained and assembled into 10,662 clusters and 39,734 singletons; 20,524 were annotated based on BLASTX analyses. A large number of candidate chemosensory genes were identified, including 14 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 22 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 16 ionotropic receptors, 14 odorant receptors, and genes potentially involved in olfactory modulation. To better understand the OBPs, CSPs and cytochrome P450s, phylogenetic trees were constructed. In addition, 10 digital gene expression libraries of different tissues were constructed and gene expression profiles were compared among different tissues in males and females. Our results provide a basis for exploring the mechanisms of chemoreception in C. pallens, as well as other insects. The evolutionary analyses in our study provide new insights into the differentiation and evolution of insect OBPs and CSPs. Our study provided large-scale sequence information for further studies in C. pallens.

Odorant binding protein 69a connects social interaction to modulation of social responsiveness in Drosophila.

PubMed

Bentzur, Assa; Shmueli, Anat; Omesi, Liora; Ryvkin, Julia; Knapp, Jon-Michael; Parnas, Moshe; Davis, Fred P; Shohat-Ophir, Galit

2018-04-01

Living in a social environment requires the ability to respond to specific social stimuli and to incorporate information obtained from prior interactions into future ones. One of the mechanisms that facilitates social interaction is pheromone-based communication. In Drosophila melanogaster, the male-specific pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) elicits different responses in male and female flies, and functions to modulate behavior in a context and experience-dependent manner. Although it is the most studied pheromone in flies, the mechanisms that determine the complexity of the response, its intensity and final output with respect to social context, sex and prior interaction, are still not well understood. Here we explored the functional link between social interaction and pheromone-based communication and discovered an odorant binding protein that links social interaction to sex specific changes in cVA related responses. Odorant binding protein 69a (Obp69a) is expressed in auxiliary cells and secreted into the olfactory sensilla. Its expression is inversely regulated in male and female flies by social interactions: cVA exposure reduces its levels in male flies and increases its levels in female flies. Increasing or decreasing Obp69a levels by genetic means establishes a functional link between Obp69a levels and the extent of male aggression and female receptivity. We show that activation of cVA-sensing neurons is sufficeint to regulate Obp69a levels in the absence of cVA, and requires active neurotransmission between the sensory neuron to the second order olfactory neuron. The cross-talk between sensory neurons and non-neuronal auxiliary cells at the olfactory sensilla, represents an additional component in the machinery that promotes behavioral plasticity to the same sensory stimuli in male and female flies.

Effects of combination treatment with losartan and trandolapril on office and ambulatory blood pressures in non-diabetic renal disease: a COOPERATE-ABP substudy.

PubMed

Nakao, Naoyuki; Seno, Hachiro; Kasuga, Hirotake; Toriyama, Takanobu; Kawahara, Hirohisa; Fukagawa, Masafumi

2004-01-01

In the COOPERATE trial, the combination treatment of the angiotensin-II receptor blocker losartan and the angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor trandolapril significantly retarded progression of non-diabetic kidney disease compared with each monotherapy. The benefit could be greatly attributable to the potent reduction of proteinuria, because the three treatment groups showed the same reductions of office blood pressure (OBP). Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) is reported to be better than OBP in predicting progression of kidney disease. Ninety-two patients enrolled in the COOPERATE trial underwent 24-hour ABP monitoring at randomization and at month 6, year 1, year 2 and year 3 on randomized treatment. Both OBP and ABP were similarly reduced among the three groups at all measurement points (p = NS) and throughout the whole study period (p = NS). No significant correlation between the change in 24-hour ABP and the change in proteinuria was seen (p = NS). A Cox-multivariable analysis showed that covariates affecting the renal outcomes (a doubling serum-Cr level and/or end-stage renal failure) were the change in proteinuria (hazard ratio 0.49, 95% CI 0.34-0.78, p = 0.01) and treatments (0.58, 0.45-0.99, 0.03), but not 24-hour ABP (0.98, 0.89-2.01, 0.17). The better renoprotective effect of the combination treatment is attributed to BP-independent mechanisms by more complete renin-angiotensin system blockade. 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Glareosin: a novel sexually dimorphic urinary lipocalin in the bank vole, Myodes glareolus.

PubMed

Loxley, Grace M; Unsworth, Jennifer; Turton, Michael J; Jebb, Alexandra; Lilley, Kathryn S; Simpson, Deborah M; Rigden, Daniel J; Hurst, Jane L; Beynon, Robert J

2017-09-01

The urine of bank voles ( Myodes glareolus ) contains substantial quantities of a small protein that is expressed at much higher levels in males than females, and at higher levels in males in the breeding season. This protein was purified and completely sequenced at the protein level by mass spectrometry. Leucine/isoleucine ambiguity was completely resolved by metabolic labelling, monitoring the incorporation of dietary deuterated leucine into specific sites in the protein. The predicted mass of the sequenced protein was exactly consonant with the mass of the protein measured in bank vole urine samples, correcting for the formation of two disulfide bonds. The sequence of the protein revealed that it was a lipocalin related to aphrodisin and other odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), but differed from all OBPs previously described. The pattern of secretion in urine used for scent marking by male bank voles, and the similarity to other lipocalins used as chemical signals in rodents, suggest that this protein plays a role in male sexual and/or competitive communication. We propose the name glareosin for this novel protein to reflect the origin of the protein and to emphasize the distinction from known OBPs. © 2017 The Authors.

First Transcriptome and Digital Gene Expression Analysis in Neuroptera with an Emphasis on Chemoreception Genes in Chrysopa pallens (Rambur)

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Qun; Zhang, Shuai; Ma, Yan; Luo, Jun-Yu; Wang, Chun-Yi; Lv, Li-Min; Dong, Shuang-Lin; Cui, Jin-Jie

2013-01-01

Background Chrysopa pallens (Rambur) are the most important natural enemies and predators of various agricultural pests. Understanding the sophisticated olfactory system in insect antennae is crucial for studying the physiological bases of olfaction and also could lead to effective applications of C. pallens in integrated pest management. However no transcriptome information is available for Neuroptera, and sequence data for C. pallens are scarce, so obtaining more sequence data is a priority for researchers on this species. Results To facilitate identifying sets of genes involved in olfaction, a normalized transcriptome of C. pallens was sequenced. A total of 104,603 contigs were obtained and assembled into 10,662 clusters and 39,734 singletons; 20,524 were annotated based on BLASTX analyses. A large number of candidate chemosensory genes were identified, including 14 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 22 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 16 ionotropic receptors, 14 odorant receptors, and genes potentially involved in olfactory modulation. To better understand the OBPs, CSPs and cytochrome P450s, phylogenetic trees were constructed. In addition, 10 digital gene expression libraries of different tissues were constructed and gene expression profiles were compared among different tissues in males and females. Conclusions Our results provide a basis for exploring the mechanisms of chemoreception in C. pallens, as well as other insects. The evolutionary analyses in our study provide new insights into the differentiation and evolution of insect OBPs and CSPs. Our study provided large-scale sequence information for further studies in C. pallens. PMID:23826220

Identification of Putative Olfactory Genes from the Oriental Fruit Moth Grapholita molesta via an Antennal Transcriptome Analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Yiping; Wu, Junxiang

2015-01-01

Background The oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta, is an extremely important oligophagous pest species of stone and pome fruits throughout the world. As a host-switching species, adult moths, especially females, depend on olfactory cues to a large extent in locating host plants, finding mates, and selecting oviposition sites. The identification of olfactory genes can facilitate investigation on mechanisms for chemical communications. Methodology/Principal Finding We generated transcriptome of female antennae of G.molesta using the next-generation sequencing technique, and assembled transcripts from RNA-seq reads using Trinity, SOAPdenovo-trans and Abyss-trans assemblers. We identified 124 putative olfactory genes. Among the identified olfactory genes, 118 were novel to this species, including 28 transcripts encoding for odorant binding proteins, 17 chemosensory proteins, 48 odorant receptors, four gustatory receptors, 24 ionotropic receptors, two sensory neuron membrane proteins, and one odor degrading enzyme. The identified genes were further confirmed through semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR for transcripts coding for 26 OBPs and 17 CSPs. OBP transcripts showed an obvious antenna bias, whereas CSP transcripts were detected in different tissues. Conclusion Antennal transcriptome data derived from the oriental fruit moth constituted an abundant molecular resource for the identification of genes potentially involved in the olfaction process of the species. This study provides a foundation for future research on the molecules involved in olfactory recognition of this insect pest, and in particular, the feasibility of using semiochemicals to control this pest. PMID:26540284

Chemosensory Gene Families in Ectropis grisescens and Candidates for Detection of Type-II Sex Pheromones.

PubMed

Li, Zhao-Qun; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bian, Lei; Xin, Zhao-Jun; Liu, Yan; Chu, Bo; Chen, Zong-Mao

2017-01-01

Tea grey geometrid ( Ectropis grisescens ), a devastating chewing pest in tea plantations throughout China, produces Type-II pheromone components. Little is known about the genes encoding proteins involved in the perception of Type-II sex pheromone components. To investigate the olfaction genes involved in E . grisescens sex pheromones and plant volatiles perception, we sequenced female and male antennae transcriptomes of E . grisescens . After assembly and annotation, we identified 153 candidate chemoreception genes in E. grisescens , including 40 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 30 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 59 odorant receptors (ORs), and 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs). The results of phylogenetic, qPCR, and mRNA abundance analyses suggested that three candidate pheromone-binding proteins (EgriOBP2, 3, and 25), two candidate general odorant-binding proteins (EgriOBP1 and 29), six pheromone receptors (EgriOR24, 25, 28, 31, 37, and 44), and EgriCSP8 may be involved in the detection of Type-II sex pheromone components. Functional investigation by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed that EgriOR31 was robustly tuned to the E . grisescens sex pheromone component (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-octadecatriene and weakly to the other sex pheromone component (Z,Z)-3,9-6,7-epoxyoctadecadiene. Our results represent a systematic functional analysis of the molecular mechanism of olfaction perception in E . grisescens with an emphasis on gene encoding proteins involved in perception of Type-II sex pheromones, and provide information that will be relevant to other Lepidoptera species.

Chemosensory Gene Families in Ectropis grisescens and Candidates for Detection of Type-II Sex Pheromones

PubMed Central

Li, Zhao-Qun; Luo, Zong-Xiu; Cai, Xiao-Ming; Bian, Lei; Xin, Zhao-Jun; Liu, Yan; Chu, Bo; Chen, Zong-Mao

2017-01-01

Tea grey geometrid (Ectropis grisescens), a devastating chewing pest in tea plantations throughout China, produces Type-II pheromone components. Little is known about the genes encoding proteins involved in the perception of Type-II sex pheromone components. To investigate the olfaction genes involved in E. grisescens sex pheromones and plant volatiles perception, we sequenced female and male antennae transcriptomes of E. grisescens. After assembly and annotation, we identified 153 candidate chemoreception genes in E. grisescens, including 40 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 30 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 59 odorant receptors (ORs), and 24 ionotropic receptors (IRs). The results of phylogenetic, qPCR, and mRNA abundance analyses suggested that three candidate pheromone-binding proteins (EgriOBP2, 3, and 25), two candidate general odorant-binding proteins (EgriOBP1 and 29), six pheromone receptors (EgriOR24, 25, 28, 31, 37, and 44), and EgriCSP8 may be involved in the detection of Type-II sex pheromone components. Functional investigation by heterologous expression in Xenopus oocytes revealed that EgriOR31 was robustly tuned to the E. grisescens sex pheromone component (Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-octadecatriene and weakly to the other sex pheromone component (Z,Z)-3,9-6,7-epoxyoctadecadiene. Our results represent a systematic functional analysis of the molecular mechanism of olfaction perception in E. grisescens with an emphasis on gene encoding proteins involved in perception of Type-II sex pheromones, and provide information that will be relevant to other Lepidoptera species. PMID:29209233

Tumor-specific delivery of biologics by a novel T-cell line HOZOT

PubMed Central

Onishi, Teppei; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Hashimoto, Yuuri; Takeuchi, Makoto; Otani, Takeshi; Nakamura, Shuji; Sakurai, Fuminori; Mizuguchi, Hiroyuki; Kishimoto, Hiroyuki; Umeda, Yuzo; Shirakawa, Yasuhiro; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi

2016-01-01

“Cell-in-cell” denotes an invasive phenotype in which one cell actively internalizes in another. The novel human T-cell line HOZOT, established from human umbilical cord blood, was shown to penetrate a variety of human cancer cells but not normal cells. Oncolytic viruses are emerging as biological therapies for human cancers; however, efficient viral delivery is limited by a lack of tumor-specific homing and presence of pre-existing or therapy-induced neutralizing antibodies. Here, we report a new, intriguing approach using HOZOT cells to transmit biologics such as oncolytic viruses into human cancer cells by cell-in-cell invasion. HOZOT cells were successfully loaded via human CD46 antigen with an attenuated adenovirus containing the fiber protein of adenovirus serotype 35 (OBP-401/F35), in which the telomerase promoter regulates viral replication. OBP-401/F35–loaded HOZOT cells were efficiently internalized into human cancer cells and exhibited tumor-specific killing by release of viruses, even in the presence of anti-viral neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, intraperitoneal administration of HOZOT cells loaded with OBP-401/F35 significantly suppressed peritoneally disseminated tumor growth in mice. This unique cell-in-cell property provides a platform for selective delivery of biologics into human cancer cells, which has important implications for the treatment of human cancers. PMID:27901098

Exploring methods for comparing the real-world effectiveness of treatments for osteoporosis: adjusted direct comparisons versus using patients as their own control.

PubMed

Karlsson, Linda; Mesterton, Johan; Tepie, Maurille Feudjo; Intorcia, Michele; Overbeek, Jetty; Ström, Oskar

2017-09-21

Using Swedish and Dutch registry data for women initiating bisphosphonates, we evaluated two methods of comparing the real-world effectiveness of osteoporosis treatments that attempt to adjust for differences in patient baseline characteristics. Each method has advantages and disadvantages; both are potential complements to clinical trial analyses. We evaluated methods of comparing the real-world effectiveness of osteoporosis treatments that attempt to adjust for both observed and unobserved confounding. Swedish and Dutch registry data for women initiating zoledronate or oral bisphosphonates (OBPs; alendronate/risedronate) were used; the primary outcome was fracture. In adjusted direct comparisons (ADCs), regression and matching techniques were used to account for baseline differences in known risk factors for fracture (e.g., age, previous fracture, comorbidities). In an own-control analysis (OCA), for each treatment, fracture incidence in the first 90 days following treatment initiation (the baseline risk period) was compared with fracture incidence in the 1-year period starting 91 days after treatment initiation (the treatment exposure period). In total, 1196 and 149 women initiating zoledronate and 14,764 and 25,058 initiating OBPs were eligible in the Swedish and Dutch registries, respectively. Owing to the small Dutch zoledronate sample, only the Swedish data were used to compare fracture incidences between treatment groups. ADCs showed a numerically higher fracture incidence in the zoledronate than in the OBPs group (hazard ratio 1.09-1.21; not statistically significant, p > 0.05). For both treatment groups, OCA showed a higher fracture incidence in the baseline risk period than in the treatment exposure period, indicating a treatment effect. OCA showed a similar or greater effect in the zoledronate group compared with the OBPs group. ADC and OCA each possesses advantages and disadvantages. Combining both methods may provide an estimate of real-world treatment efficacy that could potentially complement clinical trial findings.

Orthostatic hypertension as a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration: Evidence from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing.

PubMed

Bhuachalla, Bláithín Ní; McGarrigle, Christine A; O'Leary, Neil; Akuffo, Kwadwo Owusu; Peto, Tunde; Beatty, Stephen; Kenny, Rose Anne

2018-06-01

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible visual loss in developed countries. It is associated with vascular risk factors including hypertension. Dysregulated blood pressure (BP) behaviour including orthostatic hypertension (OHTN), hypotension (OH) and BP variability (BPV) are associated with end-organ damage, particularly in the brain. We investigated if abnormal orthostatic BP (OBP) was a risk factor for AMD, for which a vascular aetiology is implicated. A nationally representative, cross-sectional study was carried out 2009/2010 in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Beat-to-beat BP data, measured by digital photoplethysmography during active stand, was used to characterise OBP behaviour in the 30-110 s after standing. OH, OHTN, BPV and normal stabilisation recovery phenotypes were defined. AMD was identified following masked grading of 45° monoscopic colour retinal photographs, which were centred on the macula and taken with a NIDEK AFC-210 non-mydriatic auto-fundus camera. The relationship between OBP recovery phenotypes and AMD in 3750 adults aged ≥50 years was investigated using multivariate logistic regression models, adjusted for traditional AMD risk factors. From 30 to 110 s post active stand, systolic and diastolic OHTN was associated with increased odds of AMD after adjustment for demographics, health behaviours including smoking, family history of AMD, self-report (SR) diabetes, SR cataracts, objective hypertension and prescribed antihypertensives. No evidence of heterogeneity of OHTN effect was found between those who were hypertensive to those who were normotensive. This study provides evidence that OHTN may be an independent cardiovascular risk factor for AMD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing for the Future Nankai Trough Tsunami: A Data Assimilation and Inversion Analysis From Various Observational Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulia, Iyan E.; Inazu, Daisuke; Waseda, Takuji; Gusman, Aditya Riadi

2017-10-01

The future Nankai Trough tsunami is one of the imminent threats to the Japanese coastal communities that could potentially cause a catastrophic event. As a part of the countermeasure efforts for such an occurrence, this study analyzes the efficacy of combining tsunami data assimilation (DA) and waveform inversion (WI). The DA is used to continuously refine a wavefield model whereas the WI is used to estimate the tsunami source. We consider a future scenario of the Nankai Trough tsunami recorded at various observational systems, including ocean bottom pressure (OBP) gauges, global positioning system (GPS) buoys, and ship height positioning data. Since most of the OBP gauges are located inside the source region, the recorded tsunami signals exhibit significant offsets from surface measurements due to coseismic seafloor deformation effects. Such biased data are not applicable to the standard DA, but can be taken into account in the WI. On the other hand, the use of WI for the ship data may not be practical because a considerably large precomputed tsunami database is needed to cope with the spontaneous ship locations. The DA is more suitable for such an observational system as it can be executed sequentially in time and does not require precomputed scenarios. Therefore, the combined approach of DA and WI allows us to concurrently make use of all observational resources. Additionally, we introduce a bias correction scheme for the OBP data to improve the accuracy, and an adaptive thinning of observations to determine the efficient number of observations.

Antennal Transcriptome Analysis and Comparison of Chemosensory Gene Families in Two Closely Related Noctuidae Moths, Helicoverpa armigera and H. assulta

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jin; Wang, Bing; Dong, Shuanglin; Cao, Depan; Dong, Junfeng; Walker, William B.; Liu, Yang; Wang, Guirong

2015-01-01

To better understand the olfactory mechanisms in the two lepidopteran pest model species, the Helicoverpa armigera and H. assulta, we conducted transcriptome analysis of the adult antennae using Illumina sequencing technology and compared the chemosensory genes between these two related species. Combined with the chemosensory genes we had identified previously in H. armigera by 454 sequencing, we identified 133 putative chemosensory unigenes in H. armigera including 60 odorant receptors (ORs), 19 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 34 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 18 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Consistent with these results, 131 putative chemosensory genes including 64 ORs, 19 IRs, 29 OBPs, 17 CSPs, and 2 SNMPs were identified through male and female antennal transcriptome analysis in H. assulta. Reverse Transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) was conducted in H. assulta to examine the accuracy of the assembly and annotation of the transcriptome and the expression profile of these unigenes in different tissues. Most of the ORs, IRs and OBPs were enriched in adult antennae, while almost all the CSPs were expressed in antennae as well as legs. We compared the differences of the chemosensory genes between these two species in detail. Our work will surely provide valuable information for further functional studies of pheromones and host volatile recognition genes in these two related species. PMID:25659090

Ablation of MCL1 expression by virally induced microRNA-29 reverses chemoresistance in human osteosarcomas

PubMed Central

Osaki, Shuhei; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Hasei, Joe; Yamakawa, Yasuaki; Omori, Toshinori; Sugiu, Kazuhisa; Komatsubara, Tadashi; Fujiwara, Tomohiro; Sasaki, Tsuyoshi; Kunisada, Toshiyuki; Yoshida, Aki; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Ozaki, Toshifumi; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi

2016-01-01

Osteosarcoma is a rare disease diagnosed as malignant bone tumor. It is generally refractory to chemotherapy, which contributes to its poor prognosis. The reversal of chemoresistance is a major clinical challenge to improve the prognostic outcome of osteosarcoma patients. We developed a tumor-specific replication-competent oncolytic adenovirus, OBP-301 (telomelysin) and assessed its synergistic effects with chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin and doxorubicin) using human osteosarcoma cell lines and a xenograft tumor model. The molecular mechanism underlying the chemosensitizing effect of OBP-301 was evaluated in aspects of apoptosis induction. OBP-301 inhibits anti-apoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (MCL1) expression, which in turn leads to chemosensitization in human osteosarcoma cells. The siRNA-mediated knockdown of MCL1 expression sensitized human osteosarcoma cells to common chemotherapeutic agents. We also found that upregulation of microRNA-29 targeting MCL1 via virally induced transcriptional factor E2F-1 activation was critical for the enhancement of chemotherapy-induced apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. Telomerase-specific oncolytic adenovirus synergistically suppressed the viability of human osteosarcoma cells in combination with chemotherapeutic agents. The combination treatment also significantly inhibited tumor growth, as compared to monotherapy, in an osteosarcoma xenograft tumor model. Our data suggest that replicative virus-mediated tumor-specific MCL1 ablation may be a promising strategy to attenuate chemoresistance in osteosarcoma patients. PMID:27356624

78 FR 71629 - Technical Resource for Incident Prevention (TRIPwire) User Registration

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-29

...), Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP), Protective Security Coordination Division (PSCD), Office for... INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cooper, DHS/NPPD/IP/PSCD/OBP, [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY...

Effects of heat treatment on antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of orange by-products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This study investigated the changes in functional components, antioxidative activities, antibacterial activities, anti-inflammatory activities of orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) by-products (OBP) by heat treatment at 50 and 100 degrees C (hereafter, 50D and 100D extracts, respectively). Optimal...

Evidence for trade-offs in detoxification and chemosensation gene signatures in Plutella xylostella.

PubMed

Bautista, Ma Anita M; Bhandary, Binny; Wijeratne, Asela J; Michel, Andrew P; Hoy, Casey W; Mittapalli, Omprakash

2015-03-01

Detoxification genes have been associated with insecticide adaptation in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. The link between chemosensation genes and adaptation, however, remains unexplored. To gain a better understanding of the involvement of these genes in insecticide adaptation, the authors exposed lines of P. xylostella to either high uniform (HU) or low heterogeneous (LH) concentrations of permethrin, expecting primarily physiological or behavioral selection respectively. Initially, 454 pyrosequencing was applied, followed by an examination of expression profiles of candidate genes that responded to selection [cytochrome P450 (CYP), glutathione S-transferase (GST), carboxylesterase (CarE), chemosensory protein (CSP) and odorant-binding protein (OBP)] by quantitative PCR in the larvae. Toxicity and behavioral assays were also conducted to document the effects of the two forms of exposure. Pyrosequencing of the P. xylostella transcriptome from adult heads and third instars produced 198,753 reads with 52,752,486 bases. Quantitative PCR revealed overexpression of CYP4M14, CYP305B1 and CSP8 in HU larvae. OBP13, however, was highest in LH. Larvae from LH and HU lines had up to five- and 752-fold resistance levels respectively, which could be due to overexpression of P450s. However, the behavioral responses of all lines to a series of permethrin concentrations did not vary significantly in any of the generations examined, in spite of the observed upregulation of CSP8 and OBP13. Expression patterns from the target genes provide insights into behavioral and physiological responses to permethrin and suggest a new avenue of research on the role of chemosensation genes in insect adaptation to toxins. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Perturbation of cytochrome P450, generation of oxidative stress and induction of DNA damage in Cyprinus carpio exposed in situ to potable surface water.

PubMed

Sapone, Andrea; Gustavino, Bianca; Monfrinotti, Monica; Canistro, Donatella; Broccoli, Massimiliano; Pozzetti, Laura; Affatato, Alessandra; Valgimigli, Luca; Forti, Giorgio Cantelli; Pedulli, Gian Franco; Biagi, Gian Luigi; Abdel-Rahman, Sherif Z; Paolini, Moreno

2007-01-10

Epidemiological evidence suggests a link between consumption of chlorinated drinking water and various cancers. Chlorination of water rich in organic chemicals produces carcinogenic organochlorine by-products (OBPs) such as trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Since the discovery of the first OBP in the 1970s, there have been several investigations designed to determine the biological effects of single chemicals or small artificial OBP combinations. However, there is still insufficient information regarding the general biological response to these compounds, and further studies are still needed to evaluate their potential genotoxic effects. In the current study, we evaluated the effect of three drinking water disinfectants on the activity of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-linked metabolizing enzymes and on the generation of oxidative stress in the livers of male and female Cyprinus carpio fish (carp). The fish were exposed in situ for up 20 days to surface water obtained from the Trasmene lake in Italy. The water was treated with 1-2 mg/L of either sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) or chlorine dioxide (ClO2) as traditional disinfectants or with a relatively new disinfectant product, peracetic acid (PAA). Micronucleus (MN) frequencies in circulating erythrocytes from the fish were also analysed as a biomarker of genotoxic effect. In the CYP-linked enzyme assays, a significant induction (up to a 57-fold increase in the deethylation of ethoxyresorufin with PAA treatment) and a notable inactivation (up to almost a 90% loss in hydroxylation of p-nitrophenol with all disinfectants, and of testosterone 2beta-hydroxylation with NaClO) was observed in subcellular liver preparations from exposed fish. Using the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy radical-probe technique, we also observed that CYP-modulation was associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, we found a significant increase in MN frequency in circulating erythrocytes after 10 days of exposure of fish to water treated with ClO2, while a non-significant six-fold increase in MN frequency was observed with NaClO, but not with PAA. Our data suggest that the use of ClO2 and NaClO to disinfect drinking water could generate harmful OBP mixtures that are able to perturb CYP-mediated reactions, generate oxidative stress and induce genetic damage. These data may provide a mechanistic explanation for epidemiological studies linking consumption of chlorinated drinking water to increased risk of urinary, gastrointestinal and bladder cancers.

Proteomics/qPCR approach on estimating physical ages of wild male oriental fruit flies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Male fruit flies reared in the laboratory in DKI-PBARC rearing facility in Hilo, Hawaii, were collected and whole insects were run through standard proteomic analysis. An odorant binding protein 99b (OBP) (Bdor0907381) located at molecular weight between 9226 dalton and PI 4.56 was identified throug...

Improved Collision-Detection Method for Robotic Manipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leger, Chris

2003-01-01

An improved method has been devised for the computational prediction of a collision between (1) a robotic manipulator and (2) another part of the robot or an external object in the vicinity of the robot. The method is intended to be used to test commanded manipulator trajectories in advance so that execution of the commands can be stopped before damage is done. The method involves utilization of both (1) mathematical models of the robot and its environment constructed manually prior to operation and (2) similar models constructed automatically from sensory data acquired during operation. The representation of objects in this method is simpler and more efficient (with respect to both computation time and computer memory), relative to the representations used in most prior methods. The present method was developed especially for use on a robotic land vehicle (rover) equipped with a manipulator arm and a vision system that includes stereoscopic electronic cameras. In this method, objects are represented and collisions detected by use of a previously developed technique known in the art as the method of oriented bounding boxes (OBBs). As the name of this technique indicates, an object is represented approximately, for computational purposes, by a box that encloses its outer boundary. Because many parts of a robotic manipulator are cylindrical, the OBB method has been extended in this method to enable the approximate representation of cylindrical parts by use of octagonal or other multiple-OBB assemblies denoted oriented bounding prisms (OBPs), as in the example of Figure 1. Unlike prior methods, the OBB/OBP method does not require any divisions or transcendental functions; this feature leads to greater robustness and numerical accuracy. The OBB/OBP method was selected for incorporation into the present method because it offers the best compromise between accuracy on the one hand and computational efficiency (and thus computational speed) on the other hand.

A mosquito hemolymph odorant-binding protein family member specifically binds juvenile hormone

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

Kim, Il Hwan; Pham, Van; Jablonka, Willy

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key regulator of insect development and reproduction. In adult mosquitoes, it is essential for maturation of the ovary and normal male reproductive behavior, but how JH distribution and activity is regulated after secretion is unclear. Here, we report a new type of specific JH-binding protein, given the name mosquito juvenile hormone-binding protein (mJHBP), which circulates in the hemolymph of pupal and adult Aedes aegypti males and females. mJHBP is a member of the odorant-binding protein (OBP) family, and orthologs are present in the genomes of Aedes, Culex, and Anopheles mosquito species. Using isothermal titration calorimetry,more » we show that mJHBP specifically binds JH II and JH III but not eicosanoids or JH derivatives. mJHBP was crystallized in the presence of JH III and found to have a double OBP domain structure reminiscent of salivary “long” D7 proteins of mosquitoes. We observed that a single JH III molecule is contained in the N-terminal domain binding pocket that is closed in an apparent conformational change by a C-terminal domain-derived α-helix. The electron density for the ligand indicated a high occupancy of the natural 10R enantiomer of JH III. Of note, mJHBP is structurally unrelated to hemolymph JHBP from lepidopteran insects. A low level of expression of mJHBP in Ae. aegypti larvae suggests that it is primarily active during the adult stage where it could potentially influence the effects of JH on egg development, mating behavior, feeding, or other processes.« less

A mosquito hemolymph odorant-binding protein family member specifically binds juvenile hormone.

PubMed

Kim, Il Hwan; Pham, Van; Jablonka, Willy; Goodman, Walter G; Ribeiro, José M C; Andersen, John F

2017-09-15

Juvenile hormone (JH) is a key regulator of insect development and reproduction. In adult mosquitoes, it is essential for maturation of the ovary and normal male reproductive behavior, but how JH distribution and activity is regulated after secretion is unclear. Here, we report a new type of specific JH-binding protein, given the name mosquito juvenile hormone-binding protein (mJHBP), which circulates in the hemolymph of pupal and adult Aedes aegypti males and females. mJHBP is a member of the odorant-binding protein (OBP) family, and orthologs are present in the genomes of Aedes , Culex , and Anopheles mosquito species. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we show that mJHBP specifically binds JH II and JH III but not eicosanoids or JH derivatives. mJHBP was crystallized in the presence of JH III and found to have a double OBP domain structure reminiscent of salivary "long" D7 proteins of mosquitoes. We observed that a single JH III molecule is contained in the N-terminal domain binding pocket that is closed in an apparent conformational change by a C-terminal domain-derived α-helix. The electron density for the ligand indicated a high occupancy of the natural 10 R enantiomer of JH III. Of note, mJHBP is structurally unrelated to hemolymph JHBP from lepidopteran insects. A low level of expression of mJHBP in Ae. aegypti larvae suggests that it is primarily active during the adult stage where it could potentially influence the effects of JH on egg development, mating behavior, feeding, or other processes.

Performance of an autonomously deployable telemetered deep ocean seismic observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Jonathan; Laske, Gabe; Orcutt, John; Babcock, Jeffrey

2016-04-01

We describe a transformative technology that can provide near real-time telemetry of sensor data from the ocean bottom without a moored buoy or a cable to shore. The breakthrough technology that makes this system possible is an autonomous surface vehicle called a Wave Glider developed by Liquid Robotics, which harvests wave and solar energy for motive and electrical power. For navigation, the wave glider is equipped with a small computer, a GPS receiver, a rudder, solar panels and batteries, AIS ship detection receiver, weather station, and an Iridium satellite modem. Wave gliders have demonstrated trans-oceanic range and long-term station keeping capabilities. We present results from several deployments of a prototype system that demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. The system comprises ocean bottom package (OBP) and an ocean surface gateway (OSG). Acoustic communications connect the OBP instruments with OSG while communications between the gateway and land are provided by the Iridium satellite constellation. The most recent deployment of the OBP was off the edge of the Patton Escarpment some 300 km west of San Diego in 4000 m of water. The OSG was launched about 30 km west of San Diego harbor and programmed to navigate to the site of the ocean bottom package. Arriving after 161 hours, the OSG then commenced holding station at the site for the next 68 days. Speeds over-the-ground varied with wind, wave, and surface current conditions but averaged 0.5 m/s while winds varied between 0 m/s and 17 m/s and wave heights between 0.2 m and 5.9 m. Over this period the median total data latency was 260 s and the data loss less that 0.2% when the wave glider was within 1.5 km of the central point. We have also tested a full-scale model of a towable ocean bottom package, which demonstrated that a wave glider could tow and navigate an autonomously deployable ocean bottom package. Taken together, these tests have demonstrated that the concept is viable for long-term deployment as a high-seas seismographic station. The next generation will incorporate a towable OBP and a keel mounted rather than towed acoustic modem on the OSG. The longevity of the bottom package will be limited by its energy supply but at least two years is feasible while telemetering 1 sps data streams continuously plus an average of 1 hour /day of 40 sps data-on-demand. Biofouling is likely to be the limiting factor on the length of operation of a single OSG but a relief unit can be dispatched from a convenient port to take over operations.

Molecular identification and expression patterns of odorant binding protein and chemosensory protein genes in Athetis lepigone (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xiu-Yun; Ma, Ji-Fang; Dong, Zhi-Ping; Xu, Ji-Wei; Kang, Ke

2017-01-01

The olfaction system of insects plays an important role in mediating various physiological behaviors, including locating hosts, avoiding predators, and recognizing mates and oviposition sites. Therefore, some key genes in the system present valuable opportunities as targets for developing novel green pesticides. Athetis lepigone, a noctuid moth can feed on more than 30 different host plants making it a serious polyphagous pest worldwide, and it has become one of the major maize pests in northern China since 2011. However, there are no reports on effective and environmentally friendly pesticides for the control of this pest. In this study, we identified 28 genes encoding putative odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and 20 chemosensory protein (CSPs) genes based on our previous A. lepigone transcriptomic data. A tissue expression investigation and phylogenetic analysis were conducted in an effort to postulate the functions of these genes. Our results show that nearly half (46.4%) of the AlOBPs exhibited antennae-biased expression while many of the AlCSPs were highly abundant in non-antennal tissues. These results will aid in exploring the chemosensory mechanisms of A. lepigone and developing environmentally friendly pesticides against this pest in the future. PMID:28382236

Mechanistic events underlying odorant binding protein chemoreception.

PubMed

Golebiowski, Jérôme; Antonczak, Serge; Fiorucci, Sébastien; Cabrol-Bass, Daniel

2007-05-01

Odorant binding proteins (OBP's) are small hydrophilic proteins, belonging to the lipocalin family dedicated to bind and transport small hydrophobic ligands. Despite many works, the mechanism of ligand binding, together with the functional role of these proteins remains a topic of debate and little is known at the atomic level. The present work reports a computational study of odorants capture and release by an OBP, using both constrained and unconstrained simulations, giving a glimpse on the molecular mechanism of chemoreception. The residues at the origin of the regulation of the protein door opening are identified and a tyrosine amino-acid together with other nearby residues appear to play a crucial role in allowing this event to occur. The simulations reveal that this tyrosine and the protein's L5 loop are implicated in the ligand contact with the protein and act as an anchoring point for the ligand. The protein structural features required for the ligand entry are highly conserved among many transport proteins, suggesting that this mechanism could somewhat be extended to some members of the larger family of lipocalin. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Therapeutic Cell-Cycle-Decoy Efficacy of a Telomerase-Dependent Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Model of Chemotherapy-Resistant Human Stomach Carcinomatosis Peritonitis Visualized With FUCCI Imaging.

PubMed

Yano, Shuya; Takehara, Kiyoto; Tazawa, Hiroshi; Kishimoto, Hiroyuki; Urata, Yasuo; Kagawa, Shunsuke; Fujiwara, Toshiyoshi; Hoffman, Robert M

2017-11-01

We have established an orthotopic nude-mouse model of gastric cancer carcinomatosis peritonitis, a recalcitrant disease in human patients. Human MKN45 poorly-differentiated human gastric cancer cells developed carcinomatosis peritonitis upon orthotopic transplantation in nude mice. The MKN45 cells expressed the fluorescent ubiquitination-based cell cycle indicator (FUCCI) that color codes the phases of the cell cycle. The intra-peritoneal tumors and ascites contained mostly quiescent G 1 /G o cancer cells visualized as red by FUCCI imaging. Cisplatinum (CDDP) treatment did not reduce bloody ascites, and larger tumors formed in the peritoneal cavity after CDDP treatment in an early-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis orthotopic mouse model. Paclitaxel-treated mice had reduced ascites, but also had large tumor masses in the peritonium after treatment with cancer cells mostly in G 0 /G 1 , visualized by FUCCI red. In contrast, OBP-301 telomerase-dependent adenovirus-treated mice had no ascites and only small tumor nodules consisting of cancer cells mostly in S/G 2 phases in the early-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis model, visualized by FUCCI green. Furthermore, OBP-301 significantly reduced the size of tumors (P < 0.01) and ascites even in a late-stage carcinomatosis peritonitis model. These results suggest that quiescent peritoneally-disseminated gastric cancer cells are resistant to conventional chemotherapy, but OBP-301 significantly reduced the weight of the tumors and increased survival, suggesting clinical potential. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 3635-3642, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

HypsIRI On-Board Science Data Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flatley, Tom

2010-01-01

Topics include On-board science data processing, on-board image processing, software upset mitigation, on-board data reduction, on-board 'VSWIR" products, HyspIRI demonstration testbed, and processor comparison.

Coherency Between Volume Transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Southern Hemisphere Winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, Jessica; Chambers, Don; Bonin, Jennifer

2013-04-01

Previous studies have suggested that ocean bottom pressure (OBP) can be used to measure the transport variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). The OBP observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) will be used to calculate transport along the 150°E longitude choke point, between Antarctica and Australia. We will examine whether zonally averaged wind stress, wind stress curl, or local zonal winds are more coherent with zonal mass transport variability. Preliminary studies suggest that seasonal variation in transport across 150°E is more correlated with winds along and north of the northern front of the ACC: the Sub Tropical front (STF). It also appears that interannual variations in transport along 150°E are related to wind variations south of the STF and centered south of the Sub Antarctic Front (SAF). We have observed a strong anti-correlation across the SAF, in the Indian Ocean, which suggests wind stress curl may also be responsible for transport variations. Preliminary results will be presented.

Measuring Zonal Transport Variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Using GRACE Ocean Bottom Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, J.; Chambers, D. P.; Bonin, J. A.

2012-12-01

Previous studies have suggested that ocean bottom pressure (OBP) can be used to measure the transport variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Using OBP data from the JPL ECCO model and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), we examine the zonal transport variability of the ACC integrated between the major fronts between 2003-2010. The JPL ECCO data are used to determine average front positions for the time period studies, as well as where transport is mainly zonal. Statistical analysis will be conducted to determine the uncertainty of the GRACE observations using a simulated data set. We will also begin looking at low frequency changes and how coherent transport variability is from region to region of the ACC. Correlations with bottom pressure south of the ACC and the average basin transports will also be calculated to determine the probability of using bottom pressure south of the ACC as a means for describing the ACC dynamics and transport.

Estimation of Interbasin Transport Using Ocean Bottom Pressure: Theory and Model for Asian Marginal Seas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Song, Y. Tony

2006-01-01

The Asian Marginal Seas are interconnected by a number of narrow straits, such as the Makassar Strait connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Indian Ocean, the Luzon Strait connecting the South China Sea with the Pacific Ocean, and the Korea/Tsushima Strait connecting the East China Sea with the Japan/East Sea. Here we propose a method, the combination of the "geostrophic control" formula of Garrett and Toulany (1982) and the "hydraulic control" theory of Whitehead et al. (1974), allowing the use of satellite-observed sea-surface-height (SSH) and ocean-bottom-pressure (OBP) data for estimating interbasin transport. The new method also allows separating the interbasin transport into surface and bottom fluxes that play an important role in maintaining the mass balance of the regional oceans. Comparison with model results demonstrates that the combined method can estimate the seasonal variability of the strait transports and is significantly better than the method of using SSH or OBP alone.

Identification of Genes Involved in Chemoreception in Plutella xyllostella by Antennal Transcriptome Analysis.

PubMed

Yang, Shiyong; Cao, Depan; Wang, Guirong; Liu, Yang

2017-09-20

Perception of environmental and habitat cues is of significance for insect survival and reproduction. Odor detection in insects is mediated by a number of proteins in antennae such as odorant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), odorant binding proteins (OBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs) and odorant degrading enzymes. In this study, we sequenced and assembled the adult male and female antennal transcriptomes of a destructive agricultural pest, the diamondback moth Plutella xyllostella. In these transcriptomes, we identified transcripts belonging to 6 chemoreception gene families related to ordor detection, including 54 ORs, 16 IRs, 7 gustatory receptors (GRs), 15 CSPs, 24 OBPs and 2 SNMPs. Semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis of expression patterns indicated that some of these ORs and IRs have clear sex-biased and tissue-specific expression patterns. Our results lay the foundation for future characterization of the functions of these P. xyllostella chemosensory receptors at the molecular level and development of novel semiochemicals for integrated control of this agricultural pest.

Global deformation of the Earth, surface mass anomalies, and the geodetic infrastructure required to study these processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusche, J.; Rietbroek, R.; Gunter, B.; Mark-Willem, J.

2008-12-01

Global deformation of the Earth can be linked to loading caused by mass changes in the atmosphere, the ocean and the terrestrial hydrosphere. World-wide geodetic observation systems like GPS, e.g., the global IGS network, can be used to study the global deformation of the Earth directly and, when other effects are properly modeled, provide information regarding the surface loading mass (e.g., to derive geo-center motion estimates). Vice versa, other observing systems that monitor mass change, either through gravitational changes (GRACE) or through a combination of in-situ and modeled quantities (e.g., the atmosphere, ocean or hydrosphere), can provide indirect information on global deformation. In the framework of the German 'Mass transport and mass distribution' program, we estimate surface mass anomalies at spherical harmonic resolution up to degree and order 30 by linking three complementary data sets in a least squares approach. Our estimates include geo-center motion and the thickness of a spatially uniform layer on top of the ocean surface (that is otherwise estimated from surface fluxes, evaporation and precipitation, and river run-off) as a time-series. As with all current Earth observing systems, each dataset has its own limitations and do not realize homogeneous coverage over the globe. To assess the impact that these limitations might have on current and future deformation and loading mass solutions, a sensitivity study was conducted. Simulated real-case and idealized solutions were explored in which the spatial distribution and quality of GPS, GRACE and OBP data sets were varied. The results show that significant improvements, e.g., over the current GRACE monthly gravity fields, in particular at the low degrees, can be achieved when these solutions are combined with present day GPS and OBP products. Our idealized scenarios also provide quantitative implications on how much surface mass change estimates may improve in the future when improved observing systems become available.

GPS water level measurements for Indonesia's Tsunami Early Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schöne, T.; Pandoe, W.; Mudita, I.; Roemer, S.; Illigner, J.; Zech, C.; Galas, R.

2011-03-01

On Boxing Day 2004, a severe tsunami was generated by a strong earthquake in Northern Sumatra causing a large number of casualties. At this time, neither an offshore buoy network was in place to measure tsunami waves, nor a system to disseminate tsunami warnings to local governmental entities. Since then, buoys have been developed by Indonesia and Germany, complemented by NOAA's Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys, and have been moored offshore Sumatra and Java. The suite of sensors for offshore tsunami detection in Indonesia has been advanced by adding GPS technology for water level measurements. The usage of GPS buoys in tsunami warning systems is a relatively new approach. The concept of the German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) (Rudloff et al., 2009) combines GPS technology and ocean bottom pressure (OBP) measurements. Especially for near-field installations where the seismic noise may deteriorate the OBP data, GPS-derived sea level heights provide additional information. The GPS buoy technology is precise enough to detect medium to large tsunamis of amplitudes larger than 10 cm. The analysis presented here suggests that for about 68% of the time, tsunamis larger than 5 cm may be detectable.

Cloning and expression profiling of odorant-binding proteins in the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In insects, the perception and discrimination of odorants requires the involvement of odorant binding proteins (OBPs). To gain a better molecular understanding of olfaction in the agronomic pest, Lygus lineolaris (tarnished plant bug), we used a transcriptomics-based approach to identify potential ...

Bayesian estimation of the discrete coefficient of determination.

PubMed

Chen, Ting; Braga-Neto, Ulisses M

2016-12-01

The discrete coefficient of determination (CoD) measures the nonlinear interaction between discrete predictor and target variables and has had far-reaching applications in Genomic Signal Processing. Previous work has addressed the inference of the discrete CoD using classical parametric and nonparametric approaches. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian framework for the inference of the discrete CoD. We derive analytically the optimal minimum mean-square error (MMSE) CoD estimator, as well as a CoD estimator based on the Optimal Bayesian Predictor (OBP). For the latter estimator, exact expressions for its bias, variance, and root-mean-square (RMS) are given. The accuracy of both Bayesian CoD estimators with non-informative and informative priors, under fixed or random parameters, is studied via analytical and numerical approaches. We also demonstrate the application of the proposed Bayesian approach in the inference of gene regulatory networks, using gene-expression data from a previously published study on metastatic melanoma.

Bioelectronic Nose Using Odorant Binding Protein-Derived Peptide and Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistor for the Assessment of Salmonella Contamination in Food.

PubMed

Son, Manki; Kim, Daesan; Kang, Jinkyung; Lim, Jong Hyun; Lee, Seung Hwan; Ko, Hwi Jin; Hong, Seunghun; Park, Tai Hyun

2016-12-06

Salmonella infection is the one of the major causes of food borne illnesses including fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and nausea. Thus, early detection of Salmonella contamination is important for our healthy life. Conventional detection methods for the food contamination have limitations in sensitivity and rapidity; thus, the early detection has been difficult. Herein, we developed a bioelectronic nose using a carbon nanotube (CNT) field-effect transistor (FET) functionalized with Drosophila odorant binding protein (OBP)-derived peptide for easy and rapid detection of Salmonella contamination in ham. 3-Methyl-1-butanol is known as a specific volatile organic compound, generated from the ham contaminated with Salmonella. We designed and synthesized the peptide based on the sequence of the Drosophila OBP, LUSH, which specifically binds to alcohols. The C-terminus of the synthetic peptide was modified with three phenylalanine residues and directly immobilized onto CNT channels using the π-π interaction. The p-type properties of FET were clearly maintained after the functionalization using the peptide. The biosensor detected 1 fM of 3-methyl-1-butanol with high selectivity and successfully assessed Salmonella contamination in ham. These results indicate that the bioelectronic nose can be used for the rapid detection of Salmonella contamination in food.

Home, automated office, and conventional office blood pressure as predictors of cardiovascular risk.

PubMed

Andreadis, Emmanuel A; Papademetriou, Vasilios; Geladari, Charalampia V; Kolyvas, George N; Angelopoulos, Epameinondas T; Aronis, Konstantinos N

2017-03-01

Automated office blood pressure (AOBP) has recently been shown to closely predict cardiovascular (CV) events in the elderly. Home blood pressure (HBP) has also been accepted as a valuable method in the prediction of CV disease. This study aimed to compare conventional office BP (OBP), HBP, and AOBP in order to evaluate their value in predicting CV events and deaths in hypertensives. We assessed 236 initially treatment naïve hypertensives, examined between 2009 and 2013. The end points were any CV and non-CV event including mortality, myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease, hospitalization for heart failure, severe arrhythmia, stroke, and intermittent claudication. We fitted proportional hazards models using the different modalities as predictors and evaluated their predictive performance using three metrics: time-dependent receiver operating characteristics curves, the Akaike's Information Criterion, and Harrell's C-index. After a mean follow-up of 7 years, 23 participants (39% women) had experienced ≥1 CV event. Conventional office systolic (hazard ratio [HR] per 1 mm Hg increase in BP, 1.028; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.009-1.048), automated office systolic (HR per 1 mm Hg increase in BP, 1.031; 95% CI, 1.008-1.054), and home systolic (HR, 1.025; 95% CI, 1.003-1.047) were predictive of CV events. All systolic BP measurements were predictive after adjustment for other CV risk factors (P < .05). The predictive performance of the different modalities was similar. Conventional OBP was significantly higher than AOBP and average HBP. AOBP predicts equally well to OBP and HBP CV events. It appears to be comparable to HBP in the assessment of CV risk, and therefore, its introduction into guidelines and clinical practice as the reference method for assessing BP in the office seems reasonable after verification of these findings by randomized trials. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Hypertension. All rights reserved.

Binding Properties of General Odorant Binding Proteins from the Oriental Fruit Moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

PubMed Central

Li, Guangwei; Chen, Xiulin; Li, Boliao; Zhang, Guohui; Li, Yiping; Wu, Junxiang

2016-01-01

Background The oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta is a host-switching pest species. The adults highly depend on olfactory cues in locating optimal host plants and oviposition sites. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to be responsible for recognizing and transporting hydrophobic odorants across the aqueous sensillum lymph to stimulate the odorant receptors (ORs) within the antennal sensilla and activate the olfactory signal transduction pathway. Exploring the physiological function of these OBPs could facilitate understanding insect chemical communications. Methodology/Principal Finding Two antennae-specific general OBPs (GOBPs) of G. molesta were expressed and purified in vitro. The binding affinities of G. molesta GOBP1 and 2 (GmolGOBP1 and 2) for sex pheromone components and host plant volatiles were measured by fluorescence ligand-binding assays. The distribution of GmolGOBP1 and 2 in the antennal sensillum were defined by whole mount fluorescence immunohistochemistry (WM-FIHC) experiments. The binding sites of GmolGOBP2 were predicted using homology modeling, molecular docking and site-directed mutagenesis. Both GmolGOBP1 and 2 are housing in sensilla basiconica and with no differences in male and female antennae. Recombinant GmolGOBP1 (rGmolGOBP1) exhibited broad binding properties towards host plant volatiles and sex pheromone components; rGmolGOBP2 could not effectively bind host plant volatiles but showed specific binding affinity with a minor sex pheromone component dodecanol. We chose GmolGOBP2 and dodecanol for further homology modeling, molecular docking, and site-directed mutagenesis. Binding affinities of mutants demonstrated that Thr9 was the key binding site and confirmed dodecanol bonding to protein involves a hydrogen bond. Combined with the pH effect on binding affinities of rGmolGOBP2, ligand binding and release of GmolGOBP2 were related to a pH-dependent conformational transition. Conclusion Two rGmolGOBPs exhibit different binding characteristics for tested ligands. rGmolGOBP1 has dual functions in recognition of host plant volatiles and sex pheromone components, while rGmolGOBP2 is mainly involved in minor sex pheromone component dodecanol perception. This study also provides empirical evidence for the predicted functions of key amino acids in recombinant protein ligand-binding characteristics. PMID:27152703

Antennal transcriptome analysis and comparison of olfactory genes in two sympatric defoliators, Dendrolimus houi and Dendrolimus kikuchii (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae).

PubMed

Zhang, Sufang; Zhang, Zhen; Wang, Hongbin; Kong, Xiangbo

2014-09-01

The Yunnan pine and Simao pine caterpillar moths, Dendrolimus houi Lajonquière and Dendrolimus kikuchii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), are two closely related and sympatric pests of coniferous forests in southwestern China, and olfactory communication systems of these two insects have received considerable attention because of their economic importance. However, there is little information on the molecular aspect of odor detection about these insects. Furthermore, although lepidopteran species have been widely used in studies of insect olfaction, few work made comparison between sister moths on the olfactory recognition mechanisms. In this study, next-generation sequencing of the antennal transcriptome of these two moths were performed to identify the major olfactory genes. After comparing the antennal transcriptome of these two moths, we found that they exhibit highly similar transcripts-associated GO terms. Chemosensory gene families were further analyzed in both species. We identified 23 putative odorant binding proteins (OBP), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSP), two sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMP), 33 odorant receptors (OR), and 10 ionotropic receptors (IR) in D. houi; and 27 putative OBPs, 17 CSPs, two SNMPs, 33 ORs, and nine IRs in D. kikuchii. All these transcripts were full-length or almost full-length. The predicted protein sequences were compared with orthologs in other species of Lepidoptera and model insects, including Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta, Heliothis virescens, Danaus plexippus, Sesamia inferens, Cydia pomonella, and Drosophila melanogaster. The sequence homologies of the orthologous genes in D. houi and D. kikuchii are very high. Furthermore, the olfactory genes were classed according to their expression level, and the highly expressed genes are our target for further function investigation. Interestingly, many highly expressed genes are ortholog gene of D. houi and D. kikuchii. We also found that the Classic OBPs were further separated into three groups according to their motifs, which will help future functional researches. Surprisingly, no pheromone receptor was identified in the two Dendrolimus species, which may indicate a special pheromone identification mechanism in Dendrolimus. Our work allows for further functional studies of pheromones and host volatile recognition genes, and give novel candidate targets for pest management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SAW chirp filter technology for satellite on-board processing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, M. D.; Miller, N. D. J.; Malarky, A. P.; Warne, D. H.

1989-11-01

Market growth in the area of thin route satellite communications services has led to consideration of nontraditional system architectures requiring sophisticated on-board processing functions. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology exists today which can provide implementation of key on-board processing subsystems by using multicarrier demodulators. This paper presents a review of this signal processing technology, along with a brief review of dispersive SAW device technology as applied to the implementation of multicarrier demodulators for on-board signal processing.

The Evolution of Olfactory Gene Families in Drosophila and the Genomic Basis of chemical-Ecological Adaptation in Drosophila suzukii

PubMed Central

Ramasamy, Sukanya; Ometto, Lino; Crava, Cristina M.; Revadi, Santosh; Kaur, Rupinder; Horner, David S.; Pisani, Davide; Dekker, Teun; Anfora, Gianfranco; Rota-Stabelli, Omar

2016-01-01

How the evolution of olfactory genes correlates with adaption to new ecological niches is still a debated topic. We explored this issue in Drosophila suzukii, an emerging model that reproduces on fresh fruit rather than in fermenting substrates like most other Drosophila. We first annotated the repertoire of odorant receptors (ORs), odorant binding proteins (OBPs), and antennal ionotropic receptors (aIRs) in the genomes of two strains of D. suzukii and of its close relative Drosophila biarmipes. We then analyzed these genes on the phylogeny of 14 Drosophila species: whereas ORs and OBPs are characterized by higher turnover rates in some lineages including D. suzukii, aIRs are conserved throughout the genus. Drosophila suzukii is further characterized by a non-random distribution of OR turnover on the gene phylogeny, consistent with a change in selective pressures. In D. suzukii, we found duplications and signs of positive selection in ORs with affinity for short-chain esters, and loss of function of ORs with affinity for volatiles produced during fermentation. These receptors—Or85a and Or22a—are characterized by divergent alleles in the European and American genomes, and we hypothesize that they may have been replaced by some of the duplicated ORs in corresponding neurons, a hypothesis reciprocally confirmed by electrophysiological recordings. Our study quantifies the evolution of olfactory genes in Drosophila and reveals an array of genomic events that can be associated with the ecological adaptations of D. suzukii. PMID:27435796

The internal processes and behavioral dynamics of hospital boards: an exploration of differences between high- and low-performing hospitals.

PubMed

Kane, Nancy M; Clark, Jonathan R; Rivenson, Howard L

2009-01-01

Nonprofit hospital boards are under increasing pressure to improve financial, clinical, and charitable and community benefit performance. Most research on board effectiveness focuses on variables measuring board structure and attributes associated with competing ideal models of board roles. However, the results do not provide clear evidence that one role is superior to another and suggest that in practice boards pursue hybrid roles. Board dynamics and processes have received less attention from researchers, but emerging theoretical frameworks highlight them as key to effective corporate governance. We explored differences in board processes and behavioral dynamics between financially high- and low-performing hospitals, with the goal of developing a better understanding of the best board practices in nonprofit hospitals. A comparative case study approach allowed for in-depth, qualitative assessments of how the internal workings of boards differ between low- and high-performing facilities. Boards of hospitals with strong financial performance exhibited behavioral dynamics and internal processes that differed in important ways from those of hospitals with poor financial performance. Boards need to actively attend to key processes and foster positive group dynamics in decision making to be more effective in governing hospitals.

Biomimetic Chemosensor: Designing Peptide Recognition Elements for Surface Functionalization of Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

Protein from the Honeybee Apis mellifera L. J. Biol. Chem. 2004, 279, 4459– 4464. 12. Mead, J. C. New Scientist 2007, November issue. 13. Inscentinel...of explo- sives and other analytes.12,13 The antennal-specific protein-1 (ASP1), an OBP from honeybee, Apis mel- lifera, contains a C-terminal tail

Libraries as Learning Labs in a Digital Age: A Youth Services Conference in an LIS Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, J. Elizabeth; Campana, Kathleen; Goldsmith, Annette Y.

2017-01-01

In the face of a changing landscape of youth services, LIS education can push the field of librarianship forward by adopting research-based frameworks that are directly applicable to the profession. We combined the Connected Learning framework with Radical Change theory and Outcome-Based Planning and Evaluation (OBPE) to establish the structure…

Board task performance: An exploration of micro- and macro-level determinants of board effectiveness

PubMed Central

Minichilli, Alessandro; Zattoni, Alessandro; Nielsen, Sabina; Huse, Morten

2012-01-01

This paper addresses recent calls to narrow the micro–macro gap in management research (Bamberger, 2008), by incorporating a macro-level context variable (country) in exploring micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Following the integrated model proposed by Forbes and Milliken (1999), we identify three board processes as micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Specifically, we focus on effort norms, cognitive conflicts and the use of knowledge and skills as determinants of board control and advisory task performance. Further, we consider how two different institutional settings influence board tasks, and how the context moderates the relationship between processes and tasks. Our hypotheses are tested on a survey-based dataset of 535 medium-sized and large industrial firms in Italy and Norway, which are considered to substantially differ along legal and cultural dimensions. The findings show that: (i) Board processes have a larger potential than demographic variables to explain board task performance; (ii) board task performance differs significantly between boards operating in different contexts; and (iii) national context moderates the relationships between board processes and board task performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:23365485

Characterization of Chemically Induced Liver Injuries Using Gene Co-Expression Modules

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-16

liver Sod2 Fibrosis/cirrhosis Sod2, Hao2, Sult1e1, Got1, Gulo, Obp3, Bdh1 Necrosis Sod2 Liver neoplasms Sod2, Rgn, Anxa2, Car3, Gstp1 Carcinoma Sod2... Gstp1 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107230.t006 Figure 10. Validation of external datasets. Scatter plots show the correlation of the log-ratios between

High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyon, Jeffrey Y.; Ng, Tak-Kwong; Lin, Bing; Hu, Yongxiang; Harrison, Wallace

2014-01-01

A new development of on-board data processing platform has been in progress at NASA Langley Research Center since April, 2012, and the overall review of such work is presented in this paper. The project is called High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS) and focuses on a high-speed scalable data processing platform for three particular National Research Council's Decadal Survey missions such as Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS), Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystems (ACE), and Doppler Aerosol Wind Lidar (DAWN) 3-D Winds. HOPS utilizes advanced general purpose computing with Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based algorithm implementation techniques. The significance of HOPS is to enable high speed on-board data processing for current and future science missions with its reconfigurable and scalable data processing platform. A single HOPS processing board is expected to provide approximately 66 times faster data processing speed for ASCENDS, more than 70% reduction in both power and weight, and about two orders of cost reduction compared to the state-of-the-art (SOA) on-board data processing system. Such benchmark predictions are based on the data when HOPS was originally proposed in August, 2011. The details of these improvement measures are also presented. The two facets of HOPS development are identifying the most computationally intensive algorithm segments of each mission and implementing them in a FPGA-based data processing board. A general introduction of such facets is also the purpose of this paper.

Investigation into the Educational Process of Cancer Case Conferences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyquist, Julie G.; And Others

1990-01-01

This study investigated the educational process used in tumor boards (cancer case conferences) and whether the process varied based on type of board, frequency of meetings, and presence or absence of residency training programs in the hospital. These data were collected through observation of 715 board sessions of 37 hospitals and 43 tumor boards.…

Application of advanced on-board processing concepts to future satellite communications systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, J. L.; Hoffman, M.; Kota, S. L.; Ruddy, J. M.; White, B. F.

1979-01-01

An initial definition of on-board processing requirements for an advanced satellite communications system to service domestic markets in the 1990's is presented. An exemplar system architecture with both RF on-board switching and demodulation/remodulation baseband processing was used to identify important issues related to system implementation, cost, and technology development.

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

Calvo, Eric; Mans, Ben J.; Ribeiro, José M.C.

The mosquito D7 salivary proteins are encoded by a multigene family related to the arthropod odorant-binding protein (OBP) superfamily. Forms having either one or two OBP domains are found in mosquito saliva. Four single-domain and one two-domain D7 proteins from Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti (AeD7), respectively, were shown to bind biogenic amines with high affinity and with a stoichiometry of one ligand per protein molecule. Sequence comparisons indicated that only the C-terminal domain of AeD7 is homologous to the single-domain proteins from A. gambiae, suggesting that the N-terminal domain may bind a different class of ligands. Here, we describemore » the 3D structure of AeD7 and examine the ligand-binding characteristics of the N- and C-terminal domains. Isothermal titration calorimetry and ligand complex crystal structures show that the N-terminal domain binds cysteinyl leukotrienes (cysLTs) with high affinities (50-60 nM) whereas the C-terminal domain binds biogenic amines. The lipid chain of the cysLT binds in a hydrophobic pocket of the N-terminal domain, whereas binding of norepinephrine leads to an ordering of the C-terminal portion of the C-terminal domain into an alpha-helix that, along with rotations of Arg-176 and Glu-268 side chains, acts to bury the bound ligand.« less

Integrated transcriptome sequencing and dynamic analysis reveal carbon source partitioning between terpenoid and oil accumulation in developing Lindera glauca fruits.

PubMed

Niu, Jun; Chen, Yinlei; An, Jiyong; Hou, Xinyu; Cai, Jian; Wang, Jia; Zhang, Zhixiang; Lin, Shanzhi

2015-10-08

Lindera glauca fruits (LGF) with the abundance of terpenoid and oil has emerged as a novel specific material for industrial and medicinal application in China, but the complex regulatory mechanisms of carbon source partitioning into terpenoid biosynthetic pathway (TBP) and oil biosynthetic pathway (OBP) in developing LGF is still unknown. Here we perform the analysis of contents and compositions of terpenoid and oil from 7 stages of developing LGF to characterize a dramatic difference in temporal accumulative patterns. The resulting 3 crucial samples at 50, 125 and 150 days after flowering (DAF) were selected for comparative deep transcriptome analysis. By Illumina sequencing, the obtained approximately 81 million reads are assembled into 69,160 unigenes, among which 174, 71, 81 and 155 unigenes are implicated in glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), TBP and OBP, respectively. Integrated differential expression profiling and qRT-PCR, we specifically characterize the key enzymes and transcription factors (TFs) involved in regulating carbon allocation ratios for terpenoid or oil accumulation in developing LGF. These results contribute to our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of carbon source partitioning between terpenoid and oil in developing LGF, and to the improvement of resource utilization and molecular breeding for L. glauca.

Using ocean bottom pressure from the gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE) to estimate transport variability in the southern Indian Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, Jessica K.; Chambers, Don P.; Bonin, Jennifer A.

2015-06-01

Previous studies have suggested that ocean bottom pressure (OBP) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) can be used to measure the depth-averaged, or barotropic, transport variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Here, we use GRACE OBP observations to calculate transport variability in a region of the southern Indian Ocean encompassing the major fronts of the ACC. We use a statistical analysis of a simulated GRACE-like data set to determine the uncertainty of the estimated transport for the 2003.0-2013.0 time period. We find that when the transport is averaged over 60° of longitude, the uncertainty (one standard error) is close to 1 Sv (1 Sv = 106 m3 s-1) for low-pass filtered transport, which is significantly smaller than the signal and lower than previous studies have found. The interannual variability is correlated with the Southern Annual mode (SAM) (0.61), but more highly correlated with circumpolar zonally averaged winds between 45°S and 65°S (0.88). GRACE transport reflects significant changes in transport between 2007 and 2009 that is observed in the zonal wind variations but not in the SAM index. We also find a statistically significant trend in transport (-1.0 ± 0.4 Sv yr-1, 90% confidence) that is correlated with a local deceleration in zonal winds related to an asymmetry in the SAM on multidecadal periods.

Proteomic analysis of chemosensory organs in the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor: A comprehensive examination of the potential carriers for semiochemicals.

PubMed

Iovinella, Immacolata; McAfee, Alison; Mastrobuoni, Guido; Kempa, Stefan; Foster, Leonard J; Pelosi, Paolo; Dani, Francesca Romana

2018-06-15

We have performed a proteomic analysis on chemosensory organs of Varroa destructor, the honey bee mite, in order to identify putative soluble carriers for pheromones and other olfactory cues emitted by the host. In particular, we have analysed forelegs, mouthparts (palps, chelicera and hypostome) and the second pair of legs (as control tissue) in reproductive and phoretic stages of the Varroa life cycle. We identified 958 Varroa proteins, most of them common to the different organs and stages. Sequence analysis shows that four proteins can be assigned to the odorant-binding protein (OBP)-like class, which bear some similarity to insect OBPs, but so far have only been reported in some Chelicerata. In addition, we have detected the presence of two proteins belonging to the Niemann-Pick family, type C2 (NPC2), which have also been suggested as semiochemical carriers. Biological significance: The mite Varroa destructor is the major parasite of the honey bee and is responsible for great economical losses. The biochemical tools used by Varroa to detect semiochemicals produced by the host are still largely unknown. This work contributes to understand the molecular basis of olfaction in Varroa and, more generally, how detection of semiochemicals has evolved in terrestrial non-hexapod Arthropoda. Moreover, the identification of molecular carriers involved in olfaction can contribute to the development of control strategies for this important parasite. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Community analysis of plant biomass-degrading microorganisms from Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park.

PubMed

Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D; Podar, Mircea; Mosher, Jennifer J; Palumbo, Anthony V; Phelps, Tommy J; Keller, Martin; Elkins, James G

2015-02-01

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels can potentially be improved by employing robust microorganisms and enzymes that efficiently deconstruct plant polysaccharides at elevated temperatures. Many of the geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) are surrounded by vegetation providing a source of allochthonic material to support heterotrophic microbial communities adapted to utilize plant biomass as a primary carbon and energy source. In this study, a well-known hot spring environment, Obsidian Pool (OBP), was examined for potential biomass-active microorganisms using cultivation-independent and enrichment techniques. Analysis of 33,684 archaeal and 43,784 bacterial quality-filtered 16S rRNA gene pyrosequences revealed that archaeal diversity in the main pool was higher than bacterial; however, in the vegetated area, overall bacterial diversity was significantly higher. Of notable interest was a flooded depression adjacent to OBP supporting a stand of Juncus tweedyi, a heat-tolerant rush commonly found growing near geothermal features in YNP. The microbial community from heated sediments surrounding the plants was enriched in members of the Firmicutes including potentially (hemi)cellulolytic bacteria from the genera Clostridium, Anaerobacter, Caloramator, Caldicellulosiruptor, and Thermoanaerobacter. Enrichment cultures containing model and real biomass substrates were established at a wide range of temperatures (55-85 °C). Microbial activity was observed up to 80 °C on all substrates including Avicel, xylan, switchgrass, and Populus sp. Independent of substrate, Caloramator was enriched at lower (<65 °C) temperatures while highly active cellulolytic bacteria Caldicellulosiruptor were dominant at high (>65 °C) temperatures.

Perception of noxious compounds by contact chemoreceptors of the blowfly, Phormia regina: putative role of an odorant-bindingpProtein.

PubMed

Ozaki, Mamiko; Takahara, Teruhiko; Kawahara, Yasuhiro; Wada-Katsumata, Ayako; Seno, Keiji; Amakawa, Taisaku; Yamaoka, Ryohei; Nakamura, Tadashi

2003-05-01

The blowfly, Phormia regina, has sensilla with four contact-chemoreceptor cells and one mechanoreceptor cell on its labellum. Three of the four chemoreceptor cells are called the sugar, the salt and the water receptor cells, respectively. However, the specificity of the remaining chemoreceptor cell, traditionally called the "fifth cell", has not yet been clarified. Referring to behavioral evaluation of the oral toxicity of monoterpenes, we measured the electrophysiological response of the "fifth cell" to these compounds. Of all the monoterpenes examined, D-limonene exhibited the strongest oral toxicity and induced the severest aversive behavior with vomiting and/or excretion in the fly. D-Limonene, when dispersed in an aqueous stimulus solution including dimethyl sulfoxide or an odorant-binding protein (OBP) found in the contact-chemoreceptor sensillum, the chemical sense-related lipophilic ligand-binding protein (CRLBP), evoked impulses from the "fifth cell". Considering the relationship between the aversive effects of monoterpenes and the response of the "fifth cell" to these effects, we propose that the "fifth cell" is a warning cell that has been differentiated as a taste system for detecting and avoiding dangerous foods. Here we suggest that in the insect contact-chemoreceptor sensillum, CRLBP carries lipophilic members of the noxious taste substances to the "fifth cell" through the aqueous sensillum lymph. This insect OBP may functionally be analogous to the von Ebner's grand protein in taste organs of mammals.

On-Board Mining in the Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, S.; Conover, H.; Graves, S.; Ramachandran, R.; Rushing, J.

2004-12-01

On-board data mining can contribute to many research and engineering applications, including natural hazard detection and prediction, intelligent sensor control, and the generation of customized data products for direct distribution to users. The ability to mine sensor data in real time can also be a critical component of autonomous operations, supporting deep space missions, unmanned aerial and ground-based vehicles (UAVs, UGVs), and a wide range of sensor meshes, webs and grids. On-board processing is expected to play a significant role in the next generation of NASA, Homeland Security, Department of Defense and civilian programs, providing for greater flexibility and versatility in measurements of physical systems. In addition, the use of UAV and UGV systems is increasing in military, emergency response and industrial applications. As research into the autonomy of these vehicles progresses, especially in fleet or web configurations, the applicability of on-board data mining is expected to increase significantly. Data mining in real time on board sensor platforms presents unique challenges. Most notably, the data to be mined is a continuous stream, rather than a fixed store such as a database. This means that the data mining algorithms must be modified to make only a single pass through the data. In addition, the on-board environment requires real time processing with limited computing resources, thus the algorithms must use fixed and relatively small amounts of processing time and memory. The University of Alabama in Huntsville is developing an innovative processing framework for the on-board data and information environment. The Environment for On-Board Processing (EVE) and the Adaptive On-board Data Processing (AODP) projects serve as proofs-of-concept of advanced information systems for remote sensing platforms. The EVE real-time processing infrastructure will upload, schedule and control the execution of processing plans on board remote sensors. These plans provide capabilities for autonomous data mining, classification and feature extraction using both streaming and buffered data sources. A ground-based testbed provides a heterogeneous, embedded hardware and software environment representing both space-based and ground-based sensor platforms, including wireless sensor mesh architectures. The AODP project explores the EVE concepts in the world of sensor-networks, including ad-hoc networks of small sensor platforms.

Transcriptome analysis in different developmental stages of Batocera horsfieldi (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and comparison of candidate olfactory genes

PubMed Central

Yang, Wei; Yang, Chunping; Zhang, Jin; Yang, Yang; Wang, Baoxin; Guan, Fengrong

2018-01-01

The white-striped longhorn beetle Batocera horsfieldi (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a polyphagous wood-boring pest that causes substantial damage to the lumber industry. Moreover olfactory proteins are crucial components to function in related processes, but the B. horsfieldi genome is not readily available for olfactory proteins analysis. In the present study, developmental transcriptomes of larvae from the first instar to the prepupal stage, pupae, and adults (females and males) from emergence to mating were built by RNA sequencing to establish a genetic background that may help understand olfactory genes. Approximately 199 million clean reads were obtained and assembled into 171,664 transcripts, which were classified into 23,380, 26,511, 22,393, 30,270, and 87, 732 unigenes for larvae, pupae, females, males, and combined datasets, respectively. The unigenes were annotated against NCBI’s non-redundant nucleotide and protein sequences, Swiss-Prot, Gene Ontology (GO), Pfam, Clusters of Eukaryotic Orthologous Groups (KOG), and KEGG Orthology (KO) databases. A total of 43,197 unigenes were annotated into 55 sub-categories under the three main GO categories; 25,237 unigenes were classified into 26 functional KOG categories, and 25,814 unigenes were classified into five functional KEGG Pathway categories. RSEM software identified 2,983, 3,097, 870, 2,437, 5,161, and 2,882 genes that were differentially expressed between larvae and males, larvae and pupae, larvae and females, males and females, males and pupae, and females and pupae, respectively. Among them, genes encoding seven candidate odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and three chemosensory proteins (CSPs) were identified. RT-PCR and RT-qPCR analyses showed that BhorOBP3, BhorCSP2, and BhorOBPC1/C3/C4 were highly expressed in the antenna of males, indicating these genes may may play key roles in foraging and host-orientation in B. horsfieldi. Our results provide valuable molecular information about the olfactory system in B. horsfieldi and will help guide future functional studies on olfactory genes. PMID:29474419

Advanced Hybrid On-Board Science Data Processor - SpaceCube 2.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flatley, Tom

2010-01-01

Topics include an overview of On-board science data processing, software upset mitigation, on-board data reduction, on-board products, HyspIRI demonstration testbed, SpaceCube 2.0 block diagram, and processor comparison.

The SpaceCube Family of Hybrid On-Board Science Data Processors: An Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flatley, T.

2012-12-01

SpaceCube is an FPGA based on-board hybrid science data processing system developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The goal of the SpaceCube program is to provide 10x to 100x improvements in on-board computing power while lowering relative power consumption and cost. The SpaceCube design strategy incorporates commercial rad-tolerant FPGA technology and couples it with an upset mitigation software architecture to provide "order of magnitude" improvements in computing power over traditional rad-hard flight systems. Many of the missions proposed in the Earth Science Decadal Survey (ESDS) will require "next generation" on-board processing capabilities to meet their specified mission goals. Advanced laser altimeter, radar, lidar and hyper-spectral instruments are proposed for at least ten of the ESDS missions, and all of these instrument systems will require advanced on-board processing capabilities to facilitate the timely conversion of Earth Science data into Earth Science information. Both an "order of magnitude" increase in processing power and the ability to "reconfigure on the fly" are required to implement algorithms that detect and react to events, to produce data products on-board for applications such as direct downlink, quick look, and "first responder" real-time awareness, to enable "sensor web" multi-platform collaboration, and to perform on-board "lossless" data reduction by migrating typical ground-based processing functions on-board, thus reducing on-board storage and downlink requirements. This presentation will highlight a number of SpaceCube technology developments to date and describe current and future efforts, including the collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense - Space Test Program (DoD/STP) on the STP-H4 ISS experiment pallet (launch June 2013) that will demonstrate SpaceCube 2.0 technology on-orbit.; ;

National Labor Relations Board: Action Needed to Improve Case-Processing Time at Headquarters

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

Board more than 2 years. The Board agreed with the report regarding (1) the disruptive impact of Board-member turnover and vacancies, (2) Board...establish) and the impact of lead case delays were signifi- cant factors that warrant the extent of discussion in the report. ’’A Staff Report on the...of course, too early to evaluate the final impact of the Draft Report’s recommendations on action needed to improve case-processing time at the five

The Evolution of Olfactory Gene Families in Drosophila and the Genomic Basis of chemical-Ecological Adaptation in Drosophila suzukii.

PubMed

Ramasamy, Sukanya; Ometto, Lino; Crava, Cristina M; Revadi, Santosh; Kaur, Rupinder; Horner, David S; Pisani, Davide; Dekker, Teun; Anfora, Gianfranco; Rota-Stabelli, Omar

2016-08-16

How the evolution of olfactory genes correlates with adaption to new ecological niches is still a debated topic. We explored this issue in Drosophila suzukii, an emerging model that reproduces on fresh fruit rather than in fermenting substrates like most other Drosophila We first annotated the repertoire of odorant receptors (ORs), odorant binding proteins (OBPs), and antennal ionotropic receptors (aIRs) in the genomes of two strains of D. suzukii and of its close relative Drosophila biarmipes We then analyzed these genes on the phylogeny of 14 Drosophila species: whereas ORs and OBPs are characterized by higher turnover rates in some lineages including D. suzukii, aIRs are conserved throughout the genus. Drosophila suzukii is further characterized by a non-random distribution of OR turnover on the gene phylogeny, consistent with a change in selective pressures. In D. suzukii, we found duplications and signs of positive selection in ORs with affinity for short-chain esters, and loss of function of ORs with affinity for volatiles produced during fermentation. These receptors-Or85a and Or22a-are characterized by divergent alleles in the European and American genomes, and we hypothesize that they may have been replaced by some of the duplicated ORs in corresponding neurons, a hypothesis reciprocally confirmed by electrophysiological recordings. Our study quantifies the evolution of olfactory genes in Drosophila and reveals an array of genomic events that can be associated with the ecological adaptations of D. suzukii. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Can we observe the fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current using GRACE OBP?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makowski, J.; Chambers, D. P.; Bonin, J. A.

2014-12-01

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the Southern Ocean remains one of the most undersampled regions of the world's oceans. The ACC is comprised of four major fronts: the Sub-Tropical Front (STF), the Polar Front (PF), the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF), and the Southern ACC Front (SACCF). These were initially observed individually from repeat hydrographic sections and their approximate locations globally have been quantified using all available temperature data from the World Ocean and Climate Experiment (WOCE). More recent studies based on satellite altimetry have found that the front positions are more dynamic and have shifted south by up to 1° on average since 1993. Using ocean bottom pressure (OBP) data from the current Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) we have measured integrated transport variability of the ACC south of Australia. However, differentiation of variability of specific fronts has been impossible due to the necessary smoothing required to reduce noise and correlated errors in the measurements. The future GRACE Follow-on (GFO) mission and the post 2020 GRACE-II mission are expected to produce higher resolution gravity fields with a monthly temporal resolution. Here, we study the resolution and error characteristics of GRACE gravity data that would be required to resolve variations in the front locations and transport. To do this, we utilize output from a high-resolution model of the Southern Ocean, hydrology models, and ice sheet surface mass balance models; add various amounts of random and correlated errors that may be expected from GFO and GRACE-II; and quantify requirements needed for future satellite gravity missions to resolve variations along the ACC fronts.

Turning Schools Around: The National Board Certification Process as a School Improvement Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquith, Ann; Snyder, Jon

2016-01-01

Can the National Board certification process support school improvement where large proportions of students score below grade level on standardized tests? This SCOPE study examines a project that sought to seize and capitalize upon the learning opportunities embedded in the National Board certification process, particularly opportunities to learn…

Turning Schools Around: The National Board Certification Process as a School Improvement Strategy. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquith, Ann; Snyder, Jon

2016-01-01

Can the National Board certification process support school improvement where large proportions of students score below grade level on standardized tests? This SCOPE study examines a project that sought to seize and capitalize upon the learning opportunities embedded in the National Board certification process, particularly opportunities to learn…

Method and system for environmentally adaptive fault tolerant computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Copenhaver, Jason L. (Inventor); Jeremy, Ramos (Inventor); Wolfe, Jeffrey M. (Inventor); Brenner, Dean (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A method and system for adapting fault tolerant computing. The method includes the steps of measuring an environmental condition representative of an environment. An on-board processing system's sensitivity to the measured environmental condition is measured. It is determined whether to reconfigure a fault tolerance of the on-board processing system based in part on the measured environmental condition. The fault tolerance of the on-board processing system may be reconfigured based in part on the measured environmental condition.

Spacecube: A Family of Reconfigurable Hybrid On-Board Science Data Processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flatley, Thomas P.

2015-01-01

SpaceCube is a family of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based on-board science data processing systems developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The goal of the SpaceCube program is to provide 10x to 100x improvements in on-board computing power while lowering relative power consumption and cost. SpaceCube is based on the Xilinx Virtex family of FPGAs, which include processor, FPGA logic and digital signal processing (DSP) resources. These processing elements are leveraged to produce a hybrid science data processing platform that accelerates the execution of algorithms by distributing computational functions to the most suitable elements. This approach enables the implementation of complex on-board functions that were previously limited to ground based systems, such as on-board product generation, data reduction, calibration, classification, eventfeature detection, data mining and real-time autonomous operations. The system is fully reconfigurable in flight, including data parameters, software and FPGA logic, through either ground commanding or autonomously in response to detected eventsfeatures in the instrument data stream.

Identification and Expression Profiles of Sex Pheromone Biosynthesis and Transport Related Genes in Spodoptera litura

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ya-Nan; Zhu, Xiu-Yun; Fang, Li-Ping; He, Peng; Wang, Zhi-Qiang; Chen, Geng; Sun, Liang; Ye, Zhan-Feng; Deng, Dao-Gui; Li, Jin-Bu

2015-01-01

Although the general pathway of sex pheromone synthesis in moth species has been established, the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. The common cutworm Spodoptera litura is an important agricultural pest worldwide and causes huge economic losses annually. The female sex pheromone of S. litura comprises Z9,E11-14:OAc, Z9,E12-14:OAc, Z9-14:OAc, and E11-14:OAc. By sequencing and analyzing the transcriptomic data of the sex pheromone glands, we identified 94 candidate genes related to pheromone biosynthesis (55 genes) or chemoreception (39 genes). Gene expression patterns and phylogenetic analysis revealed that two desaturase genes (SlitDes5 and SlitDes11) and one fatty acyl reductase gene (SlitFAR3) showed pheromone gland (PG) biased or specific expression, and clustered with genes known to be involved in pheromone synthesis in other moth species. Furthermore, 4 chemoreception related genes (SlitOBP6, SlitOBP11, SlitCSP3, and SlitCSP14) also showed higher expression in the PG, and could be additional candidate genes involved in sex pheromone transport. This study provides the first solid background information that should facilitate further elucidation of sex pheromone biosynthesis and transport, and indicates potential targets to disrupt sexual communication in S. litura for a novel pest management strategy. PMID:26445454

Community analysis of plant biomass-degrading microorganisms from Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park

DOE PAGES

Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A.; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D.; Podar, Mircea; ...

2014-10-16

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels can potentially be improved by employing robust microorganisms and enzymes that efficiently deconstruct plant polysaccharides at elevated temperatures. Many of the geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) are surrounded by vegetation providing a source of allochthonic material to support heterotrophic microbial communities adapted to utilize plant biomass as a primary carbon and energy source. In this paper, a well-known hot spring environment, Obsidian Pool (OBP), was examined for potential biomass-active microorganisms using cultivation-independent and enrichment techniques. Analysis of 33,684 archaeal and 43,784 bacterial quality-filtered 16S rRNA gene pyrosequences revealed that archaeal diversitymore » in the main pool was higher than bacterial; however, in the vegetated area, overall bacterial diversity was significantly higher. Of notable interest was a flooded depression adjacent to OBP supporting a stand of Juncus tweedyi, a heat-tolerant rush commonly found growing near geothermal features in YNP. The microbial community from heated sediments surrounding the plants was enriched in members of the Firmicutes including potentially (hemi)cellulolytic bacteria from the genera Clostridium, Anaerobacter, Caloramator, Caldicellulosiruptor, and Thermoanaerobacter. Enrichment cultures containing model and real biomass substrates were established at a wide range of temperatures (55–85 °C). Microbial activity was observed up to 80 °C on all substrates including Avicel, xylan, switchgrass, and Populus sp. Finally, independent of substrate, Caloramator was enriched at lower (<65 °C) temperatures while highly active cellulolytic bacteria Caldicellulosiruptor were dominant at high (>65 °C) temperatures.« less

Transcriptomes of Mouse Olfactory Epithelium Reveal Sexual Differences in Odorant Detection

PubMed Central

Shiao, Meng-Shin; Chang, Andrew Ying-Fei; Liao, Ben-Yang; Ching, Yung-Hao; Lu, Mei-Yeh Jade; Chen, Stella Maris; Li, Wen-Hsiung

2012-01-01

To sense numerous odorants and chemicals, animals have evolved a large number of olfactory receptor genes (Olfrs) in their genome. In particular, the house mouse has ∼1,100 genes in the Olfr gene family. This makes the mouse a good model organism to study Olfr genes and olfaction-related genes. To date, whether male and female mice possess the same ability in detecting environmental odorants is still unknown. Using the next generation sequencing technology (paired-end mRNA-seq), we detected 1,088 expressed Olfr genes in both male and female olfactory epithelium. We found that not only Olfr genes but also odorant-binding protein (Obp) genes have evolved rapidly in the mouse lineage. Interestingly, Olfr genes tend to express at a higher level in males than in females, whereas the Obp genes clustered on the X chromosome show the opposite trend. These observations may imply a more efficient odorant-transporting system in females, whereas a more active Olfr gene expressing system in males. In addition, we detected the expression of two genes encoding major urinary proteins, which have been proposed to bind and transport pheromones or act as pheromones in mouse urine. This observation suggests a role of main olfactory system (MOS) in pheromone detection, contrary to the view that only accessory olfactory system (AOS) is involved in pheromone detection. This study suggests the sexual differences in detecting environmental odorants in MOS and demonstrates that mRNA-seq provides a powerful tool for detecting genes with low expression levels and with high sequence similarities. PMID:22511034

Community analysis of plant biomass-degrading microorganisms from Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park

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

Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A.; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D.; Podar, Mircea

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels can potentially be improved by employing robust microorganisms and enzymes that efficiently deconstruct plant polysaccharides at elevated temperatures. Many of the geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) are surrounded by vegetation providing a source of allochthonic material to support heterotrophic microbial communities adapted to utilize plant biomass as a primary carbon and energy source. In this paper, a well-known hot spring environment, Obsidian Pool (OBP), was examined for potential biomass-active microorganisms using cultivation-independent and enrichment techniques. Analysis of 33,684 archaeal and 43,784 bacterial quality-filtered 16S rRNA gene pyrosequences revealed that archaeal diversitymore » in the main pool was higher than bacterial; however, in the vegetated area, overall bacterial diversity was significantly higher. Of notable interest was a flooded depression adjacent to OBP supporting a stand of Juncus tweedyi, a heat-tolerant rush commonly found growing near geothermal features in YNP. The microbial community from heated sediments surrounding the plants was enriched in members of the Firmicutes including potentially (hemi)cellulolytic bacteria from the genera Clostridium, Anaerobacter, Caloramator, Caldicellulosiruptor, and Thermoanaerobacter. Enrichment cultures containing model and real biomass substrates were established at a wide range of temperatures (55–85 °C). Microbial activity was observed up to 80 °C on all substrates including Avicel, xylan, switchgrass, and Populus sp. Finally, independent of substrate, Caloramator was enriched at lower (<65 °C) temperatures while highly active cellulolytic bacteria Caldicellulosiruptor were dominant at high (>65 °C) temperatures.« less

Extensive circadian and light regulation of the transcriptome in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Mosquitoes exhibit 24 hr rhythms in flight activity, feeding, reproduction and development. To better understand the molecular basis for these rhythms in the nocturnal malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, we have utilized microarray analysis on time-of-day specific collections of mosquitoes over 48 hr to explore the coregulation of gene expression rhythms by the circadian clock and light, and compare these with the 24 hr rhythmic gene expression in the diurnal Aedes aegypti dengue vector mosquito. Results In time courses from An. gambiae head and body collected under light:dark cycle (LD) and constant dark (DD) conditions, we applied three algorithms that detect sinusoidal patterns and an algorithm that detects spikes in expression. This revealed across four experimental conditions 393 probes newly scored as rhythmic. These genes correspond to functions such as metabolic detoxification, immunity and nutrient sensing. This includes glutathione S-transferase GSTE5, whose expression pattern and chromosomal location are shared with other genes, suggesting shared chromosomal regulation; and pulsatile expression of the gene encoding CYP6M2, a cytochrome P450 that metabolizes pyrethroid insecticides. We explored the interaction of light and the circadian clock and highlight the regulation of odorant binding proteins (OBPs), important components of the olfactory system. We reveal that OBPs have unique expression patterns as mosquitoes make the transition from LD to DD conditions. We compared rhythmic expression between An. gambiae and Ae. aegypti heads collected under LD conditions using a single cosine fitting algorithm, and report distinct similarities and differences in the temporal regulation of genes involved in tRNA priming, the vesicular-type ATPase, olfaction and vision between the two species. Conclusions These data build on our previous analyses of time-of-day specific regulation of the An. gambiae transcriptome to reveal additional rhythmic genes, an improved understanding of the co-regulation of rhythms in gene expression by the circadian clock and by light, and an understanding of the time-of-day specific regulation of some of these rhythmic processes in comparison with a different species of mosquito. Improved understanding of biological timing at the molecular level that underlies key physiological aspects of mosquito vectors may prove to be important to successful implementation of established and novel insect control methods. PMID:23552056

Evaluation of Algorithms for Compressing Hyperspectral Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Sid; Harsanyi, Joseph; Faber, Vance

2003-01-01

With EO-1 Hyperion in orbit NASA is showing their continued commitment to hyperspectral imaging (HSI). As HSI sensor technology continues to mature, the ever-increasing amounts of sensor data generated will result in a need for more cost effective communication and data handling systems. Lockheed Martin, with considerable experience in spacecraft design and developing special purpose onboard processors, has teamed with Applied Signal & Image Technology (ASIT), who has an extensive heritage in HSI spectral compression and Mapping Science (MSI) for JPEG 2000 spatial compression expertise, to develop a real-time and intelligent onboard processing (OBP) system to reduce HSI sensor downlink requirements. Our goal is to reduce the downlink requirement by a factor > 100, while retaining the necessary spectral and spatial fidelity of the sensor data needed to satisfy the many science, military, and intelligence goals of these systems. Our compression algorithms leverage commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) spectral and spatial exploitation algorithms. We are currently in the process of evaluating these compression algorithms using statistical analysis and NASA scientists. We are also developing special purpose processors for executing these algorithms onboard a spacecraft.

36 CFR 222.11 - Grazing advisory boards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... such boards, the area to be covered, and the number of advisers on each board. (3) Processing Petitions... permittees are nominated and board members are elected. Nominations will be made by petition with all term...

A Research Guide on National Board Certification[R] of Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 2007

2007-01-01

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards[R] (NBPTS) has always welcomed scrutiny of the National Board Certification[R] process and the impact that National Board Certified Teachers[R] (NBCTs) have on teaching and learning. As a result, in the 20 years since NBPTS was founded, National Board Certification has become one of the most…

Systemwide board assessment.

PubMed

Hafertepe, E C

1987-01-01

The Sisters of Charity Health Care System (SCHCS), Inc., Cincinnati, undertook a systemwide board evaluation project to support and enhance effective aspects of governance and to deal with obstacles that often arise due to differing beliefs and role confusion. A task force of chief executive officers developed the questionnaire, which was then administered to members of individual facilities' boards and the system's board. The documented highlighted value issues important to SCHCS's ministry and business activities: overall board responsibilities, financial responsibilities, strategic planning, the board's role, committee structures, the board's operating process, board education, and overall board effectiveness. The responses from each member were returned to the local boards, who analyzed them and developed an action plan. A summary of each facility's responses and action plans were forwarded to the system's corporate office. The CEO committee critiqued the process and reported on significant issues and action plans. In general, survey results revealed a strong influence of mission and philosophy in decision making, support for current processes, and effective interaction among board members. The system's corporate office will use the responses to respond to a dynamic environment and strengthen their role in the delivery of Catholic health care services.

Intelligent On-Board Processing in the Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, S.

2005-12-01

Most existing sensing systems are designed as passive, independent observers. They are rarely aware of the phenomena they observe, and are even less likely to be aware of what other sensors are observing within the same environment. Increasingly, intelligent processing of sensor data is taking place in real-time, using computing resources on-board the sensor or the platform itself. One can imagine a sensor network consisting of intelligent and autonomous space-borne, airborne, and ground-based sensors. These sensors will act independently of one another, yet each will be capable of both publishing and receiving sensor information, observations, and alerts among other sensors in the network. Furthermore, these sensors will be capable of acting upon this information, perhaps altering acquisition properties of their instruments, changing the location of their platform, or updating processing strategies for their own observations to provide responsive information or additional alerts. Such autonomous and intelligent sensor networking capabilities provide significant benefits for collections of heterogeneous sensors within any environment. They are crucial for multi-sensor observations and surveillance, where real-time communication with external components and users may be inhibited, and the environment may be hostile. In all environments, mission automation and communication capabilities among disparate sensors will enable quicker response to interesting, rare, or unexpected events. Additionally, an intelligent network of heterogeneous sensors provides the advantage that all of the sensors can benefit from the unique capabilities of each sensor in the network. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is developing a unique approach to data processing, integration and mining through the use of the Adaptive On-Board Data Processing (AODP) framework. AODP is a key foundation technology for autonomous internetworking capabilities to support situational awareness by sensors and their on-board processes. The two primary research areas for this project are (1) the on-board processing and communications framework itself, and (2) data mining algorithms targeted to the needs and constraints of the on-board environment. The team is leveraging its experience in on-board processing, data mining, custom data processing, and sensor network design. Several unique UAH-developed technologies are employed in the AODP project, including EVE, an EnVironmEnt for on-board processing, and the data mining tools included in the Algorithm Development and Mining (ADaM) toolkit.

On-Board, Real-Time Preprocessing System for Optical Remote-Sensing Imagery

PubMed Central

Qi, Baogui; Zhuang, Yin; Chen, He; Chen, Liang

2018-01-01

With the development of remote-sensing technology, optical remote-sensing imagery processing has played an important role in many application fields, such as geological exploration and natural disaster prevention. However, relative radiation correction and geometric correction are key steps in preprocessing because raw image data without preprocessing will cause poor performance during application. Traditionally, remote-sensing data are downlinked to the ground station, preprocessed, and distributed to users. This process generates long delays, which is a major bottleneck in real-time applications for remote-sensing data. Therefore, on-board, real-time image preprocessing is greatly desired. In this paper, a real-time processing architecture for on-board imagery preprocessing is proposed. First, a hierarchical optimization and mapping method is proposed to realize the preprocessing algorithm in a hardware structure, which can effectively reduce the computation burden of on-board processing. Second, a co-processing system using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a digital signal processor (DSP; altogether, FPGA-DSP) based on optimization is designed to realize real-time preprocessing. The experimental results demonstrate the potential application of our system to an on-board processor, for which resources and power consumption are limited. PMID:29693585

On-Board, Real-Time Preprocessing System for Optical Remote-Sensing Imagery.

PubMed

Qi, Baogui; Shi, Hao; Zhuang, Yin; Chen, He; Chen, Liang

2018-04-25

With the development of remote-sensing technology, optical remote-sensing imagery processing has played an important role in many application fields, such as geological exploration and natural disaster prevention. However, relative radiation correction and geometric correction are key steps in preprocessing because raw image data without preprocessing will cause poor performance during application. Traditionally, remote-sensing data are downlinked to the ground station, preprocessed, and distributed to users. This process generates long delays, which is a major bottleneck in real-time applications for remote-sensing data. Therefore, on-board, real-time image preprocessing is greatly desired. In this paper, a real-time processing architecture for on-board imagery preprocessing is proposed. First, a hierarchical optimization and mapping method is proposed to realize the preprocessing algorithm in a hardware structure, which can effectively reduce the computation burden of on-board processing. Second, a co-processing system using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a digital signal processor (DSP; altogether, FPGA-DSP) based on optimization is designed to realize real-time preprocessing. The experimental results demonstrate the potential application of our system to an on-board processor, for which resources and power consumption are limited.

Recycling of WEEE: Characterization of spent printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers

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

Yamane, Luciana Harue, E-mail: lucianayamane@uol.com.br; Tavares de Moraes, Viviane, E-mail: tavares.vivi@gmail.com; Crocce Romano Espinosa, Denise, E-mail: espinosa@usp.br

Highlights: > This paper presents new and important data on characterization of wastes of electric and electronic equipments. > Copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers. > Printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers would not be mixed prior treatment. - Abstract: This paper presents a comparison between printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones. Since printed circuits boards are becoming more complex and smaller, the amount of materials is constantly changing. The main objective of this work was to characterize spent printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones applying mineralmore » processing technique to separate the metal, ceramic, and polymer fractions. The processing was performed by comminution in a hammer mill, followed by particle size analysis, and by magnetic and electrostatic separation. Aqua regia leaching, loss-on-ignition and chemical analysis (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy - ICP-OES) were carried out to determine the composition of printed circuit boards and the metal rich fraction. The composition of the studied mobile phones printed circuit boards (PCB-MP) was 63 wt.% metals; 24 wt.% ceramics and 13 wt.% polymers; and of the printed circuit boards from studied personal computers (PCB-PC) was 45 wt.% metals; 27 wt.% polymers and ceramics 28 wt.% ceramics. The chemical analysis showed that copper concentration in printed circuit boards from personal computers was 20 wt.% and in printed circuit boards from mobile phones was 34.5 wt.%. According to the characteristics of each type of printed circuit board, the recovery of precious metals may be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from personal computers and the recovery of copper should be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from mobile phones. Hence, these printed circuit boards would not be mixed prior treatment. The results of this paper show that copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers.« less

A Versatile Multichannel Digital Signal Processing Module for Microcalorimeter Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, H.; Collins, J. W.; Walby, M.; Hennig, W.; Warburton, W. K.; Grudberg, P.

2012-06-01

Different techniques have been developed for reading out microcalorimeter sensor arrays: individual outputs for small arrays, and time-division or frequency-division or code-division multiplexing for large arrays. Typically, raw waveform data are first read out from the arrays using one of these techniques and then stored on computer hard drives for offline optimum filtering, leading not only to requirements for large storage space but also limitations on achievable count rate. Thus, a read-out module that is capable of processing microcalorimeter signals in real time will be highly desirable. We have developed multichannel digital signal processing electronics that are capable of on-board, real time processing of microcalorimeter sensor signals from multiplexed or individual pixel arrays. It is a 3U PXI module consisting of a standardized core processor board and a set of daughter boards. Each daughter board is designed to interface a specific type of microcalorimeter array to the core processor. The combination of the standardized core plus this set of easily designed and modified daughter boards results in a versatile data acquisition module that not only can easily expand to future detector systems, but is also low cost. In this paper, we first present the core processor/daughter board architecture, and then report the performance of an 8-channel daughter board, which digitizes individual pixel outputs at 1 MSPS with 16-bit precision. We will also introduce a time-division multiplexing type daughter board, which takes in time-division multiplexing signals through fiber-optic cables and then processes the digital signals to generate energy spectra in real time.

78 FR 78821 - Manufacturing Extension Partnership Advisory Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-27

... focus on (1) MEP administrative updates, and (2) Board input into the NIST MEP strategic planning process. The agenda may change to accommodate other Board business. The final agenda will be posted on the...

Architecture and Implementation of OpenPET Firmware and Embedded Software

PubMed Central

Abu-Nimeh, Faisal T.; Ito, Jennifer; Moses, William W.; Peng, Qiyu; Choong, Woon-Seng

2016-01-01

OpenPET is an open source, modular, extendible, and high-performance platform suitable for multi-channel data acquisition and analysis. Due to the flexibility of the hardware, firmware, and software architectures, the platform is capable of interfacing with a wide variety of detector modules not only in medical imaging but also in homeland security applications. Analog signals from radiation detectors share similar characteristics – a pulse whose area is proportional to the deposited energy and whose leading edge is used to extract a timing signal. As a result, a generic design method of the platform is adopted for the hardware, firmware, and software architectures and implementations. The analog front-end is hosted on a module called a Detector Board, where each board can filter, combine, timestamp, and process multiple channels independently. The processed data is formatted and sent through a backplane bus to a module called Support Board, where 1 Support Board can host up to eight Detector Board modules. The data in the Support Board, coming from 8 Detector Board modules, can be aggregated or correlated (if needed) depending on the algorithm implemented or runtime mode selected. It is then sent out to a computer workstation for further processing. The number of channels (detector modules), to be processed, mandates the overall OpenPET System Configuration, which is designed to handle up to 1,024 channels using 16-channel Detector Boards in the Standard System Configuration and 16,384 channels using 32-channel Detector Boards in the Large System Configuration. PMID:27110034

Influence of fiber treatment on dimensional stabilities of rattan waste composite boards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuraida, A.; Insyirah, Y.; Maisarah, T.; Zahurin, H.

2018-01-01

The main drawback of using natural fibers in composite boards is its hydrophilic properties which absorb a high volume of moisture. This results in low dimensional stability of the produced composite boards. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of fibers’ treatment processes of the rattan waste fibers on the dimensional stabilities of composite boards. The collected fibers underwent two types of retting processes, namely a water treatment and alkaline treatment retting processes; where the fibers were soaked in water and a 1% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, respectively. The fibers were dried and mixed with poly(lactic) acid (PLA) pellets with ratio of 30% fibers: 70% matrix; before being fabricated into composite boards via a hot-pressing process and were labelled as RF/PLA, WRF/PLA, CRF/PLA for untreated rattan, rattan treated by water retting, rattan treated by chemical retting, respectively. The produced composite boards were cut and soaked in water for 24 hours for dimensional stability in terms of water absorption and thickness swelling tests. The results showed that WRF/PLA has the lowest water absorption (3.2%), and the CRF/PLA had the highest water absorption (23.2%). The thickness swelling showed a similar trend as water absorption. The presence of void contents and fibers damaged the insides of the boards, which contributed to low dimensional stabilities of the composite boards. It can be concluded that water retting facilitated in improving dimensional stability of the produced composite board.

A design of real time image capturing and processing system using Texas Instrument's processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Toon-Joo; Chaisorn, Lekha; Rahardja, Susanto; Gan, Woon-Seng

2007-09-01

In this work, we developed and implemented an image capturing and processing system that equipped with capability of capturing images from an input video in real time. The input video can be a video from a PC, video camcorder or DVD player. We developed two modes of operation in the system. In the first mode, an input image from the PC is processed on the processing board (development platform with a digital signal processor) and is displayed on the PC. In the second mode, current captured image from the video camcorder (or from DVD player) is processed on the board but is displayed on the LCD monitor. The major difference between our system and other existing conventional systems is that image-processing functions are performed on the board instead of the PC (so that the functions can be used for further developments on the board). The user can control the operations of the board through the Graphic User Interface (GUI) provided on the PC. In order to have a smooth image data transfer between the PC and the board, we employed Real Time Data Transfer (RTDX TM) technology to create a link between them. For image processing functions, we developed three main groups of function: (1) Point Processing; (2) Filtering and; (3) 'Others'. Point Processing includes rotation, negation and mirroring. Filter category provides median, adaptive, smooth and sharpen filtering in the time domain. In 'Others' category, auto-contrast adjustment, edge detection, segmentation and sepia color are provided, these functions either add effect on the image or enhance the image. We have developed and implemented our system using C/C# programming language on TMS320DM642 (or DM642) board from Texas Instruments (TI). The system was showcased in College of Engineering (CoE) exhibition 2006 at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and have more than 40 users tried our system. It is demonstrated that our system is adequate for real time image capturing. Our system can be used or applied for applications such as medical imaging, video surveillance, etc.

WeaselBoard :

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

Mulder, John C.; Schwartz, Moses Daniel; Berg, Michael J.

2013-10-01

Critical infrastructures, such as electrical power plants and oil refineries, rely on programmable logic controllers (PLCs) to control essential processes. State of the art security cannot detect attacks on PLCs at the hardware or firmware level. This renders critical infrastructure control systems vulnerable to costly and dangerous attacks. WeaselBoard is a PLC backplane analysis system that connects directly to the PLC backplane to capture backplane communications between modules. WeaselBoard forwards inter-module traffic to an external analysis system that detects changes to process control settings, sensor values, module configuration information, firmware updates, and process control program (logic) updates. WeaselBoard provides zero-daymore » exploit detection for PLCs by detecting changes in the PLC and the process. This approach to PLC monitoring is protected under U.S. Patent Application 13/947,887.« less

Serving on Organizational Boards: What Nurses Need to Know

PubMed

Stalter, Ann M; Arms, Deborah

2016-02-26

If you have ever thought about serving on a board or being actively involved in meetings aimed at making policy decisions, but are not sure you have the knowledge, skills or abilities to serve competently, this article is for you! In this article, the authors describe six competencies needed by nurses who are serving on boards and/or policy committees so as to contribute in a productive manner. These competencies include a professional commitment to serving on a governing board; knowledge about board types, bylaws, and job descriptions; an understanding of standard business protocols, board member roles, and voting processes; a willingness to use principles for managing and leading effective and efficient board meetings; an appreciation for the ethical and legal processes for conducting meetings; and the ability to employ strategies for maintaining control during intense/uncivil situations. They also discuss strategies for demonstrating these competencies and describe personal responsibilities of board members. The authors conclude that a knowledge of these rules and standards is essential in order for nurses to assume leadership roles that will enhance the health of today’s and tomorrow’s societies.

Fast gradient-based algorithm on extended landscapes for wave-front reconstruction of Earth observation satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiebaut, C.; Perraud, L.; Delvit, J. M.; Latry, C.

2016-07-01

We present an on-board satellite implementation of a gradient-based (optical flows) algorithm for the shifts estimation between images of a Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensor on extended landscapes. The proposed algorithm has low complexity in comparison with classical correlation methods which is a big advantage for being used on-board a satellite at high instrument data rate and in real-time. The electronic board used for this implementation is designed for space applications and is composed of radiation-hardened software and hardware. Processing times of both shift estimations and pre-processing steps are compatible of on-board real-time computation.

A generic FPGA-based detector readout and real-time image processing board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarpotdar, Mayuresh; Mathew, Joice; Safonova, Margarita; Murthy, Jayant

2016-07-01

For space-based astronomical observations, it is important to have a mechanism to capture the digital output from the standard detector for further on-board analysis and storage. We have developed a generic (application- wise) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) board to interface with an image sensor, a method to generate the clocks required to read the image data from the sensor, and a real-time image processor system (on-chip) which can be used for various image processing tasks. The FPGA board is applied as the image processor board in the Lunar Ultraviolet Cosmic Imager (LUCI) and a star sensor (StarSense) - instruments developed by our group. In this paper, we discuss the various design considerations for this board and its applications in the future balloon and possible space flights.

Hospital boards and hospital strategic focus: the impact of board involvement in strategic decision making.

PubMed

Ford-Eickhoff, Karen; Plowman, Donde Ashmos; McDaniel, Reuben R

2011-01-01

Despite pressures to change the role of hospital boards, hospitals have made few changes in board composition or director selection criteria. Hospital boards have often continued to operate in their traditional roles as either "monitors" or "advisors." More attention to the direct involvement of hospital boards in the strategic decision-making process of the organizations they serve, the timing and circumstances under which board involvement occurs, and the board composition that enhances their abilities to participate fully is needed. We investigated the relationship between broader expertise among hospital board members, board involvement in the stages of strategic decision making, and the hospital's strategic focus. We surveyed top management team members of 72 nonacademic hospitals to explore the participation of critical stakeholder groups such as the board of directors in the strategic decision-making process. We used hierarchical regression analysis to explore our hypotheses that there is a relationship between both the nature and involvement of the board and the hospital's strategic orientation. Hospitals with broader expertise on their boards reported an external focus. For some of their externally-oriented goals, hospitals also reported that their boards were involved earlier in the stages of decision making. In light of the complex and dynamic environment of hospitals today, those charged with developing hospital boards should match the variety in the external issues that the hospital faces with more variety in board makeup. By developing a board with greater breadth of expertise, the hospital responds to its complex environment by absorbing that complexity, enabling a greater potential for sensemaking and learning. Rather than acting only as monitors and advisors, boards impact their hospitals' strategic focus through their participation in the strategic decision-making process.

Design concepts for an on-board coherent optical image processor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Husain-Abidi, A. S.

1972-01-01

On-board spacecraft image data processing systems for transmitting processed data rather than raw data are discussed. A brief history of the development of the optical data processing techniques is presented along with the conceptual design of a coherent optical system with a noncoherent image input.

A Synergistic Transcriptional Regulation of Olfactory Genes Drives Blood-Feeding Associated Complex Behavioral Responses in the Mosquito Anopheles culicifacies.

PubMed

Das De, Tanwee; Thomas, Tina; Verma, Sonia; Singla, Deepak; Chauhan, Charu; Srivastava, Vartika; Sharma, Punita; Kumari, Seena; Tevatiya, Sanjay; Rani, Jyoti; Hasija, Yasha; Pandey, Kailash C; Dixit, Rajnikant

2018-01-01

Decoding the molecular basis of host seeking and blood feeding behavioral evolution/adaptation in the adult female mosquitoes may provide an opportunity to design new molecular strategy to disrupt human-mosquito interactions. Although there is a great progress in the field of mosquito olfaction and chemo-detection, little is known about the sex-specific evolution of the specialized olfactory system of adult female mosquitoes that enables them to drive and manage the complex blood-feeding associated behavioral responses. A comprehensive RNA-Seq analysis of prior and post blood meal olfactory system of An. culicifacies mosquito revealed a minor but unique change in the nature and regulation of key olfactory genes that may play a pivotal role in managing diverse behavioral responses. Based on age-dependent transcriptional profiling, we further demonstrated that adult female mosquito's chemosensory system gradually learned and matured to drive the host-seeking and blood feeding behavior at the age of 5-6 days. A time scale expression analysis of Odorant Binding Proteins (OBPs) unravels unique association with a late evening to midnight peak biting time. Blood meal-induced switching of unique sets of OBP genes and Odorant Receptors (Ors) expression coincides with the change in the innate physiological status of the mosquitoes. Blood meal follows up experiments further provide enough evidence that how a synergistic and concurrent action of OBPs-Ors may drive "prior and post blood meal" associated complex behavioral events. A dominant expression of two sensory appendages proteins (SAP-1 & SAP2) in the legs of An. culicifacies suggests that this mosquito species may draw an extra advantage of having more sensitive appendages than An. stephensi , an urban malarial vector in the Indian subcontinents. Finally, our molecular modeling analysis predicts crucial amino acid residues for future functional characterization of the sensory appendages proteins which may play a central role in regulating multiple behaviors of An. culicifacies mosquito. SIGNIFICANCE   Evolution and adaptation of blood feeding behavior not only favored the reproductive success of adult female mosquitoes but also make them important disease-transmitting vectors. An environmental exposure after emergence may favor the broadly tuned olfactory system of mosquitoes to drive complex behavioral responses. But, how these olfactory derived genetic factors manage female specific "pre and post" blood meal associated complex behavioral responses are not well known. Our findings suggest that a synergistic action of olfactory factors may govern an innate to prime learning strategy to facilitate rapid blood meal acquisition and downstream behavioral activities. A species-specific transcriptional profiling and an in-silico analysis predict that "sensory appendages protein" may be a unique target to design disorientation strategy against the mosquito Anopheles culicifacies .

Recycling of WEEE: characterization of spent printed circuit boards from mobile phones and computers.

PubMed

Yamane, Luciana Harue; de Moraes, Viviane Tavares; Espinosa, Denise Crocce Romano; Tenório, Jorge Alberto Soares

2011-12-01

This paper presents a comparison between printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones. Since printed circuits boards are becoming more complex and smaller, the amount of materials is constantly changing. The main objective of this work was to characterize spent printed circuit boards from computers and mobile phones applying mineral processing technique to separate the metal, ceramic, and polymer fractions. The processing was performed by comminution in a hammer mill, followed by particle size analysis, and by magnetic and electrostatic separation. Aqua regia leaching, loss-on-ignition and chemical analysis (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy - ICP-OES) were carried out to determine the composition of printed circuit boards and the metal rich fraction. The composition of the studied mobile phones printed circuit boards (PCB-MP) was 63 wt.% metals; 24 wt.% ceramics and 13 wt.% polymers; and of the printed circuit boards from studied personal computers (PCB-PC) was 45 wt.% metals; 27 wt.% polymers and ceramics 28 wt.% ceramics. The chemical analysis showed that copper concentration in printed circuit boards from personal computers was 20 wt.% and in printed circuit boards from mobile phones was 34.5 wt.%. According to the characteristics of each type of printed circuit board, the recovery of precious metals may be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from personal computers and the recovery of copper should be the main goal of the recycling process of printed circuit boards from mobile phones. Hence, these printed circuit boards would not be mixed prior treatment. The results of this paper show that copper concentration is increasing in mobile phones and remaining constant in personal computers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Odorant-binding protein-based identification of natural spatial repellents for the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

PubMed

Kröber, Thomas; Koussis, Konstantinos; Bourquin, Martine; Tsitoura, Panagiota; Konstantopoulou, Maria; Awolola, Taiwo Sam; Dani, Francesca R; Qiao, Huili; Pelosi, Paolo; Iatrou, Kostas; Guerin, Patrick M

2018-05-01

There is increasing interest in the development of effective mosquito repellents of natural origin to reduce transmission of diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. To achieve this we have employed an in vitro competition assay involving odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) of the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, with a predominantly female expression bias to identify plant essential oils (EOs) containing bioactive compounds that target mosquito olfactory function. EOs and their fractions capable of binding to such OBPs displayed repellence against female mosquitoes in a laboratory repellent assay. Repellent EOs were subjected to gas chromatographic analysis linked to antennogram (EAG) recordings from female A. gambiae to identify the biologically active constituents. Among these compounds cumin alcohol, carvacrol, ethyl cinnamate and butyl cinnamate proved as effective as DEET at an equivalent dose in the repellent assay, and combinations of carvacrol with either butyl cinnamate or cumin alcohol proved to be significantly more effective than DEET in the assay. When tested as spatial repellents in experimental shelters housing sleeping humans in northern Nigeria a binary mixture of carvacrol plus cumin alcohol caused mosquitoes to leave shelters in significantly higher numbers to those induced by DEET in female Anopheles spp. and in numbers equivalent to that of DEET in Culex spp. mosquitoes. These findings indicate an approach for the identification of biologically active molecules of natural origin serving as repellents for mosquitoes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Architecture and Implementation of OpenPET Firmware and Embedded Software

DOE PAGES

Abu-Nimeh, Faisal T.; Ito, Jennifer; Moses, William W.; ...

2016-01-11

OpenPET is an open source, modular, extendible, and high-performance platform suitable for multi-channel data acquisition and analysis. Due to the versatility of the hardware, firmware, and software architectures, the platform is capable of interfacing with a wide variety of detector modules not only in medical imaging but also in homeland security applications. Analog signals from radiation detectors share similar characteristics-a pulse whose area is proportional to the deposited energy and whose leading edge is used to extract a timing signal. As a result, a generic design method of the platform is adopted for the hardware, firmware, and software architectures andmore » implementations. The analog front-end is hosted on a module called a Detector Board, where each board can filter, combine, timestamp, and process multiple channels independently. The processed data is formatted and sent through a backplane bus to a module called Support Board, where 1 Support Board can host up to eight Detector Board modules. The data in the Support Board, coming from 8 Detector Board modules, can be aggregated or correlated (if needed) depending on the algorithm implemented or runtime mode selected. It is then sent out to a computer workstation for further processing. The number of channels (detector modules), to be processed, mandates the overall OpenPET System Configuration, which is designed to handle up to 1,024 channels using 16-channel Detector Boards in the Standard System Configuration and 16,384 channels using 32-channel Detector Boards in the Large System Configuration.« less

Fully optical backplane system using novel optical plug and slot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, In-Kui; Ahn, Seung-Ho; Lee, Woo-Jin; Han, Sang-Pil; Kim, Jin-Tae; Choi, Chun-Ki; Shin, Kyung-Up; Yoon, Keun Byoung; Jeong, Myung-Yung; Park, Hyo Hoon

2005-10-01

A fully optical PCB with transmitter/receiver system boards and optical bakcplane was prepared, which is board-to-board interconnection by an optical slot. We report a 10 Gb/s PRBS NRZ data transmission between transmitter system board and optical backplane embedded multimode polymeric waveguide arrays. The basic concept of the optical PCB is as follows; 1) Metal optical bench is integrated with optoelectronic devices, driver and receiver circuits, polymeric waveguide and access line PCB module. 2) Multimode polymeric waveguide inside an optical backplane, which is embedded into PCB, 3) Optical slot and plug for high-density (channel pitch : 500 um) board-to-board interconnection. The polymeric waveguide technology can be used for transmission of data between transmitter/receiver processing boards and backplane boards. The main components are low-loss tapered polymeric waveguides and a novel optical plug and slot for board-to-board interconnections, respectively. The transmitter/receiver processing boards are designed as plug types, and can be easily plugged-in and -out at an optical backplane board. The optical backplane boards are prepared by employing the lamination processes for conventional electrical PCBs. A practical optical backplane system was implemented with two processing boards and an optical backplane. As connection components between the transmitter/receiver processing boards and backplane board, optical slots made of a 90°-bending structure-embedded optical plug was used. A 10 Gb/s data link was successfully demonstrated. The bit error rate (BER) was determined and is 5.6×10 -9(@10Gb/s) and the BER of 8 Gb/s is < 10 -12.

78 FR 54956 - Proposed Information Collection (Board of Veterans' Appeals Voice of the Veteran Appellant...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-06

... the Board to make potential improvements to the Board's operational processes and service delivery... Surveys'' in any correspondence. During the comment period, comments may be viewed online through FDMS.... Abstract: Currently, the Board collects customer satisfaction on a very limited basis. Surveys are...

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry

PubMed Central

Syron, Laura N.; Lucas, Devin L.; Bovbjerg, Viktor E.; Bethel, Jeffrey W.; Kincl, Laurel D.

2016-01-01

Background The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers’ lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. Objectives This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Design Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. Results We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. Conclusions The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken. PMID:26782030

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry.

PubMed

Syron, Laura N; Lucas, Devin L; Bovbjerg, Viktor E; Bethel, Jeffrey W; Kincl, Laurel D

2016-01-01

Background The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers' lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. Objectives This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Design Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. Results We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. Conclusions The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken.

Utility of a Work Process Classification System for characterizing non-fatal injuries in the Alaskan commercial fishing industry.

PubMed

Syron, Laura N; Lucas, Devin L; Bovbjerg, Viktor E; Bethel, Jeffrey W; Kincl, Laurel D

2016-01-01

The US commercial fishing industry is hazardous, as measured by mortality data. However, research on non-fatal injuries is limited. Non-fatal injuries constitute the majority of occupational injuries and can result in workers' lowered productivity and wages, lost quality of life, and disability. In the United States, a Work Process Classification System (WPCS) has previously been applied in Alaskan freezer-trawl and freezer-longline fleets to identify causes of injuries and specific hazards, but not to other fishing fleets. This descriptive epidemiologic study aimed to explore the application and modification of the WPCS in multiple Alaskan fleets, characterize non-fatal occupational injuries in these fleets, and identify work processes that could be targeted for further investigation and future injury prevention efforts. Traumatic, non-fatal injuries on-board Alaskan commercial fishing vessels were identified through United States Coast Guard investigative reports. Characteristics of injuries, as well as worker characteristics, were analysed. Injuries were coded using the WPCS. We successfully utilized the WPCS to code non-fatal injury cases (n = 136). The most frequent main work processes associated with non-fatal injuries included: on-board trawlers, handling frozen fish and processing the catch; on-board vessels using pot/trap gear, handling the gear and shooting/setting the gear; on-board longliners, traffic on board and hauling the gear; and on-board processor vessels, processing the catch, other work with the catch, and handling frozen fish. The study confirmed that a WPCS can be applied to multiple Alaskan fleets to identify hazardous tasks. Hazards were unique for each vessel gear type. Future injury prevention efforts should target work processes associated with the most frequent and most severe injuries. Future studies should establish time estimates for work processes in order to determine risk estimates. Efforts to improve non-fatal injury reporting, especially on smaller commercial fishing vessels, should be undertaken.

Constellation Mission Operation Working Group: ESMO Maneuver Planning Process Review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moyer, Eric

2015-01-01

The Earth Science Mission Operation (ESMO) Project created an Independent Review Board to review our Conjunction Risk evaluation process and Maneuver Planning Process to identify improvements that safely manages mission conjunction risks, maintains ground track science requirements, and minimizes overall hours expended on High Interest Events (HIE). The Review Board is evaluating the current maneuver process which requires support by multiple groups. In the past year, there have been several changes to the processes although many prior and new concerns exist. This presentation will discuss maneuver process reviews and Board comments, ESMO assessment and path foward, ESMO future plans, recent changes and concerns.

Processing mill scale study data on a type 650 electronic machine.

Treesearch

Floyd A. Johnson

1956-01-01

During April 1956, about 20,000 boards from 210 white fir and 290 western hemlock logs were measured at a lumber mill in western Washington. A magnetic drum, data-processing machine (type 650) was then used to calculate board-feet volumes by lumber grade for each log, and average board-foot volumes by lumber grade for each log diameter-class within log grades and...

On board processor development for NASA's spaceborne imaging radar with system-on-chip technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fang, Wai-Chi

2004-01-01

This paper reports a preliminary study result of an on-board spaceborne SAR processor. It consists of a processing requirement analysis, functional specifications, and implementation with system-on-chip technology. Finally, a minimum version of this on-board processor designed for performance evaluation and for partial demonstration is illustrated.

Design and optimization of a fiber optic data link for new generation on-board SAR processing architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciminelli, Caterina; Dell'Olio, Francesco; Armenise, Mario N.; Iacomacci, Francesco; Pasquali, Franca; Formaro, Roberto

2017-11-01

A fiber optic digital link for on-board data handling is modeled, designed and optimized in this paper. Design requirements and constraints relevant to the link, which is in the frame of novel on-board processing architectures, are discussed. Two possible link configurations are investigated, showing their advantages and disadvantages. An accurate mathematical model of each link component and the entire system is reported and results of link simulation based on those models are presented. Finally, some details on the optimized design are provided.

Why Do National Board Certified Teachers from Generation X Leave the Classroom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crain, Julie Christi

2013-01-01

This qualitative multiple case study focused on National Board Certified teachers from Generation X who have left the classroom. The study explored aspects of the teaching profession, the National Board Certification process, and Generation X as potential influences for National Board Certified teachers from Generation X to leave the classroom.…

Contributions of GRACE to Climate Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodell, Matthew; Famiglietti, James; Chambers, Don P.; Wahr, John

2011-01-01

The NASA/German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) was launched in March 2002. Rather than looking downward, GRACE continuously monitors the locations of and precise distance between twin satellites which orbit in tandem about 200 km apart. Variations in mass near Earth's surface cause heterogeneities in its gravity field, which in turn affect the orbits of satellites. Thus scientists can use GRACE data to map Earth's gravity field with enough accuracy to discern month to month changes caused by ocean circulation and redistribution of water stored on and in the land. Other gravitational influences, such as atmospheric circulation, post-glacial rebound, and solid earth movements are either independently determined and removed or are negligible on a monthly to sub-decadal timescale. Despite its coarse spatial (>150,000 sq km at mid-latitudes) and temporal (approx monthly) resolutions, GRACE has enabled significant advancements in the oceanic, hydrologic, and cryospheric science, and has great potential for climate monitoring, because it is the only global observing system able to measure ocean bottom pressures, total terrestrial water storage, and ice mass changes. The best known GRACE results are estimates of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet loss rates. Previously, scientists had estimated ice mass losses using ground and satellite based altimetry and surface mass balance estimates based on snowfall accumulation and glacier discharge. While such measurements are still very useful for their spatial detail, they are imperfectly correlated with large-scale ice mass changes, due to snow and ice compaction and incomplete spatial coverage. GRACE enables scientists to generate monthly time series of Greenland and Antarctic ice mass, which have confirmed the shrinking of the polar ice sheets, one of the most obvious and indisputable manifestations of climate change. Further, GRACE has located and quantified hot spots of ice loss in southeastern Greenland and western Antarctica. For 2002 to present, the rate of ice mass loss has been 200 to 300 GT/yr in Greenland and 70 to 210 GT/yr in Antarctica, and some scientists are suggesting that the rates are accelerating. Similarly, GRACE has been used to monitor mass changes in alpine glaciers. Tamisiea et al. first characterized glacier melt along the southern coast of Alaska, more recently estimated to be occurring at a rate of 84 GT/yr. Chen et al. estimated that Patagonian glaciers are melting at a rate of 28 GT/yr, and estimated that the high mountains of central Asia lose ice at a rate of 47 GT/yr. Tapley et al. and Wahr et al. presented the first GRACE based estimates of changes in column-integrated terrestrial water storage (TWS; the sum of ground-water, soil moisture, surface waters, snow, ice, and water stored in vegetation) at continental scales. Since then, dozens of studies have shown that GRACE based estimates of regional to continental scale TWS variations agree with independent information, and some innovative uses of GRACE data have been developed. Rodell et al. (2004) and Swenson and Wahr (2006) demonstrated that by combining GRACE derived terrestrial water storage changes with observations of precipitation and runoff in a river basin scale water budget, it was possible to produce new estimates of evapotranspiration and atmospheric moisture convergence, essential climate variables that are difficult to estimate accurately. Similarly, GRACE has been used to constrain estimates of global river discharge and the contribution of changes in TWS to sea level rise. Crowley et al. observed a negative correlation between interannual TWS anomalies in the Amazon and the Congo River basin. Yeh et al. and Rodell et al. estimated regionally averaged groundwater storage variations based on GRACE and auxiliary observations. Rodell et al. and Tiwari et al. applied that method to quantify massive groundwater depletion in northern India caused by over reliance on aquifers for irration, and Famiglietti et al. found a similar situation in California's Central Valley. Zaitchik et al. and Lo et al. described approaches to use GRACE to constrain hydrological models, enabling integration of GRACE data with other observations and achieving much higher spatial and temporal resolutions than GRACE alone. Such approaches are now supporting applications including drought and water resources monitoring. Oceanography has likewise benefitted from the independent nature of GRACE observations. One application is measurement of the mass component of sea level rise, which complements radar altimetry and in situ measurements. GRACE also measures ocean bottom pressures (OBP), which help to refine understanding and modeling of ocean circulation and the ocean's fresh water budget, among other things. For example, Hayakawa et al. showed that GRACE observes OBP patterns absent from the background models of oceanic variability. Morison et al. used GRACE to describe important decadal scale shifts in circulation and an ongoing trend of freshening of the western Arctic, important indicators of climate variability. The research of Song and Zlotnicki and Chambers and Willis on GRACE-derived ocean bottom pressures in the sub-polar gyre led to the discovery of an ENSO teleconnection and a long-term change in OBP in the North Pacific sub-polar gyre that was not predicted by an ocean model. Further, Chambers and Willis were able to identify an internal redistribution of mass between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans lasting at least six years, which was not predicted by ocean models and was the first direct evidence of sustained mass transport from one ocean basin to another on periods longer than a year. Boening et al. observed a record increase in OBP over part of the southeastern Pacific in late 2009 and early 2010, primarily caused by wind stress curl associated with a strong and persistent anticyclone and likely related to the concurrent Central Pacific El Nino. GRACE has far surpassed its 5-year design lifetime, but it will likely succumb to the aging of batteries and instrument systems sometime in the next few years. NASA has begun initial development of a follow-on to GRACE with very similar design, which could launch as soon as 2016 and would provide continuity in the data record while improving resolution slightly. Higher resolution time variable gravity missions are also on the drawing board .

JWST Program Implementation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Januszewski, William

2018-01-01

This poster will feature what is involved in preparing a James Webb Space Telescope program for execution on board the spacecraft. The process from when the principle investigator hits the submit button to when the observations are executed on board the spacecraft will be addressed. Although the process shares a number of sumilarities with the implementation process for the Hubble Space Telescope, there are significant differences.

DOE's Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board: The Roles, Work, and Assessment of the Constituent Local Boards - 13587

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

Alexander, Catherine; Freeman, Jenny; Cantrell, Yvette

2013-07-01

The charter for the Department of Energy's Environmental Management (EM) Site-Specific Advisory Board (SSAB) was approved under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) in 1994. With a unique mandate to provide public input on issues associated with the cleanup of nuclear legacy sites in the U.S., the EM SSAB comprises eight local boards, which are based at major EM sites. While each board is unique to the community in which it is located and reflects the diversity of the local population, the boards are governed by FACA, related regulations, and DOE policies that are intended to standardize agency advisory boardmore » operations. The EM SSAB local boards are made up of a diverse group of citizens who want to understand the mission and goals of the EM program and to help EM achieve those goals for the benefit of their communities. Some are quite passionate about their mission; others need to be coaxed into active participation. Maintaining productive relationships and a supportive environment for effective board operations is the challenge of board management for DOE EM and the board members themselves. DOE draws on research findings and best practices literature from academics and practitioners in the field of public involvement in its board management practices. The EM SSAB is also evaluated annually under the law to ensure that the investment of taxpayer dollars in the board is warranted in light of the contributions of the board. Further evaluation takes place at the agency and site levels in order to identify what aspects of board functioning the agency and board members find important to its success and to address areas where improvement is needed. Board contributions, compliance factors, and measurable outcomes related to board products and process areas are key to agency commitment to ongoing support of the boards and to participant satisfaction and thus continued member involvement. In addition to evaluation of these factors in improving board effectiveness, the agency draws on the experience of members to create best practices for the EM SSAB, as a unique form of public involvement. Four areas that have been identified by local board Chairpersons as important to their local board operations are - Enhancing communication between technical and non-technical board members; - Building on common ground toward recommendations; - Public involvement in EM SSAB local board activities; - The EM SSAB annual work plan process. The first three areas are addressed below by current or former chairpersons of the EM SSAB: Ralph Phelps, former Chairperson of the Northern New Mexico Citizens' Advisory Board; Susan Leckband, former Chairperson and current Vice Chairperson of the Hanford Advisory Board; and Val Francis, Vice Chairperson of the Portsmouth (PORTS) SSAB. In addition, Eric Roberts, facilitator of the PORTS SSAB, has contributed to the section on public involvement. In a separate paper for this session, Ralph Young, Chairperson of the Paducah Citizens' Advisory Board addresses the EM SSAB annual work plan process. (authors)« less

Enabling nurses to lead change: The orientation experiences of nurses to boards

PubMed Central

Walton, AnnMarie; Lake, Donna; Mullinix, Connie; Allen, Deborah; Mooney, Kathi

2015-01-01

Objectives Nurses need to be full partners in shaping health care and health care policy. One way to do this is to be present and active on boards at all levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the orientation experiences of nurses to boards and their preparation to influence health care and health care policy. Methods A Web-based survey about the efficacy of board orientation was sent to members of three local boards made up exclusively of nurses. Results Liabilities and fiduciary duties were least likely to be addressed in board orientation for nurses. Board members requested more training in finance and a more formal/structured orientation process. Conclusions Standardizing orientation elements for nurses serving on boards would best prepare them to serve on interprofessional hospital boards and work in the health policy arena. The orientation experience on local- and state-level nursing boards is fundamental to nurses beginning board service. PMID:25771188

Enabling nurses to lead change: the orientation experiences of nurses to boards.

PubMed

Walton, AnnMarie; Lake, Donna; Mullinix, Connie; Allen, Deborah; Mooney, Kathi

2015-01-01

Nurses need to be full partners in shaping health care and health care policy. One way to do this is to be present and active on boards at all levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the orientation experiences of nurses to boards and their preparation to influence health care and health care policy. A Web-based survey about the efficacy of board orientation was sent to members of three local boards made up exclusively of nurses. Liabilities and fiduciary duties were least likely to be addressed in board orientation for nurses. Board members requested more training in finance and a more formal/structured orientation process. Standardizing orientation elements for nurses serving on boards would best prepare them to serve on interprofessional hospital boards and work in the health policy arena. The orientation experience on local- and state-level nursing boards is fundamental to nurses beginning board service. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conceptual design of an on-board optical processor with components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walsh, J. R.; Shackelford, R. G.

1977-01-01

The specification of components for a spacecraft on-board optical processor was investigated. A space oriented application of optical data processing and the investigation of certain aspects of optical correlators were examined. The investigation confirmed that real-time optical processing has made significant advances over the past few years, but that there are still critical components which will require further development for use in an on-board optical processor. The devices evaluated were the coherent light valve, the readout optical modulator, the liquid crystal modulator, and the image forming light modulator.

To Plan or Not to Plan, That Is the Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolph, David A.

2016-01-01

Strategic planning is a process utilized by numerous organizations, including K-12 school boards, intent on improvement and reform. A thoughtful strategic planning process can help develop a board's desired future driven by goals and strategies aimed at progress. However, improvement processes such as strategic planning are challenging. In fact,…

Prototyping an automated lumber processing system

Treesearch

Powsiri Klinkhachorn; Ravi Kothari; Henry A. Huber; Charles W. McMillin; K. Mukherjee; V. Barnekov

1993-01-01

The Automated Lumber Processing System (ALPS)is a multi-disciplinary continuing effort directed toward increasing the yield obtained from hardwood lumber boards during their process of remanufacture into secondary products (furniture, etc.). ALPS proposes a nondestructive vision system to scan a board for its dimension and the location and expanse of surface defects on...

On-board data processing for the near infrared spectrograph and photometer instrument (NISP) of the EUCLID mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonoli, Carlotta; Balestra, Andrea; Bortoletto, Favio; D'Alessandro, Maurizio; Farinelli, Ruben; Medinaceli, Eduardo; Stephen, John; Borsato, Enrico; Dusini, Stefano; Laudisio, Fulvio; Sirignano, Chiara; Ventura, Sandro; Auricchio, Natalia; Corcione, Leonardo; Franceschi, Enrico; Ligori, Sebastiano; Morgante, Gianluca; Patrizii, Laura; Sirri, Gabriele; Trifoglio, Massimo; Valenziano, Luca

2016-07-01

The Near Infrared Spectrograph and Photometer (NISP) is one of the two instruments on board the EUCLID mission now under implementation phase; VIS, the Visible Imager is the second instrument working on the same shared optical beam. The NISP focal plane is based on a detector mosaic deploying 16x, 2048x2048 pixels^2 HAWAII-II HgCdTe detectors, now in advanced delivery phase from Teledyne Imaging Scientific (TIS), and will provide NIR imaging in three bands (Y, J, H) plus slit-less spectroscopy in the range 0.9÷2.0 micron. All the NISP observational modes will be supported by different parametrization of the classic multi-accumulation IR detector readout mode covering the specific needs for spectroscopic, photometric and calibration exposures. Due to the large number of deployed detectors and to the limited satellite telemetry available to ground, a consistent part of the data processing, conventionally performed off-line, will be accomplished on board, in parallel with the flow of data acquisitions. This has led to the development of a specific on-board, HW/SW, data processing pipeline, and to the design of computationally performing control electronics, suited to cope with the time constraints of the NISP acquisition sequences during the sky survey. In this paper we present the architecture of the NISP on-board processing system, directly interfaced to the SIDECAR ASICs system managing the detector focal plane, and the implementation of the on-board pipe-line allowing all the basic operations of input frame averaging, final frame interpolation and data-volume compression before ground down-link.

Evaluation of telerobotic systems using an instrumented task board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carroll, John D.; Gierow, Paul A.; Bryan, Thomas C.

1991-01-01

An instrumented task board was developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). An overview of the task board design, and current development status is presented. The task board was originally developed to evaluate operator performance using the Protoflight Manipulator Arm (PFMA) at MSFC. The task board evaluates tasks for Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU), fluid connect and transfers, electrical connect/disconnect, bolt running, and other basic tasks. The instrumented task board measures the 3-D forces and torques placed on the board, determines the robot arm's 3-D position relative to the task board using IR optics, and provides the information in real-time. The PFMA joint input signals can also be measured from a breakout box to evaluate the sensitivity or response of the arm operation to control commands. The data processing system provides the capability for post processing of time-history graphics and plots of the PFMA positions, the operator's actions, and the PFMA servo reactions in addition to real-time force/torque data presentation. The instrumented task board's most promising use is developing benchmarks for NASA centers for comparison and evaluation of telerobotic performance.

Enhancing board oversight on quality of hospital care: an agency theory perspective.

PubMed

Jiang, H Joanna; Lockee, Carlin; Fraser, Irene

2012-01-01

Community hospitals in the United States are almost all governed by a governing board that is legally accountable for the quality of care provided. Increasing pressures for better quality and safety are prompting boards to strengthen their oversight function on quality. In this study, we aimed to provide an update to prior research by exploring the role and practices of governing boards in quality oversight through the lens of agency theory and comparing hospital quality performance in relation to the adoption of those practices. Data on board practices from a survey conducted by The Governance Institute in 2007 were merged with data on hospital quality drawn from two federal sources that measured processes of care and mortality. The study sample includes 445 public and private not-for-profit hospitals. We used factor analysis to explore the underlying dimensions of board practices. We further compared hospital quality performance by the adoption of each individual board practice. Consistent with the agency theory, the 13 board practices included in the survey appear to center around enhancing accountability of the board, management, and the medical staff. Reviewing the hospital's quality performance on a regular basis was the most common practice. A number of board practices, not examined in prior research, showed significant association with better performance on process of care and/or risk-adjusted mortality: requiring major new clinical programs to meet quality-related criteria, setting some quality goals at the "theoretical ideal" level, requiring both the board and the medical staff to be as involved as management in setting the agenda for discussion on quality, and requiring the hospital to report its quality/safety performance to the general public. Hospital governing boards should examine their current practices and consider adopting those that would enhance the accountability of the board itself, management, and the medical staff.

20 CFR 363.5 - Miscellaneous.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION, POLICY AND PROCEDURES GARNISHMENT OF... disbursement cycles in order to comply with legal process. (b) Except as provided in these regulations, the... by the Board pursuant to legal process regular on its face, if such payment is made in accordance...

Ethnic Identity and the Boarding School Experience of West-Central Oklahoma American Indians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBeth, Sally J.

This book reports on a study of the perceptions of Oklahoma American Indians about their childhood experiences in government and church-sponsored boarding schools. Drawing on symbolic anthropology, the boarding school experience is interpreted to be a complex cultural symbol and symbolic process that contributes to group collectivity and belonging…

An fMRI Study of the Impact of Block Building and Board Games on Spatial Ability

PubMed Central

Newman, Sharlene D.; Hansen, Mitchell T.; Gutierrez, Arianna

2016-01-01

Previous studies have found that block play, board games, and puzzles result in better spatial ability. This study focused on examining the differential impact of structured block play and board games on spatial processing. Two groups of 8-year-old children were studied. One group participated in a five session block play training paradigm and the second group had a similar training protocol but played a word/spelling board game. A mental rotation task was assessed before and after training. The mental rotation task was performed during fMRI to observe the neural changes associated with the two play protocols. Only the block play group showed effects of training for both behavioral measures and fMRI measured brain activation. Behaviorally, the block play group showed improvements in both reaction time and accuracy. Additionally, the block play group showed increased involvement of regions that have been linked to spatial working memory and spatial processing after training. The board game group showed non-significant improvements in mental rotation performance, likely related to practice effects, and no training related brain activation differences. While the current study is preliminary, it does suggest that different “spatial” play activities have differential impacts on spatial processing with structured block play but not board games showing a significant impact on mental rotation performance. PMID:27621714

An Integrated Architecture for On-Board Aircraft Engine Performance Trend Monitoring and Gas Path Fault Diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, Donald L.

2010-01-01

Aircraft engine performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostics are closely related technologies that assist operators in managing the health of their gas turbine engine assets. Trend monitoring is the process of monitoring the gradual performance change that an aircraft engine will naturally incur over time due to turbomachinery deterioration, while gas path diagnostics is the process of detecting and isolating the occurrence of any faults impacting engine flow-path performance. Today, performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostic functions are performed by a combination of on-board and off-board strategies. On-board engine control computers contain logic that monitors for anomalous engine operation in real-time. Off-board ground stations are used to conduct fleet-wide engine trend monitoring and fault diagnostics based on data collected from each engine each flight. Continuing advances in avionics are enabling the migration of portions of the ground-based functionality on-board, giving rise to more sophisticated on-board engine health management capabilities. This paper reviews the conventional engine performance trend monitoring and gas path fault diagnostic architecture commonly applied today, and presents a proposed enhanced on-board architecture for future applications. The enhanced architecture gains real-time access to an expanded quantity of engine parameters, and provides advanced on-board model-based estimation capabilities. The benefits of the enhanced architecture include the real-time continuous monitoring of engine health, the early diagnosis of fault conditions, and the estimation of unmeasured engine performance parameters. A future vision to advance the enhanced architecture is also presented and discussed

Twelve tips for use of a white board in clinical teaching: reviving the chalk talk.

PubMed

Orlander, Jay D

2007-03-01

Little has been written on the art of using a board in clinical teaching. The technological development of the white board appears to have coincided with that of the laptop computer and accompanying LCD projector, so that fewer and fewer teaching sessions appear to utilize the board as an efficient teaching tool. I have observed this most commonly among younger faculty who are most comfortable with technology and who may lack training and experience with a blank board. This paper offers suggestions on using the board in clinical teaching in order to enhance the educational process through better engagement of the learners.

Ergonomics intervention on an alternative design of a spinal board.

PubMed

Zadry, Hilma Raimona; Susanti, Lusi; Rahmayanti, Dina

2017-09-01

A spinal board is the evacuation tool of first aid to help the injured spinal cord. The existing spinal board has several weaknesses, both in terms of user comfort and the effectiveness and efficiency of the evacuation process. This study designs an ergonomic spinal board using the quality function deployment approach. A preliminary survey was conducted through direct observation and interviews with volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross. Data gathered were translated into a questionnaire and answered by 47 participants in West Sumatra. The results indicate that the selection of materials, the application of strap systems as well as the addition of features are very important in designing an ergonomic spinal board. The data were used in designing an ergonomic spinal board. The use of anthropometric data ensures that this product can accommodate safety and comfort when immobilized, as well as the flexibility and speed of the rescue evacuation process.

Study of a programmable high speed processor for use on-board satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degavre, J. Cl.; Okkes, R.; Gaillat, G.

The availability of VLSI programmable devices will significantly enhance satellite on-board data processing capabilities. A case study is presented which indicates that computation-intensive processing applications requiring the execution of 100 megainstructions/sec are within the CD power constraints of satellites. It is noted that the current progress in semicustom design technique development and in achievable gate array densities, together with the recent announcement of improved monochip processors, are encouraging the development of an on-board programmable processor architecture able to associate the devices that will appear in communication and military markets.

The impact of the board's strategy-setting role on board-management relations and hospital performance.

PubMed

Büchner, Vera Antonia; Schreyögg, Jonas; Schultz, Carsten

2014-01-01

The appropriate governance of hospitals largely depends on effective cooperation between governing boards and hospital management. Governing boards play an important role in strategy-setting as part of their support for hospital management. However, in certain situations, this active strategic role may also generate discord within this relationship. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the roles, attributes, and processes of governing boards on hospital performance. We examine the impact of the governing board's strategy-setting role on board-management collaboration quality and on financial performance while also analyzing the interaction effects of board diversity and board activity level. The data are derived from a survey that was sent simultaneously to German hospitals and their associated governing board, combined with objective performance information from annual financial statements and quality reports. We use a structural equation modeling approach to test the model. The results indicate that different board characteristics have a significant impact on hospital performance (R = .37). The strategy-setting role and board-management collaboration quality have a positive effect on hospital performance, whereas the impact of strategy-setting on collaboration quality is negative. We find that the positive effect of strategy-setting on performance increases with decreasing board diversity. When board members have more homogeneous backgrounds and exhibit higher board activity levels, the negative effect of the strategy-setting on collaboration quality also increases. Active strategy-setting by a governing board may generally improve hospital performance. Diverse members of governing boards should be involved in strategy-setting for hospitals. However, high board-management collaboration quality may be compromised if managerial autonomy is too highly restricted. Consequently, hospitals should support board-management collaboration about empowered contrasting board roles.

Experimental test of airplane boarding methods

DOE PAGES

Steffen, Jason H.; Hotchkiss, Jon

2011-10-26

We report the results of an experimental comparison of different airplane boarding methods. This test was conducted in a mock 757 fuselage, located on a Southern California soundstage, with 12 rows of six seats and a single aisle. Five methods were tested using 72 passengers of various ages. We found a significant reduction in the boarding times of optimized methods over traditional methods. These improved methods, if properly implemented, could result in a significant savings to airline companies. The process of boarding an airplane is of interest to a variety of groups. The public is interested both as a curiosity,more » as it is something that they may regularly experience, and as a consumer, as their experiences good or bad can affect their loyalties. Airline companies and their employees also have a stake in an efficient boarding procedure as time saved in the boarding process may result is monetary savings, in the quality of interactions with passengers, and in the application of human resources to the general process of preparing an airplane for departure. A recent study (Nyquist and McFadden, 2008) indicates that the average cost to an airline company for each minute of time spent at the terminal is roughly $30. Thus, each minute saved in the turn-around time of a flight has the potential to generate over $16,000,000 in annual savings (assuming an average of 1500 flights per day). While the boarding process may not be the primary source of delay in returning an airplane to the skies, reducing the boarding time may effectively eliminate passenger boarding as a contributor in any meaningful measure. Consequently, subsequent efforts to streamline the other necessary tasks, such as refueling and maintenance, would be rewarded with a material reduction in time at the gate for each flight.« less

Certification renewal process of the American Board of Orthodontics.

PubMed

Castelein, Paul T; DeLeon, Eladio; Dugoni, Steven A; Chung, Chun-Hsi; Tadlock, Larry P; Barone, Nicholas D; Kulbersh, Valmy P; Sabott, David G; Kastrop, Marvin C

2015-05-01

The American Board of Orthodontics was established in 1929 and is the oldest specialty board in dentistry. Its goal is to protect the public by ensuring competency through the certification of eligible orthodontists. Originally, applicants for certification submitted a thesis, 5 case reports, and a set of casts with appliances. Once granted, the certification never expired. Requirements have changed over the years. In 1950, 15 cases were required, and then 10 in 1987. The Board has continued to refine and improve the certification process. In 1998, certification became time limited, and a renewal process was initiated. The Board continues to improve the recertification process. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Digital Signal Processing Based Biotelemetry Receivers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Avtar; Hines, John; Somps, Chris

1997-01-01

This is an attempt to develop a biotelemetry receiver using digital signal processing technology and techniques. The receiver developed in this work is based on recovering signals that have been encoded using either Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) or Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) technique. A prototype has been developed using state-of-the-art digital signal processing technology. A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is being developed based on the technique and technology described here. This board is intended to be used in the UCSF Fetal Monitoring system developed at NASA. The board is capable of handling a variety of PPM and PCM signals encoding signals such as ECG, temperature, and pressure. A signal processing program has also been developed to analyze the received ECG signal to determine heart rate. This system provides a base for using digital signal processing in biotelemetry receivers and other similar applications.

Planning assistance for the NASA 30/20 GHz program. Network control architecture study.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inukai, T.; Bonnelycke, B.; Strickland, S.

1982-01-01

Network Control Architecture for a 30/20 GHz flight experiment system operating in the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) was studied. Architecture development, identification of processing functions, and performance requirements for the Master Control Station (MCS), diversity trunking stations, and Customer Premises Service (CPS) stations are covered. Preliminary hardware and software processing requirements as well as budgetary cost estimates for the network control system are given. For the trunking system control, areas covered include on board SS-TDMA switch organization, frame structure, acquisition and synchronization, channel assignment, fade detection and adaptive power control, on board oscillator control, and terrestrial network timing. For the CPS control, they include on board processing and adaptive forward error correction control.

77 FR 10026 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

...-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change Related to Stock-Option Processing February 14, 2012. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the... on February 7, 2012, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (``Exchange'' or ``CBOE...

The Meaning of Reflective Teaching to National Board Certified Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Sharlotte F.

2017-01-01

This qualitative study examined how National Board certified teachers (NBCTs) perceive the meaning of reflective teaching and how their perceptions compare to the literature on reflective thinking and teaching. The study included five participants who had completed the National Board certification process. Data collection included three…

Superintendent Selection Processes: Perspectives of Professional Search Consultants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waite, Robert

2013-01-01

Hiring the superintendent is the most important job of a school board. The superintendent selection process is increasingly being guided by paid consultants employed to work with school boards in a process to select superintendents. This qualitative study examined the selection criteria school boards use from the perspective of the professional…

National Board Certification: It's Time for Preschool Teachers!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillentine, Jonathan

2010-01-01

National Board Certification is a voluntary process by which teachers of students ages 3 through 18 demonstrate accomplished teaching. This article describes the process and certification requirements for one certificate--the Early Childhood/Generalist (ECG), for teachers of children ages 3 through 8. The National Board Certification process was…

SOHO Mission Interruption Joint NASA/ESA Investigation Board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Contact with the SOlar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft was lost in the early morning hours of June 25, 1998, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), during a planned period of calibrations, maneuvers, and spacecraft reconfigurations. Prior to this the SOHO operations team had concluded two years of extremely successful science operations. A joint European Space Agency (ESA)/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineering team has been planning and executing recovery efforts since loss of contact with some success to date. ESA and NASA management established the SOHO Mission Interruption Joint Investigation Board to determine the actual or probable cause(s) of the SOHO spacecraft mishap. The Board has concluded that there were no anomalies on-board the SOHO spacecraft but that a number of ground errors led to the major loss of attitude experienced by the spacecraft. The Board finds that the loss of the SOHO spacecraft was a direct result of operational errors, a failure to adequately monitor spacecraft status, and an erroneous decision which disabled part of the on-board autonomous failure detection. Further, following the occurrence of the emergency situation, the Board finds that insufficient time was taken by the operations team to fully assess the spacecraft status prior to initiating recovery operations. The Board discovered that a number of factors contributed to the circumstances that allowed the direct causes to occur. The Board strongly recommends that the two Agencies proceed immediately with a comprehensive review of SOHO operations addressing issues in the ground procedures, procedure implementation, management structure and process, and ground systems. This review process should be completed and process improvements initiated prior to the resumption of SOHO normal operations.

Under-Expression of Chemosensory Genes in Domiciliary Bugs of the Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma brasiliensis

PubMed Central

Marchant, Axelle; Mougel, Florence; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Costa, Jane; Almeida, Carlos Eduardo; Harry, Myriam

2016-01-01

Background In Latin America, the bloodsucking bugs Triatominae are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chemical elimination programs have been launched to control Chagas disease vectors. However, the disease persists because native vectors from sylvatic habitats are able to (re)colonize houses—a process called domiciliation. Triatoma brasiliensis is one example. Because the chemosensory system allows insects to interact with their environment and plays a key role in insect adaption, we conducted a descriptive and comparative study of the chemosensory transcriptome of T. brasiliensis samples from different ecotopes. Methodology/Principal Finding In a reference transcriptome built using de novo assembly, we found transcripts encoding 27 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 3 odorant receptors (ORs), 5 transient receptor potential channel (TRPs), 1 sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMPs), 25 takeout proteins, 72 cytochrome P450s, 5 gluthatione S-transferases, and 49 cuticular proteins. Using protein phylogenies, we showed that most of the OBPs and CSPs for T. brasiliensis had well supported orthologs in the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus. We also showed a higher number of these genes within the bloodsucking bugs and more generally within all Hemipterans compared to the other species in the super-order Paraneoptera. Using both DESeq2 and EdgeR software, we performed differential expression analyses between samples of T. brasiliensis, taking into account their environment (sylvatic, peridomiciliary and domiciliary) and sex. We also searched clusters of co-expressed contigs using HTSCluster. Among differentially expressed (DE) contigs, most were under-expressed in the chemosensory organs of the domiciliary bugs compared to the other samples and in females compared to males. We clearly identified DE genes that play a role in the chemosensory system. Conclusion/Significance Chemosensory genes could be good candidates for genes that contribute to adaptation or plastic rearrangement to an anthropogenic system. The domiciliary environment probably includes less diversity of xenobiotics and probably has more stable abiotic parameters than do sylvatic and peridomiciliary environments. This could explain why both detoxification and cuticle protein genes are less expressed in domiciliary bugs. Understanding the molecular basis for how vectors adapt to human dwellings may reveal new tools to control disease vectors; for example, by disrupting chemical communication. PMID:27792774

Under-Expression of Chemosensory Genes in Domiciliary Bugs of the Chagas Disease Vector Triatoma brasiliensis.

PubMed

Marchant, Axelle; Mougel, Florence; Jacquin-Joly, Emmanuelle; Costa, Jane; Almeida, Carlos Eduardo; Harry, Myriam

2016-10-01

In Latin America, the bloodsucking bugs Triatominae are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. Chemical elimination programs have been launched to control Chagas disease vectors. However, the disease persists because native vectors from sylvatic habitats are able to (re)colonize houses-a process called domiciliation. Triatoma brasiliensis is one example. Because the chemosensory system allows insects to interact with their environment and plays a key role in insect adaption, we conducted a descriptive and comparative study of the chemosensory transcriptome of T. brasiliensis samples from different ecotopes. In a reference transcriptome built using de novo assembly, we found transcripts encoding 27 odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), 17 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 3 odorant receptors (ORs), 5 transient receptor potential channel (TRPs), 1 sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMPs), 25 takeout proteins, 72 cytochrome P450s, 5 gluthatione S-transferases, and 49 cuticular proteins. Using protein phylogenies, we showed that most of the OBPs and CSPs for T. brasiliensis had well supported orthologs in the kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus. We also showed a higher number of these genes within the bloodsucking bugs and more generally within all Hemipterans compared to the other species in the super-order Paraneoptera. Using both DESeq2 and EdgeR software, we performed differential expression analyses between samples of T. brasiliensis, taking into account their environment (sylvatic, peridomiciliary and domiciliary) and sex. We also searched clusters of co-expressed contigs using HTSCluster. Among differentially expressed (DE) contigs, most were under-expressed in the chemosensory organs of the domiciliary bugs compared to the other samples and in females compared to males. We clearly identified DE genes that play a role in the chemosensory system. Chemosensory genes could be good candidates for genes that contribute to adaptation or plastic rearrangement to an anthropogenic system. The domiciliary environment probably includes less diversity of xenobiotics and probably has more stable abiotic parameters than do sylvatic and peridomiciliary environments. This could explain why both detoxification and cuticle protein genes are less expressed in domiciliary bugs. Understanding the molecular basis for how vectors adapt to human dwellings may reveal new tools to control disease vectors; for example, by disrupting chemical communication.

Multivariate Formation Pressure Prediction with Seismic-derived Petrophysical Properties from Prestack AVO inversion and Poststack Seismic Motion Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, H.; Gu, H.

2017-12-01

A novel multivariate seismic formation pressure prediction methodology is presented, which incorporates high-resolution seismic velocity data from prestack AVO inversion, and petrophysical data (porosity and shale volume) derived from poststack seismic motion inversion. In contrast to traditional seismic formation prediction methods, the proposed methodology is based on a multivariate pressure prediction model and utilizes a trace-by-trace multivariate regression analysis on seismic-derived petrophysical properties to calibrate model parameters in order to make accurate predictions with higher resolution in both vertical and lateral directions. With prestack time migration velocity as initial velocity model, an AVO inversion was first applied to prestack dataset to obtain high-resolution seismic velocity with higher frequency that is to be used as the velocity input for seismic pressure prediction, and the density dataset to calculate accurate Overburden Pressure (OBP). Seismic Motion Inversion (SMI) is an inversion technique based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. Both structural variability and similarity of seismic waveform are used to incorporate well log data to characterize the variability of the property to be obtained. In this research, porosity and shale volume are first interpreted on well logs, and then combined with poststack seismic data using SMI to build porosity and shale volume datasets for seismic pressure prediction. A multivariate effective stress model is used to convert velocity, porosity and shale volume datasets to effective stress. After a thorough study of the regional stratigraphic and sedimentary characteristics, a regional normally compacted interval model is built, and then the coefficients in the multivariate prediction model are determined in a trace-by-trace multivariate regression analysis on the petrophysical data. The coefficients are used to convert velocity, porosity and shale volume datasets to effective stress and then to calculate formation pressure with OBP. Application of the proposed methodology to a research area in East China Sea has proved that the method can bridge the gap between seismic and well log pressure prediction and give predicted pressure values close to pressure meassurements from well testing.

Adaptive Signal Processing Testbed: VME-based DSP board market survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingram, Rick E.

1992-04-01

The Adaptive Signal Processing Testbed (ASPT) is a real-time multiprocessor system utilizing digital signal processor technology on VMEbus based printed circuit boards installed on a Sun workstation. The ASPT has specific requirements, particularly as regards to the signal excision application, with respect to interfacing with current and planned data generation equipment, processing of the data, storage to disk of final and intermediate results, and the development tools for applications development and integration into the overall EW/COM computing environment. A prototype ASPT was implemented using three VME-C-30 boards from Applied Silicon. Experience gained during the prototype development led to the conclusions that interprocessor communications capability is the most significant contributor to overall ASPT performance. In addition, the host involvement should be minimized. Boards using different processors were evaluated with respect to the ASPT system requirements, pricing, and availability. Specific recommendations based on various priorities are made as well as recommendations concerning the integration and interaction of various tools developed during the prototype implementation.

An empirical comparison between the board's strategic role in nonprofit hospitals and in for-profit industrial firms.

PubMed Central

Judge, W Q; Zeithaml, C P

1992-01-01

As the health care environment becomes more competitive, nonprofit hospitals are under pressure to adopt for-profit business practices. Based on an extensive field study, this research examines the central issue of organizational governance by comparing the strategic roles of nonprofit hospital boards with for-profit industrial boards. The results show that nonprofit hospital boards are generally more involved in the strategic decision process than their for-profit counterparts. If this governance activity is seen as desirable, hospital boards should exercise caution in emulating for-profit board practices. PMID:1563953

Repairable chip bonding/interconnect process

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, Anthony F.; Contolini, Robert J.; Malba, Vincent; Riddle, Robert A.

1997-01-01

A repairable, chip-to-board interconnect process which addresses cost and testability issues in the multi-chip modules. This process can be carried out using a chip-on-sacrificial-substrate technique, involving laser processing. This process avoids the curing/solvent evolution problems encountered in prior approaches, as well is resolving prior plating problems and the requirements for fillets. For repairable high speed chip-to-board connection, transmission lines can be formed on the sides of the chip from chip bond pads, ending in a gull wing at the bottom of the chip for subsequent solder.

22 CFR 1429.12 - Service of process and papers by the Board.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Service of process and papers by the Board. 1429.12 Section 1429.12 Foreign Relations FOREIGN SERVICE LABOR RELATIONS BOARD; FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS... AUTHORITY MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Miscellaneous § 1429.12 Service of process and papers by...

Defense Science Board Task Force Report on Cyber Defense Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

manage cyber security is often a verymanual and labor intensive process. When a crisis hits, DoD responses range from highly automatedand instrumented...DSB Task Force Report on Cyber Defense Management September 2016 (U) This page intentionally blank REPORT OF THE DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD STUDY ON Cyber ...DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY & LOGISTICS SUBJECT: Final Report of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Cyber Defense Management I am

High-Speed On-Board Data Processing Platform for LIDAR Projects at NASA Langley Research Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beyon, J.; Ng, T. K.; Davis, M. J.; Adams, J. K.; Lin, B.

2015-12-01

The project called High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS) has been funded by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program during April, 2012 - April, 2015. HOPS is an enabler for science missions with extremely high data processing rates. In this three-year effort of HOPS, Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) and 3-D Winds were of interest in particular. As for ASCENDS, HOPS replaces time domain data processing with frequency domain processing while making the real-time on-board data processing possible. As for 3-D Winds, HOPS offers real-time high-resolution wind profiling with 4,096-point fast Fourier transform (FFT). HOPS is adaptable with quick turn-around time. Since HOPS offers reusable user-friendly computational elements, its FPGA IP Core can be modified for a shorter development period if the algorithm changes. The FPGA and memory bandwidth of HOPS is 20 GB/sec while the typical maximum processor-to-SDRAM bandwidth of the commercial radiation tolerant high-end processors is about 130-150 MB/sec. The inter-board communication bandwidth of HOPS is 4 GB/sec while the effective processor-to-cPCI bandwidth of commercial radiation tolerant high-end boards is about 50-75 MB/sec. Also, HOPS offers VHDL cores for the easy and efficient implementation of ASCENDS and 3-D Winds, and other similar algorithms. A general overview of the 3-year development of HOPS is the goal of this presentation.

High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments: HOPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyon, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

The project called High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS) has been funded by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program during April, 2012 â€" April, 2015. HOPS is an enabler for science missions with extremely high data processing rates. In this three-year effort of HOPS, Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) and 3-D Winds were of interest in particular. As for ASCENDS, HOPS replaces time domain data processing with frequency domain processing while making the real-time on-board data processing possible. As for 3-D Winds, HOPS offers real-time high-resolution wind profiling with 4,096-point fast Fourier transform (FFT). HOPS is adaptable with quick turn-around time. Since HOPS offers reusable user-friendly computational elements, its FPGA IP Core can be modified for a shorter development period if the algorithm changes. The FPGA and memory bandwidth of HOPS is 20 GB/sec while the typical maximum processor-to-SDRAM bandwidth of the commercial radiation tolerant high-end processors is about 130-150 MB/sec. The inter-board communication bandwidth of HOPS is 4 GB/sec while the effective processor-to-cPCI bandwidth of commercial radiation tolerant high-end boards is about 50-75 MB/sec. Also, HOPS offers VHDL cores for the easy and efficient implementation of ASCENDS and 3-D Winds, and other similar algorithms. A general overview of the 3-year development of HOPS is the goal of this presentation.

Research on an autonomous vision-guided helicopter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amidi, Omead; Mesaki, Yuji; Kanade, Takeo

1994-01-01

Integration of computer vision with on-board sensors to autonomously fly helicopters was researched. The key components developed were custom designed vision processing hardware and an indoor testbed. The custom designed hardware provided flexible integration of on-board sensors with real-time image processing resulting in a significant improvement in vision-based state estimation. The indoor testbed provided convenient calibrated experimentation in constructing real autonomous systems.

BASKET on-board software library

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luntzer, Armin; Ottensamer, Roland; Kerschbaum, Franz

2014-07-01

The University of Vienna is a provider of on-board data processing software with focus on data compression, such as used on board the highly successful Herschel/PACS instrument, as well as in the small BRITE-Constellation fleet of cube-sats. Current contributions are made to CHEOPS, SAFARI and PLATO. The effort was taken to review the various functions developed for Herschel and provide a consolidated software library to facilitate the work for future missions. This library is a shopping basket of algorithms. Its contents are separated into four classes: auxiliary functions (e.g. circular buffers), preprocessing functions (e.g. for calibration), lossless data compression (arithmetic or Rice coding) and lossy reduction steps (ramp fitting etc.). The "BASKET" has all functionality that is needed to create an on-board data processing chain. All sources are written in C, supplemented by optimized versions in assembly, targeting popular CPU architectures for space applications. BASKET is open source and constantly growing

Development of wide band digital receiver for atmospheric radars using COTS board based SDR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasodha, Polisetti; Jayaraman, Achuthan; Thriveni, A.

2016-07-01

Digital receiver extracts the received echo signal information, and is a potential subsystem for atmospheric radar, also referred to as wind profiling radar (WPR), which provides the vertical profiles of 3-dimensional wind vector in the atmosphere. This paper presents the development of digital receiver using COTS board based Software Defined Radio technique, which can be used for atmospheric radars. The developmental work is being carried out at National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki. The digital receiver consists of a commercially available software defined radio (SDR) board called as universal software radio peripheral B210 (USRP B210) and a personal computer. USRP B210 operates over a wider frequency range from 70 MHz to 6 GHz and hence can be used for variety of radars like Doppler weather radars operating in S/C bands, in addition to wind profiling radars operating in VHF, UHF and L bands. Due to the flexibility and re-configurability of SDR, where the component functionalities are implemented in software, it is easy to modify the software to receive the echoes and process them as per the requirement suitable for the type of the radar intended. Hence, USRP B210 board along with the computer forms a versatile digital receiver from 70 MHz to 6 GHz. It has an inbuilt direct conversion transceiver with two transmit and two receive channels, which can be operated in fully coherent 2x2 MIMO fashion and thus it can be used as a two channel receiver. Multiple USRP B210 boards can be synchronized using the pulse per second (PPS) input provided on the board, to configure multi-channel digital receiver system. RF gain of the transceiver can be varied from 0 to 70 dB. The board can be controlled from the computer via USB 3.0 interface through USRP hardware driver (UHD), which is an open source cross platform driver. The USRP B210 board is connected to the personal computer through USB 3.0. Reference (10 MHz) clock signal from the radar master oscillator is used to lock the board, which is essential for deriving Doppler information. Input from the radar analog receiver is given to one channel of USRP B210, which is down converted to baseband. 12-bit ADC present on the board digitizes the signal and produces I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature-phase) data. The maximum sampling rate possible is about 61 MSPS. The I and Q (time series) data is sent to PC via USB 3.0, where the signal processing is carried out. The online processing steps include decimation, range gating, decoding, coherent integration and FFT computation (optional). The processed data is then stored in the hard disk. C++ programming language is used for developing the real time signal processing. Shared memory along with multi threading is used to collect and process data simultaneously. Before implementing the real time operation, stand alone test of the board was carried out through GNU radio software and the base band output data obtained is found satisfactory. Later the board is integrated with the existing Lower Atmospheric Wind Profiling radar at NARL. The radar receive IF output at 70 MHz is given to the board and the real-time radar data is collected. The data is processed off-line and the range-doppler spectrum is obtained. Online processing software is under progress.

School Board Chairmen and School Superintendents: An Analysis of Perceptions Concerning Special Interest Groups and Educational Governance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feuerstein, Abe; Opfer, V. Darleen

1998-01-01

Surveyed all Virginia school board chairmen and superintendents on local governance issues. Discusses both groups' perceptions of board members' orientation to their role as elected representatives, their personal attitude toward the electoral process, their assessment of interest-group involvement in district decision making, their feelings…

The diagnostic value of supine blood pressure in hypertension.

PubMed

Krzesiński, Paweł; Stańczyk, Adam; Gielerak, Grzegorz; Piotrowicz, Katarzyna; Banak, Małgorzata; Wójcik, Agnieszka

2016-04-01

Correct blood pressure (BP) measurement is crucial in the diagnosis of arterial hypertension (AH), and controversy exists whether supine BP should be treated as equal to sitting BP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of supine BP to sitting BP and ambulatory BP with regard to identification of diagnostic cut-offs for hypertension. This study included 280 patients with AH (mean age: 44.3 ±10.6 years). The following measurements of BP were performed and analyzed: 1) sitting office blood pressure measurement (OSBP and ODBP); 2) supine BP (supSBP and supDBP), measured automatically (5 times with a 2-minute interval) during evaluation by the Niccomo device (Medis, Germany); 3) 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring. The mean supSBP and supDBP were found to be lower than OSBP and ODBP (130.9 ±14.2 vs. 136.6 ±15.5 mm Hg and 84.8 ±9.4 vs. 87.8 ±10.2 mm Hg, respectively; p < 0.000001). The correlations between ABP and supBP/OBP were moderate and strong (correlation coefficients in range 0.55-0.76). The ROC analysis revealed that mean supBP ≥ 130/80 mm Hg was more precise than OBP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg in diagnosing hypertension (AUC: 0.820 vs. 0.550; sensitivity 80.7% vs. 57.4%; specificity 83.2% vs. 52.7%; p < 0.0001) and the additive value derived mostly from its higher predictive power of identifying patients with increased night-time BP. In young and middle-aged hypertensive patients the blood pressure during a 10-minute supine rest was lower than in the sitting position. The supine blood pressure ≥ 130/80 mm Hg was found to be a specific and sensitive threshold for hypertension.

Identification and Characterization of Candidate Chemosensory Gene Families from Spodoptera exigua Developmental Transcriptomes

PubMed Central

Liu, Nai-Yong; Zhang, Ting; Ye, Zhan-Feng; Li, Fei; Dong, Shuang-Lin

2015-01-01

Insect chemosensory genes have been considered as potential molecular targets to develop alternative strategies for pest control. However, in Spodoptera exigua, a seriously polyphagous agricultural pest, only a small part of such genes have been identified and characterized to date. Here, using a bioinformatics screen a total of 79 chemosensory genes were identified from a public transcriptomic data of different developmental stages (eggs, 1st to 5th instar larvae, pupae, female and male adults), including 34 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 20 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 22 chemosensory receptors (10 odorant receptors (ORs), six gustatory receptors (GRs) and six ionotropic receptors (IRs)) and three sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Notably, a new group of lepidopteran SNMPs (SNMP3 group) was found for the first time in S. exigua, and confirmed in four other moth species. Further, reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) were employed respectively to validate the sequences and determine the expression patterns of 69 identified chemosensory genes regarding to sexes, tissues and stages. Results showed that 67 of these genes could be detected and reconstructed in at least one tissue tested. Further, 60 chemosensory genes were expressed in adult antennae and 52 in larval heads with the antennae, whereas over half of the genes were also detected in non-olfactory tissues like egg and thorax. Particularly, S. exigua OBP2 showed a predominantly larval head-biased expression, and functional studies further indicated its potentially olfactory roles in guiding food searching of larvae. This work suggests functional diversities of S. exigua chemosensory genes and could greatly facilitate the understanding of olfactory system in S. exigua and other lepidopteran species. PMID:26221071

The National Board Certification Portfolio Process and Its Influence on Teacher Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Jennifer L.

2012-01-01

This study examined the types of teacher reflections and the changes in reflective levels as 15 candidates for National Board Certification worked through the portfolio process. This study also examined how the portfolio requirements and mentoring from candidate support providers helped teachers deepen their levels of reflection. Study findings…

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

Steffen, Jason H.; Hotchkiss, Jon

We report the results of an experimental comparison of different airplane boarding methods. This test was conducted in a mock 757 fuselage, located on a Southern California soundstage, with 12 rows of six seats and a single aisle. Five methods were tested using 72 passengers of various ages. We found a significant reduction in the boarding times of optimized methods over traditional methods. These improved methods, if properly implemented, could result in a significant savings to airline companies. The process of boarding an airplane is of interest to a variety of groups. The public is interested both as a curiosity,more » as it is something that they may regularly experience, and as a consumer, as their experiences good or bad can affect their loyalties. Airline companies and their employees also have a stake in an efficient boarding procedure as time saved in the boarding process may result is monetary savings, in the quality of interactions with passengers, and in the application of human resources to the general process of preparing an airplane for departure. A recent study (Nyquist and McFadden, 2008) indicates that the average cost to an airline company for each minute of time spent at the terminal is roughly $30. Thus, each minute saved in the turn-around time of a flight has the potential to generate over $16,000,000 in annual savings (assuming an average of 1500 flights per day). While the boarding process may not be the primary source of delay in returning an airplane to the skies, reducing the boarding time may effectively eliminate passenger boarding as a contributor in any meaningful measure. Consequently, subsequent efforts to streamline the other necessary tasks, such as refueling and maintenance, would be rewarded with a material reduction in time at the gate for each flight.« less

AV-8B Remanufacture Program as Part of the Audit of the Defense Acquisition Board Review Process - FY 1994

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-03

wft*:¥A:ft:i:ft& OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL AV-8B REMANUFACTURE PROGRAM AS PART OF THE AUDIT OF THE DEFENSE ACQUISITION BOARD...Part of the Audit of the Defense Acquisition Board Review Process - FY 1994 B. DATE Report Downloaded From the Internet: 03/23/99 C. Report’s Point...NAVY FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITION SUBJECT: Audit Report on the AV-8B Remanufacture Program as Part of the Audit of the Defense

A study on the real-time reliability of on-board equipment of train control system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yong; Li, Shiwei

2018-05-01

Real-time reliability evaluation is conducive to establishing a condition based maintenance system for the purpose of guaranteeing continuous train operation. According to the inherent characteristics of the on-board equipment, the connotation of reliability evaluation of on-board equipment is defined and the evaluation index of real-time reliability is provided in this paper. From the perspective of methodology and practical application, the real-time reliability of the on-board equipment is discussed in detail, and the method of evaluating the realtime reliability of on-board equipment at component level based on Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is proposed. In this method the performance degradation data is used directly to realize the accurate perception of the hidden state transition process of on-board equipment, which can achieve a better description of the real-time reliability of the equipment.

The general utilization of scrapped PC board.

PubMed

Liu, Robert; Shieh, R S; Yeh, Ruth Y L; Lin, C H

2009-11-01

The traditional burning process is used to recover copper from scrapped PC board (printed circuit board) but it causes serious environmental problems. In this research a new process was developed which not only prevents pollution problems, but also maximizes the utility of all the materials on the waste board. First, the scrapped PC board was crushed and grounded, then placed in the NH3/NH5CO3 solution with aeration in order to dissolve copper. After distilling the copper NH3/NH5CO3 solution and then heating the distilled residue of copper carbonate, pure copper oxide was obtained with particle size of about 0.2 microm and the shape elliptical. The remaining solid residue after copper removal was then leached with 6N hydrochloric acid to remove tin and lead. The last residue was used as a filler in PVC plastics. The PVC plastics with PC board powder as filling material was found to have the same tensile strength as unfilled plastics, but had higher elastic modulus, higher abrasion resistance, and was cheaper.

Physician perspectives on legal processes for resolving end-of-life disputes.

PubMed

Chidwick, Paula; Sibbald, Robert

2011-01-01

In order to understand how to effectively approach end-of-life disputes, this study surveyed physicians' attitudes towards one process for resolving end-of-life disputes, namely, the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario. In this case, the process involved examining interpretation of best interests between substitute decision-makers and medical teams. Physicians who made "Form G" applications to the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario that resulted in a decision posted on the open-access database, Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLii), were identified and surveyed. This purposive sample led to 13 invitations to participate and 12 interviews (92% response rate). Interviews were conducted using a prescribed interview guide. No barriers to the Consent and Capacity Board process were reported. Applications were made when physicians reached an impasse with the family and further treatment was perceived to be "unethical." The most significant challenge reported was the delay when appeals were launched. Appeals extended the process for an indefinite period of time making it so lengthy it negated any perceived benefits of the process. Benefits included that a neutral third party, namely the Consent and Capacity Board, was able to assess best interests. Also, when decisions were timely, further harm to the patient was minimized. Physicians reported this particular approach, namely the Consent and Capacity Board has a mechanism that is worthwhile, patient centred, process oriented, orderly and efficient for resolving end-of-life disputes and, in particular, determining best interests. However, unless the appeal process can be adjusted to respond to the ICU context there is a risk of not serving the best interest of patients. Physicians would recommend framing end-of-life treatment plans in the positive instead of negative, for example, propose palliative care and no escalation of treatment as opposed to withdrawal.

20 CFR 405.405 - Decision Review Board.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Decision Review Board. 405.405 Section 405.405 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW PROCESS FOR ADJUDICATING... judge's decision has been effectuated to study our disability determination process. If the Board...

77 FR 4844 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving a...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-31

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-66235; File No. SR-CBOE-2011-114] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Complex Order Processing in Hybrid 3.0 Classes January 25, 2012. I. Introduction On November 29, 2011, the Chicago Board Options...

Antennal transcriptome analysis of the chemosensory gene families in the tree killing bark beetles, Ips typographus and Dendroctonus ponderosae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The European spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, and the North American mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), are severe pests of coniferous forests. Both bark beetle species utilize aggregation pheromones to coordinate mass-attacks on host trees, while odorants from host and non-host trees modulate the pheromone response. Thus, the bark beetle olfactory sense is of utmost importance for fitness. However, information on the genes underlying olfactory detection has been lacking in bark beetles and is limited in Coleoptera. We assembled antennal transcriptomes from next-generation sequencing of I. typographus and D. ponderosae to identify members of the major chemosensory multi-gene families. Results Gene ontology (GO) annotation indicated that the relative abundance of transcripts associated with specific GO terms was highly similar in the two species. Transcripts with terms related to olfactory function were found in both species. Focusing on the chemosensory gene families, we identified 15 putative odorant binding proteins (OBP), 6 chemosensory proteins (CSP), 3 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMP), 43 odorant receptors (OR), 6 gustatory receptors (GR), and 7 ionotropic receptors (IR) in I. typographus; and 31 putative OBPs, 11 CSPs, 3 SNMPs, 49 ORs, 2 GRs, and 15 IRs in D. ponderosae. Predicted protein sequences were compared with counterparts in the flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, the cerambycid beetle, Megacyllene caryae, and the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The most notable result was found among the ORs, for which large bark beetle-specific expansions were found. However, some clades contained receptors from all four beetle species, indicating a degree of conservation among some coleopteran OR lineages. Putative GRs for carbon dioxide and orthologues for the conserved antennal IRs were included in the identified receptor sets. Conclusions The protein families important for chemoreception have now been identified in three coleopteran species (four species for the ORs). Thus, this study allows for improved evolutionary analyses of coleopteran olfaction. Identification of these proteins in two of the most destructive forest pests, sharing many semiochemicals, is especially important as they might represent novel targets for population control. PMID:23517120

Repairable chip bonding/interconnect process

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, A.F.; Contolini, R.J.; Malba, V.; Riddle, R.A.

1997-08-05

A repairable, chip-to-board interconnect process which addresses cost and testability issues in the multi-chip modules is disclosed. This process can be carried out using a chip-on-sacrificial-substrate technique, involving laser processing. This process avoids the curing/solvent evolution problems encountered in prior approaches, as well is resolving prior plating problems and the requirements for fillets. For repairable high speed chip-to-board connection, transmission lines can be formed on the sides of the chip from chip bond pads, ending in a gull wing at the bottom of the chip for subsequent solder. 10 figs.

The AGU Data Management Maturity Model Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, J. J.

2015-12-01

In September 2014, the AGU Board of Directors approved two initiatives to help the Earth and space sciences community address the growing challenges accompanying the increasing size and complexity of data. These initiatives are: 1) Data Science Credentialing: development of a continuing education and professional certification program to help scientists in their careers and to meet growing responsibilities and requirements around data science; and 2) Data Management Maturity (DMM) Model: development and implementation of a data management maturity model to assess process maturity against best practices, and to identify opportunities in organizational data management processes. Each of these has been organized within AGU as an Editorial Board and both Boards have held kick off meetings. The DMM model Editorial Board will recommend strategies for adapting and deploying a DMM model to the Earth and space sciences create guidance documents to assist in its implementation, and provide input on a pilot appraisal process. This presentation will provide an overview of progress to date in the DMM model Editorial Board and plans for work to be done over the upcoming year.

A Social Cognitive Investigation of Australian Independent School Boards as Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krishnan, Aparna; Barnett, Kerry; McCormick, John; Newcombe, Geoffrey

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate independent school Boards as teams using a social cognitive perspective. Specifically, the study investigated Board processes and the nature of relationships between Board member self-efficacy, Board collective efficacy and performance of independent school Boards in New South Wales, Australia.…

76 FR 7198 - Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public Meeting of a Science Advisory Board...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-09

..., preferably at least 10 days prior to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your... Board can be found on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SAB... light of EPA's research needs. Previous SAB budget advisories are on the SAB Web site at http://www.epa...

Progress on plutonium stabilization

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

Hurt, D.

1996-05-01

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has safety oversight responsibility for most of the facilities where unstable forms of plutonium are being processed and packaged for interim storage. The Board has issued recommendations on plutonium stabilization and has has a considerable influence on DOE`s stabilization schedules and priorities. The Board has not made any recommendations on long-term plutonium disposition, although it may get more involved in the future if DOE develops plans to use defense nuclear facilities for disposition activities.

On-board computational efficiency in real time UAV embedded terrain reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Partsinevelos, Panagiotis; Agadakos, Ioannis; Athanasiou, Vasilis; Papaefstathiou, Ioannis; Mertikas, Stylianos; Kyritsis, Sarantis; Tripolitsiotis, Achilles; Zervos, Panagiotis

2014-05-01

In the last few years, there is a surge of applications for object recognition, interpretation and mapping using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Specifications in constructing those UAVs are highly diverse with contradictory characteristics including cost-efficiency, carrying weight, flight time, mapping precision, real time processing capabilities, etc. In this work, a hexacopter UAV is employed for near real time terrain mapping. The main challenge addressed is to retain a low cost flying platform with real time processing capabilities. The UAV weight limitation affecting the overall flight time, makes the selection of the on-board processing components particularly critical. On the other hand, surface reconstruction, as a computational demanding task, calls for a highly demanding processing unit on board. To merge these two contradicting aspects along with customized development, a System on a Chip (SoC) integrated circuit is proposed as a low-power, low-cost processor, which natively supports camera sensors and positioning and navigation systems. Modern SoCs, such as Omap3530 or Zynq, are classified as heterogeneous devices and provide a versatile platform, allowing access to both general purpose processors, such as the ARM11, as well as specialized processors, such as a digital signal processor and floating field-programmable gate array. A UAV equipped with the proposed embedded processors, allows on-board terrain reconstruction using stereo vision in near real time. Furthermore, according to the frame rate required, additional image processing may concurrently take place, such as image rectification andobject detection. Lastly, the onboard positioning and navigation (e.g., GNSS) chip may further improve the quality of the generated map. The resulting terrain maps are compared to ground truth geodetic measurements in order to access the accuracy limitations of the overall process. It is shown that with our proposed novel system,there is much potential in computational efficiency on board and in optimized time constraints.

17 CFR 202.190 - Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Public Company Accounting... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION INFORMAL AND OTHER PROCEDURES Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (Regulation P) § 202.190 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process. (a) Purpose. These...

17 CFR 202.190 - Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Public Company Accounting... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION INFORMAL AND OTHER PROCEDURES Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (Regulation P) § 202.190 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process. (a) Purpose. These...

National Board Certified Teachers in Pennsylvania: A Study of Motivation and Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starnes, Ronald Jay

2013-01-01

This descriptive study identifies: 1) the factors which motivated Pennsylvania teachers to begin the National Board Certification process; 2) the factors of persistence which led teachers to successful achievement of National Board Certification and; 3) the personal transformation which took place in the process. Quantitative and qualitative…

Characterization of CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner

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

Not Available

A fringe detection and measurement system was constructed for use with the CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner, consisting of three circuit boards. The first board is a standard Reticon RC-100 B motherboard which is used to provide the timing, video processing, and housekeeping functions required by the Reticon RL-512 G photodiode array used in the system. The sampled and held video signal from the motherboard is processed by a second, custom-fabricated circuit board which contains a high-speed fringe detection and locating circuit. This board includes a dc level-discriminator-type fringe detector, a counter circuit to determine fringe center, a pulsed lasermore » triggering circuit, and a control circuit to operate the shutter for the He-Ne reference laser beam. The fringe center information is supplied to the third board, a commercial single board computer, which governs the data-collection process and interprets the results.« less

Characterization of CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

A fringe detection and measurement system was constructed for use with the CNRS Fizeau wedge laser tuner, consisting of three circuit boards. The first board is a standard Reticon RC-100 B motherboard which is used to provide the timing, video processing, and housekeeping functions required by the Reticon RL-512 G photodiode array used in the system. The sampled and held video signal from the motherboard is processed by a second, custom fabricated circuit board which contains a high speed fringe detection and locating circuit. This board includes a dc level discriminator type fringe detector, a counter circuit to determine fringe center, a pulsed laser triggering circuit, and a control circuit to operate the shutter for the He-Ne reference laser beam. The fringe center information is supplied to the third board, a commercial single board computer, which governs the data collection process and interprets the results.

A Comparative Case Study of the Influence of Educational Governance Team Decision-Making Processes on District Climate and Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Debra A.

2010-01-01

This study explored how the educational governance team, composed of the superintendent and school board, can, in their collaborative efforts and decision-making processes, influence school district climate and impact student achievement. Though in form and function, school boards have not changed much in their almost 200 years of existence,…

Enhancement of the Computer Lumber Grading Program to Support Polygonal Defects

Treesearch

Powsiri Klinkhachorn; R. Kathari; D. Yost; Philip A. Araman

1993-01-01

Computer grading of hardwood lumber promises to avoid regrading of the same lumber because of disagreements between the buyer and the seller. However, the first generation of computer programs for hardwood lumber grading simplify the process by modeling defects on the board as rectangles. This speeds up the grading process buy can inadvertently put a board into a lower...

The Governance and Decision Making Processes of the Arizona Board of Regents and Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Jacqueline; Johnson, Edward

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' (ABOR) Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document looks at ABOR and at the governance and decision making processes of Arizona's three public universities. ABOR is a body corporate charged with the governance of the three universities, which…

Pyrolysis characteristics of integrated circuit boards at various particle sizes and temperatures.

PubMed

Chiang, Hung-Lung; Lin, Kuo-Hsiung; Lai, Mei-Hsiu; Chen, Ting-Chien; Ma, Sen-Yi

2007-10-01

A pyrolysis method was employed to recycle the metals and brominated compounds blended into printed circuit boards. This research investigated the effect of particle size and process temperature on the element composition of IC boards and pyrolytic residues, liquid products, and water-soluble ionic species in the exhaust, with the overall goal being to identify the pyrolysis conditions that will have the least impact on the environment. Integrated circuit (IC) boards were crushed into 5-40 mesh (0.71-4.4mm), and the crushed particles were pyrolyzed at temperatures ranging from 200 to 500 degrees C. The thermal decomposition kinetics were measured by a thermogravimetric (TG) analyzer. The composition of pyrolytic residues was analyzed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS), Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometer (ICP-AES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). In addition, the element compositions of liquid products were analyzed by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. Pyrolytic exhaust was collected by a water-absorption system in an ice-bath cooler, and IC analysis showed that the absorbed solution comprised 11 ionic species. Based on the pyrolytic kinetic parameters of TG analysis and pyrolytic residues at various temperatures for 30 min, the effect of particle size was insignificant in this study, and temperature was the key factor for the IC board pyrolysis. Two stages of decomposition were found for IC board pyrolysis under nitrogen atmosphere. The activation energy was 38-47 kcal/mol for the first-stage reaction and 5.2-9.4 kcal/mol for the second-stage reaction. Metal content was low in the liquid by-product of the IC board pyrolysis process, which is an advantage in that the liquid product could be used as a fuel. Brominate and ammonium were the main water-soluble ionic species of the pyrolytic exhaust. A plan for their safe and effective disposal must be developed if the pyrolytic recycling process is to be applied to IC boards.

Virtualizing Super-Computation On-Board Uas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salami, E.; Soler, J. A.; Cuadrado, R.; Barrado, C.; Pastor, E.

2015-04-01

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS, also known as UAV, RPAS or drones) have a great potential to support a wide variety of aerial remote sensing applications. Most UAS work by acquiring data using on-board sensors for later post-processing. Some require the data gathered to be downlinked to the ground in real-time. However, depending on the volume of data and the cost of the communications, this later option is not sustainable in the long term. This paper develops the concept of virtualizing super-computation on-board UAS, as a method to ease the operation by facilitating the downlink of high-level information products instead of raw data. Exploiting recent developments in miniaturized multi-core devices is the way to speed-up on-board computation. This hardware shall satisfy size, power and weight constraints. Several technologies are appearing with promising results for high performance computing on unmanned platforms, such as the 36 cores of the TILE-Gx36 by Tilera (now EZchip) or the 64 cores of the Epiphany-IV by Adapteva. The strategy for virtualizing super-computation on-board includes the benchmarking for hardware selection, the software architecture and the communications aware design. A parallelization strategy is given for the 36-core TILE-Gx36 for a UAS in a fire mission or in similar target-detection applications. The results are obtained for payload image processing algorithms and determine in real-time the data snapshot to gather and transfer to ground according to the needs of the mission, the processing time, and consumed watts.

Onboard spectral imager data processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otten, Leonard J.; Meigs, Andrew D.; Franklin, Abraham J.; Sears, Robert D.; Robison, Mark W.; Rafert, J. Bruce; Fronterhouse, Donald C.; Grotbeck, Ronald L.

1999-10-01

Previous papers have described the concept behind the MightySat II.1 program, the satellite's Fourier Transform imaging spectrometer's optical design, the design for the spectral imaging payload, and its initial qualification testing. This paper discusses the on board data processing designed to reduce the amount of downloaded data by an order of magnitude and provide a demonstration of a smart spaceborne spectral imaging sensor. Two custom components, a spectral imager interface 6U VME card that moves data at over 30 MByte/sec, and four TI C-40 processors mounted to a second 6U VME and daughter card, are used to adapt the sensor to the spacecraft and provide the necessary high speed processing. A system architecture that offers both on board real time image processing and high-speed post data collection analysis of the spectral data has been developed. In addition to the on board processing of the raw data into a usable spectral data volume, one feature extraction technique has been incorporated. This algorithm operates on the basic interferometric data. The algorithm is integrated within the data compression process to search for uploadable feature descriptions.

Implementing Legacy-C Algorithms in FPGA Co-Processors for Performance Accelerated Smart Payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pingree, Paula J.; Scharenbroich, Lucas J.; Werne, Thomas A.; Hartzell, Christine

2008-01-01

Accurate, on-board classification of instrument data is used to increase science return by autonomously identifying regions of interest for priority transmission or generating summary products to conserve transmission bandwidth. Due to on-board processing constraints, such classification has been limited to using the simplest functions on a small subset of the full instrument data. FPGA co-processor designs for SVM1 classifiers will lead to significant improvement in on-board classification capability and accuracy.

UniBoard: generic hardware for radio astronomy signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargreaves, J. E.

2012-09-01

UniBoard is a generic high-performance computing platform for radio astronomy, developed as a Joint Research Activity in the RadioNet FP7 Programme. The hardware comprises eight Altera Stratix IV Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) interconnected by a high speed transceiver mesh. Each FPGA is connected to two DDR3 memory modules and three external 10Gbps ports. In addition, a total of 128 low voltage differential input lines permit connection to external ADC cards. The DSP capability of the board exceeds 644E9 complex multiply-accumulate operations per second. The first production run of eight boards was distributed to partners in The Netherlands, France, Italy, UK, China and Korea in May 2011, with a further production runs completed in December 2011 and early 2012. The function of the board is determined by the firmware loaded into its FPGAs. Current applications include beamformers, correlators, digital receivers, RFI mitigation for pulsar astronomy, and pulsar gating and search machines The new UniBoard based correlator for the European VLBI network (EVN) uses an FX architecture with half the resources of the board devoted to station based processing: delay and phase correction and channelization, and half to the correlation function. A single UniBoard can process a 64MHz band from 32 stations, 2 polarizations, sampled at 8 bit. Adding more UniBoards can expand the total bandwidth of the correlator. The design is able to process both prerecorded and real time (eVLBI) data.

Concepts for on board satellite image registration. Volume 4: Impact of data set selection on satellite on board signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruedger, W. H.; Aanstoos, J. V.; Snyder, W. E.

1982-01-01

The NASA NEEDS program goals present a requirement for on-board signal processing to achieve user-compatible, information-adaptive data acquisition. This volume addresses the impact of data set selection on data formatting required for efficient telemetering of the acquired satellite sensor data. More specifically, the FILE algorithm developed by Martin-Marietta provides a means for the determination of those pixels from the data stream effects an improvement in the achievable system throughput. It will be seen that based on the lack of statistical stationarity in cloud cover, spatial distribution periods exist where data acquisition rates exceed the throughput capability. The study therefore addresses various approaches to data compression and truncation as applicable to this sensor mission.

Why board of nursing disciplinary actions do not always yield the expected results.

PubMed

Raper, James Luther; Hudspeth, Randall

2008-01-01

One of the ways boards of nursing serve to protect the public health, safety, and welfare is by removing from practice those nurses who fail to meet recognized standards of care or otherwise pose a public threat. Self-reporting and discovery through criminal background checks and reports from the court system or other regulatory bodies represent only small numbers of those disciplined. Most complaints investigated by a board are reported by nursing administrators, either chief nursing officers or nurse managers. Frequently, the reporting nurses provide the board with information from their own investigation that identifies the problem and the cause and includes supporting evidence. Based on their own independent investigation, the reporting nurses often assume that the outcome of board action is a foregone conclusion. Without understanding all of the ramifications of disciplinary processes and the requirements to protect the rights of the nurse that are guaranteed under the US Constitution, the final outcome decision can be totally different than anticipated and thus disappointing to the reporting nurse administrator. They could perceive the decision as wrong, nonsupportive, and discounting the efforts made by the reporting nurse. This unhappiness with the outcome causes vulnerability in the major reporting source to a board, namely, the relationship between the board and the nurse administrator. An initial step in mitigating this vulnerability is a better understanding by nursing administrators of the legal procedures that guide disciplinary processes and boards providing timely feedback to reporting nurses on the disposition of cases.

On-board processing concepts for future satellite communications systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandon, W. T. (Editor); White, B. E. (Editor)

1980-01-01

The initial definition of on-board processing for an advanced satellite communications system to service domestic markets in the 1990's is discussed. An exemplar system with both RF on-board switching and demodulation/remodulation baseband processing is used to identify important issues related to system implementation, cost, and technology development. Analyses of spectrum-efficient modulation, coding, and system control techniques are summarized. Implementations for an RF switch and baseband processor are described. Among the major conclusions listed is the need for high gain satellites capable of handling tens of simultaneous beams for the efficient reuse of the 2.5 GHz 30/20 frequency band. Several scanning beams are recommended in addition to the fixed beams. Low power solid state 20 GHz GaAs FET power amplifiers in the 5W range and a general purpose digital baseband processor with gigahertz logic speeds and megabits of memory are also recommended.

Application of the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment Method to the Grande Ronde Model Watershed project : Final Report.

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

Mobrand, Lars Erik; Lestelle, Lawrence C.

In the spring of 1994 a technical planning support project was initiated by the Grande Ronde Model Watershed Board of Directors (Board) with funding from the Bonneville Power Administration. The project was motivated by a need for a science based method for prioritizing restoration actions in the basin that would promote effectiveness and accountability. In this section the authors recall the premises for the project. The authors also present a set of recommendations for implementing a watershed planning process that incorporates a science-based framework to help guide decision making. This process is intended to assist the Grande Ronde Model Watershedmore » Board in its effort to plan and implement watershed improvement measures. The process would also assist the Board in coordinating its efforts with other entities in the region. The planning process is based on an approach for developing an ecosystem management strategy referred to as the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) method (Lichatowich et al. 1995, Lestelle et al. 1996). The process consists of an on-going planning cycle. Included in this cycle is an assessment of the ability of the watershed to support and sustain natural resources and other economic and societal values. This step in the process, which the authors refer to as the diagnosis, helps guide the development of actions (also referred to as treatments) aimed at improving the conditions of the watershed to achieve long-term objectives. The planning cycle calls for routinely reviewing and updating, as necessary, the basis for the diagnosis and other analyses used by the Board in adopting actions for implementation. The recommendations offered here address this critical need to habitually update the information used in setting priorities for action.« less

Enhanced Weather Radar (EWxR) System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kronfeld, Kevin M. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

An airborne weather radar system, the Enhanced Weather Radar (EWxR), with enhanced on-board weather radar data processing was developed and tested. The system features additional weather data that is uplinked from ground-based sources, specialized data processing, and limited automatic radar control to search for hazardous weather. National Weather Service (NWS) ground-based Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) information is used by the EWxR system to augment the on-board weather radar information. The system will simultaneously display NEXRAD and on-board weather radar information in a split-view format. The on-board weather radar includes an automated or hands-free storm-finding feature that optimizes the radar returns by automatically adjusting the tilt and range settings for the current altitude above the terrain and searches for storm cells near the atmospheric 0-degree isotherm. A rule-based decision aid was developed to automatically characterize cells as hazardous, possibly-hazardous, or non-hazardous based upon attributes of that cell. Cell attributes are determined based on data from the on-board radar and from ground-based radars. A flight path impact prediction algorithm was developed to help pilots to avoid hazardous weather along their flight plan and their mission. During development the system was tested on the NASA B757 aircraft and final tests were conducted on the Rockwell Collins Sabreliner.

The History, Role, and Value of Public Directors on Certifying Boards: The American Board of Ophthalmology Experience.

PubMed

Anderson, Suzanne T; Nora, Lois M; McEntee, Christine W; Fitzgerald, Matthew E; Nugent, Samantha Guastella

2016-09-01

The mission of the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is to serve the public by improving the quality of ophthalmic practice through a continuing certification process that fosters excellence and encourages continual learning. Since 2001, achieving this mission has been enhanced by including public directors in the ABO governance. We review the evolution of including nonprofessional members on the governing boards of professional regulatory and self-regulatory organizations generally, provide history about the incorporation of non-professional public directors into the governance structure of the American Board of Medical Specialties and the ABO, and offer insights about the perceived impact of public directors on the ABO. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Outsourcing the Superintendency: Contextual Changes to the Urban School Superintendent.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Eugene T. W.; And Others

1998-01-01

Analyzes an urban Ohio school board's decision regarding potential employment of a business firm instead of a traditional superintendent, highlighting the board's selection process and the nature of board/community interactions. The study used an interview guide format with five board members. The board chose not to hire a Minnesota-based firm for…

40 CFR 86.1806-01 - On-board diagnostics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...-board diagnostic system during the certification process, that functions properly on low-sulfur gasoline... equipped. (1) A catalyst is replaced with a deteriorated or defective catalyst, or an electronic simulation... oxygen sensor is replaced with a deteriorated or defective oxygen sensor, or an electronic simulation of...

On-Board File Management and Its Application in Flight Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, N.

1998-01-01

In this paper, the author presents the minimum functions required for an on-board file management system. We explore file manipulation processes and demonstrate how the file transfer along with the file management system will be utilized to support flight operations and data delivery.

Modular space vehicle boards, control software, reprogramming, and failure recovery

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

Judd, Stephen; Dallmann, Nicholas; McCabe, Kevin

A space vehicle may have a modular board configuration that commonly uses some or all components and a common operating system for at least some of the boards. Each modular board may have its own dedicated processing, and processing loads may be distributed. The space vehicle may be reprogrammable, and may be launched without code that enables all functionality and/or components. Code errors may be detected and the space vehicle may be reset to a working code version to prevent system failure.

Molecular evolution of the major chemosensory gene families in insects.

PubMed

Sánchez-Gracia, A; Vieira, F G; Rozas, J

2009-09-01

Chemoreception is a crucial biological process that is essential for the survival of animals. In insects, olfaction allows the organism to recognise volatile cues that allow the detection of food, predators and mates, whereas the sense of taste commonly allows the discrimination of soluble stimulants that elicit feeding behaviours and can also initiate innate sexual and reproductive responses. The most important proteins involved in the recognition of chemical cues comprise moderately sized multigene families. These families include odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs), which are involved in peripheral olfactory processing, and the chemoreceptor superfamily formed by the olfactory receptor (OR) and gustatory receptor (GR) families. Here, we review some recent evolutionary genomic studies of chemosensory gene families using the data from fully sequenced insect genomes, especially from the 12 newly available Drosophila genomes. Overall, the results clearly support the birth-and-death model as the major mechanism of evolution in these gene families. Namely, new members arise by tandem gene duplication, progressively diverge in sequence and function, and can eventually be lost from the genome by a deletion or pseudogenisation event. Adaptive changes fostered by environmental shifts are also observed in the evolution of chemosensory families in insects and likely involve reproductive, ecological or behavioural traits. Consequently, the current size of these gene families is mainly a result of random gene gain and loss events. This dynamic process may represent a major source of genetic variation, providing opportunities for FUTURE specific adaptations.

An embedded vision system for an unmanned four-rotor helicopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lillywhite, Kirt; Lee, Dah-Jye; Tippetts, Beau; Fowers, Spencer; Dennis, Aaron; Nelson, Brent; Archibald, James

2006-10-01

In this paper an embedded vision system and control module is introduced that is capable of controlling an unmanned four-rotor helicopter and processing live video for various law enforcement, security, military, and civilian applications. The vision system is implemented on a newly designed compact FPGA board (Helios). The Helios board contains a Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA chip and memory making it capable of implementing real time vision algorithms. A Smooth Automated Intelligent Leveling daughter board (SAIL), attached to the Helios board, collects attitude and heading information to be processed in order to control the unmanned helicopter. The SAIL board uses an electrolytic tilt sensor, compass, voltage level converters, and analog to digital converters to perform its operations. While level flight can be maintained, problems stemming from the characteristics of the tilt sensor limits maneuverability of the helicopter. The embedded vision system has proven to give very good results in its performance of a number of real-time robotic vision algorithms.

Using a multilevel mediation model to examine the effects of National Board Certified Teachers on high school science students' cognitive engagement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaleski, Diana Janet

2011-12-01

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards claims to identify effective educators through their certification process. However, research concerning National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of NBCT on the cognitive engagement of high school science students. Multilevel mediation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of teacher certification on students' cognitive engagement in science and whether students' expectancies for success and perceptions of task value mediate these effects. Students of NBCT were found to be more cognitively engaged in science than students of non-NBCT; however, students' expectancies for success and perceptions of task value did not mediate this relationship. In addition, students with more positive expectancies for success and perceptions of task value were more cognitively engaged in science. These findings support the proposition that the National Board certification process at least identifies effective educators.

Learning from number board games: you learn what you encode.

PubMed

Laski, Elida V; Siegler, Robert S

2014-03-01

We tested the hypothesis that encoding the numerical-spatial relations in a number board game is a key process in promoting learning from playing such games. Experiment 1 used a microgenetic design to examine the effects on learning of the type of counting procedure that children use. As predicted, having kindergartners count-on from their current number on the board while playing a 0-100 number board game facilitated their encoding of the numerical-spatial relations on the game board and improved their number line estimates, numeral identification, and count-on skill. Playing the same game using the standard count-from-1 procedure led to considerably less learning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that comparable improvement in number line estimation does not occur with practice encoding the numerals 1-100 outside of the context of a number board game. The general importance of aligning learning activities and physical materials with desired mental representations is discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Health and wellbeing boards: public health decision making bodies or political pawns?

PubMed

Greaves, Z; McCafferty, S

2017-02-01

Health and Wellbeing boards in England are uniquely constituted; embedded in the local authorities with membership drawn from a range of stakeholders and partner organizations. This raises the question of how decision making functions of the boards reflects wider public health decision making, if criteria are applied to decision making, and what prioritization processes, if any, are used. Qualitative research methods were employed and five local boards were approached, interview dyads were conducted with the boards Chair and Director of Public Health across four of these (n = 4). Three questions were addressed: how are decisions made? What are the criteria applied to decision making? And how are criteria then prioritized? A thematic approach was used to analyse data identifying codes and extracting key themes. Equity, effectiveness and consistency with strategies of board and partners were most consistently identified by participants as criteria influencing decisions. Prioritization was described as an engaged and collaborative process, but criteria were not explicitly referenced in the decision making of the boards which instead made unstructured prioritization of population sub-groups or interventions agreed by consensus. Criteria identified are broadly consistent with those used in wider public health practice but additionally incorporated criteria which recognizes the political siting of the boards. The study explored the variety in different board's approaches to prioritization and identified a lack of clarity and rigour in the identification and use of criteria in prioritization processes. Decision making may benefit from the explicit inclusion of criteria in the prioritization process. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Exploration of the Superintendent Hiring Process in Texas Used by School Boards That Utilized Search Consultants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beagle, Steven W.

2012-01-01

This study explored the superintendent hiring process in Texas. Participating school board presidents were part of a target population who used search consultants and hired a superintendent during 2011. Using survey research methods, data were collected from 17 school board presidents. The Superintendent Profile survey was used to measure how…

77 FR 38701 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Amending...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-28

... process for the nomination and selection of fair representation directors for the NYSE Arca Board of Directors (``NYSE Arca Board''), and NYSE Arca Equities Rule 3.2 sets forth a similar process for the nomination and selection of fair representation directors for the NYSE Arca Equities Board of Directors...

An acquisition system for CMOS imagers with a genuine 10 Gbit/s bandwidth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guérin, C.; Mahroug, J.; Tromeur, W.; Houles, J.; Calabria, P.; Barbier, R.

2012-12-01

This paper presents a high data throughput acquisition system for pixel detector readout such as CMOS imagers. This CMOS acquisition board offers a genuine 10 Gbit/s bandwidth to the workstation and can provide an on-line and continuous high frame rate imaging capability. On-line processing can be implemented either on the Data Acquisition Board or on the multi-cores workstation depending on the complexity of the algorithms. The different parts composing the acquisition board have been designed to be used first with a single-photon detector called LUSIPHER (800×800 pixels), developed in our laboratory for scientific applications ranging from nano-photonics to adaptive optics. The architecture of the acquisition board is presented and the performances achieved by the produced boards are described. The future developments (hardware and software) concerning the on-line implementation of algorithms dedicated to single-photon imaging are tackled.

On-board congestion control for satellite packet switching networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Pong P.

1991-01-01

It is desirable to incorporate packet switching capability on-board for future communication satellites. Because of the statistical nature of packet communication, incoming traffic fluctuates and may cause congestion. Thus, it is necessary to incorporate a congestion control mechanism as part of the on-board processing to smooth and regulate the bursty traffic. Although there are extensive studies on congestion control for both baseband and broadband terrestrial networks, these schemes are not feasible for space based switching networks because of the unique characteristics of satellite link. Here, we propose a new congestion control method for on-board satellite packet switching. This scheme takes into consideration the long propagation delay in satellite link and takes advantage of the the satellite's broadcasting capability. It divides the control between the ground terminals and satellite, but distributes the primary responsibility to ground terminals and only requires minimal hardware resource on-board satellite.

WDM mid-board optics for chip-to-chip wavelength routing interconnects in the H2020 ICT-STREAMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanellos, G. T.; Pleros, N.

2017-02-01

Multi-socket server boards have emerged to increase the processing power density on the board level and further flatten the data center networks beyond leaf-spine architectures. Scaling however the number of processors per board puts current electronic technologies into challenge, as it requires high bandwidth interconnects and high throughput switches with increased number of ports that are currently unavailable. On-board optical interconnection has proved the potential to efficiently satisfy the bandwidth needs, but their use has been limited to parallel links without performing any smart routing functionality. With CWDM optical interconnects already a commodity, cyclical wavelength routing proposed to fit the datacom for rack-to-rack and board-to-board communication now becomes a promising on-board routing platform. ICT-STREAMS is a European research project that aims to combine WDM parallel on-board transceivers with a cyclical AWGR, in order to create a new board-level, chip-to-chip interconnection paradigm that will leverage WDM parallel transmission to a powerful wavelength routing platform capable to interconnect multiple processors with unprecedented bandwidth and throughput capacity. Direct, any-to-any, on-board interconnection of multiple processors will significantly contribute to further flatten the data centers and facilitate east-west communication. In the present communication, we present ICT-STREAMS on-board wavelength routing architecture for multiple chip-to-chip interconnections and evaluate the overall system performance in terms of throughput and latency for several schemes and traffic profiles. We also review recent advances of the ICT-STREAMS platform key-enabling technologies that span from Si in-plane lasers and polymer based electro-optical circuit boards to silicon photonics transceivers and photonic-crystal amplifiers.

77 FR 33202 - Meeting of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Meeting of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors... meeting of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors. The document failed to publish before the 15-day... Academy Board of Visitors or its Designated Federal Officer, the Board was unable to process the Federal...

Presidential Search: An Overview for Board Members

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, 2012

2012-01-01

The selection of a president is a governing board's most important responsibility, and the search process is the board's best opportunity to help guide its institution into a successful new era. This guide outlines the leadership roles during a search (those of the board, the board chair, the search committee, and others), briefs board…

Vermont State Board of Education Department of Education Strategic Plan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vermont Department of Education, 2005

2005-01-01

Section 180 of Title 16 requires the State Board of Education (Board) to "adopt through a public process a statewide strategic education plan to describe how the agency will help school boards to improve student performance." The Vermont State Board of Education and Commissioner Richard H. Cate drafted a plan that was adopted by the…

A low-cost vector processor boosting compute-intensive image processing operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adorf, Hans-Martin

1992-01-01

Low-cost vector processing (VP) is within reach of everyone seriously engaged in scientific computing. The advent of affordable add-on VP-boards for standard workstations complemented by mathematical/statistical libraries is beginning to impact compute-intensive tasks such as image processing. A case in point in the restoration of distorted images from the Hubble Space Telescope. A low-cost implementation is presented of the standard Tarasko-Richardson-Lucy restoration algorithm on an Intel i860-based VP-board which is seamlessly interfaced to a commercial, interactive image processing system. First experience is reported (including some benchmarks for standalone FFT's) and some conclusions are drawn.

Killing of Campylobacter on contaminated plastic and wooden cutting boards by glycerol monocaprate (monocaprin).

PubMed

Thormar, H; Hilmarsson, H

2010-09-01

Contamination in the kitchen with foodborne bacteria is a risk factor in human exposure to these pathogens, an important route being transfer of bacteria from contaminated cutting boards and other surfaces to humans. The aim of this study was to test microbicidal emulsions of glycerol monocaprate (monocaprin) against Campylobacter on contaminated cutting boards. Plastic and wooden cutting boards, soiled with meat juice heavily contaminated with Campylobacter, were treated for 2 min with emulsions of monocaprin (MC) made in water or in buffer at low pH. Viable Campylobacter counts were reduced below the detectable level on plastic board surfaces after treatment with MC emulsions with or without 1.25% washing-up liquids (WUL). The counts were also greatly reduced on wooden boards (P < 0.05). Monocaprin emulsions and mixtures of MC emulsions and WUL may be useful as sanitizers/disinfectants in kitchens and in other food preparing and processing facilities. Cleaning with MC emulsions with or without WUL may reduce the risk of human exposure to Campylobacter.

Department of Defense Task Force on the Care, Management, and Transition of Recovering Wounded, Ill, and Injured Members of the Armed Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-02

manpower and staffing model for Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers (PEBLOs) and legal support. Ensure adequate PEBLO and legal staffing levels to...Function focus centrally on the restoration of the physical and mental health of the RW. In the trajectory toward recovery, rehabilitation, and...identified as going through the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB)/ Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) process,84 and a family liaison officer from the RW’s

Injury Compensation Process Delays Prompt Payment of Benefits to Federal Workers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-25

Prompt Payment 9f Benefits 0 Federal Workers , "fem of benefits under the Federal Employees ’ Compen- , m Act am not being made on time a measured by the...A worker may also appeal adverse decisions to the Employees ’ Compensation Appeals Board. The Board is a quasi-judicial board of three members...agencies to distribute these pamphlets to workers . Similar instruc- tions are contained on Poster CA-10 "What a Federal Employee Should Do When

Controlled thermal expansion printed wiring boards based on liquid crystal polymer dielectrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knoll, Thomas E.; Blizard, Kent; Jayaraj, K.; Rubin, Leslie S.

1994-01-01

Dielectric materials based on innovative Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP's) have been used to fabricate surface mount printed wiring boards (PWB's) with a coefficient of thermal expansion matched to leadless ceramic chip carriers. Proprietary and patented polymer processing technology has resulted in self reinforcing material with balanced in-plane mechanical properties. In addition, LCP's possess excellent electrical properties, including a low dielectric constant (less than 2.9) and very low moisture absorption (less than 0.02%). LCP-based multilayer boards processed with conventional drilling and plating processes show improved performance over other materials because they eliminate the surface flatness problems of glass or aramid reinforcements. Laser drilling of blind vias in the LCP dielectric provides a very high density for use in direct chip attach and area array packages. The material is ideally suited for MCM-L and PCMCIA applications fabricated with very thin dielectric layers of the liquid crystal polymer.

Insertion Demonstrations of Digital Gallium Arsenide. OBP-80 Final Technical Report. Volume 1. Chip Set Schematics

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

In First Out FMEA Failure Mode Effects Analysis EDM Engineering Development Model GALU Generic Arithmetic Logic Unit GaAs Gallium Arsenide GTE Ground...Bl B>55 * 1585/IS1/B1 = B56 I$11146/I$3/B1 B= 57 I$2S146/I$2/B1 B= 58 * $1146/1$1/81 =>B59 * 1590/IS3/Bl B= 60 *1$590/IS2/Bl== B61 * 1590/IS1/B1 - B62...vote circuitry. It is known that only 60 fC of charge is needed to upset the latch elements. It is interesting to speculate how much charge is required

Addressing the Health of Formerly Imprisoned Persons in a Distressed Neighborhood Through a Community Collaborative Board

PubMed Central

Smith, Vivian C.; Jemal, Alexis

2016-01-01

This article provides a case study evaluating the structure and dynamic process of a Community Collaborative Board that had the goal of creating an evidence-based substance abuse/health intervention for previously incarcerated individuals. Meeting agendas, attendance, minutes, video recording of meetings, and in-depth interviews with 13 Community Collaborative Board members were used to conduct an independent process evaluation. Open coding identified quotes exemplifying specific themes and/or patterns across answers related to the desired domain. Several themes were identified regarding membership engagement, retention, and power distribution. Results showed member retention was due to strong personal commitment to the targeted problem. Analysis also revealed an unequal power distribution based on participants' background. Nevertheless, the development of an innovative, community-based health intervention manual was accomplished. Aspects of the process, such as incentives, subcommittees, and trainings, enhanced the Board's ability to integrate the community and scientific knowledge to accomplish its research agenda. Community-based participatory research was a useful framework in enhancing quality and efficiency in the development of an innovative, substance abuse/health intervention manual for distressed communities. Overall, this article sheds light on a process that illustrates the integration of community-based and scientific knowledge to address the health, economic, and societal marginalization of low-income, minority communities. PMID:26055460

Real-time co-registered ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging system based on FPGA and DSP architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alqasemi, Umar; Li, Hai; Aguirre, Andres; Zhu, Quing

2011-03-01

Co-registering ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a logical extension to conventional ultrasound because both modalities provide complementary information of tumor morphology, tumor vasculature and hypoxia for cancer detection and characterization. In addition, both modalities are capable of providing real-time images for clinical applications. In this paper, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Digital Signal Processor (DSP) module-based real-time US/PA imaging system is presented. The system provides real-time US/PA data acquisition and image display for up to 5 fps* using the currently implemented DSP board. It can be upgraded to 15 fps, which is the maximum pulse repetition rate of the used laser, by implementing an advanced DSP module. Additionally, the photoacoustic RF data for each frame is saved for further off-line processing. The system frontend consists of eight 16-channel modules made of commercial and customized circuits. Each 16-channel module consists of two commercial 8-channel receiving circuitry boards and one FPGA board from Analog Devices. Each receiving board contains an IC† that combines. 8-channel low-noise amplifiers, variable-gain amplifiers, anti-aliasing filters, and ADC's‡ in a single chip with sampling frequency of 40MHz. The FPGA board captures the LVDSξ Double Data Rate (DDR) digital output of the receiving board and performs data conditioning and subbeamforming. A customized 16-channel transmission circuitry is connected to the two receiving boards for US pulseecho (PE) mode data acquisition. A DSP module uses External Memory Interface (EMIF) to interface with the eight 16-channel modules through a customized adaptor board. The DSP transfers either sub-beamformed data (US pulse-echo mode or PAI imaging mode) or raw data from FPGA boards to its DDR-2 memory through the EMIF link, then it performs additional processing, after that, it transfer the data to the PC** for further image processing. The PC code performs image processing including demodulation, beam envelope detection and scan conversion. Additionally, the PC code pre-calculates the delay coefficients used for transmission focusing and receiving dynamic focusing for different types of transducers to speed up the imaging process. To further speed up the imaging process, a multi-threads technique is implemented in order to allow formation of previous image frame data and acquisition of the next one simultaneously. The system is also capable of doing semi-real-time automated SO2 imaging at 10 seconds per frame by changing the wavelength knob of the laser automatically using a stepper motor controlled by the system. Initial in vivo experiments were performed on animal tumors to map out its vasculature and hypoxia level, which were superimposed on co-registered US images. The real-time system allows capturing co-registered US/PA images free of motion artifacts and also provides dynamitic information when contrast agents are used.

On-board Payload Data Processing from Earth to Space Segment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tragni, M.; Abbattista, C.; Amoruso, L.; Cinquepalmi, L.; Bgongiari, F.; Errico, W.

2013-09-01

Matching the users application requirements with the more and more huge data streaming of the satellite missions is becoming very complex. But we need both of them. To face both the data management (memory availability) and their transmission (band availability) many recent R&D activities are studying the right way to move the data processing from the ground segment to the space segment by the development of the so-called On-board Payload Data Processing (OPDP). The space designer are trying to find new strategies to increase the on board computation capacity and its viability to overcome such limitations, memory and band, focusing the transmission of remote sensing information (not only data) towards their final use. Some typical applications which can benefit of the on board payload data processing include the automatic control of a satellites constellation which can modify its scheduled acquisitions directly on-board and according to the information extracted from the just acquired data, increasing, for example, the capability of monitoring a specific objective (such as oil spills, illegal traffic) with a greater versatility than a traditional ground segment workflow. The authors and their companies can count on a sound experience in design and development of open, modular and compact on-board processing systems. Actually they are involved in a program, the Space Payload Data Processing (SpacePDP) whose main objective is to develop an hardware and a software framework able to perform both the space mission standard tasks (sensors control, mass storage devices management, uplink and downlink) and the specific tasks required by each mission. SpacePDP is an Open and modular Payload Data Processing system, composed of Hardware and Software modules included a SDK. The whole system is characterised by flexible and customizable building blocks that form the system architectures and by a very easy way to be integrated in the missions by the SDK (a development environment with encapsulated low-level drivers, HW support and testing environment). Furthermore Space PDP presents an advanced processing system to be fully adopted both as on-board module for EO spacecrafts and extra-planetary exploration rovers. The main innovative aspects are: • HW and SW modularity - scalability for the Payload Data Processing and AOC S/S • Complex processing capabilities fully available onboard (on spacecrafts or rovers) • Reduced effort in mission SW design, implementation, verification and validation tasks • HW abstraction level comparable to present multitasking Unix-like systems allowing SW and algorithms re-use (also from available GS applications). The development approach addressed by SpacePDP is based both on the re-use and resources sharing with flexible elements adjustable to different missions and to different tasks within the same mission (e.g. shared between AOCS and data management S/S) and on a strong specialization in the system elements that are designed to satisfy specific mission needs and specific technological innovations. The innovative processing system is proven in many possible scenarios of use from standard compression task up to the most complex one as the image classification directly on-board. The first one is just useful for standard benchmark trade-off analysis of HW and SW capabilities respect to the other common processing modules. The classification is the ambitious objective of that system to process directly on board the data from sensor (by down-sampling or in no-full resolution acquisition modality if necessary) to detect at flight time any features on ground or observed phenomenas. For Earth application it could be the cloud coverage (to avoid the acquisition and discard the data), burning areas or vessels detection and similar. On Planetary o Universe exploration mission it could be the path recognition for a rover, or high power energy events in outbound galaxies. Sometimes it could be need to review the GS algorithms to approach the problem in the Space scenario, i.e. for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) application the typical focalization of the raw image needs to be improved to be effectively in this context. Many works are actually available on that, the authors have developed a specific ones for neural network algorithms. By the information directly "acquired" (so computed) on-board and without intervention of typical ground systems facilities, the spacecraft can take autonomously decision regarding a re-planning of acquisition for itself (at high performance modalities) or other platforms in constellation or affiliated reducing the time elapse as in the nowadays approach. For no EO missions it is big advantage to reduce the large round trip flight of transmission. In general the saving of resources is extensible to memory and RF transmission band resources, time reaction (like civil protection applications), etc. enlarging the flexibility of missions and improving the final results. SpacePDP main HW and SW characteristics: • Compactness: size and weight of each module are fitted in a Eurocard 3U 8HP format with «Inter-Board» connection through cPCI peripheral bus. • Modularity: the Payload is usually composed by several sub-systems. • Flexibility: coprocessor FPGA, on-board memory and support avionic protocols are flexible, allowing different modules customization according to mission needs • Completeness: the two core boards (CPU and Companion) are enough to obtain a first complete payload data processing system in a basic configuration. • Integrability: The payload data processing system is open to accept custom modules to be connected on its open peripheral bus. • CPU HW module (one or more) based on a RISC processor (LEON2FT, a SPARC V8 architecture, 80Mips @100MHz on ASIC ATMEL AT697F) • DSP HW module (optional with more instances) based on a FPGA dedicated architecture to ensure an effective multitasking control and to offer high numerical computation with huge memory availability. • Real time OS RTEMS and SW libraries (with C/C++ external interfaces) acting as HW abstraction level • SDK with a development environment, a tool chain and an integrated graphical user interface • "Callbacks" management and support to HW events (interrupts, timer, ...), including external devices (via SpaceWire) and priority definition and management. • Large amount of volatile memory on CPU board (64 Mb Flash Memory, 80 Mb SRAM and 2 Gb SDR-SDRAM) and non-volatile (up to 2 Mb EEPROM) • Remote programmability of the LEON bootable code. • Debug access point: for software debug and tuning with LEON serial port (DSU) or for «in flight» monitoring via SpaceWire-RMAP

32 CFR 1657.2 - Local boards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Local boards. 1657.2 Section 1657.2 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM OVERSEAS REGISTRANT PROCESSING § 1657.2 Local boards. The Director shall establish local boards with jurisdiction to determine...

32 CFR 1657.2 - Local boards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Local boards. 1657.2 Section 1657.2 National Defense Other Regulations Relating to National Defense SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM OVERSEAS REGISTRANT PROCESSING § 1657.2 Local boards. The Director shall establish local boards with jurisdiction to determine...

Preparing for Negotiations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundberg, Larry

The school board's negotiating team is all-important in the collective bargaining process, especially in light of the unity and organization of teacher association teams. Upper echelon administrative personnel, not the board members themselves, should compose the board's negotiating team. A board inexperienced in collective bargaining can hire a…

Satellite on-board processing for earth resources data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodenheimer, R. E.; Gonzalez, R. C.; Gupta, J. N.; Hwang, K.; Rochelle, R. W.; Wilson, J. B.; Wintz, P. A.

1975-01-01

Results of a survey of earth resources user applications and their data requirements, earth resources multispectral scanner sensor technology, and preprocessing algorithms for correcting the sensor outputs and for data bulk reduction are presented along with a candidate data format. Computational requirements required to implement the data analysis algorithms are included along with a review of computer architectures and organizations. Computer architectures capable of handling the algorithm computational requirements are suggested and the environmental effects of an on-board processor discussed. By relating performance parameters to the system requirements of each of the user requirements the feasibility of on-board processing is determined for each user. A tradeoff analysis is performed to determine the sensitivity of results to each of the system parameters. Significant results and conclusions are discussed, and recommendations are presented.

On-board Attitude Determination System (OADS). [for advanced spacecraft missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carney, P.; Milillo, M.; Tate, V.; Wilson, J.; Yong, K.

1978-01-01

The requirements, capabilities and system design for an on-board attitude determination system (OADS) to be flown on advanced spacecraft missions were determined. Based upon the OADS requirements and system performance evaluation, a preliminary on-board attitude determination system is proposed. The proposed OADS system consists of one NASA Standard IRU (DRIRU-2) as the primary attitude determination sensor, two improved NASA Standard star tracker (SST) for periodic update of attitude information, a GPS receiver to provide on-board space vehicle position and velocity vector information, and a multiple microcomputer system for data processing and attitude determination functions. The functional block diagram of the proposed OADS system is shown. The computational requirements are evaluated based upon this proposed OADS system.

Antennal Transcriptome Analysis of Odorant Reception Genes in the Red Turpentine Beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens.

PubMed

Gu, Xiao-Cui; Zhang, Ya-Nan; Kang, Ke; Dong, Shuang-Lin; Zhang, Long-Wa

2015-01-01

The red turpentine beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is a destructive invasive pest of conifers which has become the second most important forest pest nationwide in China. Dendroctonus valens is known to use host odors and aggregation pheromones, as well as non-host volatiles, in host location and mass-attack modulation, and thus antennal olfaction is of the utmost importance for the beetles' survival and fitness. However, information on the genes underlying olfaction has been lacking in D. valens. Here, we report the antennal transcriptome of D. valens from next-generation sequencing, with the goal of identifying the olfaction gene repertoire that is involved in D. valens odor-processing. We obtained 51 million reads that were assembled into 61,889 genes, including 39,831 contigs and 22,058 unigenes. In total, we identified 68 novel putative odorant reception genes, including 21 transcripts encoding for putative odorant binding proteins (OBP), six chemosensory proteins (CSP), four sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMP), 22 odorant receptors (OR), four gustatory receptors (GR), three ionotropic receptors (IR), and eight ionotropic glutamate receptors. We also identified 155 odorant/xenobiotic degradation enzymes from the antennal transcriptome, putatively identified to be involved in olfaction processes including cytochrome P450s, glutathione-S-transferases, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Predicted protein sequences were compared with counterparts in Tribolium castaneum, Megacyllene caryae, Ips typographus, Dendroctonus ponderosae, and Agrilus planipennis. The antennal transcriptome described here represents the first study of the repertoire of odor processing genes in D. valens. The genes reported here provide a significant addition to the pool of identified olfactory genes in Coleoptera, which might represent novel targets for insect management. The results from our study also will assist with evolutionary analyses of coleopteran olfaction.

Antennal Transcriptome Analysis of Odorant Reception Genes in the Red Turpentine Beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens

PubMed Central

Dong, Shuang-Lin; Zhang, Long-Wa

2015-01-01

Background The red turpentine beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is a destructive invasive pest of conifers which has become the second most important forest pest nationwide in China. Dendroctonus valens is known to use host odors and aggregation pheromones, as well as non-host volatiles, in host location and mass-attack modulation, and thus antennal olfaction is of the utmost importance for the beetles’ survival and fitness. However, information on the genes underlying olfaction has been lacking in D. valens. Here, we report the antennal transcriptome of D. valens from next-generation sequencing, with the goal of identifying the olfaction gene repertoire that is involved in D. valens odor-processing. Results We obtained 51 million reads that were assembled into 61,889 genes, including 39,831 contigs and 22,058 unigenes. In total, we identified 68 novel putative odorant reception genes, including 21 transcripts encoding for putative odorant binding proteins (OBP), six chemosensory proteins (CSP), four sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMP), 22 odorant receptors (OR), four gustatory receptors (GR), three ionotropic receptors (IR), and eight ionotropic glutamate receptors. We also identified 155 odorant/xenobiotic degradation enzymes from the antennal transcriptome, putatively identified to be involved in olfaction processes including cytochrome P450s, glutathione-S-transferases, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Predicted protein sequences were compared with counterparts in Tribolium castaneum, Megacyllene caryae, Ips typographus, Dendroctonus ponderosae, and Agrilus planipennis. Conclusion The antennal transcriptome described here represents the first study of the repertoire of odor processing genes in D. valens. The genes reported here provide a significant addition to the pool of identified olfactory genes in Coleoptera, which might represent novel targets for insect management. The results from our study also will assist with evolutionary analyses of coleopteran olfaction. PMID:25938508

Superintendent Searches Public or Confidential? The Case for an Open Search Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Terre

2010-01-01

Board of education members come and go, but the community remains. Wise candidates for a superintendent position, as well as the dedicated board members involved in fulfilling this important duty, understand this and therefore want the public to be part of the superintendent search process. As a search consultant to school boards for 20 years, the…

Superintendent Search and Selection Processes in the State of Wisconsin: Seeking the Best Match

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olson, Lisa

2012-01-01

Local school boards have the responsibility to select school superintendents to lead their districts. The process by which school boards go about searching for and selecting a superintendent varies. In Wisconsin, school boards have the option to hire a search firm or other outside assistance, or they can choose to search for and select a…

Cross-Contamination and Biofilm Formation by Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis on Various Cutting Boards.

PubMed

Dantas, Stéfani T A; Rossi, Bruna F; Bonsaglia, Erika C R; Castilho, Ivana G; Hernandes, Rodrigo T; Fernandes, Ary; Rall, Vera L M

2018-02-01

Cross-contamination is one of the main factors related to foodborne outbreaks. This study aimed to analyze the cross-contamination process of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis from poultry to cucumbers, on various cutting board surfaces (plastic, wood, and glass) before and after washing and in the presence and absence of biofilm. Thus, 10 strains of Salmonella Enteritidis were used to test cross-contamination from poultry to the cutting boards and from thereon to cucumbers. Moreover, these strains were evaluated as to their capacity to form biofilm on hydrophobic (wood and plastic) and hydrophilic materials (glass). We recovered the 10 isolates from all unwashed boards and from all cucumbers that had contacted them. After washing, the recovery ranged from 10% to 100%, depending on the board material. In the presence of biofilm, the recovery of salmonellae was 100%, even after washing. Biofilm formation occurred more on wood (60%) and plastic (40%) than glass (10%) boards, demonstrating that bacteria adhered more to a hydrophobic material. It was concluded that the cutting boards represent a critical point in cross-contamination, particularly in the presence of biofilm. Salmonella Enteritidis was able to form a biofilm on these three types of cutting boards but glass showed the least formation.

Panel Board From Coconut Fibre And Pet Bottle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngadiman, Norhayati; Kaamin, Masiri; Abd. Kadir, Aslila; Sahat, Suhaila; Zaini, Aziza; Raihana Nor Zentan, Siti; Ain Ahmad, Nur; Amran, Wan Haizatul Aisyhah Wan

2018-03-01

The rate of global deforestation and its impact on the environment has led particle board manufacture to search for alternative feedstock, especially in countries where wood is less available compared to other cellulosic natural product. Based on the properties of coconut fibre and PET bottle, these two materials can be recycle as raw material for manufacture of panel board. As for this study, the coconut fibre were used as the filler and PET bottle as outer lining of the panel board. Two types of coconut fibre were used which are grinding and un-grinding coconut fibre. At first, the coconut fibre are undergoes softening, grinding, drying and sieving process, while PET bottle was cleaning, shredding, sieving before compacted using hydraulic hot press machine. There are four types of testing that been carried out which are swelling, water absorption, Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR). The result show the conventional board has the highest value for MOE test, so it's indicate that the conventional board is less strength from the coconut fibre board. As for water absorption test, the average water absorption of coconut fibre based panel board is less than conventional board. Overall, the coconut fibre board is better than conventional panel board because coconut fibre board are less swelling, has low water absorption, high modulus of rupture and low modulus of elasticity. Based on the finding, this coconut fibre panel board has potential as a stronger and long-lasting panel board than the conventional board in the market. Other than that, the panel also have their own aesthetic value since the recycled plastic bottle used as outer lining is colourful and giving aesthetic value.

Machine vision systems using machine learning for industrial product inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yi; Chen, Tie Q.; Chen, Jie; Zhang, Jian; Tisler, Anthony

2002-02-01

Machine vision inspection requires efficient processing time and accurate results. In this paper, we present a machine vision inspection architecture, SMV (Smart Machine Vision). SMV decomposes a machine vision inspection problem into two stages, Learning Inspection Features (LIF), and On-Line Inspection (OLI). The LIF is designed to learn visual inspection features from design data and/or from inspection products. During the OLI stage, the inspection system uses the knowledge learnt by the LIF component to inspect the visual features of products. In this paper we will present two machine vision inspection systems developed under the SMV architecture for two different types of products, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Vacuum Florescent Displaying (VFD) boards. In the VFD board inspection system, the LIF component learns inspection features from a VFD board and its displaying patterns. In the PCB board inspection system, the LIF learns the inspection features from the CAD file of a PCB board. In both systems, the LIF component also incorporates interactive learning to make the inspection system more powerful and efficient. The VFD system has been deployed successfully in three different manufacturing companies and the PCB inspection system is the process of being deployed in a manufacturing plant.

Thunder Energy Inc. applications to modify an existing sweet gas processing facility to a sour gas processing facility and increase the hydrogen sulfide concentration of existing pipelines, Kelsey area: Examiner report 98-2, application numbers 1007719 and 1013399

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

NONE

Thunder Energy Inc. received approval from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board for modification of an existing gas plant to process sour gas, and also applied for permission to increase the hydrogen sulfide content of its existing pipelines in the Kelsey area. This report presents the views of Thunder Energy, the Board, and various intervenors at a hearing held to consider objections to the plant approval and matters related to the application. Issues considered include the need for sour gas processing, the need for the plant modification as opposed to the feasibility of using existing sour gas processing facilities, environmentalmore » impacts, and the requirements for notification of industry in the area. The report concludes with the Board`s decision.« less

The Governance of the City University of New York A System at Odds with Itself

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

provided thoughtful and incisive commentary on drafts of this document. Early drafts also benefited from the reviews of task force staff mem - bers...requirements on the qualifications of mem - bers of the board. In particular, the law does not attempt to ensure that trustees have a measure of...establishing a blue-ribbon process for the appointment of the mem - bers of the Board of Trustees. Such a process would involve the cre- ation of

Protocols for second-generation business satellites systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, B. G.; Coakley, F. P.; El Amin, M. H. M.

The paper discusses the nature and mix of traffic in business satellite systems and describes the limitations on the protocol imposed by the differing impairments of speech, video, and data. A simple TDMA system protocol is presented which meets the requirements of mixed-service operation. The efficiency of the protocol together with implications for allocation, scheduling and synchronisation are discussed. Future-generation satellites will probably use on-board processing. Some initial work on protocols that make use of on-board processing and the implications for satellite and earth-station equipment are presented.

The present triumphs and future problems with wave soldering

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

Vianco, P.T.

1993-10-01

Nearly 40 years of experience with wave soldering have resulted in processes that routinely produce several thousand, defect-free solder joints per minute. However, the climate of electronics manufacturing has changed significantly over the past 10 to 15 years. Environmental restrictions as well as the high quality of products made offshore has placed new demands and challenges on the electronics industry, right down to the assembly process. The impact on wave soldering by environmental regulations and a need for more cost-competitive manufacturing processes has become a serious issue in terms of the economical well-being of the industry. In order to obtainmore » a clearer understanding of the situation, however, it is first most appropriate and necessary to examine the technology of wave soldering. Historically, wave soldering was developed as a refinement of the dip and drag soldering processes with the objective of reducing or eliminating many of the associated defects often present in these earlier processes. Wave soldering reduces the area of contact between the circuit board and the solder. This characteristic, coupled with the agitation generated in the solder, allows flux and its volatile by-products to readily escape from under the board, decreasing the number of skips, unfilled holes, and solder joint voids. The reduced contact area also lessens the potential for thermal damage to the circuit board laminate. Control of the wave profile at the exit point of the circuit board lessens the likelihood of icicles and bridges forming on the solder joints; this latitude is not available in the dip soldering process.« less

Why Become Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board Accredited?

PubMed

Dillon, L Rad

2016-01-01

The Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board's goal is to assist pharmacies to obtain formal recognition of their status as a high-quality and fully compliant provider of pharmaceuticals and patient services. This article provides a brief outline of the application process, the survey preparation, points of information about the actual survey, and suggestions on how to remain in compliance with Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board's standards. Copyright© by International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Inc.

The United States Board on Geographic Names: Standardization or regulation?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Payne, R.L.

2000-01-01

The United States Board on Geographic Names was created in 1890 to standardize the use of geographic names on federal maps and documents, and was established in its present form in 1947 by public law. The Board is responsible for geographic name usage and application throughout the federal government and its members must approve a name change or new name before it can be applied to federal maps and publications. To accomplish its mission, the Board has developed principles, policies, and procedures for use in the standardization process. The Board is also responsible legally for the promulgation of standardized names, whether or not these names have ever been controversial, and today this is accomplished by the universal availability of electronic databases for domestic and foreign names. This paper examines the development of Board policies and the implementation of these policies to achieve standardization with a view to relating these policies and activities to questions of standardization or regulation. ?? 2000 by The American Name Society.

Revising Community College Bylaws to Protect Institutional Integrity: Process and Product.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katsinas, Stephen G.; And Others

1988-01-01

Describes the Board of Directors' of the Miami-Dade Community College Foundation development of new bylaws. Provides information on the foundation's structure and functions, the concern of the Ad Hoc Committee on Governance with the issues of quorum and board member oversight, and the responsibilities of the foundation's committees. (DMM)

Current Issues in Reductions-in-Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caplan, Gerald A.

The practitioner advising a school board in connection with a reduction in force can appreciate that the board has great flexibility in implementing its decision. As long as the board's actions are not arbitrary, capricious, or pretextual, and they afford minimal due process protections to tenured teachers, the board's decisions will withstand…

Status and analysis of test standard for on-board charger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Shuai; Liu, Haiming; Jiang, Li; Chen, Xichen; Ma, Junjie; Zhao, Bing; Wu, Zaiyuan

2018-05-01

This paper analyzes the test standards of on -board charger (OBC). In the process of testing, we found that there exists some problems in test method and functional status, such as failed to follow up the latest test standards, estimated loosely, rectification uncertainty and consistency. Finally, putting forward some own viewpoints on these problems.

45 CFR 16.7 - The first steps in the appeal process: The notice of appeal and the Board's response.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false The first steps in the appeal process: The notice... SERVICES GENERAL ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES OF THE DEPARTMENTAL GRANT APPEALS BOARD § 16.7 The first steps... of these procedures, and advise the appellant of the next steps. The Board will also send a copy of...

22 CFR 510.1 - Service of process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2012-04-01 2009-04-01 true Service of process. 510.1 Section 510.1 Foreign Relations BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS SERVICE OF PROCESS § 510.1 Service of process. (a) The General Counsel of the Broadcasting Board of Governors or any of his/her designees shall act as agent for the...

CFDP Evolutions and File Based Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valverde, Alberto; Taylor, Chris; Magistrati, Giorgio; Maiorano, Elena; Colombo, Cyril; Haddow, Colin

2015-09-01

The complexity of the scientific ESA missions in terms of data handling requirements has been steadily increasing in the last years. The availability of high speed telemetry links to ground, the increase on the data storage capacity, as well as the processing performance of the spacecraft avionics have enabled this process. Nowadays, it is common to find missions with hundreds of gigabytes of daily on-board generated data, with terabytes of on-board mass memories and with downlinks of several hundreds of megabits per second. This technological trends push an upgrade on the spacecraft data handling and operation concept, smarter solutions are needed to sustain such high data rates and volumes, while improving the on-board autonomy and easing operations. This paper describes the different activities carried out to adapt to the new data handling scenario. It contains an analysis of the proposed operations concept for file-based spacecrafts, including the updates on the PUS and CFDP standards.

Insulation board and process of making

DOEpatents

Nowobilski, Jeffert J.; Owens, William J.

1985-01-01

Insulation board capable of bearing a load without significant loss of insulating capacity due to compression, produced by a method wherein the board is made in compliance with specified conditions of time, temperature and pressure.

Differential Expression Patterns in Chemosensory and Non-Chemosensory Tissues of Putative Chemosensory Genes Identified by Transcriptome Analysis of Insect Pest the Purple Stem Borer Sesamia inferens (Walker)

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ya-Nan; Jin, Jun-Yan; Jin, Rong; Xia, Yi-Han; Zhou, Jing-Jiang; Deng, Jian-Yu; Dong, Shuang-Lin

2013-01-01

Background A large number of insect chemosensory genes from different gene subfamilies have been identified and annotated, but their functional diversity and complexity are largely unknown. A systemic examination of expression patterns in chemosensory organs could provide important information. Methodology/Principal Findings We identified 92 putative chemosensory genes by analysing the transcriptome of the antennae and female sex pheromone gland of the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens, among them 87 are novel in this species, including 24 transcripts encoding for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 24 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 39 for odorant receptors (ORs) and 3 for ionotropic receptors (IRs). The transcriptome analyses were validated and quantified with a detailed global expression profiling by Reverse Transcription-PCR for all 92 transcripts and by Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR for selected 16 ones. Among the chemosensory gene subfamilies, CSP transcripts are most widely and evenly expressed in different tissues and stages, OBP transcripts showed a clear antenna bias and most of OR transcripts are only detected in adult antennae. Our results also revealed that some OR transcripts, such as the transcripts of SNMP2 and 2 IRs were expressed in non-chemosensory tissues, and some CSP transcripts were antenna-biased expression. Furthermore, no chemosensory transcript is specific to female sex pheromone gland and very few are found in the heads. Conclusion Our study revealed that there are a large number of chemosensory genes expressed in S. inferens, and some of them displayed unusual expression profile in non-chemosensory tissues. The identification of a large set of putative chemosensory genes of each subfamily from a single insect species, together with their different expression profiles provide further information in understanding the functions of these chemosensory genes in S. inferens as well as other insects. PMID:23894529

Differential expression patterns in chemosensory and non-chemosensory tissues of putative chemosensory genes identified by transcriptome analysis of insect pest the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens (Walker).

PubMed

Zhang, Ya-Nan; Jin, Jun-Yan; Jin, Rong; Xia, Yi-Han; Zhou, Jing-Jiang; Deng, Jian-Yu; Dong, Shuang-Lin

2013-01-01

A large number of insect chemosensory genes from different gene subfamilies have been identified and annotated, but their functional diversity and complexity are largely unknown. A systemic examination of expression patterns in chemosensory organs could provide important information. We identified 92 putative chemosensory genes by analysing the transcriptome of the antennae and female sex pheromone gland of the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens, among them 87 are novel in this species, including 24 transcripts encoding for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 24 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 39 for odorant receptors (ORs) and 3 for ionotropic receptors (IRs). The transcriptome analyses were validated and quantified with a detailed global expression profiling by Reverse Transcription-PCR for all 92 transcripts and by Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR for selected 16 ones. Among the chemosensory gene subfamilies, CSP transcripts are most widely and evenly expressed in different tissues and stages, OBP transcripts showed a clear antenna bias and most of OR transcripts are only detected in adult antennae. Our results also revealed that some OR transcripts, such as the transcripts of SNMP2 and 2 IRs were expressed in non-chemosensory tissues, and some CSP transcripts were antenna-biased expression. Furthermore, no chemosensory transcript is specific to female sex pheromone gland and very few are found in the heads. Our study revealed that there are a large number of chemosensory genes expressed in S. inferens, and some of them displayed unusual expression profile in non-chemosensory tissues. The identification of a large set of putative chemosensory genes of each subfamily from a single insect species, together with their different expression profiles provide further information in understanding the functions of these chemosensory genes in S. inferens as well as other insects.

Human Centered Design and Development for NASA's MerBoard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay

2003-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides an overview of the design and development process for NASA's MerBoard. These devices are large interactive display screens which can be shown on the user's computer, which will allow scientists in many locations to interpret and evaluate mission data in real-time. These tools are scheduled to be used during the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover (MER) expeditions. Topics covered include: mission overview, Mer Human Centered Computers, FIDO 2001 observations and MerBoard prototypes.

School Board Decision Making Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beard, Nicole R.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which school boards use data when making decisions, specifically their orientations, perceptions, concerns and priorities around data. This study sought to understand how school boards use data when setting or tracking progress toward goals and aimed following the process of board use of data to…

The methodology of variable management of propellant fuel consumption by jet-propulsion engines of a spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovtun, V. S.

2012-12-01

Traditionally, management of propellant fuel consumption on board of a spacecraft is only associated with the operation of jet-propulsion engines (JPE) that are actuator devices of motion control systems (MCS). The efficiency of propellant fuel consumption depends not only on the operation of the MCS, but also, to one extent or another, on all systems functioning on board of a spacecraft, and on processes that occur in them and involve conversion of variable management of propellant fuel consumption by JPEs as a constituent part of the control of the complex process of spacecraft flight.

77 FR 25547 - Representation-Case Procedures

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-30

...-1067 (this is not a toll-free number), 1-866-315-6572 (TTY/TDD). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final... discretionary, and frees the Board to take evidence on the appropriate issues and at the appropriate time for... ``latitude'' is to help the Board keep its process timely, efficient, and free of the unnecessary litigation...

The Effect of Computer Automation on Institutional Review Board (IRB) Office Efficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oder, Karl; Pittman, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Companies purchase computer systems to make their processes more efficient through automation. Some academic medical centers (AMC) have purchased computer systems for their institutional review boards (IRB) to increase efficiency and compliance with regulations. IRB computer systems are expensive to purchase, deploy, and maintain. An AMC should…

Learning from Number Board Games: You Learn What You Encode

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laski, Elida V.; Siegler, Robert S.

2014-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that encoding the numerical-spatial relations in a number board game is a key process in promoting learning from playing such games. Experiment 1 used a microgenetic design to examine the effects on learning of the type of counting procedure that children use. As predicted, having kindergartners count-on from their current…

The National Osteoporosis Foundation's methods and processes for developing position statements.

PubMed

Wallace, Taylor C; Bauer, Douglas C; Gagel, Robert F; Greenspan, Susan L; Lappe, Joan M; LeBoff, Meryl S; Recker, Robert R; Saag, Kenneth G; Singer, Andrea J

2016-01-01

The methods and processes described in this manuscript have been approved and adopted by the NOF Board of Trustees on November 11, 2015. This manuscript has been peer-reviewed by the NOF Research Committee and Osteoporosis International. The National Osteoporosis Foundation frequently publishes position statements for the benefit of educating healthcare professionals and the general public on a particular issue and/or concern related to preventing osteoporosis and/or promoting strong bones throughout the lifespan. This manuscript represents the official methods and processes adopted by the NOF Board of Trustees for the purpose developing future position statements in a transparent and unbiased manner.

49 CFR 1104.12 - Service of pleadings and papers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... express mail. If a document is filed with the Board through the e-filing process, a copy of the e-filed... BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RULES OF PRACTICE FILING WITH THE BOARD-COPIES-VERIFICATION-SERVICE...

Crisis prevention: how to gear up your board.

PubMed

Salmon, W J

1993-01-01

Today's critics of corporate boardrooms have plenty of ammunition. The two crucial responsibilities of boards-oversight of long-term company strategy and the selection, evaluation, and compensation of top management--were reduced to damage control during the 1980s. Walter Salmon, a longtime director, notes that while boards have improved since he began serving on them in 1961, they haven't kept pace with the need for real change. Based on over 30 years of boardroom experience, Salmon recommends against government reform of board practices. But he does prescribe a series of incremental changes as a remedy. To begin with, he suggests limiting the size of boards and increasing the number of outside directors on them. In fact, according to Salmon, only three insiders belong on a board: the CEO, the COO, and the CFO. Changing how committees function is also necessary for gearing up today's boards. The audit committee, for example, can periodically review "high-exposure areas" of a business, perhaps helping to prevent embarrassing drops in future profits. Compensation committees can structure incentive compensation for executives to emphasize long-term rather than short-term performance. And nominating committees should be responsible for finding new, independent directors--not the CEO. In general, boards as a whole must spot problems early and blow the whistle, exercising what Salmon calls, "constructive dissatisfaction." On a revitalized board, directors have enough confidence in the process to vigorously challenge one another, including the company's chief executive.

Design of micro-ring optical sensors and circuits for integration on optical printed circuit boards (O-PCBs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, El-Hang; Lee, Hyun S.; Lee, S. G.; O, B. H.; Park, S. G.; Kim, K. H.

2007-05-01

We report on the design of micro-ring resonator optical sensors for integration on what we call optical printed circuit boards (O-PCBs). The objective is to realize application-specific O-PCBs, either on hard board or on flexible board, by integrating micro/nano-scale optical sensors for compact, light-weight, low-energy, high-speed, intelligent, and environmentally friendly processing of information. The O-PCBs consist of two-dimensional planar arrays of micro/nano-scale optical wires, circuits and devices that are interconnected and integrated to perform the functions of sensing and then storing, transporting, processing, switching, routing and distributing optical signals that have been collected by means of sensors. For fabrication, the polymer and organic optical wires and waveguides are first fabricated on a board and are used to interconnect and integrate sensors and other micro/ nano-scale photonic devices. Here, in our study, we focus on the sensors based on the micro-ring structures. We designed bio-sensors using silicon based micro-ring resonator. We investigate the characteristics such as sensitivity and selectivity (or quality factor) of micro-ring resonator for their use in bio-sensing application. We performed simulation studies on the quality factor of micro-ring resonators by varying the radius of the ring resonators and the separation between adjacent waveguides. We introduce the effective coupling coefficient as a realistic value to describe the strength of the coupling in micro-ring resonators.

Combined on-board hydride slurry storage and reactor system and process for hydrogen-powered vehicles and devices

DOEpatents

Brooks, Kriston P; Holladay, Jamelyn D; Simmons, Kevin L; Herling, Darrell R

2014-11-18

An on-board hydride storage system and process are described. The system includes a slurry storage system that includes a slurry reactor and a variable concentration slurry. In one preferred configuration, the storage system stores a slurry containing a hydride storage material in a carrier fluid at a first concentration of hydride solids. The slurry reactor receives the slurry containing a second concentration of the hydride storage material and releases hydrogen as a fuel to hydrogen-power devices and vehicles.

On-board processing for telecommunications satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nuspl, P. P.; Dong, G.

1991-01-01

In this decade, communications satellite systems will probably face dramatic challenges from alternative transmission means. To balance and overcome such competition, and to prepare for new requirements, INTELSAT has developed several on-board processing techniques, including Satellite-Switched TDMA (SS-TDMA), Satellite-Switched FDMA (SS-FDMA), several Modulators/Demodulators (Modem), a Multicarrier Multiplexer and Demodulator MCDD), an International Business Service (IBS)/Intermediate Data Rate (IDR) BaseBand Processor (BBP), etc. Some proof-of-concept hardware and software were developed, and tested recently in the INTELSAT Technical Laboratories. These techniques and some test results are discussed.

[Emission of organic substances from chip-boards].

PubMed

Deppe, H J

1982-01-01

A relatively small number of investigations on emissions of organic substances from chip-board is available up to now. The emissions known to date are caused by glues or other additives rather than by the wood itself. As concerns aminoplast glues (urea-formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde resins) the most important point of public interest has been the off-gassing of formaldehyde from chip-board. Chip-board with phenol-formaldehyde glues has been known in some cases to give off phenol. The formation of diamino diphenyl methane from isocyanate glues is still a matter of discussion. A further source for possible emissions are wood and fire protectives which are added during the manufacturing process. Finally, coating of chip-board may lead to emissions of organic substances. The lack of adequate detection methods has so far delayed the treatment of questions in relation to emissions from chip-board. Even now, there are numerous problems in this field especially when investigating isocyanate glues. Problems in relation to the origin of emissions due to the kind of glue used and the manufacturing process are discussed, and proposals are made how to solve some of these problems. The question of the health risk is dealt with from the view-point of the civil engineer and in an general economic context.

The Relationship between Board of Management's Involvement in the Recruitment Process and Their Levels of Education: A Case of Public Secondary Schools in Wareng Sub County in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wainaina, Isabellah Wanjiku

2015-01-01

Boards of Managements (B.O.M) carry with them the success or failure of the schools' management. The success of B.O.M is portrayed through good academic performance and high discipline standards in schools. Poor management on the other hand, may lead to the dissolution of the Board and nomination of another to manage the school. Performance of the…

KSC-03pd0360

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (second from right), chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, visits the Thermal Protection System shop and is briefed by Martin Wilson (left), the shop manager. Gehman and other members of the board are visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

KSC-03pd0362

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (third from left), chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, visits the Thermal Protection System shop and is briefed by Martin Wilson (second from left), the shop manager. Gehman and other members of the board are visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

KSC-03pd0359

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (second from left), chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, visits the Thermal Protection System shop and is briefed by Martin Wilson (second from right), the shop manager. Gehman and other members of the board are visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

KSC-03pd0358

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (left), chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, visits the Thermal Protection System shop and is briefed by Martin Wilson (right), the shop manager. Gehman and other members of the board are visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

KSC-03pd0361

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-12

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Retired Navy Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr. (center), chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, visits the Thermal Protection System shop and is briefed by Martin Wilson (pointing), the shop manager. Gehman and other members of the board are visiting sites at KSC to become familiar with the Shuttle launch process. The independent board is charged with determining what caused the destruction of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the loss of its seven-member crew on Feb. 1 during reentry.

Metals Recovery from Artificial Ore in Case of Printed Circuit Boards, Using Plasmatron Plasma Reactor

PubMed Central

Szałatkiewicz, Jakub

2016-01-01

This paper presents the investigation of metals production form artificial ore, which consists of printed circuit board (PCB) waste, processed in plasmatron plasma reactor. A test setup was designed and built that enabled research of plasma processing of PCB waste of more than 700 kg/day scale. The designed plasma process is presented and discussed. The process in tests consumed 2 kWh/kg of processed waste. Investigation of the process products is presented with their elemental analyses of metals and slag. The average recovery of metals in presented experiments is 76%. Metals recovered include: Ag, Au, Pd, Cu, Sn, Pb, and others. The chosen process parameters are presented: energy consumption, throughput, process temperatures, and air consumption. Presented technology allows processing of variable and hard-to-process printed circuit board waste that can reach up to 100% of the input mass. PMID:28773804

Metals Recovery from Artificial Ore in Case of Printed Circuit Boards, Using Plasmatron Plasma Reactor.

PubMed

Szałatkiewicz, Jakub

2016-08-10

This paper presents the investigation of metals production form artificial ore, which consists of printed circuit board (PCB) waste, processed in plasmatron plasma reactor. A test setup was designed and built that enabled research of plasma processing of PCB waste of more than 700 kg/day scale. The designed plasma process is presented and discussed. The process in tests consumed 2 kWh/kg of processed waste. Investigation of the process products is presented with their elemental analyses of metals and slag. The average recovery of metals in presented experiments is 76%. Metals recovered include: Ag, Au, Pd, Cu, Sn, Pb, and others. The chosen process parameters are presented: energy consumption, throughput, process temperatures, and air consumption. Presented technology allows processing of variable and hard-to-process printed circuit board waste that can reach up to 100% of the input mass.

ROMI-RIP: Rough mill rip-first simulator. Forest Service general technical report (Final)

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

Thomas, R.E.

1995-07-01

The ROugh Mill Rip-First Simulator (ROMI-RIP) is a computer software package that simulates the gang-ripping of lumber. ROMI-RIP was designed to closely simulate current machines and industrial practice. This simulator allows the user to perform `what if` analyses on various gang-rip-first rough mill operations with fixed, floating outer blade and all-movable blade arbors. ROMI-RIP accepts cutting bills with up to 300 different part sizes. Plots of processed boards are easily viewed or printed. Detailed summaries of processing steps (number of rips and crosscuts) and yields (single boards or entire board files) can also be viewed of printed. ROMI-RIP requires IBMmore » personal computers with 80286 of higher processors.« less

ROI-Based On-Board Compression for Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Images on GPU.

PubMed

Giordano, Rossella; Guccione, Pietro

2017-05-19

In recent years, hyperspectral sensors for Earth remote sensing have become very popular. Such systems are able to provide the user with images having both spectral and spatial information. The current hyperspectral spaceborne sensors are able to capture large areas with increased spatial and spectral resolution. For this reason, the volume of acquired data needs to be reduced on board in order to avoid a low orbital duty cycle due to limited storage space. Recently, literature has focused the attention on efficient ways for on-board data compression. This topic is a challenging task due to the difficult environment (outer space) and due to the limited time, power and computing resources. Often, the hardware properties of Graphic Processing Units (GPU) have been adopted to reduce the processing time using parallel computing. The current work proposes a framework for on-board operation on a GPU, using NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) architecture. The algorithm aims at performing on-board compression using the target's related strategy. In detail, the main operations are: the automatic recognition of land cover types or detection of events in near real time in regions of interest (this is a user related choice) with an unsupervised classifier; the compression of specific regions with space-variant different bit rates including Principal Component Analysis (PCA), wavelet and arithmetic coding; and data volume management to the Ground Station. Experiments are provided using a real dataset taken from an AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer) airborne sensor in a harbor area.

DSPACE hardware architecture for on-board real-time image/video processing in European space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saponara, Sergio; Donati, Massimiliano; Fanucci, Luca; Odendahl, Maximilian; Leupers, Reiner; Errico, Walter

2013-02-01

The on-board data processing is a vital task for any satellite and spacecraft due to the importance of elaborate the sensing data before sending them to the Earth, in order to exploit effectively the bandwidth to the ground station. In the last years the amount of sensing data collected by scientific and commercial space missions has increased significantly, while the available downlink bandwidth is comparatively stable. The increasing demand of on-board real-time processing capabilities represents one of the critical issues in forthcoming European missions. Faster and faster signal and image processing algorithms are required to accomplish planetary observation, surveillance, Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging and telecommunications. The only available space-qualified Digital Signal Processor (DSP) free of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions faces inadequate performance, thus the development of a next generation European DSP is well known to the space community. The DSPACE space-qualified DSP architecture fills the gap between the computational requirements and the available devices. It leverages a pipelined and massively parallel core based on the Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) paradigm, with 64 registers and 8 operational units, along with cache memories, memory controllers and SpaceWire interfaces. Both the synthesizable VHDL and the software development tools are generated from the LISA high-level model. A Xilinx-XC7K325T FPGA is chosen to realize a compact PCI demonstrator board. Finally first synthesis results on CMOS standard cell technology (ASIC 180 nm) show an area of around 380 kgates and a peak performance of 1000 MIPS and 750 MFLOPS at 125MHz.

Insulation board and process of making

DOEpatents

Nowobilski, J.J.; Owens, W.J.

1985-08-27

Insulation board is described which is capable of bearing a load without significant loss of insulating capacity due to compression, produced by a method wherein the board is made in compliance with specified conditions of time, temperature and pressure. 2 figs.

Research subject privacy protection in otolaryngology.

PubMed

Noone, Michael C; Walters, K Christian; Gillespie, M Boyd

2004-03-01

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, which took effect on April 14, 2003, placed new constraints on the use of protected health information for research purposes. To review practices of research subject privacy protection in otolaryngology in order to determine steps necessary to achieve compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations. Literature review. Articles appearing in 2001 in 3 widely circulated otolaryngology journals were classified according to study design. The "Methods" section of each article was reviewed to determine whether the informed consent and institutional review board processes were clearly documented. Descriptive studies involving case reports and case series were more common than observational studies that include a control group (66% vs 11%). Few case series documented the consent process (18%) and institutional review board process (19%). Observational designs demonstrated better documentation of the consent process (P<.001) and the institutional review board exemption and approval process (P<.001). Methods used to protect subject privacy are not commonly documented in case series in otolaryngology. More attention needs to be given to research subject privacy concerns in the otolaryngology literature in order to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations.

Analysis of Convair 990 rejected-takeoff accident with emphasis on decision making, training and procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batthauer, Byron E.

1987-01-01

This paper analyzes a NASA Convair 990 (CV-990) accident with emphasis on rejected-takeoff (RTO) decision making, training, procedures, and accident statistics. The NASA Aircraft Accident Investigation Board was somewhat perplexed that an aircraft could be destroyed as a result of blown tires during the takeoff roll. To provide a better understanding of tire failure RTO's, The Board obtained accident reports, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) studies, and other pertinent information related to the elements of this accident. This material enhanced the analysis process and convinced the Accident Board that high-speed RTO's in transport aircraft should be given more emphasis during pilot training. Pilots should be made aware of various RTO situations and statistics with emphasis on failed-tire RTO's. This background information could enhance the split-second decision-making process that is required prior to initiating an RTO.

Hospital board structure: changing form and changing issues.

PubMed

Tregoning, S

2000-01-01

Economic and social pressures are compelling many hospitals to consider their current board structure in an effort to position their hospital to meet changing demands. A national profile of the structures of hospital boards has been compiled from a questionnaire completed by hospital board representatives from both government and non-government sectors. Results show that hospital board structures are a hybrid of both philanthropic and corporate models. New structures may be required to meet future challenges. In developing new structures, consideration should be given to identifying the skills and processes required to undertake board business.

Nebraskans Weigh in on Essential Education Opportunities for All Students. A Public Engagement Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedman, Will; Saxman, Lara

2004-01-01

Public Agenda was asked by the Nebraska State Board of Education and the Nebraska Department of Education (referred to hereafter as the State Board and the NDE) to help design and implement a public engagement process that would allow a cross-section of the state's citizens to comment on the central ideas contained in the document "Equitable…

Cyber Defense Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

manage cyber security is often a verymanual and labor intensive process. When a crisis hits, DoD responses range from highly automatedand instrumented...DSB Task Force Report on Cyber Defense Management September 2016 (U) This page intentionally blank REPORT OF THE DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD STUDY ON Cyber ...DEFENSE FOR ACQUISITION, TECHNOLOGY & LOGISTICS SUBJECT: Final Report of the Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force on Cyber Defense Management I am

Understanding the Process; Financial Responsibilities of Governing Boards. User's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, 1980

1980-01-01

A supplement to a slide presentation on financial responsibilities of governing boards, suitable for use at a trustee workshop, is presented. A flow of funds model which depicts the five major financial zones (acquisition, allocation, current fund, plant fund, and endowment and similar funds) is the visual devise used through the presentation.…

Impact of board-marker accuracy on lumber yield

Treesearch

Urs Buehlmann; R. Edward Thomas

2003-01-01

The production of wooden furniture parts, mouldings, and flooring requires the removal of unacceptable character marks (also called "defects") such as holes, rot, knots, etc., from boards. The majority of the wood processing industry manually identifies such unusable areas and marks them with fluorescent crayons. Automated saws scan these marks and computers...

The Office of The Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Science.gov Websites

Releases and Statements En Español Departments Borough Operations Budget Community Boards Community Español Departments Borough Operations Budget Community Boards Community Services Constituent Services Borough President Diaz's biography. BUDGET Get information on our capital budget process. RECENT NEWS

75 FR 70268 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; NIH NCI Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

... number. Proposed Collection: Title: NIH NCI Central Institutional Review Board (CIRB). Type of... is absent of conflicts of interest with the protocols under review. Tools utilized to accomplish this... information on workflow and processes of CIRB operations as well as a non-disclosure agreement. A conflict of...

15 CFR 400.33 - Restrictions on manufacturing and processing activity.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...-TRADE ZONES BOARD Manufacturing and Processing Activity-Reviews § 400.33 Restrictions on manufacturing and processing activity. (a) In general. In approving manufacturing or processing activity for a zone... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Restrictions on manufacturing and...

Making Commissions Work: A Handbook for Parish Religious Education Boards/Commissions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClain, Maria Thornton, Ed.

This handbook is part of an ongoing process to share models of Total Catholic Education boards, religious education boards, and Catholic school boards. The purpose of the book is two-fold: (1) to provide a rationale for having a group within the parish that sets the direction for the religious education of children, youth, and adults; and (2) to…

Trends in lumber processing in the western United States. Part I: board foot Scribner volume per cubic foot of timber

Treesearch

Charles E. Keegan; Todd A. Morgan; Keith A. Blatner; Jean M. Daniels

2010-01-01

This article describes trends in board foot Scribner volume per cubic foot of timber for logs processed by sawmills in the western United States. Board foot to cubic foot (BF/CF) ratios for the period from 2000 through 2006 ranged from 3.70 in Montana to 5.71 in the Four Corners Region (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). Sawmills in the Four Corners Region,...

Iterative development of visual control systems in a research vivarium.

PubMed

Bassuk, James A; Washington, Ida M

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that reintroduction of Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) methodology, a lean approach to management at Seattle Children's (Hospital, Research Institute, Foundation), would facilitate engagement of vivarium employees in the development and sustainment of a daily management system and a work-in-process board. Such engagement was implemented through reintroduction of aspects of the Toyota Production System. Iterations of a Work-In-Process Board were generated using Shewhart's Plan-Do-Check-Act process improvement cycle. Specific attention was given to the importance of detecting and preventing errors through assessment of the following 5 levels of quality: Level 1, customer inspects; Level 2, company inspects; Level 3, work unit inspects; Level 4, self-inspection; Level 5, mistake proofing. A functioning iteration of a Mouse Cage Work-In-Process Board was eventually established using electronic data entry, an improvement that increased the quality level from 1 to 3 while reducing wasteful steps, handoffs and queues. A visual workplace was realized via a daily management system that included a Work-In-Process Board, a problem solving board and two Heijunka boards. One Heijunka board tracked cage changing as a function of a biological kanban, which was validated via ammonia levels. A 17% reduction in cage changing frequency provided vivarium staff with additional time to support Institute researchers in their mutual goal of advancing cures for pediatric diseases. Cage washing metrics demonstrated an improvement in the flow continuum in which a traditional batch and queue push system was replaced with a supermarket-type pull system. Staff engagement during the improvement process was challenging and is discussed. The collective data indicate that the hypothesis was found to be true. The reintroduction of CPI into daily work in the vivarium is consistent with the 4P Model of the Toyota Way and selected Principles that guide implementation of the Toyota Production System.

Iterative Development of Visual Control Systems in a Research Vivarium

PubMed Central

Bassuk, James A.; Washington, Ida M.

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that reintroduction of Continuous Performance Improvement (CPI) methodology, a lean approach to management at Seattle Children’s (Hospital, Research Institute, Foundation), would facilitate engagement of vivarium employees in the development and sustainment of a daily management system and a work-in-process board. Such engagement was implemented through reintroduction of aspects of the Toyota Production System. Iterations of a Work-In-Process Board were generated using Shewhart’s Plan-Do-Check-Act process improvement cycle. Specific attention was given to the importance of detecting and preventing errors through assessment of the following 5 levels of quality: Level 1, customer inspects; Level 2, company inspects; Level 3, work unit inspects; Level 4, self-inspection; Level 5, mistake proofing. A functioning iteration of a Mouse Cage Work-In-Process Board was eventually established using electronic data entry, an improvement that increased the quality level from 1 to 3 while reducing wasteful steps, handoffs and queues. A visual workplace was realized via a daily management system that included a Work-In-Process Board, a problem solving board and two Heijunka boards. One Heijunka board tracked cage changing as a function of a biological kanban, which was validated via ammonia levels. A 17% reduction in cage changing frequency provided vivarium staff with additional time to support Institute researchers in their mutual goal of advancing cures for pediatric diseases. Cage washing metrics demonstrated an improvement in the flow continuum in which a traditional batch and queue push system was replaced with a supermarket-type pull system. Staff engagement during the improvement process was challenging and is discussed. The collective data indicate that the hypothesis was found to be true. The reintroduction of CPI into daily work in the vivarium is consistent with the 4P Model of the Toyota Way and selected Principles that guide implementation of the Toyota Production System. PMID:24736460

On-Board Software Payload Platform over RTEMS and LEON3FT Processing Units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, Rodolfo; Ribeiro, Pedro; Furano, Gianluca; Costa Pinto, Joao; Habinc, Sandi

2013-08-01

Under ESA and Inmarsat ARTES 8 Alphabus/Alphasat specific programme a technology demonstration payload (TDP) was developed. The payload called TDP8 is an Environment Effects Facility to monitor the GEO radiation environment and its effects on electronic components and sensors. This paper will discuss the on-board software payload platform approach developed since then and based on the TDP8 validation activities.

Optical printed circuit board (O-PCB) and VLSI photonic integrated circuits: visions, challenges, and progresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, El-Hang; Lee, S. G.; O, B. H.; Park, S. G.; Noh, H. S.; Kim, K. H.; Song, S. H.

2006-09-01

A collective overview and review is presented on the original work conducted on the theory, design, fabrication, and in-tegration of micro/nano-scale optical wires and photonic devices for applications in a newly-conceived photonic systems called "optical printed circuit board" (O-PCBs) and "VLSI photonic integrated circuits" (VLSI-PIC). These are aimed for compact, high-speed, multi-functional, intelligent, light-weight, low-energy and environmentally friendly, low-cost, and high-volume applications to complement or surpass the capabilities of electrical PCBs (E-PCBs) and/or VLSI electronic integrated circuit (VLSI-IC) systems. These consist of 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional planar arrays of micro/nano-optical wires and circuits to perform the functions of all-optical sensing, storing, transporting, processing, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards or substrates. The integrated optical devices include micro/nano-scale waveguides, lasers, detectors, switches, sensors, directional couplers, multi-mode interference devices, ring-resonators, photonic crystal devices, plasmonic devices, and quantum devices, made of polymer, silicon and other semiconductor materials. For VLSI photonic integration, photonic crystals and plasmonic structures have been used. Scientific and technological issues concerning the processes of miniaturization, interconnection and integration of these systems as applicable to board-to-board, chip-to-chip, and intra-chip integration, are discussed along with applications for future computers, telecommunications, and sensor-systems. Visions and challenges toward these goals are also discussed.

Real-Time On-Board Processing Validation of MSPI Ground Camera Images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pingree, Paula J.; Werne, Thomas A.; Bekker, Dmitriy L.

2010-01-01

The Earth Sciences Decadal Survey identifies a multiangle, multispectral, high-accuracy polarization imager as one requirement for the Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystem (ACE) mission. JPL has been developing a Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (MSPI) as a candidate to fill this need. A key technology development needed for MSPI is on-board signal processing to calculate polarimetry data as imaged by each of the 9 cameras forming the instrument. With funding from NASA's Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program, JPL is solving the real-time data processing requirements to demonstrate, for the first time, how signal data at 95 Mbytes/sec over 16-channels for each of the 9 multiangle cameras in the spaceborne instrument can be reduced on-board to 0.45 Mbytes/sec. This will produce the intensity and polarization data needed to characterize aerosol and cloud microphysical properties. Using the Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA including PowerPC440 processors we have implemented a least squares fitting algorithm that extracts intensity and polarimetric parameters in real-time, thereby substantially reducing the image data volume for spacecraft downlink without loss of science information.

Vibration Pattern Imager (VPI): A control and data acquisition system for scanning laser vibrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rizzi, Stephen A.; Brown, Donald E.; Shaffer, Thomas A.

1993-01-01

The Vibration Pattern Imager (VPI) system was designed to control and acquire data from scanning laser vibrometer sensors. The PC computer based system uses a digital signal processing (DSP) board and an analog I/O board to control the sensor and to process the data. The VPI system was originally developed for use with the Ometron VPI Sensor, but can be readily adapted to any commercially available sensor which provides an analog output signal and requires analog inputs for control of mirror positioning. The sensor itself is not part of the VPI system. A graphical interface program, which runs on a PC under the MS-DOS operating system, functions in an interactive mode and communicates with the DSP and I/O boards in a user-friendly fashion through the aid of pop-up menus. Two types of data may be acquired with the VPI system: single point or 'full field.' In the single point mode, time series data is sampled by the A/D converter on the I/O board (at a user-defined sampling rate for a selectable number of samples) and is stored by the PC. The position of the measuring point (adjusted by mirrors in the sensor) is controlled via a mouse input. The mouse input is translated to output voltages by the D/A converter on the I/O board to control the mirror servos. In the 'full field' mode, the measurement point is moved over a user-selectable rectangular area. The time series data is sampled by the A/D converter on the I/O board (at a user-defined sampling rate for a selectable number of samples) and converted to a root-mean-square (rms) value by the DSP board. The rms 'full field' velocity distribution is then uploaded for display and storage on the PC.

Tracking Data Acquisition System (TDAS) for the 1990's. Volume 6: TDAS navigation system architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elrod, B. D.; Jacobsen, A.; Cook, R. A.; Singh, R. N. P.

1983-01-01

One-way range and Doppler methods for providing user orbit and time determination are examined. Forward link beacon tracking, with on-board processing of independent navigation signals broadcast continuously by TDAS spacecraft; forward link scheduled tracking; with on-board processing of navigation data received during scheduled TDAS forward link service intervals; and return link scheduled tracking; with ground-based processing of user generated navigation data during scheduled TDAS return link service intervals are discussed. A system level definition and requirements assessment for each alternative, an evaluation of potential navigation performance and comparison with TDAS mission model requirements is included. TDAS satellite tracking is also addressed for two alternatives: BRTS and VLBI tracking.

Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) on-board data processing and compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, C.; Lopez, G.; Hermosilla, I.; Catalá, A.; Rodriguez, J. A.; Perez, C.; Diaz, E.

2013-09-01

The Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) is one of the Pasteur Payload instruments, within the ESA's Aurora Exploration Programme, ExoMars mission. Particularly, the RLS scientific objectives are as follows: identify organic compound and search for life; identify the mineral products and indicators of biologic activities; characterize mineral phases produced by water-related processes; characterize igneous minerals and their alteration products; characterise water/geochemical environment as a function of depth in the shallow subsurface. The straightforward approach of operating the instrument would result in a vast amount of spectrum images. A flexible on-board data processing concept has been designed to accommodate scientific return to the sample nature and data downlink bandwidth.

Interchangeable end effector tools utilized on the PFMA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cody, Joe; Carroll, John; Crow, George; Gierow, Paul; Littles, Jay; Maness, Michael; Morrison, Jim

1992-01-01

An instrumented task board, used for measuring forces applied by the Protoflight Manipulator Arm (PFMA) to the task board, was fabricated and delivered to Marshall Space Flight Center. SRS Technologies phased out the existing IBM compatible data acquisition system, used with a instrumented task board, and integrated the force measuring electronic hardware in with the Macintosh II data acquisition system. The purpose of this change was to acquire all data with the same time tag, allowing easier and more accurate data reduction in addition to real-time graphics. A three-dimensional optical position sensing system for determining the location of the PFMA's end effect or in reference to the center of the instrumented task board was also designed and delivered under. An improved task board was fabricated which included an improved instrumented beam design. The modified design of the task board improved the force/torque measurement system by increasing the sensitivity, reliability, load range and ease of maintenance. A calibration panel for the optical position system was also designed and fabricated. The calibration method developed for the position sensors enhanced the performance of the sensors as well as simplified the installation and calibration procedures required. The modifications made under this effort expanded the capabilities of the task board system. The system developed determines the arm's position relative to the task board and measures the signals to the joints resulting from the operator's control signals in addition to the task board forces. The software and hardware required to calculate and record the position of the PFMA during the performance of tasks with the instrumented task board were defined, designed and delivered to MSFC. PFMA joint input signals can be measured from a breakout box to evaluate the sensitivity or response of the arm operation to control commands. The data processing system provides the capability for post processing of time-history graphics and plots of the PFMA positions, the operator's actions, and the PFMA servo reactions in addition to realtime force and position sensor data presentation.

Interchangeable end effector tools utilized on the PFMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cody, Joe; Carroll, John; Crow, George; Gierow, Paul; Littles, Jay; Maness, Michael; Morrison, Jim

1992-02-01

An instrumented task board, used for measuring forces applied by the Protoflight Manipulator Arm (PFMA) to the task board, was fabricated and delivered to Marshall Space Flight Center. SRS Technologies phased out the existing IBM compatible data acquisition system, used with a instrumented task board, and integrated the force measuring electronic hardware in with the Macintosh II data acquisition system. The purpose of this change was to acquire all data with the same time tag, allowing easier and more accurate data reduction in addition to real-time graphics. A three-dimensional optical position sensing system for determining the location of the PFMA's end effect or in reference to the center of the instrumented task board was also designed and delivered under. An improved task board was fabricated which included an improved instrumented beam design. The modified design of the task board improved the force/torque measurement system by increasing the sensitivity, reliability, load range and ease of maintenance. A calibration panel for the optical position system was also designed and fabricated. The calibration method developed for the position sensors enhanced the performance of the sensors as well as simplified the installation and calibration procedures required. The modifications made under this effort expanded the capabilities of the task board system. The system developed determines the arm's position relative to the task board and measures the signals to the joints resulting from the operator's control signals in addition to the task board forces. The software and hardware required to calculate and record the position of the PFMA during the performance of tasks with the instrumented task board were defined, designed and delivered to MSFC. PFMA joint input signals can be measured from a breakout box to evaluate the sensitivity or response of the arm operation to control commands. The data processing system provides the capability for post processing of time-history graphics and plots of the PFMA positions, the operator's actions, and the PFMA servo reactions in addition to realtime force and position sensor data presentation.

Weak and strong publics: drawing on Nancy Fraser to explore parental participation in neonatal networks.

PubMed

Gibson, Andrew J; Lewando-Hundt, Gillian; Blaxter, Loraine

2014-02-01

We draw on the work of Nancy Fraser, and in particular her concepts of weak and strong publics, to analyze the process of parental involvement in managed neonatal network boards. Public involvement has moved beyond the individual level to include greater involvement of both patients and the public in governance. However, there is relatively little literature that explores the nature and outcomes of long-term patient involvement initiatives or has attempted to theorize, particularly at the level of corporate decision making, the process of patient and public involvement. A repeated survey of all neonatal network managers in England was carried out in 2006-07 to capture developments and changes in parental representation over this time period. This elicited information about the current status of parent representation on neonatal network boards. Four networks were also selected as case studies. This involved interviews with key members of each network board, interviews with parent representatives, observation of meetings and access to board minutes. Data collected show that a wide range of approaches to involving parents has been adopted. These range from decisions not to involve parents at this level to relatively well-developed systems designed to link parent representatives on network boards to parents in neonatal units. Despite these variations, we suggest that parental participation within neonatal services remains an example of a weak public because the parent representatives had limited participation with little influence on decision making. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Real-Time On-Board Airborne Demonstration of High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyon, Jeffrey Y.; Ng, Tak-Kwong; Davis, Mitchell J.; Adams, James K.; Bowen, Stephen C.; Fay, James J.; Hutchinson, Mark A.

2015-01-01

The project called High-Speed On-Board Data Processing for Science Instruments (HOPS) has been funded by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program since April, 2012. The HOPS team recently completed two flight campaigns during the summer of 2014 on two different aircrafts with two different science instruments. The first flight campaign was in July, 2014 based at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, VA on the NASA's HU-25 aircraft. The science instrument that flew with HOPS was Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator (ACES) funded by NASA's Instrument Incubator Program (IIP). The second campaign was in August, 2014 based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Palmdale, CA on the NASA's DC-8 aircraft. HOPS flew with the Multifunctional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL) instrument developed by Excelis Inc. The goal of the campaigns was to perform an end-to-end demonstration of the capabilities of the HOPS prototype system (HOPS COTS) while running the most computationally intensive part of the ASCENDS algorithm real-time on-board. The comparison of the two flight campaigns and the results of the functionality tests of the HOPS COTS are presented in this paper.

Design of the Trigger Interface and Distribution Board for CEBAF 12 GeV Upgrade

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

Gu, Jianhui; Dong, Hai; Cuevas, R

The design of the Trigger Interface and Distribution (TID) board for the 12 GeV Upgrade at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at TJNAL is described. The TID board distributes a low jitter system clock, synchronized trigger, and synchronized multi-purpose SYNC signal. The TID also initiates data acquisition for the crate. With the TID boards, a multi-crate system can be setup for experiment test and commissioning. The TID board can be selectively populated as a Trigger Interface (TI) board, or a Trigger Distribution (TD) board for the 12 GeV upgrade experiments. When the TID is populated as a TI,more » it can be located in the VXS crate and distribute the CLOCK/TRIGGER/SYNC through the VXS P0 connector; it can also be located in the standard VME64 crate, and distribute the CLOCK/TRIGGER/SYNC through the VME P2 connector or front panel. It initiates the data acquisition for the front crate where the TI is positioned in. When the TID is populated as a TD, it fans out the CLOCK/TRIGGER/SYNC from trigger supervisor to the front end crates through optical fibres. The TD monitors the trigger processing on the TIs, and gives feedback to the TS for trigger flow control. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) is utilised on TID board to provide programmability. The TID boards were intensively tested on the bench, and various setups.« less

American Board of Orthodontics: Time for change.

PubMed

Chung, Chun-Hsi; Tadlock, Larry P; Barone, Nicholas; Pangrazio-Kulbersh, Valmy; Sabott, David G; Foley, Patrick F; Trulove, Timothy S; Park, Jae Hyun; Dugoni, Steven A

2018-03-01

The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) works to certify orthodontists in a fair, reliable, and valid manner. The process must examine an orthodontist's knowledge, abilities, and critical thinking skills to ensure that each certified orthodontist has the expertise to provide the highest level of patient care. Many medical specialty boards and 4 American Dental Association specialty boards use scenario-based testing for board certification. Changing to a scenario-based clinical examination will allow the ABO to test more orthodontists. The new process will not result in an easier examination; standards will not be lowered. It will offer an improved testing method that will be fair, valid, and reliable for the specialty of orthodontics while increasing accessibility and complementing residency curricula. The ABO's written examination will remain as it is. Copyright © 2018 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are elected health boards an effective mechanism for public participation in health service governance?

PubMed Central

Gauld, Robin

2010-01-01

Abstract Background  There is growing interest in the idea of elected members on health service governing boards as a means to induce public participation in planning and decision making, yet studies of elected boards are limited. Whether elected boards are an effective mechanism for public participation remains unclear. Setting and participants  This article discusses the experiences of New Zealand where, since 2001, there have been three sets of elections for District Health Boards. Information on candidates and election results is presented along with data gathered via post‐election voter surveys. The article also considers the broader regulatory context within which the elected boards must operate. Discussion and conclusions  The New Zealand experience illustrates that elected health boards may not be an effective mechanism for public participation. Voter turnout has declined since the inaugural elections of 2001, and non‐voters form the majority. Reasons for not voting include failure to receive voting papers, a lack of interest, or no knowledge of elections. The elections have also failed to produce minority representation, while the capacity for elected members to represent their communities is subject to constraints. On the upside, elections have enabled public involvement in various dimensions of participation, including oversight and processes of governance. New Zealand’s mixed performance suggests that elected boards may need to be complemented with other participatory channels, if increased public participation is the goal. PMID:20579118

A filter circuit board for the Earthworm Seismic Data Acquisition System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jensen, Edward Gray

2000-01-01

The Earthworm system is a seismic network data acquisition and processing system used by the Northern California Seismic Network as well as many other seismic networks. The input to the system is comprised of many realtime electronic waveforms fed to a multi-channel digitizer on a PC platform. The digitizer consists of one or more National Instruments Corp. AMUX–64T multiplexer boards attached to an A/D converter board located in the computer. Originally, passive filters were installed on the multiplexers to eliminate electronic noise picked up in cabling. It was later discovered that a small amount of crosstalk occurred between successive channels in the digitizing sequence. Though small, this crosstalk will cause what appear to be small earthquake arrivals at the wrong time on some channels. This can result in erroneous calculation of earthquake arrival times, particularly by automated algorithms. To deal with this problem, an Earthworm filter board was developed to provide the needed filtering while eliminating crosstalk. This report describes the tests performed to find a suitable solution, and the design of the circuit board. Also included are all the details needed to build and install this board in an Earthworm system or any other system using the AMUX–64T board. Available below is the report in PDF format as well as an archive file containing the circuit board manufacturing information.

Are elected health boards an effective mechanism for public participation in health service governance?

PubMed

Gauld, Robin

2010-12-01

There is growing interest in the idea of elected members on health service governing boards as a means to induce public participation in planning and decision making, yet studies of elected boards are limited. Whether elected boards are an effective mechanism for public participation remains unclear. This article discusses the experiences of New Zealand where, since 2001, there have been three sets of elections for District Health Boards. Information on candidates and election results is presented along with data gathered via post-election voter surveys. The article also considers the broader regulatory context within which the elected boards must operate. The New Zealand experience illustrates that elected health boards may not be an effective mechanism for public participation. Voter turnout has declined since the inaugural elections of 2001, and non-voters form the majority. Reasons for not voting include failure to receive voting papers, a lack of interest, or no knowledge of elections. The elections have also failed to produce minority representation, while the capacity for elected members to represent their communities is subject to constraints. On the upside, elections have enabled public involvement in various dimensions of participation, including oversight and processes of governance. New Zealand's mixed performance suggests that elected boards may need to be complemented with other participatory channels, if increased public participation is the goal. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Prima Platform: A Scheme for Managing Equipment-Dependent Onboard Functions and Impacts on the Avionics Software Production Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Candia, Sante; Lisio, Giovanni; Campolo, Giovanni; Pascucci, Dario

2010-08-01

The Avionics Software (ASW), in charge of controlling the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Spacecraft PRIMA Platform (Piattaforma Ri-configurabile Italiana Multi-Applicativa), is evolving towards a highly modular and re-usable architecture based on an architectural framework allowing the effective integration of the software building blocks (SWBBs) providing the on-board control functions. During the recent years, the PRIMA ASW design and production processes have been improved to reach the following objectives: (a) at PUS Services level, separation of the mission-independent software mechanisms from the mission-dependent configuration information; (b) at Application level, identification of mission-independent recurrent functions for promoting abstraction and obtaining a more efficient and safe ASW production, with positive implications also on the software validation activities. This paper is dedicated to the characterisation activity which has been performed at Application level for a software component abstracting a set of functions for the generic On-Board Assembly (OBA), a set of hardware units used to deliver an on-board service. Moreover, the ASW production process is specified to show how it results after the introduction of the new design features.

Boarding Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boarding Schools, Boston, MA.

This booklet has been prepared to provide students, parents, and counselors with information about America's boarding schools and to help them with the application process. It includes brief descriptions of 139 boarding schools--junior schools, boys' schools, girls' schools, military academies, and coeducational schools. It is offered solely as an…

A Red Oak Data Bank for Computer Simulations of Secondary Processing

Treesearch

Charles J. Gatchell; Janice K. Wiedenbeck; Elizabeth S. Walker

1993-01-01

An extensive data bank for red oak lumber that is compatible with most secondary manufacturing computer simulator tools is now available. Currently, the data bank contains 10,718 board feet in 1,578 boards. The National Hardwood Lumber Associations (NHLA) Special Kiln Dried Rule was used to grade the boards. The percentage of a boardâs surface measure contained in...

National Board Certification as Professional Development: An Empirical Study of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Process, Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cavalluzzo, Linda; Barrow, Lisa; Henderson, Stephen

2014-01-01

This study responds to a request from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards to analyze National Board certification among high school teachers in understudied subject areas and locales to help fill gaps in the research literature. The authors also were asked to use multiple indicators of performance. The research team selected two…

Architecture of PAU survey camera readout electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castilla, Javier; Cardiel-Sas, Laia; De Vicente, Juan; Illa, Joseph; Jimenez, Jorge; Maiorino, Marino; Martinez, Gustavo

2012-07-01

PAUCam is a new camera for studying the physics of the accelerating universe. The camera will consist of eighteen 2Kx4K HPK CCDs: sixteen for science and two for guiding. The camera will be installed at the prime focus of the WHT (William Herschel Telescope). In this contribution, the architecture of the readout electronics system is presented. Back- End and Front-End electronics are described. Back-End consists of clock, bias and video processing boards, mounted on Monsoon crates. The Front-End is based on patch panel boards. These boards are plugged outside the camera feed-through panel for signal distribution. Inside the camera, individual preamplifier boards plus kapton cable completes the path to connect to each CCD. The overall signal distribution and grounding scheme is shown in this paper.

RNA-seq of Rice Yellow Stem Borer Scirpophaga incertulas Reveals Molecular Insights During Four Larval Developmental Stages

PubMed Central

Renuka, Pichili; Madhav, Maganti S.; Padmakumari, Ayyagari Phani; Barbadikar, Kalyani M.; Mangrauthia, Satendra K.; Vijaya Sudhakara Rao, Kola; Marla, Soma S.; Ravindra Babu, Vemuri

2017-01-01

The yellow stem borer (YSB), Scirpophaga incertulas, is a prominent pest in rice cultivation causing serious yield losses. The larval stage is an important stage in YSB, responsible for maximum infestation. However, limited knowledge exists on the biology and mechanisms underlying the growth and differentiation of YSB. To understand and identify the genes involved in YSB development and infestation, so as to design pest control strategies, we performed de novo transcriptome analysis at the first, third, fifth, and seventh larval developmental stages employing Illumina Hi-seq. High-quality reads (HQR) of ∼229 Mb were assembled into 24,775 transcripts with an average size of 1485 bp. Genes associated with various metabolic processes, i.e., detoxification mechanism [CYP450, GSTs, and carboxylesterases (CarEs)], RNA interference (RNAi) machinery (Dcr-1, Dcr-2, Ago-1, Ago-2, Sid-1, Sid-2, Sid-3, and Sid-1-related gene), chemoreception (CSPs, GRs, OBPs, and ORs), and regulators [transcription factors (TFs) and hormones] were differentially regulated during the developmental stages. Identification of stage-specific transcripts made it possible to determine the essential processes of larval development. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that YSB has not evolved much with respect to the detoxification mechanism, but showed the presence of distinct RNAi machinery. The presence of strong specific visual recognition coupled with chemosensory mechanisms supports the monophagous nature of YSB. Designed expressed sequenced tags-simple-sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) will facilitate accurate estimation of the genetic diversity of YSB. This is the first report on characterization of the YSB transcriptome and the identification of genes involved in key processes, which will help researchers and industry to devise novel pest control strategies. This study also opens up a new avenue to develop next-generation resistant rice using RNAi or genome editing approaches. PMID:28717048

Knowledge representation by connection matrices: A method for the on-board implementation of large expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellner, A.

1987-01-01

Extremely large knowledge sources and efficient knowledge access characterizing future real-life artificial intelligence applications represent crucial requirements for on-board artificial intelligence systems due to obvious computer time and storage constraints on spacecraft. A type of knowledge representation and corresponding reasoning mechanism is proposed which is particularly suited for the efficient processing of such large knowledge bases in expert systems.

Validation of On-board Cloud Cover Assessment Using EO-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandl, Dan; Miller, Jerry; Griffin, Michael; Burke, Hsiao-hua

2003-01-01

The purpose of this NASA Earth Science Technology Office funded effort was to flight validate an on-board cloud detection algorithm and to determine the performance that can be achieved with a Mongoose V flight computer. This validation was performed on the EO-1 satellite, which is operational, by uploading new flight code to perform the cloud detection. The algorithm was developed by MIT/Lincoln Lab and is based on the use of the Hyperion hyperspectral instrument using selected spectral bands from 0.4 to 2.5 microns. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of this technology at the beginning of the task was level 5 and was TRL 6 upon completion. In the final validation, an 8 second (0.75 Gbytes) Hyperion image was processed on-board and assessed for percentage cloud cover within 30 minutes. It was expected to take many hours and perhaps a day considering that the Mongoose V is only a 6-8 MIP machine in performance. To accomplish this test, the image taken had to have level 0 and level 1 processing performed on-board before the cloud algorithm was applied. For almost all of the ground test cases and all of the flight cases, the cloud assessment was within 5% of the correct value and in most cases within 1-2%.

Feedback control system based on a remote operated PID controller implemented using mbed NXP LPC1768 development board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pricop, Emil; Zamfir, Florin; Paraschiv, Nicolae

2015-11-01

Process control is a challenging research topic for both academia and industry for a long time. Controllers evolved from the classical SISO approach to modern fuzzy or neuro-fuzzy embedded devices with networking capabilities, however PID algorithms are still used in the most industrial control loops. In this paper, we focus on the implementation of a PID controller using mbed NXP LPC1768 development board. This board integrates a powerful ARM Cortex- M3 core and has networking capabilities. The implemented controller can be remotely operated by using an Internet connection and a standard Web browser. The main advantages of the proposed embedded system are customizability, easy operation and very low power consumption. The experimental results obtained by using a simulated process are analysed and shows that the implementation can be done with success in industrial applications.

A low cost Doppler system for vascular dialysis access surveillance.

PubMed

Molina, P S C; Moraes, R; Baggio, J F R; Tognon, E A

2004-01-01

The National Kidney Foundation guidelines for vascular access recommend access surveillance to avoid morbidity among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Methods to detect access failure based on CW Doppler system are being proposed to implement surveillance programs at lower cost. This work describes a low cost Doppler system implemented in a PC notebook designed to carry out this task. A Doppler board samples the blood flow velocity and delivers demodulated quadrature Doppler signals. These signals are sampled by a notebook sound card. Software for Windows OS (running at the notebook) applies CFFT to consecutive 11.6 ms intervals of Doppler signals. The sonogram is presented on the screen in real time. The software also calculates the maximum and the intensity weighted mean frequency envelopes. Since similar systems employ DSP boards to process the Doppler signals, cost reduction was achieved. The Doppler board electronic circuits and routines to process the Doppler signals are presented.

Test-bench system for a borehole azimuthal acoustic reflection imaging logging tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xianping; Ju, Xiaodong; Qiao, Wenxiao; Lu, Junqiang; Men, Baiyong; Liu, Dong

2016-06-01

The borehole azimuthal acoustic reflection imaging logging tool (BAAR) is a new generation of imaging logging tool, which is able to investigate stratums in a relatively larger range of space around the borehole. The BAAR is designed based on the idea of modularization with a very complex structure, so it has become urgent for us to develop a dedicated test-bench system to debug each module of the BAAR. With the help of a test-bench system introduced in this paper, test and calibration of BAAR can be easily achieved. The test-bench system is designed based on the client/server model. The hardware system mainly consists of a host computer, an embedded controlling board, a bus interface board, a data acquisition board and a telemetry communication board. The host computer serves as the human machine interface and processes the uploaded data. The software running on the host computer is designed based on VC++. The embedded controlling board uses Advanced Reduced Instruction Set Machines 7 (ARM7) as the micro controller and communicates with the host computer via Ethernet. The software for the embedded controlling board is developed based on the operating system uClinux. The bus interface board, data acquisition board and telemetry communication board are designed based on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) and provide test interfaces for the logging tool. To examine the feasibility of the test-bench system, it was set up to perform a test on BAAR. By analyzing the test results, an unqualified channel of the electronic receiving cabin was discovered. It is suggested that the test-bench system can be used to quickly determine the working condition of sub modules of BAAR and it is of great significance in improving production efficiency and accelerating industrial production of the logging tool.

Development of a highly reliable composite board for printed circuitry for use in space environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradbury, E. J.; Markle, R. A.; Dunnavant, W. R.; Stickney, P. B.

1971-01-01

Materials, processes and fabrication techniques have been investigated for the development of a high-temperature circuit-board laminate. High quality, void-free copper-clad laminates have been made using 7628/HS-1 style fiberglas reinforcements with filled polyimide matrices. The fabricating characteristics of P13N resin appear suitable for use as a filled matrix in this circuit board development. High-fired, ball-milled alumina appears to be necessary to obtain the desired effects in the circuit board system. Nickel-clad copper foil bonding surfaces appear to be another requirement for retention of good bond strengths after art work and plating sequences. The fabrication cycle for this circuit board system is very dependent on the heating profile. Very rapid heating with quick loading is recommended. A stack approach to lamination was successfully used.

Effect of synthesis variables on tack in urea-formaldehyde resin

Treesearch

R.J. Leicht; C.Y. Hse; R.C. Tang

1988-01-01

The degree of tack-the ability of resin to adhere to another surface under light pressure and over short time- in urea-formaldehyde resin varies throughout the particle board manufacturing process and affects mill maintenance and board quality. A three-part study was conducted to evaluate the effects of certain synthesis variables- molar formaldehyde:urea ratio,...

A Guide to Understanding National Board Certification: 2009-10 Candidacy Cycle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Federation of Teachers (NJ), 2009

2009-01-01

This guide is intended to lead candidates through the National Board Certification process and help them address some of the challenges that past candidates have identified. This guide is divided into seven sections: (1) Am I Ready? contains information on those things candidates need to know and do before they begin putting together their…

Lessons Learned from a School/Community Strategic Planning Process

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Billie A.

2004-01-01

The West Virginia State Board of Education assumed administrative control of the Lincoln county school system in June 2000, following a state report on the county?s failure to make adequate progress in rectifying major deficiencies identified in an October 1999 audit. One of the conditions for regaining local board control was that the Lincoln…

Feasibility study on the use of groupware support for NASA source evaluation boards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, Peter C.; Yoes, Cissy

1991-01-01

Groupware is a class of computer based systems that support groups engaged in a common task (or goal) and that provide an interface to a shared environment. A potential application for groupware is the source evaluation board (SEB) process used in the procurement of government contracts. This study was undertaken to (1) identify parts of the SEB process which are candidates for groupware supports; and (2) identify tools which could be used to support the candidate process. Two processes of the SEB were identified as good candidates for groupware support: (1) document generation - a coordination and communication process required to present and document the findings of an SEB; and (2) group decision making - a highly analytical and integrative decision process requiring a clear and supportable outcome.

The recycling of comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin from electronic waste.

PubMed

Duan, Huabo; Jia, Weifeng; Li, Jinhui

2010-05-01

The reuse of comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin with various granularities gathered from printed circuit manufacturing residues was investigated. As fillers, these residues were converted into polymeric composite board by an extrusion and injection process using polypropylene as a bonding agent. The mechanical properties of the reproduced composite board were examined by considering the effects of mass fraction and glass-fiber distribution. Interfacial-layer micrograph analysis of the composite material fracture surface was used to study the fiber reinforcement mechanism. Results showed that using comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin as a filler material greatly enhanced the performance properties of the composite board. Although the length and diameter of filler varied, these variations had no appreciable effect on the mechanical properties of the processed board. Maximum values of 48.30 MPa for flexural strength, 31.34 MPa for tensile strength, and 31.34 J/m for impact strength were achieved from a composite board containing mass fractions of 30, 10, and 20% glass-fiber-reinforced resin waste, respectively. It was found that the maximum amount of recyclate that could be added to a composite board was 30% of weight. Beyond these percentages, the materials blend became unmanageable and the mixture less amenable to impregnation with fiber. Presented studies indicated that comminuted glass-fiber-reinforced resin waste-filled polypropylene composites are promising candidates for structural applications where high stiffness and fracture resistance are required.

How well-run boards make decisions.

PubMed

Useem, Michael

2006-11-01

In the aftermath of seismic debacles like those that toppled Enron and WorldCom, corporate boards have been shaken up and made over. More directors are independent these days, for instance, and corporations now disclose directors' salaries and committee members' names. Research shows that most of the changes are having a positive effect on companies' performance. They are primarily structural, though, and don't go to the heart of a board's work: making the choices that shape a firm's future. Which decisions boards own and how those calls are made are largely hidden from the public. As a result, boards are often unable to learn from the best governance practices of their counterparts at other companies. This article pulls back the curtain and provides an inside look. Drawing on interviews with board members and executives at 31 companies, along with a close examination of three boardroom decisions, the author identifies several formal processes that can help companies improve their decision making: creating calendars that specify when the board and the standing committees will consider key items; drafting charters that define the decisions committees are responsible for; and developing decision protocols that divvy up responsibilities between directors and executives. The author also identifies a number of informal decision-making principles: Items that are strategically significant and touch on the firm's core values should go to the board. Large decisions should be divided into small pieces, so the board can devote sufficient attention to each one. Directors must remain vigilant to ensure that their decisions are effectively implemented. The CEO and either the nonexecutive chair or the lead director should engage in ongoing dialogue regarding which decisions to take to the full board and when. And directors should challenge assumptions before making yes-or-no decisions on management proposals.

What's on Your Mind? Conversation Topics Chosen by People With Degenerative Cognitive-Linguistic Disorders for Communication Boards

PubMed Central

Daniels, Darlene; Ettinger, Olivia; Mooney, Aimee; Noethe, Glory; Rowland, Charity

2015-01-01

Purpose Conversational topics chosen by a group of adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for personalized communication board development were examined. The patient-generated themes commonly selected are presented to guide treatment planning and communication board development. Method Communication boards were created for 109 adults as part of a larger research project. One autobiographical topic that each participant would enjoy discussing multiple times was represented on each communication board with 16 pictures and word labels. For this review, topics were collapsed into general themes through a consensus process and examined by gender and age. Results Sixty unique conversational topics were identified from 109 participants and collapsed into 9 general themes: Hobbies, Family, Travel, Work, Home/Places I've Lived, Sports/Fitness, Religion, Animals, and World War II. Age and gender produced variations in themes chosen, though no significance in rank orders was found across groups. Conclusions Topics selected by adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for communication boards resemble common conversational adult themes and do not center around basic needs or medical issues. Differences in gender and age for topic selection tend to be based on traditional roles. These general themes should be used when creating personalized communication boards for those who benefit from conversational aids. PMID:25835511

APA guidelines: their importance and a plan to keep them current: 2013 annual report of the Policy and Planning Board.

PubMed

2014-01-01

When guidelines are approved by APA, they become association policy, and it is imperative that they remain current. The revision of guidelines poses several challenges to the association. These challenges range from the availability and allocation of resources to support the complicated processes involved in developing and updating these policies to the lack of a clearly defined process that includes identification of tasks, assignments of responsibilities, and so forth. For this reason, the APA Board of Directors asked the Policy and Planning Board (P&P) to work with the boards of the four directorates (i.e., the Education Directorate, the Practice Directorate, the Public Interest Directorate, and the Science Directorate) to create a proposal that would (a) make recommendations with regard to how the review and revision of guidelines documents might best be accomplished in accordance with the APA Strategic Plan and existing policies and procedures and (b) make suggestions regarding the association resources that might be required. The Board of Directors approved the proposed review process in December 2013. 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Walking the talk: how effective boards accelerate performance. Interview by Elizabeth Preiss, Ron Shulman, and Patrick O'Callaghan.

PubMed

Bisson, A; Blais, B; Cullen, M; Gagné-Koch, G; Hassen, P C; Hearn, A; Tegenfeldt, J H

1993-01-01

The interviews demonstrated the belief that boards are accountable for ensuring the effective performance of their organizations. A board's obligation and authority is not limited to recruiting, appointing and replacing the organization's CEO and officers. It must also guide, shape, improve and reward what people do on the job. Performance management is not a simple process. It depends on a number of contributing factors operating in concert. To perform well, people must understand what is expected of them, their work context and their role. They must receive appropriate feedback on how they are doing from someone whom they respect and trust, someone with insight into their jobs and authority to manage them. The board's ability and obligation to contribute leadership, to be the primary force steering the organization, rests on the effectiveness with which it is able to play the performance management role.

Beyond Strategic Planning: Tailoring District Resources to Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollin, Thomas D.; Eadie, Douglas C.

1991-01-01

The strategic management process tries to create and maintain a dynamic balance between an organization's vision, mission, goals, strategies, and resources and its external environment. One Ohio school district's strategic management process succeeded resulting from a highly committed school board, a strong board-superintendent partnership, active…

Evaluation of Cleanliness Test Methods for Spacecraft PCB Assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tegehall, P.-E.; Dunn, B. D.

2006-10-01

Ionic contamination on printed-circuit-board assemblies may cause current leakage and short-circuits. The present cleanliness requirement in ECSS-Q-70-08, "The manual soldering of high-reliability electrical connections", is that the ionic contamination shall be less than 1.56 fl-glcm2 NaCI equivalents. The relevance of the method used for measurement of the ionic contamination level, resistivity of solvent extract, has been questioned. Alternative methods are ion chromatography and measurement of surface insulation resistance, but these methods also have their drawbacks. These methods are first described and their advantages and drawbacks are discussed. This is followed by an experimental evaluation of the three methods. This was done by soldering test vehicles at four manufacturers of space electronics using their ordinary processes for soldering and cleaning printed board assemblies. The experimental evaluation showed that the ionic contamination added by the four assemblers was very small and well below the acceptance criterion in ECSS-Q-70-80. Ion-chromatography analysis showed that most of the ionic contamination on the cleaned assembled boards originated from the hot-oil fusing of the printed circuit boards. Also, the surface insulation resistance was higher on the assembled boards compared to the bare printed circuit boards. Since strongly activated fluxes are normally used when printed circuit boards are hot-oil fused, it is essential that they are thoroughly cleaned in order to achieve low contamination levels on the final printed-board assemblies.

Application of OpenCV in Asus Tinker Board for face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei-Yu; Wu, Frank; Hu, Chung-Chiang

2017-06-01

The rise of the Internet of Things to promote the development of technology development board, the processor speed of operation and memory capacity increases, more and more applications, can already be completed before the data on the board computing, combined with the network to sort the information after Sent to the cloud for processing, so that the front of the development board is no longer simply retrieve the data device. This study uses Asus Tinker Board to install OpenCV for real-time face recognition and capture of the face, the acquired face to the Microsoft Cognitive Service cloud database for artificial intelligence comparison, to find out what the face now represents the mood. The face of the corresponding person name, and finally, and then through the text of Speech to read the name of the name to complete the identification of the action. This study was developed using the Asus Tinker Board, which uses ARM-based CPUs with high efficiency and low power consumption, plus improvements in memory and hardware performance for the development board.

What Governing Boards Need To Know and Do about Institutional Change. On Change IV. An Occasional Paper Series of the ACE Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation and The Kellogg Forum on Higher Education Transformation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Barbara; Green, Madeleine; Eckel, Peter

This essay, part of a series on change in higher education stemming from the American Council on Education (ACE) Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation, aims to help higher education governing boards at both public and private institutions understand the complexities of the change process and find practical advice about policies…

A front-end readout Detector Board for the OpenPET electronics system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choong, W.-S.; Abu-Nimeh, F.; Moses, W. W.; Peng, Q.; Vu, C. Q.; Wu, J.-Y.

2015-08-01

We present a 16-channel front-end readout board for the OpenPET electronics system. A major task in developing a nuclear medical imaging system, such as a positron emission computed tomograph (PET) or a single-photon emission computed tomograph (SPECT), is the electronics system. While there are a wide variety of detector and camera design concepts, the relatively simple nature of the acquired data allows for a common set of electronics requirements that can be met by a flexible, scalable, and high-performance OpenPET electronics system. The analog signals from the different types of detectors used in medical imaging share similar characteristics, which allows for a common analog signal processing. The OpenPET electronics processes the analog signals with Detector Boards. Here we report on the development of a 16-channel Detector Board. Each signal is digitized by a continuously sampled analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which is processed by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to extract pulse height information. A leading edge discriminator creates a timing edge that is ``time stamped'' by a time-to-digital converter (TDC) implemented inside the FPGA . This digital information from each channel is sent to an FPGA that services 16 analog channels, and then information from multiple channels is processed by this FPGA to perform logic for crystal lookup, DOI calculation, calibration, etc.

A front-end readout Detector Board for the OpenPET electronics system

DOE PAGES

Choong, W. -S.; Abu-Nimeh, F.; Moses, W. W.; ...

2015-08-12

Here, we present a 16-channel front-end readout board for the OpenPET electronics system. A major task in developing a nuclear medical imaging system, such as a positron emission computed tomograph (PET) or a single-photon emission computed tomograph (SPECT), is the electronics system. While there are a wide variety of detector and camera design concepts, the relatively simple nature of the acquired data allows for a common set of electronics requirements that can be met by a flexible, scalable, and high-performance OpenPET electronics system. The analog signals from the different types of detectors used in medical imaging share similar characteristics, whichmore » allows for a common analog signal processing. The OpenPET electronics processes the analog signals with Detector Boards. Here we report on the development of a 16-channel Detector Board. Each signal is digitized by a continuously sampled analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which is processed by a field programmable gate array (FPGA) to extract pulse height information. A leading edge discriminator creates a timing edge that is "time stamped" by a time-to-digital converter (TDC) implemented inside the FPGA. In conclusion, this digital information from each channel is sent to an FPGA that services 16 analog channels, and then information from multiple channels is processed by this FPGA to perform logic for crystal lookup, DOI calculation, calibration, etc.« less

Review of the all Source Analysis System as a Part of the Audit of the Effectiveness of the Defense Acquisition Board Review Process-FY 1993.

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-20

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW OF THE ALL SOURCE ANALYSIS SYSTEM AS A PART OF THE AUDIT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DEFENSE...System as a Part of the Audit of the Effectiveness of the Defense Acquisition Board Review Process--FY 1993 (Report No. 93-087) We are providing...appreciate the courtesies extended to the audit staff. If you have questions on this report, please contact Program Director Russell A. Rau at (703) 693

Creating Mechanisms for Meaningful Collaboration Between Members of Urban Communities and University-Based HIV Prevention Researchers.

PubMed

McKay, Mary M; Hibbert, Richard; Lawrence, Rita; Miranda, Ana; Paikoff, Roberta; Bell, Carl C; Madison-Boyd, Sybil; Baptiste, Donna; Coleman, Doris; Pinto, Rogério M; Bannon, William M

2007-01-01

This article provides a description of a Community/University Collaborative Board, a formalized partnership between representatives from an inner-city community and university-based researchers. This Collaborative Board oversees a number of research projects focused on designing, delivering and testing family-based HIV prevention and mental health focused programs to elementary and junior high school age youth and their families. The Collaborative Board consists of urban parents, school staff members, representatives from community-based agencies and university-based researchers. One research project, the CHAMP (Collaborative HIV prevention and Adolescent Mental health Project) Family Program Study, an urban, family-based HIV prevention project will be used to illustrate how the Collaborative Board oversees a community-based research study. The process of establishing a Collaborative Board, recruiting members and developing subcommittees is described within this article. Examples of specific issues addressed by the Collaborative Board within its subcommittees, Implementation, Finance, Welcome, Research, Grant writing, Curriculum, and Leadership, are detailed in this article along with lessons learned.

What are VBAC Women Seeking and Sharing? A Content Analysis of Online Discussion Boards.

PubMed

Konheim-Kalkstein, Yasmine L; Whyte, Rosemarie; Miron-Shatz, Talya; Stellmack, Mark A

2015-09-01

In the United States, one-third of pregnancies result in a cesarean delivery. In subsequent pregnancies, mothers must decide whether to pursue a vaginal birth after a cesarean (VBAC) or a repeat cesarean delivery. Pregnant women frequently turn to the Internet for support and information. We analyzed 300 posts from a popular online discussion board created for pregnant women who are in the process of deciding to have a VBAC and compared them to 300 posts from a discussion board for pregnant women in general. Women contemplating a VBAC sought more information on health care providers, more information about labor and delivery, and actively sought birth narratives from other women. Over one-third of VBAC posters shared a birth story, whereas this activity was rare on the general discussion board. Activity on the VBAC board suggested more involvement in the online community (longer entries and more feedback). Many women considering VBAC seek a substantial amount of information and emotional support from online discussion boards. Knowledge of information sought can assist health care providers in more fully meeting the needs of VBAC candidates. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

4 CFR 28.146 - Explanation and definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... are oral or written communications between decision-making personnel of the Board and an interested... person who might be affected by the outcome of a proceeding before the Board. (2) “Decision-making... employee of the Board, who reasonably can be expected to participate in the decision-making process of the...

How to Develop Written School Board Policies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, T. Susan

The speaker presents the steps to be followed in creating a systematized and up-to-date district manual of board policies and administrative rules. The process was developed by the National School Boards Association's Educational Policies Service. Included are the eight performance objectives identified as stepping stones to the manual, the five…

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and Its Activities -- Final Technical Report

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

Anthony R. de Souza, Ph.D. Director, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

2003-09-26

The Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) provided oversight of the earth sciences and resources activities with the National Research Council (NRC). The Board reviewed research and public activities in the earth sciences; undertook analyses relevant to the discovery, supply, delivery, waste disposal and associated impacts and issues related to hydrocarbon, metallic, and nonmetallic mineral resources; and monitored the status of the earth sciences, assessed the health of the disciplines, identified research opportunities, and responded to specific agency requests for advice. These tasks were conducted by distinguished volunteers and NRC staff members that are representative of the breadth andmore » depth of the earth sciences and resources disciplines (e.g., ecology, geophysics, geochemistry, geobiology, hydrology, geography, geographic information science, materials science, mineral resources and mining, energy resources, paleontology, visualization, remote sensing, geophysical data and information). Each year the Board held two meetings. Most recently at the May 2003 Board meeting, the main topic of discussion was Coordination of Geospatial Data in the Era of the Department of Homeland Security. Speakers were Steven Cooper, DHS; Barry Napier, FEMA; Bill Shinar, VGIN; Barbara Ryan, USGS; and Hank Garie, DOI. Other topics were Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources and New Opportunities in the Geology Discipline (Pat Leahy, USGS); Challenges to Understanding Biological Change in a Fluid Landscape (Sue Haseltine, USGS); and GIS and Remote Sensing at the USDA (Rodney Brown, USDA). The Board and the AGI also held a Leadership Forum. At the October 2003 Board meeting in Irvine, California, the Board plans to discuss earth resource issues, develop a white paper on the future directions of the Board, and review two of its standing committees--Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics, and the Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering. The Board will also review the status of studies under way (e.g., Research Priorities--Earth Science and Medicine) and the status of studies under development (e.g., Understanding and Confronting Terrorism). As a result of the continuous strategic planning process, the Board and its standing committees have become more active as exemplified by the increasing number of ad hoc study committees and reports published during the last few years. The Board collaborated throughout the reporting period with several NRC units (e.g., National Materials Advisory Board, Ocean Studies Board, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, and the Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change). The Board provided oversight of the earth sciences and resources activities at the NRC. In particular, it provided oversight of its ad hoc and continuing activities. Under NRC guidelines, the Board holds its committees' study findings confidential until reports are published.« less

Delivering democracy? An analysis of New Zealand's District Health Board elections, 2001 and 2004.

PubMed

Gauld, Robin

2005-08-01

The district health board (DHB) system is New Zealand's present structure for the governance and delivery of publicly-funded health care. An aim of the DHB system is to democratise health care governance, and a key element of DHBs is elected membership of their governing boards. This article focuses on the electoral component of DHBs. It reports on the first DHB elections of 2001 and recent 2004 elections. The article presents and discusses data regarding candidates, the electoral process, voter behaviour and election results. It suggests that the extent to which the DHB elections are contributing to aims of democratisation is questionable.

Energy consumption estimation of an OMAP-based Android operating system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, Gabriel; Juárez, Eduardo; Castro, Juan José; Sanz, César

2011-05-01

System-level energy optimization of battery-powered multimedia embedded systems has recently become a design goal. The poor operational time of multimedia terminals makes computationally demanding applications impractical in real scenarios. For instance, the so-called smart-phones are currently unable to remain in operation longer than several hours. The OMAP3530 processor basically consists of two processing cores, a General Purpose Processor (GPP) and a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The former, an ARM Cortex-A8 processor, is aimed to run a generic Operating System (OS) while the latter, a DSP core based on the C64x+, has architecture optimized for video processing. The BeagleBoard, a commercial prototyping board based on the OMAP processor, has been used to test the Android Operating System and measure its performance. The board has 128 MB of SDRAM external memory, 256 MB of Flash external memory and several interfaces. Note that the clock frequency of the ARM and DSP OMAP cores is 600 MHz and 430 MHz, respectively. This paper describes the energy consumption estimation of the processes and multimedia applications of an Android v1.6 (Donut) OS on the OMAP3530-Based BeagleBoard. In addition, tools to communicate the two processing cores have been employed. A test-bench to profile the OS resource usage has been developed. As far as the energy estimates concern, the OMAP processor energy consumption model provided by the manufacturer has been used. The model is basically divided in two energy components. The former, the baseline core energy, describes the energy consumption that is independent of any chip activity. The latter, the module active energy, describes the energy consumed by the active modules depending on resource usage.

10 CFR 1707.205 - Processing demands or requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Processing demands or requests. 1707.205 Section 1707.205 Energy DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY BY DNFSB EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL... and/or produce official records and information. (b) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will...

10 CFR 1707.205 - Processing demands or requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Processing demands or requests. 1707.205 Section 1707.205 Energy DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY BY DNFSB EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL... and/or produce official records and information. (b) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will...

10 CFR 1707.205 - Processing demands or requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Processing demands or requests. 1707.205 Section 1707.205 Energy DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY BY DNFSB EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL... and/or produce official records and information. (b) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will...

10 CFR 1707.205 - Processing demands or requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Processing demands or requests. 1707.205 Section 1707.205 Energy DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY BY DNFSB EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL... and/or produce official records and information. (b) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will...

10 CFR 1707.205 - Processing demands or requests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Processing demands or requests. 1707.205 Section 1707.205 Energy DEFENSE NUCLEAR FACILITIES SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY BY DNFSB EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL... and/or produce official records and information. (b) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will...

17 CFR 202.11 - Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Public Company Accounting Oversight Board budget approval process. 202.11 Section 202.11 Commodity and Securities Exchanges SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION INFORMAL AND OTHER PROCEDURES § 202.11 Public Company Accounting Oversight...

Getting in Sync

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finkel, Ed

2017-01-01

Community college presidents and board members come and go. But a major driver of the continued success of two-year colleges is how fruitfully the relationships between CEOs and their boards evolve over time--from the onboarding process when a president first takes the helm to the "outboarding" process that starts with them giving…

Empowerment of patients in online discussions about medicine use.

PubMed

van Berkel, Jasper J; Lambooij, Mattijs S; Hegger, Ingrid

2015-04-08

Patient empowerment is crucial in the successful self-management of people with chronic diseases. In this study, we investigated whether discussions about medicine use taking place on online message boards contribute to patient empowerment and could subsequently result in the more effective use of medicines. We discuss the extent to which patient empowerment processes occur in discussions on online message boards, focusing on patients with three disorders with different characteristics: diabetes, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Because information is an important factor in both patient empowerment and self-management, we also evaluate the quality of the information being exchanged. We used a deductive thematic analysis method based on pre-existing categories. We gathered and analysed 5532 posts related to the conditions ADHD, ALS and diabetes from seven message boards (three for ADHD, three for diabetes, and one for ALS). We coded the posts for empowerment processes and the quality of the information exchanged. We identified patient empowerment processes in posts related to all three disorders. There is some variation in the frequency of these processes, but they show a similar order in the results: patients used the online message boards to exchange information, share personal experiences and for empathy or support. The type of information shared in these processes could contribute to the patient's self-efficacy when it comes to medicine use. The exchanged information was either correct or largely harmless. We also observed a tendency whereby participants correct previously posted incorrect information, and refer people to a healthcare professional following a request for medical advice, e.g. concerning the choice of medicines or dosage. Our findings show that patient empowerment processes occur in posts related to all three disorders. The type of information shared in these processes can contribute to the patient's self-efficacy when it comes to medicine use. The tendency to refer people to a healthcare professional shows that patients still reserve an important role for healthcare professionals in the care process, despite the development towards more self-management.

Application of liquefied wood as a new particle board adhesive system.

PubMed

Kunaver, Matjaz; Medved, Sergej; Cuk, Natasa; Jasiukaityte, Edita; Poljansek, Ida; Strnad, Tatjana

2010-02-01

Different types of southern European hardwoods and softwoods were subjected to a liquefaction process with glycerol/diethylene glycol. The liquefied spruce wood was reacted in a condensation reaction in the hot press with different melamine-formaldehyde and melamine-urea-formaldehyde resin precursors and used as adhesives for wood particle boards. The mechanical properties of these particle boards and the determination of formaldehyde release, proved that addition of 50% of the liquefied wood to such resin precursors caused the product to meet the European standard quality demands for particle boards. Up to 40% reduction of the formaldehyde emission was achieved. The temperature of the press unit was lowered from 180 degrees C to 160 degrees C with no significant influence on the mechanical properties. On the basis of the presented results it was possible to conclude that liquefied wood can be used as substitute for synthetic resin precursors in adhesives that are used for the particle board production.

Industrial Applications of Graphite Fluoride Fibers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hung, Ching-Cheh; Kucera, Donald

1991-01-01

Based on fluorination technology developed during 1934 to 1959, and the fiber technology developed during the 1970s, a new process was developed to produce graphite fluoride fibers. In the process, pitch based graphitized carbon fibers are at first intercalated and deintercalated several times by bromine and iodine, followed by several cycles of nitrogen heating and fluorination at 350 to 370 C. Electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of this fiber depend on the fluorination process and the fluorine content of the graphite fluoride product. However, these properties are between those of graphite and those of PTFE (Teflon). Therefore, it is considered to be a semiplastic. The physical properties suggest that this new material may have many new and unexplored applications. For example, it can be a thermally conductive electrical insulator. Its coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) can be adjusted to match that of silicon, and therefore, it can be a heat sinking printed circuit board which is CTE compatible with silicon. Using these fibers in printed circuit boards may provide improved electrical performance and reliability of the electronics on the board over existing designs. Also, since it releases fluorine at 300 C or higher, it can be used as a material to store fluorine and to conduct fluorination. This application may simplify the fluorination process and reduce the risk of handling fluorine.

A report on the Oregon Experiment: A grassroots approach to meaningful public involvement

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

Blazek, M.L.; Dunning, D.A.; Gentry, R.

In September and October 1995, the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) and the Oregon Hanford Waste Board (the Board) carried out an ambitious public involvement process. They set out to explore new ways to better involve the public in technical issues involving the US Department of Energy (USDOE). They selected the draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials as the subject for the public involvement effort. They selected this EIS because of its high degree of technical complexity, its potential for impacting Hanford cleanup and Oregon, its broad reach of issues involvingmore » all USDOE sites and the long lead time it allowed for preparation. The traditional process used by USDOE for public involvement seldom allows external agencies sufficient lead time to develop good public involvement processes. For this EIS, USDOE began the public involvement process very early in the development of the EIS, which allowed them the lead time they needed. ODOE and the Board have a great deal of experience in working with the public on a wide range of nuclear issues. This project was larger and more complex than anything they had attempted before. They used several different forums and a common format. The public response was very positive and encouraging.« less

Lumber recovery from ponderosa pine in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Treesearch

Marlin E. Plank

1985-01-01

A sample of 400 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) trees was selected from each of two sale areas in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota. The logs were processed through two sawmills into 1-inch-thick boards. Estimates of volume and value recovery based on cubic volume and board foot volume are shown in tables and figures....

Influence of board density, mat construction, and chip type on performance of particleboard made from eastern redcedar

Treesearch

Zhiyong Cai; Qinglin Wu; Jong N. Lee; Salim Hiziroglu

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate mechanical and physical performances of particleboard made from low-value eastern redcedar trees. The properties evaluated included bending strength and stiffness, swelling, surface hardness, and screw holding capacity as a function of processing variables (i.e., density, chip type, and board construction). Two types of...

Examining School Board Leaders' Use of Online Resources to Inform Decision-Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kay, Robin; Carruthers, Loralea

2017-01-01

In the past five years, there has been considerable interest in the decision-making process of school board officials in the field of education. However, a paucity of research exists on how these leaders use online resources to inform decision-making. Through an online survey and face-to-face interviews, this study examined the use of online…

Information Switching Processor (ISP) contention analysis and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inukai, Thomas

1995-01-01

In designing a satellite system with on-board processing, the selection of a switching architecture is often critical. The on-board switching function can be implemented by circuit switching or packet switching. Destination-directed packet switching has several attractive features, such as self-routing without on-board switch reconfiguration, no switch control memory requirement, efficient bandwidth utilization for packet switched traffic, and accommodation of circuit switched traffic. Destination-directed packet switching, however, has two potential concerns: (1) contention and (2) congestion. And this report specifically deals with the first problem. It includes a description and analysis of various self-routing switch structures, the nature of contention problems, and contention and resolution techniques.

Design and characterization of high-speed CMOS pseudo-LVDS transceivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kondratenko, S. V.

2016-02-01

High-speed transceiver for on-board systems of data collection and processing need to meet additional requirements, such as low power consumption and increased radiation hardness. It is therefore necessary to compare and search for alternative variants of transceivers on the physical layer, where high transfer speed is not achieved at the cost of a significant increase in power consumption or a limitation of transmission distance by the size of a printed circuit board. For on-board applications, it is also necessary to solve the problem of increasing the radiation hardness without going to expensive types of technology. In this paper, we studied some variants of implementation of pseudo-LVDS transceivers and analyzed their achievable quantitative characteristics. According to the results of calculations and analysis of the literature, specialized transceivers of this type, intended for the manufacture or manufactured according to the bulk CMOS technology processes in the range of 250-80 nm, can provide data speeds up to 6 Gbps at a specific power consumption of less than 4 mW/Gbps.

What happens when the board of nursing comes calling: investigation and disciplinary actions.

PubMed

Smalls, Harriett Twiggs

2014-01-01

Each state has a Board of Nursing that governs the nurses that practice in that state. Each Board of Nursing has a process by which it investigates and hears cases against nurses accused of wrongdoing. This article gives a general overview of what steps are usually taken when the Board of Nursing suspects that a nurse's actions may be in violation of the laws that govern nursing practice.

Cellulose nanofiber board.

PubMed

Yousefi, Hossein; Azad, Sona; Mashkour, Mahdi; Khazaeian, Abolghasem

2018-05-01

A cellulose nanofiber board (CNF-board) with a nominal thickness of 3 mm was fabricated without adhesive or additive. To provide comparison, a cellulose fiber board (CF-board) was also fabricated. A novel cold pre-press apparatus was made to dewater highly absorbent CNF gel prior to drying. A mild drying condition in the vacuum oven at 70 °C and 0.005 MPa was enough to provide the CNF-board with a density of 1.3 g/cm 3 thanks to its self-densification capability. Unlike the CF-board, the fabricated CNF-board had a high water-activated dimensional recovery ratio (averagely 96%) during the five cyclic wetting-drying process. The flexural and tensile strengths of CNF-board obtained were 162 MPa and 85 MPa, respectively. The corresponding values for CF-board were 28 MPa and 11 MPa, respectively. The specific flexural and tensile strengths of CNF-board obtained were higher than those of CF-board as well as some other traditional wood-based composites, polymers and structural ASTM A36 steel. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On-Ground Processing of Yaogan-24 Remote Sensing Satellite Attitude Data and Verification Using Geometric Field Calibration

PubMed Central

Wang, Mi; Fan, Chengcheng; Yang, Bo; Jin, Shuying; Pan, Jun

2016-01-01

Satellite attitude accuracy is an important factor affecting the geometric processing accuracy of high-resolution optical satellite imagery. To address the problem whereby the accuracy of the Yaogan-24 remote sensing satellite’s on-board attitude data processing is not high enough and thus cannot meet its image geometry processing requirements, we developed an approach involving on-ground attitude data processing and digital orthophoto (DOM) and the digital elevation model (DEM) verification of a geometric calibration field. The approach focuses on three modules: on-ground processing based on bidirectional filter, overall weighted smoothing and fitting, and evaluation in the geometric calibration field. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed on-ground processing method is both robust and feasible, which ensures the reliability of the observation data quality, convergence and stability of the parameter estimation model. In addition, both the Euler angle and quaternion could be used to build a mathematical fitting model, while the orthogonal polynomial fitting model is more suitable for modeling the attitude parameter. Furthermore, compared to the image geometric processing results based on on-board attitude data, the image uncontrolled and relative geometric positioning result accuracy can be increased by about 50%. PMID:27483287

20 CFR 661.290 - Under what circumstances may States require Local Boards to take part in regional planning...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Local Boards to take part in regional planning activities? 661.290 Section 661.290 Employees' Benefits... what circumstances may States require Local Boards to take part in regional planning activities? (a...) Participate in a regional planning process that results in regional performance measures for workforce...

Proactive Collective Bargaining for School Board Members.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California School Boards Association, Sacramento.

This handbook is a guide to the collective bargaining process for school board members. It emphasizes the need for school boards to take the initiative in setting goals, reducing the potential for friction, and preserving management prerogatives against the competing responsibility to bargain in good faith under the law. Chapter 1 describes the…

78 FR 54957 - Proposed Information Collection (Board of Veterans' Appeals, Voice of the Veteran Call Center...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-06

... operational processes and service delivery, which in turn, will enable the Board to serve its Veterans in the... period, comments may be viewed online through FDMS. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue Hamlin at (202... Center Survey. Type of Review: New collection. Abstract: Currently, the Board collects customer...

A National Board Certified Teacher in the Principalship: A Qualitative Analysis of Leadership Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gee, Ralph L.

2016-01-01

The placement of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) in school leadership roles emerged as a feature of comprehensive reform models and school improvement initiatives. Educational practitioners must verify the saliency of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) process in preparing NBCTs for school leadership,…

Employing National Board Certification Practices with All Teachers: The Potential of Cognitive Coaching and Mentoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diaz, Kirsten Anne

2013-01-01

National Board Certification is an esteemed certification and professional learning and reflective opportunity for teachers. Cognitive coaching is also a method of support many teachers receive over the course of their National Board Certification journey. The certification process involves reflective practices and opportunities for teachers to…

Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline: Illustration of the disciplinary process as it pertains to cases involving opioid prescribing.

PubMed

McDonald, James V

Prescription-drug overuse/overdose and misuse is an important and pivotal issue to state medical boards. This is an illustration of how some cases involving overprescribing of opioids have been addressed by the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline.

Information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sorensen, J. A.; Karmarkar, J. S.

1977-01-01

A systematic procedure is presented for determining the information processing requirements for on-board monitoring of automatic landing systems. The monitoring system detects landing anomalies through use of appropriate statistical tests. The time-to-correct aircraft perturbations is determined from covariance analyses using a sequence of suitable aircraft/autoland/pilot models. The covariance results are used to establish landing safety and a fault recovery operating envelope via an event outcome tree. This procedure is demonstrated with examples using the NASA Terminal Configured Vehicle (B-737 aircraft). The procedure can also be used to define decision height, assess monitoring implementation requirements, and evaluate alternate autoland configurations.

High-Efficiency Hall Thruster Discharge Power Converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaquish, Thomas

2015-01-01

Busek Company, Inc., is designing, building, and testing a new printed circuit board converter. The new converter consists of two series or parallel boards (slices) intended to power a high-voltage Hall accelerator (HiVHAC) thruster or other similarly sized electric propulsion devices. The converter accepts 80- to 160-V input and generates 200- to 700-V isolated output while delivering continually adjustable 300-W to 3.5-kW power. Busek built and demonstrated one board that achieved nearly 94 percent efficiency the first time it was turned on, with projected efficiency exceeding 97 percent following timing software optimization. The board has a projected specific mass of 1.2 kg/kW, achieved through high-frequency switching. In Phase II, Busek optimized to exceed 97 percent efficiency and built a second prototype in a form factor more appropriate for flight. This converter then was integrated with a set of upgraded existing boards for powering magnets and the cathode. The program culminated with integrating the entire power processing unit and testing it on a Busek thruster and on NASA's HiVHAC thruster.

A Strategic Plan Is Just the Beginning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, E. B.

2009-01-01

The process of strategic planning wears out institutions. Strategic planning, pursued with high purpose and energy, is enervating and exhausting. In this article, the author describes the value-added work of trustees in high-performing boards and discusses the role boards of trustees play as the process of continuous strategic planning unfolds.…

Nuclear Weapons: NNSA Needs to Establish a Cost and Schedule Baseline for Manufacturing a Critical Nuclear Weapon Component

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

building up to and beyond the 2013 time frame. However, in October 2007, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which monitors safety...manufacturing. They said that NNSA is still working through this process with the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Processing of waste

The Leverage of National Board Candidacy: An Exploration of Teacher Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunzicker, Jana

2008-01-01

The vast majority of teachers who engage in the process of National Board certification describe it as the best professional development they have ever experienced - even when they do not achieve the certification. Learning leverage, an interactive dynamic characterized by rigor, reward, and risk, is what makes the certification process such a…

Expediting the Institutional Review Board Process for Exercise Protocols

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macfarlane, Pamela A.; Looney, Marilyn A.

2011-01-01

All researchers who use human participants in their study must obtain permission from their appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB). Once the IRB application enters the review process, a decision is made regarding the type of review it should receive: Level I administrative (exempt), Level II subcommittee (expedited), or Level III full board…

12 CFR 926.5 - Housing associate application process.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... provide the applicant and the Finance Board with a copy of the Bank's decision resolution. (3) File. The... 12 Banks and Banking 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Housing associate application process. 926.5 Section 926.5 Banks and Banking FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK MEMBERS AND HOUSING...

15 CFR 400.27 - Procedure for processing application.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Procedure for processing application. 400.27 Section 400.27 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Establishment and Modification of Zone...

76 FR 63613 - Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-13

... membership reappointment process. DOE Presentation: Tank Vapor Monitoring. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Presentation: Advanced Simulation Capability for EM/Groundwater Modeling. Board Business: [[Page 63614

Evaluation of board performance in Iran's universities of medical sciences.

PubMed

Sajadi, Haniye Sadat; Maleki, Mohammadreza; Ravaghi, Hamid; Farzan, Homayoun; Aminlou, Hasan; Hadi, Mohammad

2014-10-01

The critical role that the board plays in governance of universities clarifies the necessity of evaluating its performance. This study was aimed to evaluate the performance of the boards of medical universities and provide solutions to enhance its performance. The first phase of present study was a qualitative research in which data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed by thematic approach. The second phase was a mixed qualitative and quantitative study, with quantitative part in cross-sectional format and qualitative part in content analysis format. In the quantitative part, data were collected through Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME). In the qualitative part, the content of 2,148 resolutions that were selected by using stratified sampling method were analyzed. Participants believed that the boards had no acceptable performance for a long time.RESULTS also indicated the increasing number of meetings and resolutions of the boards in these 21 years. The boards' resolutions were mostly operational in domain and administrative in nature. The share of specific resolutions was more than the general ones. Given the current pace of change and development and the need to timely respond them, it is recommended to accelerate the slow pace of improvement process of the boards. It appears that more delegation and strengthening the position of the boards are the effective strategies to speed up this process.

Board certification in professional psychology: promoting competency and consumer protection.

PubMed

Cox, David R

2010-04-01

Board certification in psychology provides an opportunity for increased assessment of and demonstration of competence in the profession. In addition to serving as a means of consumer protection, it can serve the professional psychologist by providing the opportunity for increased income, professional satisfaction, facilitated mobility, and professional development. Jurisdictional and organizational recognition of the importance of board certification is increasing. This article uses the model and experience of the American Board of Professional Psychology, with particular attention to the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology and the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, to illustrate these benefits. Recent developments regarding board certification are described, as well as how to become involved in the process.

The effects of lumber length on part yields in gang-rip-first rough mills

Treesearch

Peter C. Hamner; Brian H. Bond; Janice K. Wiedenbeck

2002-01-01

The lumber processed in most rough mills typically arrives from vendors in packages of random width boards with lengths ranging from 8 to 16 feet. However, little attention has been given to analyzing how differences in board lengths affect rough mill yield given varying part-prioritization strategies and cutting bill scenarios. The objective of this study was to...

SINBAD flight software, the on-board software of NOMAD in ExoMars 2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastor-Morales, M. C.; Rodríguez-Gómez, Julio F.; Morales-Muñoz, Rafael; Gómez-López, Juan M.; Aparicio-del-Moral, Beatriz; Candini, Gian Paolo; Jerónimo-Zafra, Jose M.; López-Moreno, Jose J.; Robles-Muñoz, Nicolás. F.; Sanz-Mesa, Rosario; Neefs, Eddy; Vandaele, Ann C.; Drummond, Rachel; Thomas, Ian R.; Berkenbosch, Sophie; Clairquin, Roland; Delanoye, Sofie; Ristic, Bojan; Maes, Jeroen; Bonnewijn, Sabrina; Patel, Manish R.; Leese, Mark; Mason, Jon P.

2016-07-01

The Spacecraft INterface and control Board for NomAD (SINBAD) is an electronic interface designed by the Instituto de Astroffisica de Andalucfia (IAA-CSIC). It is part of the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument (NOMAD) on board in the ESAs ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. This mission was launched in March 2016. The SINBAD Flight Software (SFS) is the software embedded in SINBAD. It is in charge of managing the interfaces, devices, data, observing sequences, patching and contingencies of NOMAD. It is presented in this paper the most remarkable aspects of the SFS design, likewise the main problems and lessons learned during the software development process.

Laser processing of phenolic wood substitutes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quintero, F.; Riveiro, A.; Lusquiños, F.; Penide, J.; Arias-González, F.; del Val, J.; Comesaña, R.; Boutinguiza, M.; Pou, J.

2013-11-01

Phenolic resin boards (PRB) are wood substitutes that comprises of a thick core exclusively made of phenolic resin covered by a thin sheet of melamine resin imitating the aspect of natural wood. The use of these materials in furniture and in construction industry has proliferated during last years. Boards made of phenolic resins are dense, hard and very difficult to cut using band saws, disc saws, or milling cutters. Nevertheless, these difficulties can be overcome by means of laser cutting, which is one of the most firmly established techniques for separating materials. This is due to the great advantages of this technique over traditional cutting methods, such as its versatility and flexibility that allow effective cutting. Nevertheless, charring of the cut edge surface caused by laser induced thermal degradation degrades the cut quality under non-optimized processing conditions. In this research work the viability and quality of CO2 laser cutting process of phenolic resin boards and wood particleboard panels has been evaluated. The present work validates the cut of phenolic resin boards by CO2 lasers using a high laser power and elevated cutting speeds. Moreover, this process involves a serious health hazard since the combustion and decomposition of wood may produce fumes and vapors, which can be toxic and carcinogenic according to the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC). Therefore, this work was complemented by the assessment of the potential toxicity of the condensed residues formed on the cut edges, and assessment of the chemistry of the generated fumes by chromatography.

Virtual Learning Circles: Utilizing Online Message Board Interactions for Strengthening Literacy Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Matt; Hofmeister, David

Educators need to better understand how Internet discussion boards can be used in their classrooms. The process of trying to learn more about potential efficacy of a merger of two potent education tools (Learning or Literature Circles and online discussion boards) is currently underway. A large research study has been designed to examine the…

Using National Board Standards To Redesign Master's Degrees for Teachers: A Guide for Institutions of Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isenberg, Joan Packer

This monograph is designed assist to teacher preparation institutions that want to use standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to help teachers prepare for their National Board Certification process and simultaneously improve their advanced programs for teachers. Part 1, "Rationale for Using NBPTS Standards as a…

Concepts for on-board satellite image registration. Volume 3: Impact of VLSI/VHSIC on satellite on-board signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aanstoos, J. V.; Snyder, W. E.

1981-01-01

Anticipated major advances in integrated circuit technology in the near future are described as well as their impact on satellite onboard signal processing systems. Dramatic improvements in chip density, speed, power consumption, and system reliability are expected from very large scale integration. Improvements are expected from very large scale integration enable more intelligence to be placed on remote sensing platforms in space, meeting the goals of NASA's information adaptive system concept, a major component of the NASA End-to-End Data System program. A forecast of VLSI technological advances is presented, including a description of the Defense Department's very high speed integrated circuit program, a seven-year research and development effort.

Institutional review board challenges related to community-based participatory research on human exposure to environmental toxins: A case study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background We report on the challenges of obtaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) coverage for a community-based participatory research (CBPR) environmental justice project, which involved reporting biomonitoring and household exposure results to participants, and included lay participation in research. Methods We draw on our experiences guiding a multi-partner CBPR project through university and state Institutional Review Board reviews, and other CBPR colleagues' written accounts and conference presentations and discussions. We also interviewed academics involved in CBPR to learn of their challenges with Institutional Review Boards. Results We found that Institutional Review Boards are generally unfamiliar with CBPR, reluctant to oversee community partners, and resistant to ongoing researcher-participant interaction. Institutional Review Boards sometimes unintentionally violate the very principles of beneficence and justice which they are supposed to uphold. For example, some Institutional Review Boards refuse to allow report-back of individual data to participants, which contradicts the CBPR principles that guide a growing number of projects. This causes significant delays and may divert research and dissemination efforts. Our extensive education of our university Institutional Review Board convinced them to provide human subjects protection coverage for two community-based organizations in our partnership. Conclusions IRBs and funders should develop clear, routine review guidelines that respect the unique qualities of CBPR, while researchers and community partners can educate IRB staff and board members about the objectives, ethical frameworks, and research methods of CBPR. These strategies can better protect research participants from the harm of unnecessary delays and exclusion from the research process, while facilitating the ethical communication of study results to participants and communities. PMID:20637068

High spatial resolution infrared camera as ISS external experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckehard, Lorenz; Frerker, Hap; Fitch, Robert Alan

High spatial resolution infrared camera as ISS external experiment for monitoring global climate changes uses ISS internal and external resources (eg. data storage). The optical experiment will consist of an infrared camera for monitoring global climate changes from the ISS. This technology was evaluated by the German small satellite mission BIRD and further developed in different ESA projects. Compared to BIRD the presended instrument uses proven sensor advanced technologies (ISS external) and ISS on board processing and storage capabili-ties (internal). The instrument will be equipped with a serial interfaces for TM/TC and several relay commands for the power supply. For data processing and storage a mass memory is re-quired. The access to actual attitude data is highly desired to produce geo referenced maps-if possible by an on board processing.

An analysis of a health professions appeal board--should a mediational style of hearing matters be adopted?

PubMed

Hill, Timothy M

2004-01-01

The Ontario Health Professions Board is a statutory Board that carries out a supervisory function and review function of certain matters arising from twenty-three health professions in the province. This paper examines the board, how it functions, and the nature and type of disputes, which come before it. Having regard to key concepts in the areas of conflict analysis and process design, the paper critically discusses whether the Board ought to adopt a mediational style of hearing matters. The conclusions are that there are very real dangers that the current practices of the Board may contribute to conflict rather than resolve it, that there is no legal impediment to the Board adopting a mediational style of hearing matters, and that such an approach would contribute to the Board effectively carrying out its statutory functions.

Reliability of CGA/LGA/HDI Package Board/Assembly (Revision A)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghaffarian, Reza

2013-01-01

This follow-up report presents reliability test results conducted by thermal cycling of five CGA assemblies evaluated under two extreme cycle profiles, representative of use for high-reliability applications. The thermal cycles ranged from a low temperature of 55 C to maximum temperatures of either 100 C or 125 C with slow ramp-up rate (3 C/min) and dwell times of about 15 minutes at the two extremes. Optical photomicrographs that illustrate key inspection findings of up to 200 thermal cycles are presented. Other information presented include an evaluation of the integrity of capacitors on CGA substrate after thermal cycling as well as process evaluation for direct assembly of an LGA onto PCB. The qualification guidelines, which are based on the test results for CGA/LGA/HDI packages and board assemblies, will facilitate NASA projects' use of very dense and newly available FPGA area array packages with known reliably and mitigation risks, allowing greater processing power in a smaller board footprint and lower system weight.

Information architecture for a patient-specific dashboard in head and neck tumor boards.

PubMed

Oeser, Alexander; Gaebel, Jan; Dietz, Andreas; Wiegand, Susanne; Oeltze-Jafra, Steffen

2018-03-28

Overcoming the flaws of current data management conditions in head and neck oncology could enable integrated information systems specifically tailored to the needs of medical experts in a tumor board meeting. Clinical dashboards are a promising method to assist various aspects of the decision-making process in such cognitively demanding scenarios. However, in order to provide extensive and intuitive assistance to the participating physicians, the design and development of such a system have to be user-centric. To accomplish this task, conceptual methods need to be performed prior to the technical development and integration stages. We have conducted a qualitative survey including eight clinical experts with different levels of expertise in the field of head and neck oncology. According to the principles of information architecture, the survey focused on the identification and causal interconnection of necessary metrics for information assessment in the tumor board. Based on the feedback by the clinical experts, we have constructed a detailed map of the required information items for a tumor board dashboard in head and neck oncology. Furthermore, we have identified three distinct groups of metrics (patient, disease and therapy metrics) as well as specific recommendations for their structural and graphical implementation. By using the information architecture, we were able to gather valuable feedback about the requirements and cognitive processes of the tumor board members. Those insights have helped us to develop a dashboard application that closely adapts to the specified needs and characteristics, and thus is primarily user-centric.

Lessons Learned Using COTS Electronics for the International Space Station Radiation Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blumer, John H.; Roth, A. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The mantra of 'Faster, Better, Cheaper' has to a large degree been interpreted as using Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) components and/or circuit boards. One of the first space applications to actually use COTS in space along with radiation performance requirements was the Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack program, for the International Space Station (ISS). In order to meet the performance, cost and schedule targets, military grade Versa Module Eurocard (VME) was selected as the baseline design for the main computer, the Rack Interface Controller (RIC). VME was chosen as the computer backplane because of the large variety of military grade boards available, which were designed to meet the military environmental specifications (thermal, shock, vibration, etc.). These boards also have a paper pedigree in regards to components. Since these boards exceeded most ISS environmental requirements, it was reasoned using COTS mid-grade VME boards, as opposed to designing custom boards could save significant time and money. It was recognized up front the radiation environment of ISS, while benign compared to many space flight applications, would be the main challenge to using COTS. Thus in addition to selecting vendors on how well their boards met the usual performance and environmental specifications, the board's parts lists were reviewed on how well they would perform in the ISS radiation environment. However, issues with verifying that the available radiation test data was applicable to the actual part used, vendor part design changes and the fact most parts did not have valid test data soon complicated board and part selection in regards to radiation.

Aeromedical Disposition and Waiver Consideration for ISS Crewmembers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taddeo, Terrance

2012-01-01

Aeromedical certification of astronauts and cosmonauts traveling to the International Space Station is a multi?-tiered process that involv es standards agreed to by the partner agencies, and participation by the individual agency aeromedical boards and a multilateral space medi cine board. Medical standards are updated continually by a multilater al working group. The boards operate by consensus and strive to achie ve effective decision making through experience, medical judgment, medical evidence and risk modeling. The aim of the certification process is to minimize the risk to the ISS program of loss of mission object ives due to human health issues.

The Role of the Board of Education in the Process of Resource Allocation for Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chichura, Elaine Marie

Public schools as formal organizations have broad-based goals, limited resources, and a formal hierarchy with which to manage the goal achievement process. The board of education combines this organization's economic and political dimensions to provide a thorough, efficient education for all children in the state. This paper investigates the…

The Association of Social Work Boards' Licensure Examinations: A Review of Reliability and Validity Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marson, Stephen M.; DeAngelis, Donna; Mittal, Nisha

2010-01-01

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to create transparency for the psychometric methods employed for the development of the Association of Social Work Boards' (ASWB) exams. Results: The article includes an assessment of the macro (political) and micro (statistical) environments of testing social work competence. The seven-step process used…

Processes of technology assessment: The National Transportation Safety Board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weiss, E.

1972-01-01

The functions and operations of the Safety Board as related to technology assessment are described, and a brief history of the Safety Board is given. Recommendations made for safety in all areas of transportation and the actions taken are listed. Although accident investigation is an important aspect of NTSB's activity, it is felt that the greatest contribution is in pressing for development of better accident prevention programs. Efforts of the Safety Board in changing transportation technology to improve safety and prevent accidents are illustrated.

The techniques of quality operations computational and experimental researches of the launch vehicles in the drawing-board stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rozhaeva, K.

2018-01-01

The aim of the researchis the quality operations of the design process at the stage of research works on the development of active on-Board system of the launch vehicles spent stages descent with liquid propellant rocket engines by simulating the gasification process of undeveloped residues of fuel in the tanks. The design techniques of the gasification process of liquid rocket propellant components residues in the tank to the expense of finding and fixing errors in the algorithm calculation to increase the accuracy of calculation results is proposed. Experimental modelling of the model liquid evaporation in a limited reservoir of the experimental stand, allowing due to the false measurements rejection based on given criteria and detected faults to enhance the results reliability of the experimental studies; to reduce the experiments cost.

A Retrospective Management Perspective on Nearly 20 Years of the Savannah River Site Citizen Advisory Board - 13078

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

Belencan, Helen L.; Guevara, Karen C.; Spears, Terrel J.

2013-07-01

The Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM) program has invested in site specific advisory boards since 1994. These boards have served as a portal to the communities surrounding the DOE sites, provided a key avenue for public involvement, and have actively engaged in providing input and feedback that has informed clean up and priority decisions made by EM. Although the EM program has made considerable progress in completing its mission, work will continue for decades, including work at the Savannah River Site (SRS). It is reasonable to assume the advisory boards will continue in their role providingmore » input and feedback to EM. The SRS Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) formed in 1994 and has issued 298 recommendations through September 2012. Although the effectiveness of the board is not measured by the number of recommendations issued, the recommendations themselves serve to illustrate the areas in which the CAB is particularly interested, and offer insight to the overall effectiveness of the CAB as a means for public participation in the EM decision making process. (authors)« less

A design approach for small vision-based autonomous vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Barrett B.; Fife, Wade S.; Archibald, James K.; Lee, Dah-Jye; Wilde, Doran K.

2006-10-01

This paper describes the design of a small autonomous vehicle based on the Helios computing platform, a custom FPGA-based board capable of supporting on-board vision. Target applications for the Helios computing platform are those that require lightweight equipment and low power consumption. To demonstrate the capabilities of FPGAs in real-time control of autonomous vehicles, a 16 inch long R/C monster truck was outfitted with a Helios board. The platform provided by such a small vehicle is ideal for testing and development. The proof of concept application for this autonomous vehicle was a timed race through an environment with obstacles. Given the size restrictions of the vehicle and its operating environment, the only feasible on-board sensor is a small CMOS camera. The single video feed is therefore the only source of information from the surrounding environment. The image is then segmented and processed by custom logic in the FPGA that also controls direction and speed of the vehicle based on visual input.