76 FR 11283 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-01

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review...) titled, ``Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for Non... rules relating to internal claims and appeals and external review processes. On July 23, 2010, the EBSA...

Theoretical aspects of cellular decision-making and information-processing.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Tetsuya J; Kamimura, Atsushi

2012-01-01

Microscopic biological processes have extraordinary complexity and variety at the sub-cellular, intra-cellular, and multi-cellular levels. In dealing with such complex phenomena, conceptual and theoretical frameworks are crucial, which enable us to understand seemingly different intra- and inter-cellular phenomena from unified viewpoints. Decision-making is one such concept that has attracted much attention recently. Since a number of cellular behavior can be regarded as processes to make specific actions in response to external stimuli, decision-making can cover and has been used to explain a broad range of different cellular phenomena [Balázsi et al. (Cell 144(6):910, 2011), Zeng et al. (Cell 141(4):682, 2010)]. Decision-making is also closely related to cellular information-processing because appropriate decisions cannot be made without exploiting the information that the external stimuli contain. Efficiency of information transduction and processing by intra-cellular networks determines the amount of information obtained, which in turn limits the efficiency of subsequent decision-making. Furthermore, information-processing itself can serve as another concept that is crucial for understanding of other biological processes than decision-making. In this work, we review recent theoretical developments on cellular decision-making and information-processing by focusing on the relation between these two concepts.

Family Adversity, Positive Peer Relationships, and Children's Externalizing Behavior: A Longitudinal Perspective on Risk and Resilience

PubMed Central

Criss, Michael M.; Pettit, Gregory S.; Bates, John E.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Lapp, Amie L.

2009-01-01

Peer acceptance and friendships were examined as moderators in the link between family adversity and child externalizing behavioral problems. Data on family adversity (i.e., ecological disadvantage, violent marital conflict, and harsh discipline) and child temperament and social information processing were collected during home visits from 585 families with 5-year-old children. Children's peer acceptance, friendship, and friends' aggressiveness were assessed with sociometric methods in kindergarten and grade 1. Teachers provided ratings of children's externalizing behavior problems in grade 2. Peer acceptance served as a moderator for all three measures of family adversity, and friendship served as a moderator for harsh discipline. Examination of regression slopes indicated that family adversity was not significantly associated with child externalizing behavior at high levels of positive peer relationships. These moderating effects generally were not qualified by child gender, ethnicity, or friends' aggressiveness, nor were they accounted for by child temperament or social information-processing patterns. The need for process-oriented studies of risk and protective factors is stressed. PMID:12146744

Towards Rapid Re-Certification Using Formal Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-22

profiles will help ensure that information assurance requirements are commensurate with risk and scalable based on an application’s changing external...20 Scalability Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 22...agility in certification processes. Software re-certification processes require significant expenditure in order to provide evidence of information

Cluster-based query expansion using external collections in medical information retrieval.

PubMed

Oh, Heung-Seon; Jung, Yuchul

2015-12-01

Utilizing external collections to improve retrieval performance is challenging research because various test collections are created for different purposes. Improving medical information retrieval has also gained much attention as various types of medical documents have become available to researchers ever since they started storing them in machine processable formats. In this paper, we propose an effective method of utilizing external collections based on the pseudo relevance feedback approach. Our method incorporates the structure of external collections in estimating individual components in the final feedback model. Extensive experiments on three medical collections (TREC CDS, CLEF eHealth, and OHSUMED) were performed, and the results were compared with a representative expansion approach utilizing the external collections to show the superiority of our method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integration of external metadata into the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Katharina; Levavasseur, Guillaume; Stockhause, Martina; Lautenschlager, Michael

2015-04-01

International projects with high volume data usually disseminate their data in a federated data infrastructure, e.g.~the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF). The ESGF aims to make the geographically distributed data seamlessly discoverable and accessible. Additional data-related information is currently collected and stored in separate repositories by each data provider. This scattered and useful information is not or only partly available for ESGF users. Examples for such additional information systems are ES-DOC/metafor for model and simulation information, IPSL's versioning information, CHARMe for user annotations, DKRZ's quality information and data citation information. The ESGF Quality Control working team (esgf-qcwt) aims to integrate these valuable pieces of additional information into the ESGF in order to make them available to users and data archive managers by (i) integrating external information into ESGF portal, (ii) integrating links to external information objects into the ESGF metadata index, e.g. by the use of PIDs (Persistent IDentifiers), and (iii) automating the collection of external information during the ESGF data publication process. For the sixth phase of CMIP (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project), the ESGF metadata index is to be enriched by additional information on data citation, file version, etc. This information will support users directly and can be automatically exploited by higher level services (human and machine readability).

What Do Trainers Need to Know to Train Higher-Order Thinking Skills

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-01

decision - making , perceptual processing , and information processing (U.S. Department of the Army, TRADOC, 2011; 2014). Current Army training...counteract this risk, we may offload aspects of the evaluative process using techniques—like the Military Decision Making Process — that tend to frame... decision -makers collect information and the influences of internal and external factors on the

Informal Learning with Technology: The Effects of Self-Constructing Externalizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Damnik, Gregor; Proske, Antje; Narciss, Susanne; Körndle, Hermann

2013-01-01

Especially in the context of technology-enhanced informal learning, it is crucial to understand how to design information sources in such a way that learners are not overwhelmed by the demands of the learning process, but at the same time are engaged in higher order thinking processes. Guidance aids learners in dealing with the demands of a…

Neural Markers of Responsiveness to the Environment in Human Sleep.

PubMed

Andrillon, Thomas; Poulsen, Andreas Trier; Hansen, Lars Kai; Léger, Damien; Kouider, Sid

2016-06-15

Sleep is characterized by a loss of behavioral responsiveness. However, recent research has shown that the sleeping brain is not completely disconnected from its environment. How neural activity constrains the ability to process sensory information while asleep is yet unclear. Here, we instructed human volunteers to classify words with lateralized hand responses while falling asleep. Using an electroencephalographic (EEG) marker of motor preparation, we show how responsiveness is modulated across sleep. These modulations are tracked using classic event-related potential analyses complemented by Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZc), a measure shown to track arousal in sleep and anesthesia. Neural activity related to the semantic content of stimuli was conserved in light non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. However, these processes were suppressed in deep NREM sleep and, importantly, also in REM sleep, despite the recovery of wake-like neural activity in the latter. In NREM sleep, sensory activations were counterbalanced by evoked down states, which, when present, blocked further processing of external information. In addition, responsiveness markers correlated positively with baseline complexity, which could be related to modulation in sleep depth. In REM sleep, however, this relationship was reversed. We therefore propose that, in REM sleep, endogenously generated processes compete with the processing of external input. Sleep can thus be seen as a self-regulated process in which external information can be processed in lighter stages but suppressed in deeper stages. Last, our results suggest drastically different gating mechanisms in NREM and REM sleep. Previous research has tempered the notion that sleepers are isolated from their environment. Here, we pushed this idea forward and examined, across all sleep stages, the brain's ability to flexibly process sensory information, up to the decision level. We extracted an EEG marker of motor preparation to determine the completion of the sensory processing chain and explored how it is constrained by baseline and evoked neural activity. In NREM sleep, slow waves elicited by stimuli appeared to block response preparation. We also used a novel analytic approach (Lempel-Ziv complexity) and showed that the ability to process external information correlates with neural complexity. A reversal of the correlation between complexity and motor indices in REM sleep suggests drastically different gating mechanisms across sleep stages. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/366583-14$15.00/0.

How events determine spreading patterns: information transmission via internal and external influences on social networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chuang; Zhan, Xiu-Xiu; Zhang, Zi-Ke; Sun, Gui-Quan; Hui, Pak Ming

2015-11-01

Recently, information transmission models motivated by the classical epidemic propagation, have been applied to a wide-range of social systems, generally assume that information mainly transmits among individuals via peer-to-peer interactions on social networks. In this paper, we consider one more approach for users to get information: the out-of-social-network influence. Empirical analyzes of eight typical events’ diffusion on a very large micro-blogging system, Sina Weibo, show that the external influence has significant impact on information spreading along with social activities. In addition, we propose a theoretical model to interpret the spreading process via both internal and external channels, considering three essential properties: (i) memory effect; (ii) role of spreaders; and (iii) non-redundancy of contacts. Experimental and mathematical results indicate that the information indeed spreads much quicker and broader with mutual effects of the internal and external influences. More importantly, the present model reveals that the event characteristic would highly determine the essential spreading patterns once the network structure is established. The results may shed some light on the in-depth understanding of the underlying dynamics of information transmission on real social networks.

Understanding Self-Assessment as an Informed Process: Residents' Use of External Information for Self-Assessment of Performance in Simulated Resuscitations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plant, Jennifer L.; Corden, Mark; Mourad, Michelle; O'Brien, Bridget C.; van Schaik, Sandrijn M.

2013-01-01

;Self-directed learning requires self-assessment of learning needs and performance, a complex process that requires collecting and interpreting data from various sources. Learners' approaches to self-assessment likely vary depending on the learner and the context. The aim of this study was to gain insight into how learners process external…

Interfacing External Quantum Devices to a Universal Quantum Computer

PubMed Central

Lagana, Antonio A.; Lohe, Max A.; von Smekal, Lorenz

2011-01-01

We present a scheme to use external quantum devices using the universal quantum computer previously constructed. We thereby show how the universal quantum computer can utilize networked quantum information resources to carry out local computations. Such information may come from specialized quantum devices or even from remote universal quantum computers. We show how to accomplish this by devising universal quantum computer programs that implement well known oracle based quantum algorithms, namely the Deutsch, Deutsch-Jozsa, and the Grover algorithms using external black-box quantum oracle devices. In the process, we demonstrate a method to map existing quantum algorithms onto the universal quantum computer. PMID:22216276

Interfacing external quantum devices to a universal quantum computer.

PubMed

Lagana, Antonio A; Lohe, Max A; von Smekal, Lorenz

2011-01-01

We present a scheme to use external quantum devices using the universal quantum computer previously constructed. We thereby show how the universal quantum computer can utilize networked quantum information resources to carry out local computations. Such information may come from specialized quantum devices or even from remote universal quantum computers. We show how to accomplish this by devising universal quantum computer programs that implement well known oracle based quantum algorithms, namely the Deutsch, Deutsch-Jozsa, and the Grover algorithms using external black-box quantum oracle devices. In the process, we demonstrate a method to map existing quantum algorithms onto the universal quantum computer. © 2011 Lagana et al.

Changes in Information Processing with Aging: Implications for Teaching Motor Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anshel, Mark H.

Although there are marked individual differences in the effect of aging on learning and performing motor skills, there is agreement that humans process information less efficiently with advanced age. Significant decrements have been found specifically with motor tasks that are characterized as externally-paced, rapid, complex, and requiring rapid…

Improving the claims process with EDI.

PubMed

Moynihan, J J

1993-01-01

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is redefining the healthcare claims process. The traditional managerial approach to claims processing emphasizes information flow within the patient accounting department and between patient accounting and other departments. EDI enlarges the scope of the claims process to include information exchange between providers and payers. Using EDI to improve both external and internal information exchange makes the claims process more efficient and less expensive. This article is excerpted from "The Healthcare Financial Manager's Guide to Healthcare EDI," by James J. Moynihan, published by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Integration of Hand and Finger Location in External Spatial Coordinates for Tactile Localization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heed, Tobias; Backhaus, Jenny; Roder, Brigitte

2012-01-01

Tactile stimulus location is automatically transformed from somatotopic into external spatial coordinates, rendering information about the location of touch in three-dimensional space. This process is referred to as tactile remapping. Whereas remapping seems to occur automatically for the hands and feet, the fingers may constitute an exception in…

75 FR 64773 - Study Required by Section 989G(b) of the Dodd-Frank Act Regarding Compliance With Section 404(b...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-20

..., which addresses management's responsibility for reporting on the effectiveness of internal control over...) Quantitative and qualitative information about the trends of internal and external costs of having an external... over time; (3) Characteristics of internal controls, management's evaluation process and corporate...

Defining the external implementation context: an integrative systematic literature review.

PubMed

Watson, Dennis P; Adams, Erin L; Shue, Sarah; Coates, Heather; McGuire, Alan; Chesher, Jeremy; Jackson, Joanna; Omenka, Ogbonnaya I

2018-03-27

Proper implementation of evidence-based interventions is necessary for their full impact to be realized. However, the majority of research to date has overlooked facilitators and barriers existing outside the boundaries of the implementing organization(s). Better understanding and measurement of the external implementation context would be particularly beneficial in light of complex health interventions that extend into and interact with the larger environment they are embedded within. We conducted a integrative systematic literature review to identify external context constructs likely to impact implementation of complex evidence-based interventions. The review process was iterative due to our goal to inductively develop the identified constructs. Data collection occurred in four primary stages: (1) an initial set of key literature across disciplines was identified and used to inform (2) journal and (3) author searches that, in turn, informed the design of the final (4) database search. Additionally, (5) we conducted citation searches of relevant literature reviews identified in each stage. We carried out an inductive thematic content analysis with the goal of developing homogenous, well-defined, and mutually exclusive categories. We identified eight external context constructs: (1) professional influences, (2) political support, (3) social climate, (4) local infrastructure, (5) policy and legal climate, (6) relational climate, (7) target population, and (8) funding and economic climate. This is the first study to our knowledge to use a systematic review process to identify empirically observed external context factors documented to impact implementation. Comparison with four widely-utilized implementation frameworks supports the exhaustiveness of our review process. Future work should focus on the development of more stringent operationalization and measurement of these external constructs.

Effects of hypnagogic imagery on the event-related potential to external tone stimuli.

PubMed

Michida, Nanae; Hayashi, Mitsuo; Hori, Tadao

2005-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of hypnagogic imagery on the information processes of external tone stimuli during the sleep onset period with the use of event-related potentials. Event-related potentials to tone stimuli were compared between conditions with and without the experience of hypnagogic imagery. To control the arousal level when the tone was presented, a certain criterion named the electroencephalogram stage was used. Stimuli were presented at electroencephalogram stage 4, which was characterized by the appearance of a vertex sharp wave. Data were collected in the sleep laboratory at Hiroshima University. Eleven healthy university and graduate school students participated in the study. N/A. Experiments were performed at night. Reaction times to tone stimuli were measured, and only trials with shorter reaction times than 5000 milliseconds were analyzed. Electroencephalograms were recorded from Fz, Cz, Pz, Oz, T5 and T6. There were no differences in reaction times and electroencephalogram spectra between the conditions of with and without hypnagogic imagery. These results indicated that the arousal levels were not different between the 2 conditions. On the other hand, the N550 amplitude of the event-related potentials in the imagery condition was lower than in the no-imagery condition. The decrease in the N550 amplitude in the imagery condition showed that experiences of hypnagogic imagery exert some influence on the information processes of external tone stimuli. It is possible that the processing of hypnagogic imagery interferes with the processing of external stimuli, lowering the sensitivity to external stimuli.

During running in place, grid cells integrate elapsed time and distance run

PubMed Central

Kraus, Benjamin J.; Brandon, Mark P.; Robinson, Robert J.; Connerney, Michael A.; Hasselmo, Michael E.; Eichenbaum, Howard

2015-01-01

Summary The spatial scale of grid cells may be provided by self-generated motion information or by external sensory information from environmental cues. To determine whether grid cell activity reflects distance traveled or elapsed time independent of external information, we recorded grid cells as animals ran in place on a treadmill. Grid cell activity was only weakly influenced by location but most grid cells and other neurons recorded from the same electrodes strongly signaled a combination of distance and time, with some signaling only distance or time. Grid cells were more sharply tuned to time and distance than non-grid cells. Many grid cells exhibited multiple firing fields during treadmill running, parallel to the periodic firing fields observed in open fields, suggesting a common mode of information processing. These observations indicate that, in the absence of external dynamic cues, grid cells integrate self-generated distance and time information to encode a representation of experience. PMID:26539893

Quantum decision-maker theory and simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zak, Michail; Meyers, Ronald E.; Deacon, Keith S.

2000-07-01

A quantum device simulating the human decision making process is introduced. It consists of quantum recurrent nets generating stochastic processes which represent the motor dynamics, and of classical neural nets describing the evolution of probabilities of these processes which represent the mental dynamics. The autonomy of the decision making process is achieved by a feedback from the mental to motor dynamics which changes the stochastic matrix based upon the probability distribution. This feedback replaces unavailable external information by an internal knowledge- base stored in the mental model in the form of probability distributions. As a result, the coupled motor-mental dynamics is described by a nonlinear version of Markov chains which can decrease entropy without an external source of information. Applications to common sense based decisions as well as to evolutionary games are discussed. An example exhibiting self-organization is computed using quantum computer simulation. Force on force and mutual aircraft engagements using the quantum decision maker dynamics are considered.

Pedagogical Affordances of Multiple External Representations in Scientific Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wu, Hsin-Kai; Puntambekar, Sadhana

2012-01-01

Multiple external representations (MERs) have been widely used in science teaching and learning. Theories such as dual coding theory and cognitive flexibility theory have been developed to explain why the use of MERs is beneficial to learning, but they do not provide much information on pedagogical issues such as how and in what conditions MERs…

Impact of Short-Term Training in Social Cognition in Preschoolers with Externalizing Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houssa, Marine; Jacobs, Emilie; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

2017-01-01

In two experimental and exploratory studies, we wanted to test the differentiated effects on preschoolers with externalizing behavior (EB) of two short-term social information processing (SIP) and Theory of Mind (ToM) training sessions, in comparison with typically developing (TD) preschoolers or with preschoolers with EB whom didn't receive…

When all children comprehend: increasing the external validity of narrative comprehension development research

PubMed Central

Burris, Silas E.; Brown, Danielle D.

2014-01-01

Narratives, also called stories, can be found in conversations, children's play interactions, reading material, and television programs. From infancy to adulthood, narrative comprehension processes interpret events and inform our understanding of physical and social environments. These processes have been extensively studied to ascertain the multifaceted nature of narrative comprehension. From this research we know that three overlapping processes (i.e., knowledge integration, goal structure understanding, and causal inference generation) proposed by the constructionist paradigm are necessary for narrative comprehension, narrative comprehension has a predictive relationship with children's later reading performance, and comprehension processes are generalizable to other contexts. Much of the previous research has emphasized internal and predictive validity; thus, limiting the generalizability of previous findings. We are concerned these limitations may be excluding underrepresented populations from benefits and implications identified by early comprehension processes research. This review identifies gaps in extant literature regarding external validity and argues for increased emphasis on externally valid research. We highlight limited research on narrative comprehension processes in children from low-income and minority populations, and argue for changes in comprehension assessments. Specifically, we argue both on- and off-line assessments should be used across various narrative types (e.g., picture books, televised narratives) with traditionally underserved and underrepresented populations. We propose increasing the generalizability of narrative comprehension processes research can inform persistent reading achievement gaps, and have practical implications for how children learn from narratives. PMID:24659973

The Role of Information in the Strategic Management Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Tim; Broady, Judith E.

1995-01-01

Presents research on the use of external information in the strategic management of retail banks in the United Kingdom. Explores the organizational role of the environmental analysis department, the character of business environment analysis, and the nature of information used in strategic management and its perceived importance. (Author/AEF)

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 11: The Voice of the User: How US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists View DoD Technical Reports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.

1991-01-01

The project examines how the results of NASA/DOD research diffuse into the aerospace R&D process, and empirically analyzes the implications of the aerospace knowledge diffusion process. Specific issues considered are the roles played by government technical reports, the recognition of the value of scientific and technical information (STI), and the optimization of the STI aerospace transfer system. Information-seeking habits are assessed for the U.S. aerospace community, the general community, the academic sector, and the international community. U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists use 65 percent of working time to communicate STI, and prefer 'internal' STI over 'external' STI. The isolation from 'external' information is found to be detrimental to U.S. aerospace R&D in general.

[The external evaluation of study quality: the role in maintaining the reliability of laboratory information].

PubMed

Men'shikov, V V

2013-08-01

The external evaluation of quality of clinical laboratory examinations was gradually introduced in USSR medical laboratories since 1970s. In Russia, in the middle of 1990 a unified all-national system of external evaluation quality was organized known as the Federal center of external evaluation of quality at the basis of laboratory of the state research center of preventive medicine. The main positions of policy in this area were neatly formulated in the guidance documents of ministry of Health. Nowadays, the center of external evaluation of quality proposes 100 and more types of control studies and permanently extends their specter starting from interests of different disciplines of clinical medicine. The consistent participation of laboratories in the cycles of external evaluation of quality intrinsically promotes improvement of indicators of properness and precision of analysis results and increases reliability of laboratory information. However, a significant percentage of laboratories does not participate at all in external evaluation of quality or takes part in control process irregularly and in limited number of tests. The managers of a number of medical organizations disregard the application of the proposed possibilities to increase reliability of laboratory information and limit financing of studies in the field of quality control. The article proposes to adopt the national standard on the basis of ISO 17043 "Evaluation of compliance. The common requirements of professional competence testing".

Social Ontology Documentation for Knowledge Externalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aranda-Corral, Gonzalo A.; Borrego-Díaz, Joaquín; Jiménez-Mavillard, Antonio

Knowledge externalization and organization is a major challenge that companies must face. Also, they have to ask whether is possible to enhance its management. Mechanical processing of information represents a chance to carry out these tasks, as well as to turn intangible knowledge assets into real assets. Machine-readable knowledge provides a basis to enhance knowledge management. A promising approach is the empowering of Knowledge Externalization by the community (users, employees). In this paper, a social semantic tool (called OntoxicWiki) for enhancing the quality of knowledge is presented.

Exposure to Violence, Social Information Processing, and Problem Behavior in Preschool Children

PubMed Central

Ziv, Yair

2012-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms by which early risk factors for social maladjustment contribute to disruptive behaviors in social settings is vital to developmental research and practice. A major risk factor for social maladjustment is early exposure to violence which was examined in this short-term longitudinal study in relation to social information processing patterns and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 256 preschool children. Data on exposure to violence were obtained via parent report, data on social information processing were obtained via child interview, and data on child problem behavior were obtained via teacher report. Findings supported the hypothesis that, compared to children not exposed to violence, children reported to witness and/or experience violence are more likely to attribute hostile intent to peers, generate aggressive responses, and evaluate socially unaccepted responses (aggressive and inept) as socially suitable. The former were also found to exhibit higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Finally, social information processing mediated the link between exposure to violence and problem behavior thus supporting this study’s general approach which argues that the link between exposure to violence and children’s problem behaviors are better understood within the context of their perceptions about social relationships. PMID:23011955

Personal Contextual Characteristics and Cognitions: Predicting Child Abuse Potential and Disciplinary Style

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Christina M.

2010-01-01

According to Social Information Processing theory, parents' cognitive processes influence their decisions to engage in physical maltreatment, although cognitions occur in the context of other aspects of the parents' life. The present study investigated whether cognitive processes (external locus of control, inappropriate developmental…

An Examination of the Relationships among Perceived Risk, Perceived Knowledge, and Student College Search Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mun, Yukyong

2014-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among perceived risk, perceived knowledge, education, age, and international students' external information search behavior in terms of extent of information search, types of information searched, and types of information sources used during the search phase of the college choice process. A…

Evaluation of single- and dual-porosity models for reproducing the release of external and internal tracers from heterogeneous waste-rock piles.

PubMed

Blackmore, S; Pedretti, D; Mayer, K U; Smith, L; Beckie, R D

2018-05-30

Accurate predictions of solute release from waste-rock piles (WRPs) are paramount for decision making in mining-related environmental processes. Tracers provide information that can be used to estimate effective transport parameters and understand mechanisms controlling the hydraulic and geochemical behavior of WRPs. It is shown that internal tracers (i.e. initially present) together with external (i.e. applied) tracers provide complementary and quantitative information to identify transport mechanisms. The analysis focuses on two experimental WRPs, Piles 4 and Pile 5 at the Antamina Mine site (Peru), where both an internal chloride tracer and externally applied bromide tracer were monitored in discharge over three years. The results suggest that external tracers provide insight into transport associated with relatively fast flow regions that are activated during higher-rate recharge events. In contrast, internal tracers provide insight into mechanisms controlling solutes release from lower-permeability zones within the piles. Rate-limited diffusive processes, which can be mimicked by nonlocal mass-transfer models, affect both internal and external tracers. The sensitivity of the mass-transfer parameters to heterogeneity is higher for external tracers than for internal tracers, as indicated by the different mean residence times characterizing the flow paths associated with each tracer. The joint use of internal and external tracers provides a more comprehensive understanding of the transport mechanisms in WRPs. In particular, the tracer tests support the notion that a multi-porosity conceptualization of WRPs is more adequate for capturing key mechanisms than a dual-porosity conceptualization. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Processes in scientific workflows for information seeking related to physical sample materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramdeen, S.

2014-12-01

The majority of State Geological Surveys have repositories containing cores, cuttings, fossils or other physical sample material. State surveys maintain these collections to support their own research as well as the research conducted by external users from other organizations. This includes organizations such as government agencies (state and federal), academia, industry and the public. The preliminary results presented in this paper will look at the research processes of these external users. In particular: how they discover, access and use digital surrogates, which they use to evaluate and access physical items in these collections. Data such as physical samples are materials that cannot be completely replaced with digital surrogates. Digital surrogates may be represented as metadata, which enable discovery and ultimately access to these samples. These surrogates may be found in records, databases, publications, etc. But surrogates do not completely prevent the need for access to the physical item as they cannot be subjected to chemical testing and/or other similar analysis. The goal of this research is to document the various processes external users perform in order to access physical materials. Data for this study will be collected by conducting interviews with these external users. During the interviews, participants will be asked to describe the workflow that lead them to interact with state survey repositories, and what steps they took afterward. High level processes/categories of behavior will be identified. These processes will be used in the development of an information seeking behavior model. This model may be used to facilitate the development of management tools and other aspects of cyberinfrastructure related to physical samples.

Orienting attention to visual or verbal/auditory imagery differentially impairs the processing of visual stimuli.

PubMed

Villena-González, Mario; López, Vladimir; Rodríguez, Eugenio

2016-05-15

When attention is oriented toward inner thoughts, as spontaneously occurs during mind wandering, the processing of external information is attenuated. However, the potential effects of thought's content regarding sensory attenuation are still unknown. The present study aims to assess if the representational format of thoughts, such as visual imagery or inner speech, might differentially affect the sensory processing of external stimuli. We recorded the brain activity of 20 participants (12 women) while they were exposed to a probe visual stimulus in three different conditions: executing a task on the visual probe (externally oriented attention), and two conditions involving inward-turned attention i.e. generating inner speech and performing visual imagery. Event-related potentials results showed that the P1 amplitude, related with sensory response, was significantly attenuated during both task involving inward attention compared with external task. When both representational formats were compared, the visual imagery condition showed stronger attenuation in sensory processing than inner speech condition. Alpha power in visual areas was measured as an index of cortical inhibition. Larger alpha amplitude was found when participants engaged in an internal thought contrasted with the external task, with visual imagery showing even more alpha power than inner speech condition. Our results show, for the first time to our knowledge, that visual attentional processing to external stimuli during self-generated thoughts is differentially affected by the representational format of the ongoing train of thoughts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stimulus onset predictability modulates proactive action control in a Go/No-go task

PubMed Central

Berchicci, Marika; Lucci, Giuliana; Spinelli, Donatella; Di Russo, Francesco

2015-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the presence/absence of visual cues specifying the onset of an upcoming, action-related stimulus modulates pre-stimulus brain activity, associated with the proactive control of goal-directed actions. To this aim we asked 12 subjects to perform an equal probability Go/No-go task with four stimulus configurations in two conditions: (1) uncued, i.e., without any external information about the timing of stimulus onset; and (2) cued, i.e., with external visual cues providing precise information about the timing of stimulus onset. During task both behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Behavioral results showed faster response times in the cued than uncued condition, confirming existing literature. ERPs showed novel results in the proactive control stage, that started about 1 s before the motor response. We observed a slow rising prefrontal positive activity, more pronounced in the cued than the uncued condition. Further, also pre-stimulus activity of premotor areas was larger in cued than uncued condition. In the post-stimulus period, the P3 amplitude was enhanced when the time of stimulus onset was externally driven, confirming that external cueing enhances processing of stimulus evaluation and response monitoring. Our results suggest that different pre-stimulus processing come into play in the two conditions. We hypothesize that the large prefrontal and premotor activities recorded with external visual cues index the monitoring of the external stimuli in order to finely regulate the action. PMID:25964751

Building team adaptive capacity: the roles of sensegiving and team composition.

PubMed

Randall, Kenneth R; Resick, Christian J; DeChurch, Leslie A

2011-05-01

The current study draws on motivated information processing in groups theory to propose that leadership functions and composition characteristics provide teams with the epistemic and social motivation needed for collective information processing and strategy adaptation. Three-person teams performed a city management decision-making simulation (N=74 teams; 222 individuals). Teams first managed a simulated city that was newly formed and required growth strategies and were then abruptly switched to a second simulated city that was established and required revitalization strategies. Consistent with hypotheses, external sensegiving and team composition enabled distinct aspects of collective information processing. Sensegiving prompted the emergence of team strategy mental models (i.e., cognitive information processing); psychological collectivism facilitated information sharing (i.e., behavioral information processing); and cognitive ability provided the capacity for both the cognitive and behavioral aspects of collective information processing. In turn, team mental models and information sharing enabled reactive strategy adaptation.

Synergetic computer and holonics - information dynamics of a semantic computer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, H.; Yamaguchi, Y.

1987-12-01

The dynamics of semantic information in biosystem is studied based on holons, generators of mutual relations. Any biosystem has an internal world, a so-called "self", which has an intrinsic purpose rendering the system continuously alive and developed as much as possible against a fluctuating external world. External signals to the system through sensory organs are classified by the self into two basic categories, semantic information with some meaning and value for the purpose and inputs from background and noise sources. Due to this breaking of semantic symmetry, any input signals are transformed into a figure and background, respectively. As a typical example, the visual perception of vertebrates is studied. For such semantic transformation the external signal is first decomposed and converted into a number of elementary signs named "syntons" which are then transmitted into a sensory area of cortex corresponding to an image synthesizer. The synthesizer is a sort of autonomic parallel processor composed of autonomic units, "holons", which are characterized by many internal modes. Syntons are fed into the holons one by one. A set of the elementary meanings, the so-called "semons", provided to the synton are encoded in the internal modes of the holon; that is, each internal mode encodes a semon. A dynamic information theory for the transformation of external signals to semantic information is developed based on our model which we call holovision. Holovision is a dynamic model of visual perception that processes an autonomic ability to self-organize visual images. Autonomous oscillators are utilized as the line processors to encode line elements with specific orientations in their phases as semons. An information space is defined according to the assembly of holons; the spatial plane on which holons are arranged is a syntactic subspace while the internal modes of the holons span a semantic subspace in the orthogonal direction. In this information space, the image of a figure is self-organized - as a sort of spatiotemporal pattern - by autonomic coordinations of the holons that select relevant internal modes, accompanied with compression of irrelevant syntons that correspond to the background. Holons coded by a synton are relevantly connected by means of coherent relations, i.e., dynamic connections with time-coherence, in order to represent the image that varies in time depending on the instantaneous state of the external object. These connections depend on the internal modes that are cooperatively selectively selected by the holons. The image is regarded as a bridge between the external and internal world that has both external and internal consistency. The meaning of the image, i.e., transformed semantic information, is spontaneously transferred from semantic items that have a coherent relation with the image, and the external signal is perceived by the self through the image. We demonstrate that images are indeed self-organized in holovision in the previously described sense. Simulated processes of the creation of semantic information in holovision are shown to display typical features of the forgoing steps of information compression. Based on these results, we propose quantitative indices that represent the value of semantic information in the image processor as well as in the memory.

Illustrated field guide for assessing external and internal anomalies in fish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Stephen B.; Donahue, Anne P.; Lipkin, Robin J.; Blazer, Vicki; Schmitt, Christopher J.; Goede, Ronald W.

2002-01-01

Procedures are described for processing fish for examination of external and internal anomalies and pathologies indicative of exposure to environmental contaminants and other peturbations. For the procedures described here, fish are captured (preferably by electrofishing) and held alive until processing (generally < 1 h). Fish are weighed, measured, and necropsied, and a scale sample is obtained from for age determination. Information is given for the collection and preservation of tissue samples for histopathological analysis. Photographs of most abnormalities are included along with normal conditions for easier identification of external (oral, head, eye, gill, opercula, and fin) and internal (liver, spleen, gonad, and kidney) anomalies. The report also includes recommendations for record keeping, sample labeling, and shipping records, equipment, supplies,and samples. A list of suggested equipment and supplies for field processing is included as are instructions for cleaning equipment.

The Association between Positive Parenting and Externalizing Behavior.

PubMed

Boeldt, Debra L; Rhee, Soo Hyun; Dilalla, Lisabeth F; Mullineaux, Paula Y; Schulz-Heik, R Jay; Corley, Robin P; Young, Susan E; Hewitt, John K

2012-01-01

The present study examined the role of positive parenting on externalizing behaviors in a longitudinal, genetically informative sample. It often is assumed that positive parenting prevents behavior problems in children via an environmentally mediated process. Alternatively, the association may be due to either an evocative gene-environment correlation, in which parents react to children's genetically-influenced behavior in a positive way, or a passive gene-environment correlation, where parents passively transmit a risk environment and the genetic risk factor for the behavioral outcome to their children. The present study estimated the contribution of these processes in the association between positive parenting and children's externalizing behavior. Positive parenting was assessed via observations at ages 7, 9, 14, 24, and 36 months and externalizing behaviors were assessed through parent report at ages 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12 years. The significant association between positive parenting and externalizing behavior was negative, with children of mothers who showed significantly more positive parenting during toddlerhood having lower levels of externalizing behavior in childhood; however, there was not adequate power to distinguish whether this covariation was due to genetic, shared environmental, or nonshared environmental influences.

Toward a new information infrastructure in health technology assessment: communication, design, process, and results.

PubMed

Neikter, Susanna Allgurin; Rehnqvist, Nina; Rosén, Måns; Dahlgren, Helena

2009-12-01

The aim of this study was to facilitate effective internal and external communication of an international network and to explore how to support communication and work processes in health technology assessment (HTA). STRUCTURE AND METHODS: European network for Health Technology Assessment (EUnetHTA) connected sixty-four HTA Partner organizations from thirty-three countries. User needs in the different steps of the HTA process were the starting point for developing an information system. A step-wise, interdisciplinary, creative approach was used in developing practical tools. An Information Platform facilitated the exchange of scientific information between Partners and with external target groups. More than 200 virtual meetings were set up during the project using an e-meeting tool. A Clearinghouse prototype was developed with the intent to offering a single point of access to HTA relevant information. This evolved into a next step not planned from the outset: Developing a running HTA Information System including several Web-based tools to support communication and daily HTA processes. A communication strategy guided the communication effort, focusing on practical tools, creating added value, involving stakeholders, and avoiding duplication of effort. Modern technology enables a new information infrastructure for HTA. The potential of information and communication technology was used as a strategic tool. Several target groups were represented among the Partners, which supported collaboration and made it easier to identify user needs. A distinctive visual identity made it easier to gain and maintain visibility on a limited budget.

Quantum phases with differing computational power.

PubMed

Cui, Jian; Gu, Mile; Kwek, Leong Chuan; Santos, Marcelo França; Fan, Heng; Vedral, Vlatko

2012-05-01

The observation that concepts from quantum information has generated many alternative indicators of quantum phase transitions hints that quantum phase transitions possess operational significance with respect to the processing of quantum information. Yet, studies on whether such transitions lead to quantum phases that differ in their capacity to process information remain limited. Here we show that there exist quantum phase transitions that cause a distinct qualitative change in our ability to simulate certain quantum systems under perturbation of an external field by local operations and classical communication. In particular, we show that in certain quantum phases of the XY model, adiabatic perturbations of the external magnetic field can be simulated by local spin operations, whereas the resulting effect within other phases results in coherent non-local interactions. We discuss the potential implications to adiabatic quantum computation, where a computational advantage exists only when adiabatic perturbation results in coherent multi-body interactions.

Interparental hostility and children's externalizing symptoms: Attention to anger as a mediator.

PubMed

Davies, Patrick T; Coe, Jesse L; Hentges, Rochelle F; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; Ripple, Michael T

2018-07-01

This study examined children's attention biases to negative emotional stimuli as mediators of associations between interparental hostility and children's externalizing symptoms. Participants included 243 children (Mage = 4.60 years) and their parents and teachers across three annual measurement occasions. Cross-lagged latent change analyses revealed that the association between interparental hostility and children's externalizing symptoms was mediated by children's attention to angry, but not sad or fearful, adult faces. Consistent with defensive exclusion models, the multimethod, multi-informant assessment of interparental hostility at Wave 1 specifically predicted decreases in children's attention to angry faces from Waves 1 to 2 in a visual search task. Declines in children's attention to anger, in turn, predicted increases in teacher reports of their externalizing problems across the three waves. Follow-up analyses further indicated that children's decreasing levels of emotional security in the interparental relationship were associated with the decreases in children's attention to angry stimuli. Results are discussed in relation to how they inform and advance information processing and social threat models in developmental psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

The Interplay Among Children's Negative Family Representations, Visual Processing of Negative Emotions, and Externalizing Symptoms.

PubMed

Davies, Patrick T; Coe, Jesse L; Hentges, Rochelle F; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; van der Kloet, Erika

2018-03-01

This study examined the transactional interplay among children's negative family representations, visual processing of negative emotions, and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 243 preschool children (M age  = 4.60 years). Children participated in three annual measurement occasions. Cross-lagged autoregressive models were conducted with multimethod, multi-informant data to identify mediational pathways. Consistent with schema-based top-down models, negative family representations were associated with attention to negative faces in an eye-tracking task and their externalizing symptoms. Children's negative representations of family relationships specifically predicted decreases in their attention to negative emotions, which, in turn, was associated with subsequent increases in their externalizing symptoms. Follow-up analyses indicated that the mediational role of diminished attention to negative emotions was particularly pronounced for angry faces. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Cognitive vulnerabilities and depression versus other psychopathology symptoms and diagnoses in early adolescence.

PubMed

Alloy, Lauren B; Black, Shimrit K; Young, Mathew E; Goldstein, Kim E; Shapero, Benjamin G; Stange, Jonathan P; Boccia, Angelo S; Matt, Lindsey M; Boland, Elaine M; Moore, Lauren C; Abramson, Lyn Y

2012-01-01

We examined the concurrent associations between multiple cognitive vulnerabilities to depression featured in hopelessness theory, Beck's theory, and response styles theory and depressive symptoms and diagnoses in a sample of early adolescents. We also examined the specificity of these cognitive vulnerabilities to depression versus anxiety and externalizing psychopathology, controlling for co-occurring symptoms and diagnoses. Male and female, Caucasian and African American, 12- to 13-year-old adolescents were assessed in a cross-sectional design. Cognitive vulnerabilities of hopelessness, inferential style, rumination, and self-referent information processing were assessed with self-reports and behavioral tasks. Symptoms and diagnoses of depressive, anxiety, and externalizing disorders were assessed with self-report questionnaires and diagnostic interviews. Hopelessness exhibited the greatest specificity to depressive symptoms and diagnoses, whereas negative inferential styles, rumination, and negative self-referent information processing were associated with both depressive and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses and, in some cases, with externalizing disorders. Consistent with cognitive theories of depression, hopelessness, negative inferential styles, rumination, and negative self-referent information processing were associated with depressive symptoms and diagnoses. However, with the exception of hopelessness, most of the remaining cognitive vulnerabilities were not specific to depression. With further maturation of our sample, these cognitive vulnerabilities may become more specific to depression as cognitive styles further develop and consolidate, the rates of depression increase, and individuals' presentations of psychopathology become more differentiated.

Cognitive Vulnerabilities and Depression versus Other Psychopathology Symptoms and Diagnoses in Early Adolescence

PubMed Central

Alloy, Lauren B.; Black, Shimrit K.; Young, Mathew E.; Goldstein, Kim E.; Shapero, Benjamin G.; Stange, Jonathan P.; Boccia, Angelo S.; Matt, Lindsey M.; Boland, Elaine M.; Moore, Lauren C.; Abramson, Lyn Y.

2012-01-01

Objective We examined the concurrent associations between multiple cognitive vulnerabilities to depression featured in Hopelessness Theory, Beck’s Theory, and Response Styles Theory and depressive symptoms and diagnoses in a sample of early adolescents. We also examined the specificity of these cognitive vulnerabilities to depression versus anxiety and externalizing psychopathology, controlling for co-occurring symptoms and diagnoses. Method Male and female, Caucasian and African-American, 12–13 year old adolescents were assessed in a cross-sectional design. Cognitive vulnerabilities of hopelessness, inferential style, rumination, and self-referent information processing were assessed with self-reports and behavioral tasks. Symptoms and diagnoses of depressive, anxiety, and externalizing disorders were assessed with self-report questionnaires and diagnostic interviews. Results Hopelessness exhibited the greatest specificity to depressive symptoms and diagnoses, whereas negative inferential styles, rumination, and negative self-referent information processing were associated with both depressive and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses and, in some cases, with externalizing disorders. Conclusions Consistent with cognitive theories of depression, hopelessness, negative inferential styles, rumination, and negative self-referent information processing were associated with depressive symptoms and diagnoses. However, with the exception of hopelessness, most of the remaining cognitive vulnerabilities were not specific to depression. With further maturation of our sample, these cognitive vulnerabilities may become more specific to depression as cognitive styles further develop and consolidate, the rates of depression increase, and individuals’ presentations of psychopathology become more differentiated. PMID:22853629

Multijunction high-voltage solar cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, J. C., Jr.; Goradia, C.; Chai, A. T.

1981-01-01

Multijunction cell allows for fabrication of high-voltage solar cell on single semiconductor wafer. Photovoltaic energy source using cell is combined on wafer with circuit it is to power. Cell consists of many voltage-generating regions internally or externally interconnected to give desired voltage and current combination. For computer applications, module is built on silicon wafer with energy for internal information processing and readouts derived from external light source.

An image-processing strategy to extract important information suitable for a low-size stimulus pattern in a retinal prosthesis.

PubMed

Chen, Yili; Fu, Jixiang; Chu, Dawei; Li, Rongmao; Xie, Yaoqin

2017-11-27

A retinal prosthesis is designed to help the blind to obtain some sight. It consists of an external part and an internal part. The external part is made up of a camera, an image processor and an RF transmitter. The internal part is made up of an RF receiver, implant chip and microelectrode. Currently, the number of microelectrodes is in the hundreds, and we do not know the mechanism for using an electrode to stimulate the optic nerve. A simple hypothesis is that the pixels in an image correspond to the electrode. The images captured by the camera should be processed by suitable strategies to correspond to stimulation from the electrode. Thus, it is a question of how to obtain the important information from the image captured in the picture. Here, we use the region of interest (ROI), a useful algorithm for extracting the ROI, to retain the important information, and to remove the redundant information. This paper explains the details of the principles and functions of the ROI. Because we are investigating a real-time system, we need a fast processing ROI as a useful algorithm to extract the ROI. Thus, we simplified the ROI algorithm and used it in an outside image-processing digital signal processing (DSP) system of the retinal prosthesis. The results show that our image-processing strategies are suitable for a real-time retinal prosthesis and can eliminate redundant information and provide useful information for expression in a low-size image.

Work and information processing in a solvable model of Maxwell's demon.

PubMed

Mandal, Dibyendu; Jarzynski, Christopher

2012-07-17

We describe a minimal model of an autonomous Maxwell demon, a device that delivers work by rectifying thermal fluctuations while simultaneously writing information to a memory register. We solve exactly for the steady-state behavior of our model, and we construct its phase diagram. We find that our device can also act as a "Landauer eraser", using externally supplied work to remove information from the memory register. By exposing an explicit, transparent mechanism of operation, our model offers a simple paradigm for investigating the thermodynamics of information processing by small systems.

Interrelationships among Librarians, Engineers, and Publishers in the Publication Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Eugene B.

This paper advocates the involvement of librarians in the publishing process and examines the mechanics of that process. Concerns of librarians, engineers, and publishers are delineated, with examples taken from the internal and external dissemination of technical information by a major U.S. government research agency and various large industrial…

Reality Monitoring and Metamemory in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Rose A.; Plaisted-Grant, Kate C.; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Simons, Jon S.

2016-01-01

Studies of reality monitoring (RM) often implicate medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in distinguishing internal and external information, a region linked to autism-related deficits in social and self-referential information processing, executive function, and memory. This study used two RM conditions (self-other; perceived-imagined) to investigate…

Information Model for Reusability in Clinical Trial Documentation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahl, Bhanu

2013-01-01

In clinical research, New Drug Application (NDA) to health agencies requires generation of a large number of documents throughout the clinical development life cycle, many of which are also submitted to public databases and external partners. Current processes to assemble the information, author, review and approve the clinical research documents,…

Education, Information Technologies, and the Augmentation of Human Intellect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Gardner

2006-01-01

The author believes that information technologies are powerfully heuristic in addressing one of education's deepest ambitions. Following Engelbart's paradigm, he sees these technologies as augmenting human intellect, not simply because they permit high-speed calculations but also because they externalize our own cognitive processes in a way that…

Siting a municipal solid waste disposal facility, part II: the effects of external criteria on the final decision.

PubMed

Korucu, M Kemal; Karademir, Aykan

2014-02-01

The procedure of a multi-criteria decision analysis supported by the geographic information systems was applied to the site selection process of a planning municipal solid waste management practice based on twelve different scenarios. The scenarios included two different decision tree modes and two different weighting models for three different area requirements. The suitability rankings of the suitable sites obtained from the application of the decision procedure for the scenarios were assessed by a factorial experimental design concerning the effect of some external criteria on the final decision of the site selection process. The external criteria used in the factorial experimental design were defined as "Risk perception and approval of stakeholders" and "Visibility". The effects of the presence of these criteria in the decision trees were evaluated in detail. For a quantitative expression of the differentiations observed in the suitability rankings, the ranking data were subjected to ANOVA test after a normalization process. Then the results of these tests were evaluated by Tukey test to measure the effects of external criteria on the final decision. The results of Tukey tests indicated that the involvement of the external criteria into the decision trees produced statistically meaningful differentiations in the suitability rankings. Since the external criteria could cause considerable external costs during the operation of the disposal facilities, the presence of these criteria in the decision tree in addition to the other criteria related to environmental and legislative requisites could prevent subsequent external costs in the first place.

A Review of the Factors Associated with the Adoption of Accounting Information Systems in Gulf Countries.

PubMed

Hammour, Hadal; Househ, Mowafa; Razzak, Hira Abdul

2017-01-01

This review attempts to elucidate the significance of accounting information systems within healthcare settings in the Gulf regions. Information and communication technologies (ICT) has provided accounting system the ability to help an organization use and develop computerized systems to record and track financial transactions. Accounting information systems, if well implemented, can permit healthcare sectors in the Gulf regions to produce reports that can support the decision making process. Additional abilities of an accounting information systems include faster processing, enriched accuracy, amplified functionality, and improved external reporting. Training of hospital staff can help in enhancing the use of accounting information systems in gulf hospitals.

The Association between Positive Parenting and Externalizing Behavior1

PubMed Central

Boeldt, Debra L.; Rhee, Soo Hyun; DiLalla, Lisabeth F.; Mullineaux, Paula Y.; Schulz-Heik, R. Jay; Corley, Robin P.; Young, Susan E.; Hewitt, John. K.

2011-01-01

The present study examined the role of positive parenting on externalizing behaviors in a longitudinal, genetically informative sample. It often is assumed that positive parenting prevents behavior problems in children via an environmentally mediated process. Alternatively, the association may be due to either an evocative gene-environment correlation, in which parents react to children’s genetically-influenced behavior in a positive way, or a passive gene-environment correlation, where parents passively transmit a risk environment and the genetic risk factor for the behavioral outcome to their children. The present study estimated the contribution of these processes in the association between positive parenting and children’s externalizing behavior. Positive parenting was assessed via observations at ages 7, 9, 14, 24, and 36 months and externalizing behaviors were assessed through parent report at ages 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 12 years. The significant association between positive parenting and externalizing behavior was negative, with children of mothers who showed significantly more positive parenting during toddlerhood having lower levels of externalizing behavior in childhood; however, there was not adequate power to distinguish whether this covariation was due to genetic, shared environmental, or nonshared environmental influences. PMID:22577341

Construction of In-house Databases in a Corporation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikawa, Takaya

The author describes the progress in and present status of the information management system at the research laboratories as a R & D component of pharmaceutical industry. The system deals with three fundamental types of information, that is, graphic information, numeral information and textual information which includes the former two types of information. The author and others have constructed the system which enables to process these kinds of information integrally. The system is also featured by the fact that natural form of information in which Japanese words (2 byte type) and English (1 byte type) as culture of personal & word processing computers are mixed can be processed by large-size computers because Japanese language are eligible for computer processing. The system is originally for research administrators, but can be effective also for researchers. At present 7 databases are available including external databases. The system is always ready to accept other databases newly.

The influence of anticipatory processing on attentional biases in social anxiety.

PubMed

Mills, Adam C; Grant, DeMond M; Judah, Matt R; White, Evan J

2014-09-01

Research on cognitive theories of social anxiety disorder (SAD) has identified individual processes that influence this condition (e.g., cognitive biases, repetitive negative thinking), but few studies have attempted to examine the interaction between these processes. For example, attentional biases and anticipatory processing are theoretically related and have been found to influence symptoms of SAD, but they rarely have been studied together (i.e., Clark & Wells, 1995). Therefore, the goal of the current study was to examine the effect of anticipatory processing on attentional bias for internal (i.e., heart rate feedback) and external (i.e., emotional faces) threat information. A sample of 59 participants high (HSA) and low (LSA) in social anxiety symptoms engaged in a modified dot-probe task prior to (Time 1) and after (Time 2) an anticipatory processing or distraction task. HSAs who anticipated experienced an increase in attentional bias for internal information from Time 1 to Time 2, whereas HSAs in the distraction condition and LSAs in either condition experienced no changes. No changes in biases were found for HSAs for external biases, but LSAs who engaged in the distraction task became less avoidant of emotional faces from Time 1 to Time 2. This suggests that anticipatory processing results in an activation of attentional biases for physiological information as suggested by Clark and Wells. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

An effective and efficient assessment process

Treesearch

Russell T. Graham; Theresa B. Jain

1999-01-01

Depending on the agency, discipline, or audience, assessments supply data and information to address relevant policy questions and to help make decisions. If properly executed, assessment processes can draw conclusions and make recommendations on how to manage natural resources. Assessments, especially large ones, can be easily influenced by internal and external...

75 FR 70160 - Affordable Care Act; Federal External Review Process; Request for Information

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

...-9986-NC] DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration 29 CFR Part 2590 Affordable Care... Affordable Care Act, and its implementing regulations. DATES: Submit written or electronic comments by... processes under the Affordable Care Act; those comments are being collected and evaluated on a separate...

Affective Cues and Processing Strategy: Color-Coded Examination Forms Influence Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinclair, Robert C.; Soldat, Alexander S.; Mark, Melvin M.

1998-01-01

Argues that external cues provide affective information that influence processing strategy and, therefore, examination performance. Notes the differences in performance for two midterm examinations, identical, except that they were printed on blue and red paper. Discusses a method for appropriately adjusting scores to control for form effects.…

Gender differences in the use of external landmarks versus spatial representations updated by self-motion.

PubMed

Lambrey, Simon; Berthoz, Alain

2007-09-01

Numerous data in the literature provide evidence for gender differences in spatial orientation. In particular, it has been suggested that spatial representations of large-scale environments are more accurate in terms of metric information in men than in women but are richer in landmark information in women than in men. One explanatory hypothesis is that men and women differ in terms of navigational processes they used in daily life. The present study investigated this hypothesis by distinguishing two navigational processes: spatial updating by self-motion and landmark-based orientation. Subjects were asked to perform a pointing task in three experimental conditions, which differed in terms of reliability of the external landmarks that could be used. Two groups of subjects were distinguished, a mobile group and an immobile group, in which spatial updating of environmental locations did not have the same degree of importance for the correct performance of the pointing task. We found that men readily relied on an internal egocentric representation of where landmarks were expected to be in order to perform the pointing task, a representation that could be updated during self-motion (spatial updating). In contrast, women seemed to take their bearings more readily on the basis of the stable landmarks of the external world. We suggest that this gender difference in spatial orientation is not due to differences in information processing abilities but rather due to the differences in higher level strategies.

Influence of anesthesia on cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate, and brain functional connectivity.

PubMed

Bonhomme, Vincent; Boveroux, Pierre; Hans, Pol; Brichant, Jean François; Vanhaudenhuyse, Audrey; Boly, Melanie; Laureys, Steven

2011-10-01

To describe recent studies exploring brain function under the influence of hypnotic anesthetic agents, and their implications on the understanding of consciousness physiology and anesthesia-induced alteration of consciousness. Cerebral cortex is the primary target of the hypnotic effect of anesthetic agents, and higher-order association areas are more sensitive to this effect than lower-order processing regions. Increasing concentration of anesthetic agents progressively attenuates connectivity in the consciousness networks, while connectivity in lower-order sensory and motor networks is preserved. Alteration of thalamic sub-cortical regulation could compromise the cortical integration of information despite preserved thalamic activation by external stimuli. At concentrations producing unresponsiveness, the activity of consciousness networks becomes anticorrelated with thalamic activity, while connectivity in lower-order sensory networks persists, although with cross-modal interaction alterations. Accumulating evidence suggests that hypnotic anesthetic agents disrupt large-scale cerebral connectivity. This would result in an inability of the brain to generate and integrate information, while external sensory information is still processed at a lower order of complexity.

Linking an agency strategic review to increase knowledge management: San Francisco County Human Service Agency.

PubMed

Harrison, Lindsay

2012-01-01

Led by the agency director, the agency engaged in a Strategic Review, based on a comprehensive assessment of agency performance that identified strategies to improve organizational effectiveness through increased data-informed practice and knowledge management. The Strategic Review gathered information on staff perceptions, perceptions of external stakeholders, changing citywide and neighborhood demographics, policy mandates, and budget and workload issues. The need for the review was based upon multiple, substantial changes not addressed in the 2000 Strategic Plan, including the 2004 merger of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Aging and Adult Services, changes among the executive management team, transitions among key political entities, new policy mandates and changing budget allocations. This case study describes the Strategic Review process and content, summarizing key challenges and lessons related to addressing workload demands, fostering positive staff attitudes, balancing internal and external information needs, and integrating data use and planning processes across the agency. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Beyond U-Shaped Development in Infants' Processing of Faces: An Information-Processing Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cashon, Cara H.; Cohen, Leslie B.

2004-01-01

The development of the "inversion" effect in face processing was examined in infants 3 to 6 months of age by testing their integration of the internal and external features of upright and inverted faces using a variation of the "switch" visual habituation paradigm. When combined with previous findings showing that 7-month-olds use integrative…

Process Evaluation of an Internet Career Fair.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIlveen, Peter; Gibson, Ellen; Fallon, Sharlene; Ross, Paul

2002-01-01

An Internet career fair for Australian college students was developed economically with a minimalist design presenting as much useful information as possible. Twenty major employers attracted 61,000 hits, a high proportion from external students. (SK)

Natural Mentoring Processes Deter Externalizing Problems Among Rural African American Emerging Adults: A Prospective Analysis

PubMed Central

Kogan, Steven M.; Brody, Gene H.; Chen, Yi-fu

2011-01-01

A 3-wave model linking natural mentoring relationships to externalizing behavior was tested with 345 rural African American emerging adults in their final year of high school. Structural equation models were executed linking multi-informant reports of mentor-emerging adult relationship quality with youths’ externalizing behavior 18 months later. Consistent with our primary hypotheses, emerging adults whose relationships with their natural mentors were characterized by instrumental and emotional support and affectively positive interactions reported lower levels of anger, rule-breaking behavior, and aggression. These effects emerged independent of the influences of family support and youth gender. Two intrapersonal processes, a future orientation and self-regulation, emerged as mediators of the influence of natural mentoring relationships. The influence of natural mentors was most pronounced for emerging adults experiencing high levels of life stress. PMID:21293917

The influence of age, muscle strength and speed of information processing on recovery responses to external perturbations in gait.

PubMed

Senden, R; Savelberg, H H C M; Adam, J; Grimm, B; Heyligers, I C; Meijer, K

2014-01-01

Dynamic imbalance caused by external perturbations to gait can successfully be counteracted by adequate recovery responses. The current study investigated how the recovery response is moderated by age, walking speed, muscle strength and speed of information processing. The gait pattern of 50 young and 45 elderly subjects was repeatedly perturbed at 20% and 80% of the first half of the swing phase using the Timed Rapid impact Perturbation (TRiP) set-up. Recovery responses were identified using 2D cameras. Muscular factors (dynamometer) and speed of information processing parameters (computer-based reaction time task) were determined. The stronger, faster reacting and faster walking young subjects recovered more often by an elevating strategy than elderly subjects. Twenty three per cent of the differences in recovery responses were explained by a combination of walking speed (B=-13.85), reaction time (B=-0.82), maximum extension strength (B=0.01) and rate of extension moment development (B=0.19). The recovery response that subjects employed when gait was perturbed by the TRiP set-up was modified by several factors; the individual contribution of walking speed, muscle strength and speed of information processing was small. Insight into remaining modifying factors is needed to assist and optimise fall prevention programmes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On a tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, Center Director Jim Kennedy (center) and Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. (far left) look at the external tank door corrosion work being done on Endeavour. Next to Whitlow is Bruce Buckingham, assistant to the deputy director. Providing information, at right, are Orbiter Airframe Engineering ground area manager, and Tom Roberts, Airframe Engineering System specialist, both with United Space Alliance; and Joy Huff, with KSC Space Shuttle Processing. Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-25

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On a tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, Center Director Jim Kennedy (center) and Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. (far left) look at the external tank door corrosion work being done on Endeavour. Next to Whitlow is Bruce Buckingham, assistant to the deputy director. Providing information, at right, are Orbiter Airframe Engineering ground area manager, and Tom Roberts, Airframe Engineering System specialist, both with United Space Alliance; and Joy Huff, with KSC Space Shuttle Processing. Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On a tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, Center Director Jim Kennedy (center) and Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. (far left) look at the external tank door corrosion work being done on Endeavour. Next to Whitlow is Bruce Buckingham, assistant to the deputy director. Providing information, at right, are Kathy Laufenberg, Orbiter Airframe Engineering ground area manager, and Tom Roberts, Airframe Engineering System specialist, both with United Space Alliance; and Joy Huff, with Space Shuttle Processing. Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003.

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-02-25

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - On a tour of the Orbiter Processing Facility, Center Director Jim Kennedy (center) and Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow Jr. (far left) look at the external tank door corrosion work being done on Endeavour. Next to Whitlow is Bruce Buckingham, assistant to the deputy director. Providing information, at right, are Kathy Laufenberg, Orbiter Airframe Engineering ground area manager, and Tom Roberts, Airframe Engineering System specialist, both with United Space Alliance; and Joy Huff, with Space Shuttle Processing. Endeavour is in its Orbiter Major Modification period, which began in December 2003.

The Healthcare Improvement Scotland evidence note rapid review process: providing timely, reliable evidence to inform imperative decisions on healthcare.

PubMed

McIntosh, Heather M; Calvert, Julie; Macpherson, Karen J; Thompson, Lorna

2016-06-01

Rapid review has become widely adopted by health technology assessment agencies in response to demand for evidence-based information to support imperative decisions. Concern about the credibility of rapid reviews and the reliability of their findings has prompted a call for wider publication of their methods. In publishing this overview of the accredited rapid review process developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, we aim to raise awareness of our methods and advance the discourse on best practice. Healthcare Improvement Scotland produces rapid reviews called evidence notes using a process that has achieved external accreditation through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Key components include a structured approach to topic selection, initial scoping, considered stakeholder involvement, streamlined systematic review, internal quality assurance, external peer review and updating. The process was introduced in 2010 and continues to be refined over time in response to user feedback and operational experience. Decision-makers value the responsiveness of the process and perceive it as being a credible source of unbiased evidence-based information supporting advice for NHSScotland. Many agencies undertaking rapid reviews are striving to balance efficiency with methodological rigour. We agree that there is a need for methodological guidance and that it should be informed by better understanding of current approaches and the consequences of different approaches to streamlining systematic review methods. Greater transparency in the reporting of rapid review methods is essential to enable that to happen.

Task demands affect spatial reference frame weighting during tactile localization in sighted and congenitally blind adults

PubMed Central

Schubert, Jonathan T. W.; Badde, Stephanie; Röder, Brigitte

2017-01-01

Task demands modulate tactile localization in sighted humans, presumably through weight adjustments in the spatial integration of anatomical, skin-based, and external, posture-based information. In contrast, previous studies have suggested that congenitally blind humans, by default, refrain from automatic spatial integration and localize touch using only skin-based information. Here, sighted and congenitally blind participants localized tactile targets on the palm or back of one hand, while ignoring simultaneous tactile distractors at congruent or incongruent locations on the other hand. We probed the interplay of anatomical and external location codes for spatial congruency effects by varying hand posture: the palms either both faced down, or one faced down and one up. In the latter posture, externally congruent target and distractor locations were anatomically incongruent and vice versa. Target locations had to be reported either anatomically (“palm” or “back” of the hand), or externally (“up” or “down” in space). Under anatomical instructions, performance was more accurate for anatomically congruent than incongruent target-distractor pairs. In contrast, under external instructions, performance was more accurate for externally congruent than incongruent pairs. These modulations were evident in sighted and blind individuals. Notably, distractor effects were overall far smaller in blind than in sighted participants, despite comparable target-distractor identification performance. Thus, the absence of developmental vision seems to be associated with an increased ability to focus tactile attention towards a non-spatially defined target. Nevertheless, that blind individuals exhibited effects of hand posture and task instructions in their congruency effects suggests that, like the sighted, they automatically integrate anatomical and external information during tactile localization. Moreover, spatial integration in tactile processing is, thus, flexibly adapted by top-down information—here, task instruction—even in the absence of developmental vision. PMID:29228023

Reconceptualising the external validity of discrete choice experiments.

PubMed

Lancsar, Emily; Swait, Joffre

2014-10-01

External validity is a crucial but under-researched topic when considering using discrete choice experiment (DCE) results to inform decision making in clinical, commercial or policy contexts. We present the theory and tests traditionally used to explore external validity that focus on a comparison of final outcomes and review how this traditional definition has been empirically tested in health economics and other sectors (such as transport, environment and marketing) in which DCE methods are applied. While an important component, we argue that the investigation of external validity should be much broader than a comparison of final outcomes. In doing so, we introduce a new and more comprehensive conceptualisation of external validity, closely linked to process validity, that moves us from the simple characterisation of a model as being or not being externally valid on the basis of predictive performance, to the concept that external validity should be an objective pursued from the initial conceptualisation and design of any DCE. We discuss how such a broader definition of external validity can be fruitfully used and suggest innovative ways in which it can be explored in practice.

40 CFR 270.305 - What tank information must I keep at my facility?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., bypass systems, and pressure controls (e.g., vents). (d) A diagram of piping, instrumentation, and process flow for each tank system. (e) A description of materials and equipment used to provide external...

40 CFR 270.305 - What tank information must I keep at my facility?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., bypass systems, and pressure controls (e.g., vents). (d) A diagram of piping, instrumentation, and process flow for each tank system. (e) A description of materials and equipment used to provide external...

40 CFR 270.305 - What tank information must I keep at my facility?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., bypass systems, and pressure controls (e.g., vents). (d) A diagram of piping, instrumentation, and process flow for each tank system. (e) A description of materials and equipment used to provide external...

40 CFR 270.305 - What tank information must I keep at my facility?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., bypass systems, and pressure controls (e.g., vents). (d) A diagram of piping, instrumentation, and process flow for each tank system. (e) A description of materials and equipment used to provide external...

Exploring Use of Climate Information in Wildland Fire Management: A Decision Calendar Study

Treesearch

Thomas W. Corringham; Anthony L. Westerling; Barbara J. Morehouse

2006-01-01

Wildfire management is an institutionally complex process involving a complex budget and appropriations cycle, a variety of objectives, and a set of internal and external political constraints. Significant potential exists for enhancing the use of climate information and long-range climate forecasts in wildland fire management in the Western U.S. Written surveys and...

Medial prefrontal cortex supports source memory accuracy for self-referenced items.

PubMed

Leshikar, Eric D; Duarte, Audrey

2012-01-01

Previous behavioral work suggests that processing information in relation to the self enhances subsequent item recognition. Neuroimaging evidence further suggests that regions along the cortical midline, particularly those of the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), underlie this benefit. There has been little work to date, however, on the effects of self-referential encoding on source memory accuracy or whether the medial PFC might contribute to source memory for self-referenced materials. In the current study, we used fMRI to measure neural activity while participants studied and subsequently retrieved pictures of common objects superimposed on one of two background scenes (sources) under either self-reference or self-external encoding instructions. Both item recognition and source recognition were better for objects encoded self-referentially than self-externally. Neural activity predictive of source accuracy was observed in the medial PFC (Brodmann area 10) at the time of study for self-referentially but not self-externally encoded objects. The results of this experiment suggest that processing information in relation to the self leads to a mnemonic benefit for source level features, and that activity in the medial PFC contributes to this source memory benefit. This evidence expands the purported role that the medial PFC plays in self-referencing.

Destination memory in Alzheimer's Disease: when I imagine telling Ronald Reagan about Paris.

PubMed

El Haj, Mohamad; Postal, Virginie; Allain, Philippe

2013-01-01

Destination memory refers to remembering the destination of information that people output. This present paper establishes a new distinction between external and internal processes within this memory system for both normal aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Young adults, older adults, and mild AD patients were asked either to tell facts (i.e., external destination memory condition) or to imagine telling facts (i.e., internal destination memory condition) to pictures of famous people. The experiment established three major findings. First, the destination memory performance of the AD patients was significantly poorer than that of older adults, which in turn was poorer than that of the young adults. Furthermore, internal destination processes were more prone to being forgotten than external destination memory processes. In other words, participants had more difficulty in remembering whether they had previously imagined telling the facts to the pictures or not (i.e., imagined condition) than in remembering whether they had previously told the facts to the pictures or not (i.e., enacted condition). Second, significant correlations were detected between performances on destination memory and several executive measures such as the Stroop, the Plus-Minus and the Binding tasks. Third, among the executive measures, regression analyses showed that performance on the Stroop task was a main factor in explaining variance in destination memory performance. Our findings reflect the difficulty in remembering the destination of internally generated information. They also demonstrate the involvement of inhibitory processes in destination memory. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Federally sponsored multidisciplinary research centers: Learning, evaluation, and vicious circles.

PubMed

Youtie, Jan; Corley, Elizabeth A

2011-02-01

Despite the increasing investment in multi-year federally funded science and technology centers in universities, there are few studies of how these centers engage in learning and change based on information submitted from various agents in the oversight and evaluation process. One challenge is how to manage and respond to this evaluative information, especially when it is conflicting. Although the center can learn and adapt in response to this information, it can also become subject to a vicious circle of continuous restructuring and production of documentation to address various and potentially inconsistent recommendations. In this paper we illustrate the effects of such a dynamic based on our experiences as external evaluators of the $25 million NSF-funded Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center. The case study presents an analysis of annual reports and strategic planning documents along with other sources of evidence to illustrate the evolution of center organizational approaches in response to evaluations by external review panels, center evaluators, program managers, and other external stakeholders. We conclude with suggestions for how evaluators may help centers ease the cost of learning and reduce the likelihood of a vicious circle. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Meta-analysis of correlates of provider behavior in medical encounters.

PubMed

Hall, J A; Roter, D L; Katz, N R

1988-07-01

This article summarizes the results of 41 independent studies containing correlates of objectively measured provider behaviors in medical encounters. Provider behaviors were grouped a priori into the process categories of information giving, questions, competence, partnership building, and socioemotional behavior. Total amount of communication was also included. All correlations between variables within these categories and external variables (patient outcome variables or patient and provider background variables) were extracted. The most frequently occurring outcome variables were satisfaction, recall, and compliance, and the most frequently occurring background variables were the patient's gender, age, and social class. Average correlations and combined significance levels were calculated for each combination of process category and external variable. Results showed significant relations of small to moderate average magnitude between these external variables and almost all of the provider behavior categories. A theory of provider-patient reciprocation is proposed to account for the pattern of results.

Rodent wearable ultrasound system for wireless neural recording.

PubMed

Piech, David K; Kay, Joshua E; Boser, Bernhard E; Maharbiz, Michel M

2017-07-01

Advances in minimally-invasive, distributed biological interface nodes enable possibilities for networks of sensors and actuators to connect the brain with external devices. The recent development of the neural dust sensor mote has shown that utilizing ultrasound backscatter communication enables untethered sub-mm neural recording devices. These implanted sensor motes require a wearable external ultrasound interrogation device to enable in-vivo, freely-behaving neural interface experiments. However, minimizing the complexity and size of the implanted sensors shifts the power and processing burden to the external interrogator. In this paper, we present an ultrasound backscatter interrogator that supports real-time backscatter processing in a rodent-wearable, completely wireless device. We demonstrate a generic digital encoding scheme which is intended for transmitting neural information. The system integrates a front-end ultrasonic interface ASIC with off-the-shelf components to enable a highly compact ultrasound interrogation device intended for rodent neural interface experiments but applicable to other model systems.

Energy optimization system

DOEpatents

Zhou, Zhi; de Bedout, Juan Manuel; Kern, John Michael; Biyik, Emrah; Chandra, Ramu Sharat

2013-01-22

A system for optimizing customer utility usage in a utility network of customer sites, each having one or more utility devices, where customer site is communicated between each of the customer sites and an optimization server having software for optimizing customer utility usage over one or more networks, including private and public networks. A customer site model for each of the customer sites is generated based upon the customer site information, and the customer utility usage is optimized based upon the customer site information and the customer site model. The optimization server can be hosted by an external source or within the customer site. In addition, the optimization processing can be partitioned between the customer site and an external source.

Impact of Noise and Working Memory on Speech Processing in Adults with and without ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michalek, Anne M. P.

2012-01-01

Auditory processing of speech is influenced by internal (i.e., attention, working memory) and external factors (i.e., background noise, visual information). This study examined the interplay among these factors in individuals with and without ADHD. All participants completed a listening in noise task, two working memory capacity tasks, and two…

Pastoral community organization, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in Mongolia's Southern Gobi Region

Treesearch

Sabine M. Schmidt

2006-01-01

In this paper I describe processes and impacts of collective action by mobile pastoralist communities, and of external support strategies to strengthen local institutions and cooperation in Mongolia’s southern Gobi. The need for pastoral mobility triggered the processes leading to community organization, and the emergence, or re-emergence, of local informal...

Hierarchical Thinking: A Cognitive Tool for Guiding Coherent Decision Making in Design Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haupt, Grietjie

2018-01-01

This paper builds on two concepts, the first of which is the extended information processing model of expert design cognition. This proposes twelve internal psychological characteristics interacting with the external world of expert designers during the early phases of the design process. Here, I explore one of the characteristics, hierarchical…

Visual perception and imagery: a new molecular hypothesis.

PubMed

Bókkon, I

2009-05-01

Here, we put forward a redox molecular hypothesis about the natural biophysical substrate of visual perception and visual imagery. This hypothesis is based on the redox and bioluminescent processes of neuronal cells in retinotopically organized cytochrome oxidase-rich visual areas. Our hypothesis is in line with the functional roles of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in living cells that are not part of haphazard process, but rather a very strict mechanism used in signaling pathways. We point out that there is a direct relationship between neuronal activity and the biophoton emission process in the brain. Electrical and biochemical processes in the brain represent sensory information from the external world. During encoding or retrieval of information, electrical signals of neurons can be converted into synchronized biophoton signals by bioluminescent radical and non-radical processes. Therefore, information in the brain appears not only as an electrical (chemical) signal but also as a regulated biophoton (weak optical) signal inside neurons. During visual perception, the topological distribution of photon stimuli on the retina is represented by electrical neuronal activity in retinotopically organized visual areas. These retinotopic electrical signals in visual neurons can be converted into synchronized biophoton signals by radical and non-radical processes in retinotopically organized mitochondria-rich areas. As a result, regulated bioluminescent biophotons can create intrinsic pictures (depictive representation) in retinotopically organized cytochrome oxidase-rich visual areas during visual imagery and visual perception. The long-term visual memory is interpreted as epigenetic information regulated by free radicals and redox processes. This hypothesis does not claim to solve the secret of consciousness, but proposes that the evolution of higher levels of complexity made the intrinsic picture representation of the external visual world possible by regulated redox and bioluminescent reactions in the visual system during visual perception and visual imagery.

Pharmacological Evidence for Calcium Involvement in the Long-Term Processing of Abiotic Stimuli in Plants

PubMed Central

Verdus, Marie-Claire; Le Sceller, Lois; Norris, Victor; Thellier, Michel

2007-01-01

Information about abiotic conditions is stored for long periods in plants and, in flax seedlings, can lead to the production of meristems. To investigate the underlying mechanism, flax seedlings were given abiotic stimuli that included a mechanical stimulus (by manipulation), one or two cold shocks, a slow cold treatment and a drought stress and, if these seedlings were then subjected to a temporary (1 to 3 days) depletion of calcium, epidermal meristems were produced in the seedling hypocotyls. This production was inhibited by the addition to the nutrient media of EGTA, ruthenium red, lanthanum or gadolinium that affect calcium availability or calcium transport. Use of these agents revealed a period of vulnerability in information processing that was less than two min for mechanical stimuli and over five min for other abiotic stimuli, consistent with information about mechanical stimuli being stored particularly fast. We propose that external calcium is needed for the transduction/storage of the information for meristem production whilst a temporary depletion of external calcium is needed for the actual production of meristems. Such roles for calcium would be consistent with a mechanism based on ion condensation on charged polymers. PMID:19516991

Pharmacological evidence for calcium involvement in the long-term processing of abiotic stimuli in plants.

PubMed

Verdus, Marie-Claire; Le Sceller, Lois; Norris, Victor; Thellier, Michel; Ripoll, Camille

2007-07-01

Information about abiotic conditions is stored for long periods in plants and, in flax seedlings, can lead to the production of meristems. To investigate the underlying mechanism, flax seedlings were given abiotic stimuli that included a mechanical stimulus (by manipulation), one or two cold shocks, a slow cold treatment and a drought stress and, if these seedlings were then subjected to a temporary (1 to 3 days) depletion of calcium, epidermal meristems were produced in the seedling hypocotyls. This production was inhibited by the addition to the nutrient media of EGTA, ruthenium red, lanthanum or gadolinium that affect calcium availability or calcium transport. Use of these agents revealed a period of vulnerability in information processing that was less than two min for mechanical stimuli and over five min for other abiotic stimuli, consistent with information about mechanical stimuli being stored particularly fast. We propose that external calcium is needed for the transduction/storage of the information for meristem production whilst a temporary depletion of external calcium is needed for the actual production of meristems. Such roles for calcium would be consistent with a mechanism based on ion condensation on charged polymers.

An update of preliminary perspectives gained from Individual Plant Examination of External Events (IPEEE) submittal reviews

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

Rubin, A.M.; Chen, J.T.; Chokshi, N.

1998-03-01

As a result of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) initiated Individual Plant Examination of External Events (IPEEE) program, virtually every operating commercial nuclear power reactor in the US has performed an assessment of severe accident risk due to external events. To date, the USNRC staff has received 63 IPEEE submittals and will receive an additional 11 by mid 1998. Currently, 49 IPEEE submittals are under various stages ore view. This paper is based on the information available for those 41 plants for which at least preliminary Technical Evaluation Reports have been prepared by the review teams. The goal ofmore » the review is to ascertain whether the licensee`s IPEEE process is capable of identifying external events-induced severe accident vulnerabilities and cost-effective safety improvements to either eliminate or reduce the impact of these vulnerabilities. The review does not, however, attempt to validate or verify the results of the licensee`s IPEEE. The primary objective of this paper is to provide an update on the preliminary perspectives and insights gained from the IPEEE process.« less

Parallel processing of afferent olfactory sensory information

PubMed Central

Vaaga, Christopher E.

2016-01-01

Key points The functional synaptic connectivity between olfactory receptor neurons and principal cells within the olfactory bulb is not well understood.One view suggests that mitral cells, the primary output neuron of the olfactory bulb, are solely activated by feedforward excitation.Using focal, single glomerular stimulation, we demonstrate that mitral cells receive direct, monosynaptic input from olfactory receptor neurons.Compared to external tufted cells, mitral cells have a prolonged afferent‐evoked EPSC, which serves to amplify the synaptic input.The properties of presynaptic glutamate release from olfactory receptor neurons are similar between mitral and external tufted cells.Our data suggest that afferent input enters the olfactory bulb in a parallel fashion. Abstract Primary olfactory receptor neurons terminate in anatomically and functionally discrete cortical modules known as olfactory bulb glomeruli. The synaptic connectivity and postsynaptic responses of mitral and external tufted cells within the glomerulus may involve both direct and indirect components. For example, it has been suggested that sensory input to mitral cells is indirect through feedforward excitation from external tufted cells. We also observed feedforward excitation of mitral cells with weak stimulation of the olfactory nerve layer; however, focal stimulation of an axon bundle entering an individual glomerulus revealed that mitral cells receive monosynaptic afferent inputs. Although external tufted cells had a 4.1‐fold larger peak EPSC amplitude, integration of the evoked currents showed that the synaptic charge was 5‐fold larger in mitral cells, reflecting the prolonged response in mitral cells. Presynaptic afferents onto mitral and external tufted cells had similar quantal amplitude and release probability, suggesting that the larger peak EPSC in external tufted cells was the result of more synaptic contacts. The results of the present study indicate that the monosynaptic afferent input to mitral cells depends on the strength of odorant stimulation. The enhanced spiking that we observed in response to brief afferent input provides a mechanism for amplifying sensory information and contrasts with the transient response in external tufted cells. These parallel input paths may have discrete functions in processing olfactory sensory input. PMID:27377344

76 FR 36171 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; Clearance of Renewed Approval of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-21

...In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. Information required from the public by 14 CFR part 133 is used by the FAA to process the operating certificate as a record of aircraft authorized for use, and to monitor Rotorcraft External-Load Operations.

Symbolic Knowledge Processing for the Acquisition of Expert Behavior: A Study in Medicine.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-05-01

information . It provides a model for this type of study, suggesting a different approach to the problem of learning and efficiency of knowledge -based...flow of information 2.2. Scope and description of the subsystems Three subsystems perform distinct operations using the preceding knowledge sources...which actually yields a new knowledge rCpresentation Ahere new external information is encoded in the combination and ordering of elements of the

Information processing in bacteria: memory, computation, and statistical physics: a key issues review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Ganhui; Tu, Yuhai

2016-05-01

Living systems have to constantly sense their external environment and adjust their internal state in order to survive and reproduce. Biological systems, from as complex as the brain to a single E. coli cell, have to process these data in order to make appropriate decisions. How do biological systems sense external signals? How do they process the information? How do they respond to signals? Through years of intense study by biologists, many key molecular players and their interactions have been identified in different biological machineries that carry out these signaling functions. However, an integrated, quantitative understanding of the whole system is still lacking for most cellular signaling pathways, not to say the more complicated neural circuits. To study signaling processes in biology, the key thing to measure is the input-output relationship. The input is the signal itself, such as chemical concentration, external temperature, light (intensity and frequency), and more complex signals such as the face of a cat. The output can be protein conformational changes and covalent modifications (phosphorylation, methylation, etc), gene expression, cell growth and motility, as well as more complex output such as neuron firing patterns and behaviors of higher animals. Due to the inherent noise in biological systems, the measured input-output dependence is often noisy. These noisy data can be analysed by using powerful tools and concepts from information theory such as mutual information, channel capacity, and the maximum entropy hypothesis. This information theory approach has been successfully used to reveal the underlying correlations between key components of biological networks, to set bounds for network performance, and to understand possible network architecture in generating observed correlations. Although the information theory approach provides a general tool in analysing noisy biological data and may be used to suggest possible network architectures in preserving information, it does not reveal the underlying mechanism that leads to the observed input-output relationship, nor does it tell us much about which information is important for the organism and how biological systems use information to carry out specific functions. To do that, we need to develop models of the biological machineries, e.g. biochemical networks and neural networks, to understand the dynamics of biological information processes. This is a much more difficult task. It requires deep knowledge of the underlying biological network—the main players (nodes) and their interactions (links)—in sufficient detail to build a model with predictive power, as well as quantitative input-output measurements of the system under different perturbations (both genetic variations and different external conditions) to test the model predictions to guide further development of the model. Due to the recent growth of biological knowledge thanks in part to high throughput methods (sequencing, gene expression microarray, etc) and development of quantitative in vivo techniques such as various florescence technology, these requirements are starting to be realized in different biological systems. The possible close interaction between quantitative experimentation and theoretical modeling has made systems biology an attractive field for physicists interested in quantitative biology. In this review, we describe some of the recent work in developing a quantitative predictive model of bacterial chemotaxis, which can be considered as the hydrogen atom of systems biology. Using statistical physics approaches, such as the Ising model and Langevin equation, we study how bacteria, such as E. coli, sense and amplify external signals, how they keep a working memory of the stimuli, and how they use these data to compute the chemical gradient. In particular, we will describe how E. coli cells avoid cross-talk in a heterogeneous receptor cluster to keep a ligand-specific memory. We will also study the thermodynamic costs of adaptation for cells to maintain an accurate memory. The statistical physics based approach described here should be useful in understanding design principles for cellular biochemical circuits in general.

Information processing in bacteria: memory, computation, and statistical physics: a key issues review.

PubMed

Lan, Ganhui; Tu, Yuhai

2016-05-01

Living systems have to constantly sense their external environment and adjust their internal state in order to survive and reproduce. Biological systems, from as complex as the brain to a single E. coli cell, have to process these data in order to make appropriate decisions. How do biological systems sense external signals? How do they process the information? How do they respond to signals? Through years of intense study by biologists, many key molecular players and their interactions have been identified in different biological machineries that carry out these signaling functions. However, an integrated, quantitative understanding of the whole system is still lacking for most cellular signaling pathways, not to say the more complicated neural circuits. To study signaling processes in biology, the key thing to measure is the input-output relationship. The input is the signal itself, such as chemical concentration, external temperature, light (intensity and frequency), and more complex signals such as the face of a cat. The output can be protein conformational changes and covalent modifications (phosphorylation, methylation, etc), gene expression, cell growth and motility, as well as more complex output such as neuron firing patterns and behaviors of higher animals. Due to the inherent noise in biological systems, the measured input-output dependence is often noisy. These noisy data can be analysed by using powerful tools and concepts from information theory such as mutual information, channel capacity, and the maximum entropy hypothesis. This information theory approach has been successfully used to reveal the underlying correlations between key components of biological networks, to set bounds for network performance, and to understand possible network architecture in generating observed correlations. Although the information theory approach provides a general tool in analysing noisy biological data and may be used to suggest possible network architectures in preserving information, it does not reveal the underlying mechanism that leads to the observed input-output relationship, nor does it tell us much about which information is important for the organism and how biological systems use information to carry out specific functions. To do that, we need to develop models of the biological machineries, e.g. biochemical networks and neural networks, to understand the dynamics of biological information processes. This is a much more difficult task. It requires deep knowledge of the underlying biological network-the main players (nodes) and their interactions (links)-in sufficient detail to build a model with predictive power, as well as quantitative input-output measurements of the system under different perturbations (both genetic variations and different external conditions) to test the model predictions to guide further development of the model. Due to the recent growth of biological knowledge thanks in part to high throughput methods (sequencing, gene expression microarray, etc) and development of quantitative in vivo techniques such as various florescence technology, these requirements are starting to be realized in different biological systems. The possible close interaction between quantitative experimentation and theoretical modeling has made systems biology an attractive field for physicists interested in quantitative biology. In this review, we describe some of the recent work in developing a quantitative predictive model of bacterial chemotaxis, which can be considered as the hydrogen atom of systems biology. Using statistical physics approaches, such as the Ising model and Langevin equation, we study how bacteria, such as E. coli, sense and amplify external signals, how they keep a working memory of the stimuli, and how they use these data to compute the chemical gradient. In particular, we will describe how E. coli cells avoid cross-talk in a heterogeneous receptor cluster to keep a ligand-specific memory. We will also study the thermodynamic costs of adaptation for cells to maintain an accurate memory. The statistical physics based approach described here should be useful in understanding design principles for cellular biochemical circuits in general.

Audit in public administration’s information systems - External or internal?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drljača, D.; Latinović, B.

2017-05-01

Audit of the information system, thanks to the increased use of ICT and related cyber-crime, becomes a very important process in modern companies and institutions. It is usual to engage or outsource a third party for independent financial audit. But what about auditing of the information system of public administration institutions? This paper gives an introduction to possible aspects of information system’s audit with the aim to discuss possible answer on the question in the title.

QSAR modeling based on structure-information for properties of interest in human health.

PubMed

Hall, L H; Hall, L M

2005-01-01

The development of QSAR models based on topological structure description is presented for problems in human health. These models are based on the structure-information approach to quantitative biological modeling and prediction, in contrast to the mechanism-based approach. The structure-information approach is outlined, starting with basic structure information developed from the chemical graph (connection table). Information explicit in the connection table (element identity and skeletal connections) leads to significant (implicit) structure information that is useful for establishing sound models of a wide range of properties of interest in drug design. Valence state definition leads to relationships for valence state electronegativity and atom/group molar volume. Based on these important aspects of molecules, together with skeletal branching patterns, both the electrotopological state (E-state) and molecular connectivity (chi indices) structure descriptors are developed and described. A summary of four QSAR models indicates the wide range of applicability of these structure descriptors and the predictive quality of QSAR models based on them: aqueous solubility (5535 chemically diverse compounds, 938 in external validation), percent oral absorption (%OA, 417 therapeutic drugs, 195 drugs in external validation testing), AMES mutagenicity (2963 compounds including 290 therapeutic drugs, 400 in external validation), fish toxicity (92 substituted phenols, anilines and substituted aromatics). These models are established independent of explicit three-dimensional (3-D) structure information and are directly interpretable in terms of the implicit structure information useful to the drug design process.

Dynamic force signal processing system of a robot manipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uchiyama, M.; Kitagaki, K.; Hakomori, K.

1987-01-01

If dynamic noises such as those caused by the inertia forces of the hand can be eliminated from the signal of the force sensor installed on the wrist of the robot manipulator and if the necessary information of the external force can be detected with high sensitivity and high accuracy, a fine force feedback control for robots used in high speed and various fields will be possible. As the dynamic force sensing system, an external force estimate method with the extended Kalman filter is suggested and simulations and tests for a one axis force were performed. Later a dynamic signal processing system of six axes was composed and tested. The results are presented.

An AI-based communication system for motor and speech disabled persons: design methodology and prototype testing.

PubMed

Sy, B K; Deller, J R

1989-05-01

An intelligent communication device is developed to assist the nonverbal, motor disabled in the generation of written and spoken messages. The device is centered on a knowledge base of the grammatical rules and message elements. A "belief" reasoning scheme based on both the information from external sources and the embedded knowledge is used to optimize the process of message search. The search for the message elements is conceptualized as a path search in the language graph, and a special frame architecture is used to construct and to partition the graph. Bayesian "belief" reasoning from the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence is augmented to cope with time-varying evidence. An "information fusion" strategy is also introduced to integrate various forms of external information. Experimental testing of the prototype system is discussed.

Effect of the External Lubrication Method for a Rotary Tablet Press on the Adhesion of the Film Coating Layer.

PubMed

Kondo, Hisami; Toyota, Hiroyasu; Kamiya, Takayuki; Yamashita, Kazunari; Hakomori, Tadashi; Imoto, Junko; Kimura, Shin-Ichiro; Iwao, Yasunori; Itai, Shigeru

2017-01-01

External lubrication is a useful method which reduces the adhesion of powder to punches and dies by spraying lubricants during the tableting process. However, no information is available on whether the tablets prepared using an external lubrication system can be applicable for a film coating process. In this study, we evaluated the adhesion force of the film coating layer to the surface of tablets prepared using an external lubrication method, compared with those prepared using internal lubrication method. We also evaluated wettability, roughness and lubricant distribution state on the tablet surface before film coating, and investigated the relationship between peeling of the film coating layer and these tablet surface properties. Increasing lubrication through the external lubrication method decreased wettability of the tablet surface. However, no change was observed in the adhesion force of the film coating layer. On the other hand, increasing lubrication through the internal lubrication method, decreased both wettability of the tablet surface and the adhesion force of the film coating layer. The magnesium stearate distribution state on the tablet surface was assessed using an X-ray fluorescent analyzer and lubricant agglomerates were observed in the case of the internal lubrication method. However, the lubricant was uniformly dispersed in the external lubrication samples. These results indicate that the distribution state of the lubricant affects the adhesion force of the film coating layer, and external lubrication maintained sufficient lubricity and adhesion force of the film coating layer with a small amount of lubricant.

Neural Reactivity to Emotional Stimuli Prospectively Predicts the Impact of a Natural Disaster on Psychiatric Symptoms in Children.

PubMed

Kujawa, Autumn; Hajcak, Greg; Danzig, Allison P; Black, Sarah R; Bromet, Evelyn J; Carlson, Gabrielle A; Kotov, Roman; Klein, Daniel N

2016-09-01

Natural disasters expose entire communities to stress and trauma, leading to increased risk for psychiatric symptoms. Yet, the majority of exposed individuals are resilient, highlighting the importance of identifying underlying factors that contribute to outcomes. The current study was part of a larger prospective study of children in Long Island, New York (n = 260). At age 9, children viewed unpleasant and pleasant images while the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential component that reflects sustained attention toward salient information, was measured. Following the event-related potential assessment, Hurricane Sandy, the second costliest hurricane in United States history, hit the region. Eight weeks after the hurricane, mothers reported on exposure to hurricane-related stress and children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Symptoms were reassessed 8 months after the hurricane. The LPP predicted both internalizing and externalizing symptoms after accounting for prehurricane symptomatology and interacted with stress to predict externalizing symptoms. Among children exposed to higher levels of hurricane-related stress, enhanced neural reactivity to unpleasant images predicted greater externalizing symptoms 8 weeks after the disaster, while greater neural reactivity to pleasant images predicted lower externalizing symptoms. Moreover, interactions between the LPP and stress continued to predict externalizing symptoms 8 months after the hurricane. Results indicate that heightened neural reactivity and attention toward unpleasant information, as measured by the LPP, predispose children to psychiatric symptoms when exposed to higher levels of stress related to natural disasters, while greater reactivity to and processing of pleasant information may be a protective factor. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of reverberation-related binaural cues in the externalization of speech.

PubMed

Catic, Jasmina; Santurette, Sébastien; Dau, Torsten

2015-08-01

The perception of externalization of speech sounds was investigated with respect to the monaural and binaural cues available at the listeners' ears in a reverberant environment. Individualized binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) were used to simulate externalized sound sources via headphones. The measured BRIRs were subsequently modified such that the proportion of the response containing binaural vs monaural information was varied. Normal-hearing listeners were presented with speech sounds convolved with such modified BRIRs. Monaural reverberation cues were found to be sufficient for the externalization of a lateral sound source. In contrast, for a frontal source, an increased amount of binaural cues from reflections was required in order to obtain well externalized sound images. It was demonstrated that the interaction between the interaural cues of the direct sound and the reverberation strongly affects the perception of externalization. An analysis of the short-term binaural cues showed that the amount of fluctuations of the binaural cues corresponded well to the externalization ratings obtained in the listening tests. The results further suggested that the precedence effect is involved in the auditory processing of the dynamic binaural cues that are utilized for externalization perception.

Sequence information signal processor for local and global string comparisons

DOEpatents

Peterson, John C.; Chow, Edward T.; Waterman, Michael S.; Hunkapillar, Timothy J.

1997-01-01

A sequence information signal processing integrated circuit chip designed to perform high speed calculation of a dynamic programming algorithm based upon the algorithm defined by Waterman and Smith. The signal processing chip of the present invention is designed to be a building block of a linear systolic array, the performance of which can be increased by connecting additional sequence information signal processing chips to the array. The chip provides a high speed, low cost linear array processor that can locate highly similar global sequences or segments thereof such as contiguous subsequences from two different DNA or protein sequences. The chip is implemented in a preferred embodiment using CMOS VLSI technology to provide the equivalent of about 400,000 transistors or 100,000 gates. Each chip provides 16 processing elements, and is designed to provide 16 bit, two's compliment operation for maximum score precision of between -32,768 and +32,767. It is designed to provide a comparison between sequences as long as 4,194,304 elements without external software and between sequences of unlimited numbers of elements with the aid of external software. Each sequence can be assigned different deletion and insertion weight functions. Each processor is provided with a similarity measure device which is independently variable. Thus, each processor can contribute to maximum value score calculation using a different similarity measure.

Data systems and computer science: Neural networks base R/T program overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gulati, Sandeep

1991-01-01

The research base, in the U.S. and abroad, for the development of neural network technology is discussed. The technical objectives are to develop and demonstrate adaptive, neural information processing concepts. The leveraging of external funding is also discussed.

Vision System Measures Motions of Robot and External Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talukder, Ashit; Matthies, Larry

2008-01-01

A prototype of an advanced robotic vision system both (1) measures its own motion with respect to a stationary background and (2) detects other moving objects and estimates their motions, all by use of visual cues. Like some prior robotic and other optoelectronic vision systems, this system is based partly on concepts of optical flow and visual odometry. Whereas prior optoelectronic visual-odometry systems have been limited to frame rates of no more than 1 Hz, a visual-odometry subsystem that is part of this system operates at a frame rate of 60 to 200 Hz, given optical-flow estimates. The overall system operates at an effective frame rate of 12 Hz. Moreover, unlike prior machine-vision systems for detecting motions of external objects, this system need not remain stationary: it can detect such motions while it is moving (even vibrating). The system includes a stereoscopic pair of cameras mounted on a moving robot. The outputs of the cameras are digitized, then processed to extract positions and velocities. The initial image-data-processing functions of this system are the same as those of some prior systems: Stereoscopy is used to compute three-dimensional (3D) positions for all pixels in the camera images. For each pixel of each image, optical flow between successive image frames is used to compute the two-dimensional (2D) apparent relative translational motion of the point transverse to the line of sight of the camera. The challenge in designing this system was to provide for utilization of the 3D information from stereoscopy in conjunction with the 2D information from optical flow to distinguish between motion of the camera pair and motions of external objects, compute the motion of the camera pair in all six degrees of translational and rotational freedom, and robustly estimate the motions of external objects, all in real time. To meet this challenge, the system is designed to perform the following image-data-processing functions: The visual-odometry subsystem (the subsystem that estimates the motion of the camera pair relative to the stationary background) utilizes the 3D information from stereoscopy and the 2D information from optical flow. It computes the relationship between the 3D and 2D motions and uses a least-mean-squares technique to estimate motion parameters. The least-mean-squares technique is suitable for real-time implementation when the number of external-moving-object pixels is smaller than the number of stationary-background pixels.

Personal contextual characteristics and cognitions: predicting child abuse potential and disciplinary style.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Christina M

2010-02-01

According to Social Information Processing theory, parents' cognitive processes influence their decisions to engage in physical maltreatment, although cognitions occur in the context of other aspects of the parents' life. The present study investigated whether cognitive processes (external locus of control, inappropriate developmental expectations) predicted child abuse potential and overreactive disciplinary style beyond personal contextual factors characteristic of the parent (hostility, stress, and coping). 363 parents were recruited online. Results highlight the relative importance of the contextual characteristics (particularly stress, avoidant coping, and irritability) relative to cognitive processes in predicting abuse potential and overreactive discipline strategies, although an external locus of control also significantly contributed. Findings do not support that parents' developmental expectations uniquely predict elevated abuse risk. Results indicate stressed parents who utilize avoidance coping strategies are more likely to use overreactive discipline and report increased abuse potential. Findings are discussed with regard to implications for prevention/intervention efforts.

[Implementation of "never events" checklists in a radiotherapy information system].

PubMed

Brusadin, G; Bour, M S; Deutsch, E; Kouchit, N; Corbin, S; Lefkopoulos, D

2017-10-01

In order to reduce the incidence of major accidents during external radiotherapy treatment, "never events" checklists have been incorporated into the "record and verify" system. This article details this process. Prospects for improvement are also proposed, including a peer-to-peer audit on the use of checklists and the availability of the radiotherapy information system manufacturer to collaborate in this process to secure the patients' journey. Copyright © 2017 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Constructing Preference from Experience: The Endowment Effect Reflected in External Information Search

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pachur, Thorsten; Scheibehenne, Benjamin

2012-01-01

People often attach a higher value to an object when they own it (i.e., as seller) compared with when they do not own it (i.e., as buyer)--a phenomenon known as the "endowment effect". According to recent cognitive process accounts of the endowment effect, the effect is due to differences between sellers and buyers in information search.…

Adaptive quantum computation in changing environments using projective simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiersch, M.; Ganahl, E. J.; Briegel, H. J.

2015-08-01

Quantum information processing devices need to be robust and stable against external noise and internal imperfections to ensure correct operation. In a setting of measurement-based quantum computation, we explore how an intelligent agent endowed with a projective simulator can act as controller to adapt measurement directions to an external stray field of unknown magnitude in a fixed direction. We assess the agent’s learning behavior in static and time-varying fields and explore composition strategies in the projective simulator to improve the agent’s performance. We demonstrate the applicability by correcting for stray fields in a measurement-based algorithm for Grover’s search. Thereby, we lay out a path for adaptive controllers based on intelligent agents for quantum information tasks.

Adaptive quantum computation in changing environments using projective simulation

PubMed Central

Tiersch, M.; Ganahl, E. J.; Briegel, H. J.

2015-01-01

Quantum information processing devices need to be robust and stable against external noise and internal imperfections to ensure correct operation. In a setting of measurement-based quantum computation, we explore how an intelligent agent endowed with a projective simulator can act as controller to adapt measurement directions to an external stray field of unknown magnitude in a fixed direction. We assess the agent’s learning behavior in static and time-varying fields and explore composition strategies in the projective simulator to improve the agent’s performance. We demonstrate the applicability by correcting for stray fields in a measurement-based algorithm for Grover’s search. Thereby, we lay out a path for adaptive controllers based on intelligent agents for quantum information tasks. PMID:26260263

Simplifying the Process for Finding Research Funding: A Cross-Campus Collaboration at a Large Academic Institution.

PubMed

Rosenzweig, Merle; Smith, Judith E; Curtis, Ann; Puffenberger, Amy

2016-01-01

This article describes the collaboration between the University of Michigan's M-Library and the University of Michigan Medical School's Office of Research in developing a comprehensive online guide and consultation service. The guide was designed to assist researchers in finding available funding from both internal and external sources and was based on the results of a survey distributed by the Office of Research. Because many of the respondents were unaware of internal funding programs and needed more information on resources external to the university as well, the guide included information on both possibilities in an easy-to-use format that researchers use independently without needing further instruction, although personal consultation was also offered when necessary.

Gunslinger Effect and Müller-Lyer Illusion: Examining Early Visual Information Processing for Late Limb-Target Control.

PubMed

Roberts, James W; Lyons, James; Garcia, Daniel B L; Burgess, Raquel; Elliott, Digby

2017-07-01

The multiple process model contends that there are two forms of online control for manual aiming: impulse regulation and limb-target control. This study examined the impact of visual information processing for limb-target control. We amalgamated the Gunslinger protocol (i.e., faster movements following a reaction to an external trigger compared with the spontaneous initiation of movement) and Müller-Lyer target configurations into the same aiming protocol. The results showed the Gunslinger effect was isolated at the early portions of the movement (peak acceleration and peak velocity). Reacted aims reached a longer displacement at peak deceleration, but no differences for movement termination. The target configurations manifested terminal biases consistent with the illusion. We suggest the visual information processing demands imposed by reacted aims can be adapted by integrating early feedforward information for limb-target control.

Learning, memory, and the role of neural network architecture.

PubMed

Hermundstad, Ann M; Brown, Kevin S; Bassett, Danielle S; Carlson, Jean M

2011-06-01

The performance of information processing systems, from artificial neural networks to natural neuronal ensembles, depends heavily on the underlying system architecture. In this study, we compare the performance of parallel and layered network architectures during sequential tasks that require both acquisition and retention of information, thereby identifying tradeoffs between learning and memory processes. During the task of supervised, sequential function approximation, networks produce and adapt representations of external information. Performance is evaluated by statistically analyzing the error in these representations while varying the initial network state, the structure of the external information, and the time given to learn the information. We link performance to complexity in network architecture by characterizing local error landscape curvature. We find that variations in error landscape structure give rise to tradeoffs in performance; these include the ability of the network to maximize accuracy versus minimize inaccuracy and produce specific versus generalizable representations of information. Parallel networks generate smooth error landscapes with deep, narrow minima, enabling them to find highly specific representations given sufficient time. While accurate, however, these representations are difficult to generalize. In contrast, layered networks generate rough error landscapes with a variety of local minima, allowing them to quickly find coarse representations. Although less accurate, these representations are easily adaptable. The presence of measurable performance tradeoffs in both layered and parallel networks has implications for understanding the behavior of a wide variety of natural and artificial learning systems.

Unfreezing cognitions during an intractable conflict: Does an external incentive for negotiating peace and (low levels of) collective angst increase information seeking?

PubMed

Wohl, Michael J A; Porat, Roni; Halperin, Eran

2016-03-01

A core feature of intractable conflicts is the tendency to cognitively freeze on existing, pro-ingroup beliefs. In three experiments, conducted in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, we tested the idea that an external incentive for negotiating peace helps unfreeze cognitions. In Experiment 1, making salient that peace with the Palestinians would reduce the Iranian nuclear threat (an external incentive) led to a process of unfreezing. In Experiment 2, we examined whether collective angst as an emotional sentiment (i.e., concern for the ingroup's future vitality as a temporally stable emotional disposition) moderated the aforementioned external incentive-cognitive unfreezing link. As predicted, external incentive salience promoted cognitive unfreezing, but only among people low in collective angst (i.e., people who are not concerned for the ingroup's future). In Experiment 3, we sought to replicate the results of Experiment 2. However, socio-political forces (i.e., a significant upswing in tensions between Palestinians and Israelis) likely served to freeze cognitions to such an extent that thawing was not possible by the means demonstrated in Experiments 1 and 2. The importance of confidence in a peace process is discussed in the context of efforts to unfreeze cognitions during an intractable conflict. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Agreement between parents and teachers on preschool children's behavior in a clinical sample with externalizing behavioral problems.

PubMed

Korsch, Franziska; Petermann, Franz

2014-10-01

An accurate interpretation of information obtained from multiple assessors is indispensible when complex diagnoses of behavioral problems in children need to be confirmed. The present study examined the similarity of parents and kindergarten teachers ratings on children's behavior in a sample of 160 preschool children (a clinical group including 80 children with externalizing behavioral problems and a matched control group including 80 children). Behavioral problems were assessed using the SDQ, and the DISYPS-II questionnaires for ADHD and conduct disorders. The results revealed low levels of parent-teacher agreement for their ratings on the children's behavior in both groups with the highest correlations in the non-clinical sample. Parent-teacher agreement did not differ significantly across the samples. Parent and teacher ratings correlated with the prevalence of externalizing disorders and were found to be almost independent of each other. The results highlight the importance of multiple informants and their independent influence within the diagnostic process.

Metrics to quantify the importance of mixing state for CCN activity

DOE PAGES

Ching, Joseph; Fast, Jerome; West, Matthew; ...

2017-06-21

It is commonly assumed that models are more prone to errors in predicted cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations when the aerosol populations are externally mixed. In this work we investigate this assumption by using the mixing state index ( χ) proposed by Riemer and West (2013) to quantify the degree of external and internal mixing of aerosol populations. We combine this metric with particle-resolved model simulations to quantify error in CCN predictions when mixing state information is neglected, exploring a range of scenarios that cover different conditions of aerosol aging. We show that mixing state information does indeed become unimportantmore » for more internally mixed populations, more precisely for populations with χ larger than 75 %. For more externally mixed populations ( χ below 20 %) the relationship of χ and the error in CCN predictions is not unique and ranges from lower than -40 % to about 150 %, depending on the underlying aerosol population and the environmental supersaturation. We explain the reasons for this behavior with detailed process analyses.« less

Metrics to quantify the importance of mixing state for CCN activity

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

Ching, Joseph; Fast, Jerome; West, Matthew

It is commonly assumed that models are more prone to errors in predicted cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations when the aerosol populations are externally mixed. In this work we investigate this assumption by using the mixing state index ( χ) proposed by Riemer and West (2013) to quantify the degree of external and internal mixing of aerosol populations. We combine this metric with particle-resolved model simulations to quantify error in CCN predictions when mixing state information is neglected, exploring a range of scenarios that cover different conditions of aerosol aging. We show that mixing state information does indeed become unimportantmore » for more internally mixed populations, more precisely for populations with χ larger than 75 %. For more externally mixed populations ( χ below 20 %) the relationship of χ and the error in CCN predictions is not unique and ranges from lower than -40 % to about 150 %, depending on the underlying aerosol population and the environmental supersaturation. We explain the reasons for this behavior with detailed process analyses.« less

Episodic and semantic content of memory and imagination: A multilevel analysis.

PubMed

Devitt, Aleea L; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L

2017-10-01

Autobiographical memories of past events and imaginations of future scenarios comprise both episodic and semantic content. Correlating the amount of "internal" (episodic) and "external" (semantic) details generated when describing autobiographical events can illuminate the relationship between the processes supporting these constructs. Yet previous studies performing such correlations were limited by aggregating data across all events generated by an individual, potentially obscuring the underlying relationship within the events themselves. In the current article, we reanalyzed datasets from eight studies using a multilevel approach, allowing us to explore the relationship between internal and external details within events. We also examined whether this relationship changes with healthy aging. Our reanalyses demonstrated a largely negative relationship between the internal and external details produced when describing autobiographical memories and future imaginations. This negative relationship was stronger and more consistent for older adults and was evident both in direct and indirect measures of semantic content. Moreover, this relationship appears to be specific to episodic tasks, as no relationship was observed for a nonepisodic picture description task. This negative association suggests that people do not generate semantic information indiscriminately, but do so in a compensatory manner, to embellish episodically impoverished events. Our reanalysis further lends support for dissociable processes underpinning episodic and semantic information generation when remembering and imagining autobiographical events.

Left-Lateralized Contributions of Saccades to Cortical Activity During a One-Back Word Recognition Task.

PubMed

Chang, Yu-Cherng C; Khan, Sheraz; Taulu, Samu; Kuperberg, Gina; Brown, Emery N; Hämäläinen, Matti S; Temereanca, Simona

2018-01-01

Saccadic eye movements are an inherent component of natural reading, yet their contribution to information processing at subsequent fixation remains elusive. Here we use anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine cortical activity following saccades as healthy human subjects engaged in a one-back word recognition task. This activity was compared with activity following external visual stimulation that mimicked saccades. A combination of procedures was employed to eliminate saccadic ocular artifacts from the MEG signal. Both saccades and saccade-like external visual stimulation produced early-latency responses beginning ~70 ms after onset in occipital cortex and spreading through the ventral and dorsal visual streams to temporal, parietal and frontal cortices. Robust differential activity following the onset of saccades vs. similar external visual stimulation emerged during 150-350 ms in a left-lateralized cortical network. This network included: (i) left lateral occipitotemporal (LOT) and nearby inferotemporal (IT) cortex; (ii) left posterior Sylvian fissure (PSF) and nearby multimodal cortex; and (iii) medial parietooccipital (PO), posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices. Moreover, this left-lateralized network colocalized with word repetition priming effects. Together, results suggest that central saccadic mechanisms influence a left-lateralized language network in occipitotemporal and temporal cortex above and beyond saccadic influences at preceding stages of information processing during visual word recognition.

Medial prefrontal cortex supports source memory accuracy for self-referenced items

PubMed Central

Leshikar, Eric D.; Duarte, Audrey

2013-01-01

Previous behavioral work suggests that processing information in relation to the self enhances subsequent item recognition. Neuroimaging evidence further suggests that regions along the cortical midline, particularly those of the medial prefrontal cortex, underlie this benefit. There has been little work to date, however, on the effects of self-referential encoding on source memory accuracy or whether the medial prefrontal cortex might contribute to source memory for self-referenced materials. In the current study, we used fMRI to measure neural activity while participants studied and subsequently retrieved pictures of common objects superimposed on one of two background scenes (sources) under either self-reference or self-external encoding instructions. Both item recognition and source recognition were better for objects encoded self-referentially than self-externally. Neural activity predictive of source accuracy was observed in the medial prefrontal cortex (BA 10) at the time of study for self-referentially but not self-externally encoded objects. The results of this experiment suggest that processing information in relation to the self leads to a mnemonic benefit for source level features, and that activity in the medial prefrontal cortex contributes to this source memory benefit. This evidence expands the purported role that the medial prefrontal cortex plays in self-referencing. PMID:21936739

Left-Lateralized Contributions of Saccades to Cortical Activity During a One-Back Word Recognition Task

PubMed Central

Chang, Yu-Cherng C.; Khan, Sheraz; Taulu, Samu; Kuperberg, Gina; Brown, Emery N.; Hämäläinen, Matti S.; Temereanca, Simona

2018-01-01

Saccadic eye movements are an inherent component of natural reading, yet their contribution to information processing at subsequent fixation remains elusive. Here we use anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine cortical activity following saccades as healthy human subjects engaged in a one-back word recognition task. This activity was compared with activity following external visual stimulation that mimicked saccades. A combination of procedures was employed to eliminate saccadic ocular artifacts from the MEG signal. Both saccades and saccade-like external visual stimulation produced early-latency responses beginning ~70 ms after onset in occipital cortex and spreading through the ventral and dorsal visual streams to temporal, parietal and frontal cortices. Robust differential activity following the onset of saccades vs. similar external visual stimulation emerged during 150–350 ms in a left-lateralized cortical network. This network included: (i) left lateral occipitotemporal (LOT) and nearby inferotemporal (IT) cortex; (ii) left posterior Sylvian fissure (PSF) and nearby multimodal cortex; and (iii) medial parietooccipital (PO), posterior cingulate and retrosplenial cortices. Moreover, this left-lateralized network colocalized with word repetition priming effects. Together, results suggest that central saccadic mechanisms influence a left-lateralized language network in occipitotemporal and temporal cortex above and beyond saccadic influences at preceding stages of information processing during visual word recognition. PMID:29867372

Barriers and attitudes influencing non-engagement in a peer feedback model to inform evidence for GP appraisal

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The UK general practitioner (GP) appraisal system is deemed to be an inadequate source of performance evidence to inform a future medical revalidation process. A long-running voluntary model of external peer review in the west of Scotland provides feedback by trained peers on the standard of GP colleagues' core appraisal activities and may 'add value' in strengthening the robustness of the current system in support of revalidation. A significant minority of GPs has participated in the peer feedback model, but a clear majority has yet to engage with it. We aimed to explore the views of non-participants to identify barriers to engagement and attitudes to external peer review as a means to inform the current appraisal system. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of west of Scotland GPs who had yet to participate in the peer review model. A thematic analysis of the interview transcriptions was conducted using a constant comparative approach. Results 13 GPs were interviewed of whom nine were males. Four core themes were identified in relation to the perceived and experienced 'value' placed on the topics discussed and their relevance to routine clinical practice and professional appraisal: 1. Value of the appraisal improvement activity. 2. Value of external peer review. 3. Value of the external peer review model and host organisation and 4. Attitudes to external peer review. Conclusions GPs in this study questioned the 'value' of participation in the external peer review model and the national appraisal system over the standard of internal feedback received from immediate work colleagues. There was a limited understanding of the concept, context and purpose of external peer review and some distrust of the host educational provider. Future engagement with the model by these GPs is likely to be influenced by policy to improve the standard of appraisal and contractual related activities, rather than a self-directed recognition of learning needs. PMID:22443714

Barriers and attitudes influencing non-engagement in a peer feedback model to inform evidence for GP appraisal.

PubMed

Curnock, Esther; Bowie, Paul; Pope, Lindsey; McKay, John

2012-03-23

The UK general practitioner (GP) appraisal system is deemed to be an inadequate source of performance evidence to inform a future medical revalidation process. A long-running voluntary model of external peer review in the west of Scotland provides feedback by trained peers on the standard of GP colleagues' core appraisal activities and may 'add value' in strengthening the robustness of the current system in support of revalidation. A significant minority of GPs has participated in the peer feedback model, but a clear majority has yet to engage with it. We aimed to explore the views of non-participants to identify barriers to engagement and attitudes to external peer review as a means to inform the current appraisal system. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of west of Scotland GPs who had yet to participate in the peer review model. A thematic analysis of the interview transcriptions was conducted using a constant comparative approach. 13 GPs were interviewed of whom nine were males. Four core themes were identified in relation to the perceived and experienced 'value' placed on the topics discussed and their relevance to routine clinical practice and professional appraisal: 1. Value of the appraisal improvement activity. 2. Value of external peer review. 3. Value of the external peer review model and host organisation and 4. Attitudes to external peer review. GPs in this study questioned the 'value' of participation in the external peer review model and the national appraisal system over the standard of internal feedback received from immediate work colleagues. There was a limited understanding of the concept, context and purpose of external peer review and some distrust of the host educational provider. Future engagement with the model by these GPs is likely to be influenced by policy to improve the standard of appraisal and contractual related activities, rather than a self-directed recognition of learning needs.

A programmable point-of-care device for external CSF drainage and monitoring.

PubMed

Simkins, Jeffrey R; Subbian, Vignesh; Beyette, Fred R

2014-01-01

This paper presents a prototype of a programmable cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) external drainage system that can accurately measure the dispensed fluid volume. It is based on using a miniature spectrophotometer to collect color data to inform drain rate and pressure monitoring. The prototype was machined with 1 μm dimensional accuracy. The current device can reliably monitor the total accumulated fluid volume, the drain rate, the programmed pressure, and the pressure read from the sensor. Device requirements, fabrication processes, and preliminary results with an experimental set-up are also presented.

Issue Scanning: Finding the Future...Maybe.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plog, Michael; Sweeney, Jim; Weiss, Barry

Issue Scanning, sometimes called Environmental Scanning, is used in many business, government, educational, and nonprofit organizations. The technique is supposed to monitor the "pulse" of the external environment. The scanning process should lessen the randomness of the information used in decision making, and it should alert managers…

Smartphones as image processing systems for prosthetic vision.

PubMed

Zapf, Marc P; Matteucci, Paul B; Lovell, Nigel H; Suaning, Gregg J

2013-01-01

The feasibility of implants for prosthetic vision has been demonstrated by research and commercial organizations. In most devices, an essential forerunner to the internal stimulation circuit is an external electronics solution for capturing, processing and relaying image information as well as extracting useful features from the scene surrounding the patient. The capabilities and multitude of image processing algorithms that can be performed by the device in real-time plays a major part in the final quality of the prosthetic vision. It is therefore optimal to use powerful hardware yet to avoid bulky, straining solutions. Recent publications have reported of portable single-board computers fast enough for computationally intensive image processing. Following the rapid evolution of commercial, ultra-portable ARM (Advanced RISC machine) mobile devices, the authors investigated the feasibility of modern smartphones running complex face detection as external processing devices for vision implants. The role of dedicated graphics processors in speeding up computation was evaluated while performing a demanding noise reduction algorithm (image denoising). The time required for face detection was found to decrease by 95% from 2.5 year old to recent devices. In denoising, graphics acceleration played a major role, speeding up denoising by a factor of 18. These results demonstrate that the technology has matured sufficiently to be considered as a valid external electronics platform for visual prosthetic research.

76 FR 74777 - National Marine Protected Areas Center External Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-01

... through targeted science, information resources, coordination and policy development. An external review..., 1305 East-West Highway, Rm. 11401, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT....mpa.gov SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MPA Center's external review will encompass program activities...

Meta-awareness, perceptual decoupling and the wandering mind.

PubMed

Schooler, Jonathan W; Smallwood, Jonathan; Christoff, Kalina; Handy, Todd C; Reichle, Erik D; Sayette, Michael A

2011-07-01

Mind wandering (i.e. engaging in cognitions unrelated to the current demands of the external environment) reflects the cyclic activity of two core processes: the capacity to disengage attention from perception (known as perceptual decoupling) and the ability to take explicit note of the current contents of consciousness (known as meta-awareness). Research on perceptual decoupling demonstrates that mental events that arise without any external precedent (known as stimulus independent thoughts) often interfere with the online processing of sensory information. Findings regarding meta-awareness reveal that the mind is only intermittently aware of engaging in mind wandering. These basic aspects of mind wandering are considered with respect to the activity of the default network, the role of executive processes, the contributions of meta-awareness and the functionality of mind wandering. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning and Collective Knowledge Construction With Social Media: A Process-Oriented Perspective

PubMed Central

Kimmerle, Joachim; Moskaliuk, Johannes; Oeberst, Aileen; Cress, Ulrike

2015-01-01

Social media are increasingly being used for educational purposes. The first part of this article briefly reviews literature that reports on educational applications of social media tools. The second part discusses theories that may provide a basis for analyzing the processes that are relevant for individual learning and collective knowledge construction. We argue that a systems-theoretical constructivist approach is appropriate to examine the processes of educational social media use, namely, self-organization, the internalization of information, the externalization of knowledge, and the interplay of externalization and internalization providing the basis of a co-evolution of cognitive and social systems. In the third part we present research findings that illustrate and support this systems-theoretical framework. Concluding, we discuss the implications for educational design and for future research on learning and collective knowledge construction with social media. PMID:26246643

Inducing task-relevant responses to speech in the sleeping brain.

PubMed

Kouider, Sid; Andrillon, Thomas; Barbosa, Leonardo S; Goupil, Louise; Bekinschtein, Tristan A

2014-09-22

Falling asleep leads to a loss of sensory awareness and to the inability to interact with the environment [1]. While this was traditionally thought as a consequence of the brain shutting down to external inputs, it is now acknowledged that incoming stimuli can still be processed, at least to some extent, during sleep [2]. For instance, sleeping participants can create novel sensory associations between tones and odors [3] or reactivate existing semantic associations, as evidenced by event-related potentials [4-7]. Yet, the extent to which the brain continues to process external stimuli remains largely unknown. In particular, it remains unclear whether sensory information can be processed in a flexible and task-dependent manner by the sleeping brain, all the way up to the preparation of relevant actions. Here, using semantic categorization and lexical decision tasks, we studied task-relevant responses triggered by spoken stimuli in the sleeping brain. Awake participants classified words as either animals or objects (experiment 1) or as either words or pseudowords (experiment 2) by pressing a button with their right or left hand, while transitioning toward sleep. The lateralized readiness potential (LRP), an electrophysiological index of response preparation, revealed that task-specific preparatory responses are preserved during sleep. These findings demonstrate that despite the absence of awareness and behavioral responsiveness, sleepers can still extract task-relevant information from external stimuli and covertly prepare for appropriate motor responses. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of an automated natural language processing (NLP) workflow to enable federated search of external biomedical content in drug discovery and development.

PubMed

McEntire, Robin; Szalkowski, Debbie; Butler, James; Kuo, Michelle S; Chang, Meiping; Chang, Man; Freeman, Darren; McQuay, Sarah; Patel, Jagruti; McGlashen, Michael; Cornell, Wendy D; Xu, Jinghai James

2016-05-01

External content sources such as MEDLINE(®), National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and conference websites provide access to the latest breaking biomedical information, which can inform pharmaceutical and biotechnology company pipeline decisions. The value of the sites for industry, however, is limited by the use of the public internet, the limited synonyms, the rarity of batch searching capability and the disconnected nature of the sites. Fortunately, many sites now offer their content for download and we have developed an automated internal workflow that uses text mining and tailored ontologies for programmatic search and knowledge extraction. We believe such an efficient and secure approach provides a competitive advantage to companies needing access to the latest information for a range of use cases and complements manually curated commercial sources. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

C-C1-04: Building a Health Services Information Technology Research Environment

PubMed Central

Gehrum, David W; Jones, JB; Romania, Gregory J; Young, David L; Lerch, Virginia R; Bruce, Christa A; Donkochik, Diane; Stewart, Walter F

2010-01-01

Background: The electronic health record (EHR) has opened a new era for health services research (HSR) where information technology (IT) is used to re-engineer care processes. While the EHR provides one means of advancing novel solutions, a promising strategy is to develop tools (e.g., online questionnaires, visual display tools, decision support) distinct from, but which interact with, the EHR. Development of such software tools outside the EHR offers an advantage in flexibility, sophistication, and ultimately in portability to other settings. However, institutional IT departments have an imperative to protect patient data and to standardize IT processes to ensure system-level security and support traditional business needs. Such imperatives usually present formidable process barriers to testing novel software solutions. We describe how, in collaboration with our IT department, we are creating an environment and a process that allows for routine and rapid testing of novel software solutions. Methods: We convened a working group consisting of IT and research personnel with expertise in information security, database design/management, web design, EHR programming, and health services research. The working group was tasked with developing a research IT environment to accomplish two objectives: maintain network/ data security and regulatory compliance; allow researchers working with external vendors to rapidly prototype and, in a clinical setting, test web-based tools. Results: Two parallel solutions, one focused on hardware, the second on oversight and management, were developed. First, we concluded that three separate, staged development environments were required to allow external vendor access for testing software and for transitioning software to be used in a clinic. In parallel, the extant oversight process for approving/managing access to internal/external personnel had to be altered to reflect the scope and scale of discrete research projects, as opposed to an enterpriselevel approach to IT management. Conclusions: Innovation in health services software development requires a flexible, scalable IT environment adapted to the unique objectives of a HSR software development model. In our experience, implementing the hardware solution is less challenging than the cultural change required to implement such a model and the modifications to administrative and oversight processes to sustain an environment for rapid product development and testing.

75 FR 80830 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Technology Transfer Center External Customer Satisfaction...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-23

... Request; Technology Transfer Center External Customer Satisfaction Survey (NCI) SUMMARY: In compliance...: Technology Transfer Center External Customer Satisfaction Survey (NCI). Type of Information Collection...: Obtain information on the satisfaction of TTC's external customers with TTC customer services; collect...

Data of ERPs and spectral alpha power when attention is engaged on visual or verbal/auditory imagery

PubMed Central

Villena-González, Mario; López, Vladimir; Rodríguez, Eugenio

2016-01-01

This article provides data from statistical analysis of event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and spectral power from 20 participants during three attentional conditions. Specifically, P1, N1 and P300 amplitude of ERP were compared when participant׳s attention was oriented to an external task, to a visual imagery and to an inner speech. The spectral power from alpha band was also compared in these three attentional conditions. These data are related to the research article where sensory processing of external information was compared during these three conditions entitled “Orienting attention to visual or verbal/auditory imagery differentially impairs the processing of visual stimuli” (Villena-Gonzalez et al., 2016) [1]. PMID:27077090

IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia (Interagency Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On June 1, 2012, the draft Toxicological Review of Ammonia and the draft charge to external peer reviewers were released for external peer review and public comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. Consistent with the May 2009 IRIS assessment development process, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices are made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the interagency science consultation materials provided to other agencies, including interagency review drafts of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Ammonia and the charge to external peer reviewers, are posted on this site. EPA is undertaking an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for ammonia. IRIS is an EPA database containing Agency scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure to chemicals in the environment. IRIS contains chemical-specific summaries of qualitative and quantitative health information in support of two steps of the risk assessment paradigm, i.e., hazard identification and dose-response evaluation. IRIS assessments are used in combination with specific situational exposure assessment information to evaluate potential public health risk associated with environmental contaminants.

IRIS Toxicological Review of n-Butanol (Interagency Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On September 8, 2011, the Toxicological Review of n-Butanol (External Review Draft) was released for external peer review and public comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. In the new IRIS process, introduced by the EPA Administrator, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments with EPA's response and the interagency science consultation draft of the IRIS Toxicological Review of n-Butanol and the charge to external peer reviewers are posted on this site. EPA is undertaking an Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for n-butanol. IRIS is an EPA database containing Agency scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure to chemicals in the environment. IRIS contains chemical-specific summaries of qualitative and quantitative health information in support of two steps of the risk assessment paradigm, i.e., hazard identification and dose-response evaluation. IRIS assessments are used in combination with specific situational exposure assessment information to evaluate potential public health risk associated with environmental contaminants.

Evoked Potential in Panic Disorder Patients: A Systematic Review.

PubMed

Di Giorgio, Luiza Medeiros Wanick; Velasques, Bruna Brandao; Ribeiro, Pedro; Nardi, Antonio Egidio; de Carvalho, Marcele Regine

2015-01-01

Researchers have been using the electroencephalogram to better understand the cognitive and neurobiological bases of panic disorder (PD) through the P300 component; this is an electric potential of the cerebral cortex that is generated in response to external sensorial stimuli and which involves more complex neurophysiological processes related to stimulus interpretation; it is then used to investigate possible alterations in the information processing and attention of patients suffering from this disorder. Aiming to verify the results found by experimental articles already published about P300 in PD patients and the information processing differences between PD patients and healthy controls, a systematic review of the PubMed and Institute for Scientific Information databases was conducted. The selection criterion involved those articles, written in English, which referred to an experimental research that focused on the P300 component, with a sample composed of PD (or panic attacks) patients. Seven articles were found that fit the selected criteria. Most of the articles show that these patients suffer from: impaired information processing and attention, an inability to automatically respond to new stimuli, and impaired interpretation of internal and external stimuli related to the disorder. Such impairment may be related to an unspecified dysfunction in the limbic-reticular structures, which would affect: active, focused and short-term attention, working and short-term memory, recognition and decision making. Some limitations were highlighted, such as the use of small samples and possible comorbidity with other disorders, which did not allow clearer results. This research can contribute to understand the neurobiological differences of PD patients and develop treatments based on such evidence.

Testing of information condensation in a model reverberating spiking neural network.

PubMed

Vidybida, Alexander

2011-06-01

Information about external world is delivered to the brain in the form of structured in time spike trains. During further processing in higher areas, information is subjected to a certain condensation process, which results in formation of abstract conceptual images of external world, apparently, represented as certain uniform spiking activity partially independent on the input spike trains details. Possible physical mechanism of condensation at the level of individual neuron was discussed recently. In a reverberating spiking neural network, due to this mechanism the dynamics should settle down to the same uniform/ periodic activity in response to a set of various inputs. Since the same periodic activity may correspond to different input spike trains, we interpret this as possible candidate for information condensation mechanism in a network. Our purpose is to test this possibility in a network model consisting of five fully connected neurons, particularly, the influence of geometric size of the network, on its ability to condense information. Dynamics of 20 spiking neural networks of different geometric sizes are modelled by means of computer simulation. Each network was propelled into reverberating dynamics by applying various initial input spike trains. We run the dynamics until it becomes periodic. The Shannon's formula is used to calculate the amount of information in any input spike train and in any periodic state found. As a result, we obtain explicit estimate of the degree of information condensation in the networks, and conclude that it depends strongly on the net's geometric size.

An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA has released an external review draft entitled, An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios(External Review Draft). The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the document. In addition to consideration by EPA, all public comments submitted in accordance with this notice will also be forwarded to EPA’s contractor for the external peer-review panel prior to the workshop. EPA has realeased this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency policy or determination. The purpose of this report is to describe an exploratory investigation of potential dioxin exposures to artists/hobbyists who use ball clay to make pottery and related products.

Hydrological externalities and livelihoods impacts: Informed communities for better resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddy, V. Ratna

2012-01-01

SummaryHydrological knowledge or information has mostly remained in the domain of scientific community. The communities that interact with the hydrological aspects such as groundwater and surface water on a day to day basis are hardly aware of the information that could critically influence their livelihoods. From the perspective of the communities' information pertaining to groundwater aquifer characters, potential to provide the water resource, surface groundwater interactions in varying geo-hydrological conditions are important. The 'public good' nature of the resources and their linkages with ecological systems gives rise to externalities that could be pervasive. In a number of countries, especially the developing countries, groundwater is the single largest source of drinking as well as irrigation water. In the absence of scientific information with the communities, extraction of groundwater resources for productive purposes has become a risky venture leading to adverse impacts on livelihoods. The externalities associated with over exploitation of groundwater resources and the resulting widespread well failure is identified as one of the main reasons for pushing farmers into debt trap and one of the reasons for farmer suicides in India. The negative externalities are increasingly becoming severe in the context of climate variability. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of hydrological information to the user communities from a socioeconomic perspective using a newly developed framework 'REDUCE' based on theories of effective communication. It shows, based on the evidence, how farming communities are getting affected in the absence of the basic hydrological information across socioeconomic groups. It is argued, using relevant information that the negative externalities could be mitigated to a large extent with proper dissemination of information among the communities and capacitating them to measure and use the information on their own. In order to make the hydrological information relevant and useful for the communities at the macro level, there are six key areas to be addressed viz., Resource (water), Estimation or Evaluation, Distribution, Users, Communication and Execution. Ground water extraction and use is associated with mostly negative externalities. Estimation methods and scale are not commensurate with the users' needs. The natural distribution pattern of the groundwater accentuates the inequalities in its access and use. These inequalities could be corrected through proper policy interventions that pave the way for treating the resources as a common pool resource instead of allowing it to be exploited like a private resource. That is, the hydrological resources ought to be brought under the management regime with the help of policy and governance structures. Users neither have the wherewithal to obtain the right kind of information nor the ability to manage the resource judiciously without institutional support. In this context the communication part of the process of groundwater management becomes important. The external agencies like the NGOs, scientists and policy makers and implementers have to interact and provide the right kind of information packaged to suit the needs of the users. Innovative execution of policies through evolution of institutional mechanisms and user involvement is key to the success of groundwater management.

The NCI Thesaurus quality assurance life cycle.

PubMed

de Coronado, Sherri; Wright, Lawrence W; Fragoso, Gilberto; Haber, Margaret W; Hahn-Dantona, Elizabeth A; Hartel, Francis W; Quan, Sharon L; Safran, Tracy; Thomas, Nicole; Whiteman, Lori

2009-06-01

The National Cancer Institute Enterprise Vocabulary Services (NCI EVS) uses a wide range of quality assurance (QA) techniques to maintain and extend NCI Thesaurus (NCIt). NCIt is a reference terminology and biomedical ontology used in a growing number of NCI and other systems that extend from translational and basic research through clinical care to public information and administrative activities. Both automated and manual QA techniques are employed throughout the editing and publication cycle, which includes inserting and editing NCIt in NCI Metathesaurus. NCI EVS conducts its own additional periodic and ongoing content QA. External reviews, and extensive evaluation by and interaction with EVS partners and other users, have also played an important part in the QA process. There have always been tensions and compromises between meeting the needs of dependent systems and providing consistent and well-structured content; external QA and feedback have been important in identifying and addressing such issues. Currently, NCI EVS is exploring new approaches to broaden external participation in the terminology development and QA process.

Acetylcholine molecular arrays enable quantum information processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamulis, Arvydas; Majauskaite, Kristina; Talaikis, Martynas; Zborowski, Krzysztof; Kairys, Visvaldas

2017-09-01

We have found self-assembly of four neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) molecular complexes in a water molecules environment by using geometry optimization with DFT B97d method. These complexes organizes to regular arrays of ACh molecules possessing electronic spins, i.e. quantum information bits. These spin arrays could potentially be controlled by the application of a non-uniform external magnetic field. The proper sequence of resonant electromagnetic pulses would then drive all the spin groups into the 3-spin entangled state and proceed large scale quantum information bits.

Computed tomographic features of the osseous structures of the external acoustic meatus, tympanic cavity, and tympanic bulla of llamas (Lama glama).

PubMed

Concha-Albornoz, Ismael; Stieger-Vanegas, Susanne M; Cebra, Christopher K

2012-01-01

To evaluate the osseous structures of the external acoustic meatus, tympanic cavity, and tympanic bulla of llamas (Lama glama) by use of computed tomography (CT) and establish measurement values for use in detection of abnormalities associated with the external or middle ear in llamas. 10 adult llama heads without any evidence of ear disease. Heads of 10 healthy llamas euthanized by use of a captive bolt striking the dorsal aspect of the skull were collected. Transverse images of the heads were acquired with 1-mm slice thickness, and images were reconstructed in sagittal and dorsal planes. Measurements of the bony structures of the external and middle ear of each head were obtained. The osseous external acoustic meatus curved ventrally as it tracked medially. Its narrowest portion was located at the level of the tympanic annulus. The tympanic bulla conformation differed widely from the bubble-shaped tympanic bulla in dogs and cats. The bulla was divided by the stylohyoid fossa into a larger caudolateral and a smaller caudomedial process; its interior had a honeycombed structure with pneumatized cells similar to the honeycombed appearance of the human mastoid process. Results provided new information regarding the shape and dimensions of the osseous external and middle ear structures in adult llamas without ear disease. Specific landmarks for location of the external acoustic meatus, tympanic cavity, and tympanic bulla in relation to each other were identified. Knowledge of the CT appearance of normal structures will help clinicians to identify changes attributable to middle ear otitis, external ear canal stenosis, or congenital malformations of the ear in this species.

Understanding self-assessment as an informed process: residents' use of external information for self-assessment of performance in simulated resuscitations.

PubMed

Plant, Jennifer L; Corden, Mark; Mourad, Michelle; O'Brien, Bridget C; van Schaik, Sandrijn M

2013-05-01

Self-directed learning requires self-assessment of learning needs and performance, a complex process that requires collecting and interpreting data from various sources. Learners' approaches to self-assessment likely vary depending on the learner and the context. The aim of this study was to gain insight into how learners process external information and apply their interpretation of this information to their self-assessment and learning during a structured educational activity. The study combined quantitative performance data with qualitative interview data. Pediatric residents led video-recorded simulated resuscitations and rated their crisis resource management skills on a validated 6-item instrument. Three independent observers rated the videos using the same instrument. During semi-structured interviews, each resident reviewed the video, rerated performance, discussed the self-assessment process, and interpreted feedback and observer scores. Transcripts were analyzed for themes. Sixteen residents participated. Residents' self-assessed scores ranged widely but usually fell within two points of the observers. They almost universally lowered their scores when self-assessing after the video review. Five major themes emerged from qualitative analysis of their interviews: (1) residents found self-assessment important and useful in certain contexts and conditions; (2) residents varied in their self-directed learning behaviors after the simulated resuscitation; (3) quantitative observer assessment had limited usefulness; (4) video review was difficult but useful; and (5) residents focused on their weaknesses and felt a need for constructive feedback to enhance learning. The residents in our study almost uniformly embraced the importance of self-assessment for all medical professionals. Even though video review had a negative impact on their self-assessment scores and was perceived as painful, residents saw this as the most useful aspect of the study exercises residents. They were less accepting of the quantitative assessment by observers. Residents explained their tendency to focus on weaknesses as a way to create an incentive for learning, demonstrating that self-assessment is closely linked to self-directed learning. How learners can use video review and external assessment most effectively to guide their self-directed learning deserves further study.

Investigating Students' Similarity Judgments in Organic Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graulich, N.; Bhattacharyya, G.

2017-01-01

Organic chemistry is possibly the most visual science of all chemistry disciplines. The process of scientific inquiry in organic chemistry relies on external representations, such as Lewis structures, mechanisms, and electron arrows. Information about chemical properties or driving forces of mechanistic steps is not available through direct…

Student Complainants--Vexatious or Vulnerable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Millward, Christine V.

2016-01-01

In December 2014, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) introduced the "Good practice framework for handling complaints and academic appeals" which will inform external judgement on each university's approach to conflict management from the current academic year 2015-2016. The framework aims to improve the complaint process for…

Adaptive plasticity in speech perception: Effects of external information and internal predictions.

PubMed

Guediche, Sara; Fiez, Julie A; Holt, Lori L

2016-07-01

When listeners encounter speech under adverse listening conditions, adaptive adjustments in perception can improve comprehension over time. In some cases, these adaptive changes require the presence of external information that disambiguates the distorted speech signals, whereas in other cases mere exposure is sufficient. Both external (e.g., written feedback) and internal (e.g., prior word knowledge) sources of information can be used to generate predictions about the correct mapping of a distorted speech signal. We hypothesize that these predictions provide a basis for determining the discrepancy between the expected and actual speech signal that can be used to guide adaptive changes in perception. This study provides the first empirical investigation that manipulates external and internal factors through (a) the availability of explicit external disambiguating information via the presence or absence of postresponse orthographic information paired with a repetition of the degraded stimulus, and (b) the accuracy of internally generated predictions; an acoustic distortion is introduced either abruptly or incrementally. The results demonstrate that the impact of external information on adaptive plasticity is contingent upon whether the intelligibility of the stimuli permits accurate internally generated predictions during exposure. External information sources enhance adaptive plasticity only when input signals are severely degraded and cannot reliably access internal predictions. This is consistent with a computational framework for adaptive plasticity in which error-driven supervised learning relies on the ability to compute sensory prediction error signals from both internal and external sources of information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Adaptive plasticity in speech perception: effects of external information and internal predictions

PubMed Central

Guediche, Sara; Fiez, Julie A.; Holt, Lori L.

2016-01-01

When listeners encounter speech under adverse listening conditions, adaptive adjustments in perception can improve comprehension over time. In some cases, these adaptive changes require the presence of external information that disambiguates the distorted speech signals, whereas in other cases mere exposure is sufficient. Both external (e.g. written feedback) and internal (e.g., prior word knowledge) sources of information can be used to generate predictions about the correct mapping of a distorted speech signal. We hypothesize that these predictions provide a basis for determining the discrepancy between the expected and actual speech signal that can be used to guide adaptive changes in perception. This study provides the first empirical investigation that manipulates external and internal factors through 1) the availability of explicit external disambiguating information via the presence or absence of post-response orthographic information paired with a repetition of the degraded stimulus, and 2) the accuracy of internally-generated predictions; an acoustic distortion is introduced either abruptly or incrementally. The results demonstrate that the impact of external information on adaptive plasticity is contingent upon whether the intelligibility of the stimuli permits accurate internally-generated predictions during exposure. External information sources enhance adaptive plasticity only when input signals are severely degraded and cannot reliably access internal predictions. This is consistent with a computational framework for adaptive plasticity in which error-driven supervised learning relies on the ability to compute sensory prediction error signals from both internal and external sources of information. PMID:26854531

Outline of Toshiba Business Information Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagata, Yoshihiro

Toshiba Business Information Center gathers and stores inhouse and external business information used in common within the Toshiba Corp., and provides companywide circulation, reference and other services. The Center established centralized information management system by employing decentralized computers, electronic file apparatus (30cm laser disc) and other office automation equipments. Online retrieval through LAN is available to search the stored documents and increasing copying requests are processed by electronic file. This paper describes the purpose of establishment of the Center, the facilities, management scheme, systematization of the files and the present situation and plan of each information service.

Simultaneous Classification and Multidimensional Scaling with External Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiers, Henk A. L.; Vicari, Donatella; Vichi, Maurizio

2005-01-01

For the exploratory analysis of a matrix of proximities or (dis)similarities between objects, one often uses cluster analysis (CA) or multidimensional scaling (MDS). Solutions resulting from such analyses are sometimes interpreted using external information on the objects. Usually the procedures of CA, MDS and using external information are…

76 FR 11498 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Generic Submission of Technology Transfer Center (TTC...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-02

...; Comment Request; Generic Submission of Technology Transfer Center (TTC) External Customer Satisfaction... Transfer Center (TTC) External Customer Satisfaction Surveys (NCI). Type of Information Collection Request... information on the satisfaction of TTC's external customers with TTC customer services; collect information of...

Using an Experimental Medicine Model to Explore Combination Effects of Pharmacological and Cognitive Interventions for Depression and Anxiety

PubMed Central

Browning, Michael; Grol, Maud; Ly, Verena; Goodwin, Guy M; Holmes, Emily A; Harmer, Catherine J

2011-01-01

Selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and cognitive therapies are effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression. Previous research suggests that both forms of treatments may work by altering cognitive biases in the processing of affective information. The current study assessed the effects of combining an SSRI with a cognitive intervention on measures of affective processing bias and resilience to external challenge. A total of 62 healthy participants were randomly assigned to receive either 7 days of citalopram (20 mg) or placebo capsules while also completing either an active or a control version of a computerized cognitive bias training task. After treatment, standard measures of affective processing bias were collected. Participants' resilience to external stress was also tested by measuring the increase in negative symptoms induced by a negative mood induction. Participants who received both citalopram and the active cognitive bias training task showed a smaller alteration in emotional memory and categorization bias than did those who received either active intervention singly. The degree to which memory for negative information was altered by citalopram predicted participants' resistance to the negative mood induction. These results suggest that co-administration of an SSRI and a cognitive training intervention can reduce the effectiveness of either treatment alone in terms of anxiety- and depression-relevant emotional processing. More generally, the findings suggest that pinpointing the cognitive actions of treatments may inform future development of combination strategies in mental health. PMID:21832988

Psychoanalytically Informed Teachers: The Need for Observational Training in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murray, Andrew

2016-01-01

Much of the professional development offered to school teachers centers on quantifiable aspects of teaching and learning that correlate to external inspection processes. Insufficient attention is given to the student-teacher relationship and the dynamics contained within; in more "challenging" schools, this is central to the progress of…

Emotion Dysregulation as a Mechanism Linking Stress Exposure to Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herts, Kate L.; McLaughlin, Katie A.; Hatzenbuehler, Mark L.

2012-01-01

Exposure to stress is associated with a wide range of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents, including aggressive behavior. Extant research examining mechanisms underlying the associations between stress and youth aggression has consistently identified social information processing pathways that are disrupted by exposure to…

Collaborative Provision Quality Assurance Isn't Just Red Tape …

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Claire; Thomas, Helen

2017-01-01

This paper discusses some research which was undertaken to explore perceptions around quality assurance within collaborative partnership (CP) working, from a range of internal and external stakeholders. The responses we received are being used to enhance policy and processes and inform the development of guidance materials to support all…

Environmental Scanning Activities at Public Research and Doctorate-Granting Universities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meixell, Joan M.

The study surveyed 134 institutions to determine if significant differences existed between public research and doctorate-granting universities concerning: (1) the most important external environmental areas to scan; and (2) the scanning activities that provide the most information for planning processes. A total of 105 responses (78%) was…

A Method to Assess Climate-Relevant Decisions: Application in the Chesapeake Bay (2010 External Review Draft)

EPA Science Inventory

The goal of this study is to formalize an approach to inventory and analyze management decisions in order to produce useful information targeted toward effective adaptation to climate change. The approach uses as its starting point ongoing planning processes and decisions geared ...

Field Dependence-Independence and Physical Activity Engagement among Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Wenhao; Chepyator-Thomson, Jepkorir Rose

2009-01-01

Background: Field dependence-independence (FDI) is a tendency to rely on external frames (given situations and authoritative people) or internal frames (oneself, including one's own body) for one's information processing and behavior. Literature has constantly reported that field-dependent (FD) individuals, who are less autonomous in…

An integrative health information systems approach for facilitating strategic planning in hospitals.

PubMed

Killingsworth, Brenda; Newkirk, Henry E; Seeman, Elaine

2006-01-01

This article presents a framework for developing strategic information systems (SISs) for hospitals. It proposes a SIS formulation process which incorporates complexity theory, strategic/organizational analysis theory, and conventional MIS development concepts. Within the formulation process, four dimensions of SIS are proposed as well as an implementation plan. A major contribution of this article is the development of a hospital SIS framework which permits an organization to fluidly respond to external, interorganizational, and intraorganizational influences. In addition, this article offers a checklist which managers can utilize in developing an SIS in health care.

External Control of Knowledge of Results: Learner Involvement Enhances Motor Skill Transfer.

PubMed

Figueiredo, L S; Ugrinowitsch, H; Freire, A B; Shea, J B; Benda, R N

2018-04-01

Providing the learner control over aspects of practice has improved the process of motor skill acquisition, and self-controlled knowledge of results (KR) schedules have shown specific advantages over externally controlled ones. A possible explanation is that self-controlled KR schedules lead learners to more active task involvement, permitting deeper information processing. This study tested this explanatory hypothesis. Thirty undergraduate volunteers of both sexes, aged 18 to 35, all novices in the task, practiced transporting a tennis ball in a specified sequence within a time goal. We compared a high-involvement group (involvement yoked, IY), notified in advance about upcoming KR trials, to self-controlled KR (SC) and yoked KR (YK) groups. The experiment consisted of three phases: acquisition, retention, and transfer. We found both IY and SC groups to be superior to YK for transfer of learning. Postexperiment participant questionnaires confirmed a preference for receiving KR after learner-perceived good trials, even though performance on those trials did not differ from performance on trials without KR. Equivalent IY and SC performances provide support for the benefits of task involvement and deeper information processing when KR is self-controlled in motor skill acquisition.

Organization of food protection behavior is differentially influenced by 192 IgG-saporin lesions of either the medial septum or the nucleus basalis magnocellularis

PubMed Central

Martin, Megan M.; Winter, Shawn S.; Cheatwood, Joseph L.; Carter, Lynniece A.; Jones, Jeana L.; Weathered, Scott L.; Wagner, Steven J.; Wallace, Douglas G.

2008-01-01

Converging lines of evidence have supported a role for the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NB) in attentional mechanisms; however, debate continues regarding the role of the medial septum in behavior (MS). Recent studies have supported a role for the septohippocampal system in the online processing of internally generated cues. The current study was designed to investigate a possible double dissociation in rat food protection behavior, a natural behavior that has been shown to depend on external and internal sources of information. The study examined the effects of intraparenchymal injections of 192 IgG-saporin into either the MS or NB on the organization of food protection behavior. NB cholinergic lesions reduced the number of successful food protection behaviors while sparing the temporal organization of food protection behavior. In contrast, MS cholinergic lesions disrupted the temporal organization of food protection behavior while sparing the ability to successfully protect food items. These observations are consistent with a double dissociation of NB and MS cholinergic systems' contributions to processing external and internal sources of information and provide further evidence for the septohippocampal system's involvement in processing internally generated cues. PMID:18823954

Head-up displays: Effect of information location on the processing of superimposed symbology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanford, Beverly D.; Foyle, David C.; Mccann, Robert S.; Jordan, Kevin

1993-01-01

Head-up display (HUD) symbology superimposes vehicle status information onto the external terrain, providing simultaneous visual access to both sources of information. Relative to a baseline condition in which the superimposed altitude indicator was omitted, altitude maintenance was improved by the presence of the altitude indicator, and this improvement was the same magnitude regardless of the position of the altitude indicator on the screen. However, a concurrent decifit in heading maintenance was observed only when the altitude indicator was proximal to the path information. These results did not support a model of the concurrent processing deficit based on an inability to attend to multiple locations in parallel. They are consistent with previous claims that the deficit is the product of attentional limits on subjects' ability to process two separate objects (HUD symbology and terrain information) concurrently. The absence of a performance tradeoff when the HUD and the path information were less proximal is attributed to a breaking of attentional tunneling on the HUD, possibly due to eye movements.

The modulation of EEG variability between internally- and externally-driven cognitive states varies with maturation and task performance

PubMed Central

Willatt, Stephanie E.; Cortese, Filomeno; Protzner, Andrea B.

2017-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that brain signal variability is an important measure of brain function reflecting information processing capacity and functional integrity. In this study, we examined how maturation from childhood to adulthood affects the magnitude and spatial extent of state-to-state transitions in brain signal variability, and how this relates to cognitive performance. We looked at variability changes between resting-state and task (a symbol-matching task with three levels of difficulty), and within trial (fixation, post-stimulus, and post-response). We calculated variability with multiscale entropy (MSE), and additionally examined spectral power density (SPD) from electroencephalography (EEG) in children aged 8–14, and in adults aged 18–33. Our results suggest that maturation is characterized by increased local information processing (higher MSE at fine temporal scales) and decreased long-range interactions with other neural populations (lower MSE at coarse temporal scales). Children show MSE changes that are similar in magnitude, but greater in spatial extent when transitioning between internally- and externally-driven brain states. Additionally, we found that in children, greater changes in task difficulty were associated with greater magnitude of modulation in MSE. Our results suggest that the interplay between maturational and state-to-state changes in brain signal variability manifest across different spatial and temporal scales, and influence information processing capacity in the brain. PMID:28750035

An information processing/associative learning account of behavioral disinhibition in externalizing psychopathology.

PubMed

Endres, Michael J; Donkin, Chris; Finn, Peter R

2014-04-01

Externalizing psychopathology (EXT) is associated with low executive working memory (EWM) capacity and problems with inhibitory control and decision-making; however, the specific cognitive processes underlying these problems are not well known. This study used a linear ballistic accumulator computational model of go/no-go associative-incentive learning conducted with and without a working memory (WM) load to investigate these cognitive processes in 510 young adults varying in EXT (lifetime problems with substance use, conduct disorder, ADHD, adult antisocial behavior). High scores on an EXT factor were associated with low EWM capacity and higher scores on a latent variable reflecting the cognitive processes underlying disinhibited decision-making (more false alarms, faster evidence accumulation rates for false alarms [vFA], and lower scores on a Response Precision Index [RPI] measure of information processing efficiency). The WM load increased disinhibited decision-making, decisional uncertainty, and response caution for all subjects. Higher EWM capacity was associated with lower scores on the latent disinhibited decision-making variable (lower false alarms, lower vFAs and RPI scores) in both WM load conditions. EWM capacity partially mediated the association between EXT and disinhibited decision-making under no-WM load, and completely mediated this association under WM load. The results underline the role that EWM has in associative-incentive go/no-go learning and indicate that common to numerous types of EXT are impairments in the cognitive processes associated with the evidence accumulation-evaluation-decision process. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

An information processing/associative learning account of behavioral disinhibition in externalizing psychopathology

PubMed Central

Endres, Michael J.; Donkin, Chris; Finn, Peter R.

2014-01-01

Externalizing psychopathology (EXT) is associated with low executive working memory (EWM) capacity and problems with inhibitory control and decision-making; however, the specific cognitive processes underlying these problems are not well known. This study used a linear ballistic accumulator computational model of go/no-go associative-incentive learning conducted with and without a working memory (WM) load to investigate these cognitive processes in 510 young adults varying in EXT (lifetime problems with substance use, conduct disorder, ADHD, adult antisocial behavior). High scores on an EXT factor were associated with low EWM capacity and higher scores on a latent variable reflecting the cognitive processes underlying disinhibited decision making (more false alarms, faster evidence accumulation rates for false alarms (vFA), and lower scores on a Response Precision Index (RPI) measure of information processing efficiency). The WM load increased disinhibited decision making, decisional uncertainty, and response caution for all subjects. Higher EWM capacity was associated with lower scores on the latent disinhibited decision making variable (lower false alarms, lower vFAs and RPI scores) in both WM load conditions. EWM capacity partially mediated the association between EXT and disinhibited decision making under no-WM load, and completely mediated this association under WM load. The results underline the role that EWM has in associative – incentive go/no-go learning and indicate that common to numerous types of EXT are impairments in the cognitive processes associated with the evidence accumulation – evaluation – decision process. PMID:24611834

78 FR 18253 - Request for Information on Evaluating New Products for the Battery Chargers and External Power...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-26

... Information on Evaluating New Products for the Battery Chargers and External Power Supply Rulemaking AGENCY... classes of battery chargers and external power supplies. Specifically, DOE seeks information on battery...) standards that became effective on February 1, 2013. DOE is actively reviewing battery chargers that have...

External micro-PIXE analysis of fluid inclusions: Test of the LABEC facility on samples of quartz veins from Apuan Alps (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massi, M.; Calusi, S.; Giuntini, L.; Ruggieri, G.; Dini, A.

2008-05-01

Fluid inclusions are small portions, usually smaller than 100 μm, of fluid trapped within minerals during or after growth. Their characteristics provide therefore fundamental information on nature and evolution of fluids present in the past in different geological environments. At the LABEC laboratory in Firenze, high-salinity fluid inclusions in quartz crystals, coming from the Apuan Alps metamorphic complex, were analysed at the external scanning microbeam. Results, although still preliminary, have already provided us with hints on fluid-rock interaction processes during the metamorphism of the Apuan Alps.

Information Processing Capacity of Dynamical Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dambre, Joni; Verstraeten, David; Schrauwen, Benjamin; Massar, Serge

2012-07-01

Many dynamical systems, both natural and artificial, are stimulated by time dependent external signals, somehow processing the information contained therein. We demonstrate how to quantify the different modes in which information can be processed by such systems and combine them to define the computational capacity of a dynamical system. This is bounded by the number of linearly independent state variables of the dynamical system, equaling it if the system obeys the fading memory condition. It can be interpreted as the total number of linearly independent functions of its stimuli the system can compute. Our theory combines concepts from machine learning (reservoir computing), system modeling, stochastic processes, and functional analysis. We illustrate our theory by numerical simulations for the logistic map, a recurrent neural network, and a two-dimensional reaction diffusion system, uncovering universal trade-offs between the non-linearity of the computation and the system's short-term memory.

Information Processing Capacity of Dynamical Systems

PubMed Central

Dambre, Joni; Verstraeten, David; Schrauwen, Benjamin; Massar, Serge

2012-01-01

Many dynamical systems, both natural and artificial, are stimulated by time dependent external signals, somehow processing the information contained therein. We demonstrate how to quantify the different modes in which information can be processed by such systems and combine them to define the computational capacity of a dynamical system. This is bounded by the number of linearly independent state variables of the dynamical system, equaling it if the system obeys the fading memory condition. It can be interpreted as the total number of linearly independent functions of its stimuli the system can compute. Our theory combines concepts from machine learning (reservoir computing), system modeling, stochastic processes, and functional analysis. We illustrate our theory by numerical simulations for the logistic map, a recurrent neural network, and a two-dimensional reaction diffusion system, uncovering universal trade-offs between the non-linearity of the computation and the system's short-term memory. PMID:22816038

Oxidation reactions of solid carbonaceous and resinous substances in supercritical water

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

Koda, S.

Recent kinetic studies, particularly those by means of shadowgraphy and X-ray radiography, for supercritical water oxidation of solid carbonaceous and resinous substances have revealed the importance of the O{sub 2} mass transfer process over the intrinsic surface reaction at higher temperatures. The mass transfer processes, internal and external one, should be incorporated in designing SCWO processes for solid substances and related processes such as catalytic SCWO. Some model calculation efforts of late are briefly described. Finally, fundamental information required for future development is itemed.

Beyond informed consent.

PubMed Central

Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.

2004-01-01

Although a relatively recent phenomenon, the role of informed consent in human research is central to its ethical regulation and conduct. However, guidelines often recommend procedures for obtaining informed consent (usually written consent) that are difficult to implement in developing countries. This paper reviews the guidelines for obtaining informed consent and also discusses prevailing views on current controversies, ambiguities and problems with these guidelines and suggests potential solutions. The emphasis in most externally sponsored research projects in developing countries is on laborious documentation of several mechanical aspects of the research process rather than on assuring true comprehension and voluntary participation. The onus for the oversight of this process is often left to overworked and ill-equipped local ethics review committees. Current guidelines and processes for obtaining informed consent should be reviewed with the specific aim of developing culturally appropriate methods of sharing information about the research project and obtaining and documenting consent that is truly informed. Further research is needed to examine the validity and user friendliness of innovations in information sharing procedures for obtaining consent in different cultural settings. PMID:15643799

Bayesian network prior: network analysis of biological data using external knowledge

PubMed Central

Isci, Senol; Dogan, Haluk; Ozturk, Cengizhan; Otu, Hasan H.

2014-01-01

Motivation: Reverse engineering GI networks from experimental data is a challenging task due to the complex nature of the networks and the noise inherent in the data. One way to overcome these hurdles would be incorporating the vast amounts of external biological knowledge when building interaction networks. We propose a framework where GI networks are learned from experimental data using Bayesian networks (BNs) and the incorporation of external knowledge is also done via a BN that we call Bayesian Network Prior (BNP). BNP depicts the relation between various evidence types that contribute to the event ‘gene interaction’ and is used to calculate the probability of a candidate graph (G) in the structure learning process. Results: Our simulation results on synthetic, simulated and real biological data show that the proposed approach can identify the underlying interaction network with high accuracy even when the prior information is distorted and outperforms existing methods. Availability: Accompanying BNP software package is freely available for academic use at http://bioe.bilgi.edu.tr/BNP. Contact: hasan.otu@bilgi.edu.tr Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:24215027

An Integrated Information System for Supporting Quality Management Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beyer, N.; Helmreich, W.

2004-08-01

In a competitive environment, well defined processes become the strategic advantage of a company. Hence, targeted Quality Management ensures efficiency, trans- parency and, ultimately, customer satisfaction. In the particular context of a Space Test Centre, a num- ber of specific Quality Management standards have to be applied. According to the revision of ISO 9001 dur- ing 2000, and due to the adaptation of ECSS-Q20-07, process orientation and data analysis are key tasks for ensuring and evaluating the efficiency of a company's processes. In line with these requirements, an integrated management system for accessing the necessary infor- mation to support Quality Management and other proc- esses has been established. Some of its test-related fea- tures are presented here. Easy access to the integrated management system from any work place at IABG's Space Test Centre is ensured by means of an intranet portal. It comprises a full set of quality-related process descriptions, information on test facilities, emergency procedures, and other relevant in- formation. The portal's web interface provides direct access to a couple of external applications. Moreover, easy updating of all information and low cost mainte- nance are features of this integrated information system. The timely and transparent management of non- conformances is covered by a dedicated NCR database which incorporates full documentation capability, elec- tronic signature and e-mail notification of concerned staff. A search interface allows for queries across all documented non-conformances. Furthermore, print ver- sions can be generated at any stage in the process, e.g. for distribution to customers. Feedback on customer satisfaction is sought through a web-based questionnaire. The process is initiated by the responsible test manager through submission of an e- mail that contains a hyperlink to a secure website, ask- ing the customer to complete the brief online form, which is directly fed to a database for subsequent evaluation by the Quality Manager. All such information can be processed and presented in an appropriate manner for internal or external audits, as well as for regular management reviews.

76 FR 54285 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; Clearance of Renewed Approval of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-31

...In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on June 21, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 119, page 36171. Information required from the public by 14 CFR part 133 is used by the FAA to process the operating certificate as a record of aircraft authorized for use, and to monitor Rotorcraft External-Load Operations.

External breast prostheses in post-mastectomy care: women's qualitative accounts.

PubMed

Gallagher, P; Buckmaster, A; O'Carroll, S; Kiernan, G; Geraghty, J

2010-01-01

A good-quality external breast prosthesis and prosthesis-fitting service is an integral part of the recovery process post-mastectomy. However, this is an area of care that has minimal information or research available. The aim of this research was to investigate women's experience of the provision, fitting, supply and use of breast prostheses in Ireland. To ascertain women's own personal and subjective experiences, five focus groups with 47 women recruited through national cancer advocacy/support organizations and four Follow-up Breast Clinics throughout Ireland were conducted. As a result, five main themes emerged: (1) The fitting experience--Fitting? (2) Post-mastectomy products--Having? (3) Cost--Affording? (4) Information--Knowing? and (5) Adaptation--Accepting? The emerging themes pinpointed the impact of the fitting experience, fitting environment and the qualities of a prosthesis fitter on a woman's experience in obtaining a first or replacement breast prosthesis; the importance of the physical characteristics of the prosthesis and mastectomy bras; cost, affordability and entitlements; a lack of and perceived difficulty in getting information; and the myriad of personal and social impacts of a breast prosthesis for the woman. These findings are integral for the development of standards of practice in the fitting and supply of external breast prostheses in post-mastectomy care.

IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl (Interagency Science ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On September 30, 2011, the draft Toxicological Review of Biphenyl and the charge to external peer reviewers were released for external peer review and public comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. In the new IRIS process (May 2009), introduced by the EPA Administrator, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices will be made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the interagency science consultation draft of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Biphenyl and the charge to external peer reviewers are posted on this site. EPA is undertaking a new health assessment for biphenyl for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). The outcome of this project will be a Toxicological Review and IRIS and IRIS Summary of biohenyl that will be entered on the IRIS database. IRIS is an EPA database containing Agency scientific positions on potential adverse human health effects that may result from chronic (or lifetime) exposure to chemicals in the environment. IRIS contains chemical-specific summaries of qualitative and quantitative health information to evaluate potential public health risks associated with exposure assessment information to evaluate potential public health risks associated with environmental contaminants. The IRIS database is relied on for the development of risk ass

A Study of Search Intermediary Working Notes: Implications for IR System Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spink, Amanda; Goodrum, Abby

1996-01-01

Reports findings from an exploratory study investigating working notes created during encoding and external storage (EES) processes by human search intermediaries (librarians at the University of North Texas) using a Boolean information retrieval (IR) system. Implications for the design of IR interfaces and further research is discussed.…

Perception as Abduction: Turning Sensor Data into Meaningful Representation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanahan, Murray

2005-01-01

This article presents a formal theory of robot perception as a form of abduction. The theory pins down the process whereby low-level sensor data is transformed into a symbolic representation of the external world, drawing together aspects such as incompleteness, top-down information flow, active perception, attention, and sensor fusion in a…

Computer Integrated Hardwood Processing

Treesearch

Luis G. Occeña; Daniel L. Schmoldt

1997-01-01

The planning of how the hardwood log can be sawn to improve recovery of high-value lumber has always been hampered by the limited information provided by external defects, and whatever internal defects are eventually revealed on the cut log faces by the sawing pattern. With expanded export and domestic markets, low-quality logs, increased competition from non-wood...

Clinically Significant Change to Establish Benchmarks in Residential Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Billingham, Daniel D.; Kelly, Peter J.; Deane, Frank P.; Crowe, Trevor P.; Buckingham, Mark S.; Craig, Fiona L.

2012-01-01

There is increasing emphasis on the use routine outcome assessment measures to inform quality assurance initiatives. The calculation of reliable and clinically significant change indices is one strategy that organizations could use to develop both internal and externally focused benchmarking processes. The current study aimed to develop reliable…

Bayesian statistics: estimating plant demographic parameters

Treesearch

James S. Clark; Michael Lavine

2001-01-01

There are times when external information should be brought tobear on an ecological analysis. experiments are never conducted in a knowledge-free context. The inference we draw from an observation may depend on everything else we know about the process. Bayesian analysis is a method that brings outside evidence into the analysis of experimental and observational data...

A Conceptual Model and Evaluation Process for Educational Technology Learning Resources: A Legal Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Jacquie; McPhail, Janelle; Maguire, Michael; Millett, Bruce

2004-01-01

The University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Australia, has more than 25 years experience in distributed education. More recently, USQ has embraced information and communication technologies to delivery learning resources in a more integrated and interactive environment to on-campus and external students. To understand the complex reactions of…

MEMS-based system and image processing strategy for epiretinal prosthesis.

PubMed

Xia, Peng; Hu, Jie; Qi, Jin; Gu, Chaochen; Peng, Yinghong

2015-01-01

Retinal prostheses have the potential to restore some level of visual function to the patients suffering from retinal degeneration. In this paper, an epiretinal approach with active stimulation devices is presented. The MEMS-based processing system consists of an external micro-camera, an information processor, an implanted electrical stimulator and a microelectrode array. The image processing strategy combining image clustering and enhancement techniques was proposed and evaluated by psychophysical experiments. The results indicated that the image processing strategy improved the visual performance compared with direct merging pixels to low resolution. The image processing methods assist epiretinal prosthesis for vision restoration.

Physiological regulation through learnt control of appetites by contingencies among signals from external and internal environments.

PubMed

Booth, David A

2008-11-01

As reviewed by [Cooper, S. J. (2008). From Claude Bernard to Walter Cannon: emergence of the concept of homeostasis. Appetite 51, 419-27.] Claude Bernard's idea of stabilisation of bodily states, as realised in Walter B. Cannon's conception of homeostasis, took mathematical form during the 1940s in the principle that externally originating disturbance of a physiological parameter can feed an informative signal around the brain to trigger counteractive processes--a corrective mechanism known as negative feedback, in practice reliant on feedforward. Three decades later, enough was known of the physiology and psychology of eating and drinking for calculations to show how experimentally demonstrated mechanisms of feedforward that had been learnt from negative feedback combine to regulate exchanges of water and energy between the body and the surroundings. Subsequent systemic physiology, molecular neuroscience and experimental psychology, however, have been traduced by a misconception that learnt controls of intake are 'non-homeostatic', the myth of biological 'set points' and an historic failure to address evidence for the ingestion-adapting information-processing mechanisms on which an operationally integrative theory of eating and drinking relies.

The external-internal loop of interference: Two types of attention and their influence on the learning abilities of mice

PubMed Central

Sauce, Bruno; Wass, Christopher; Smith, Andrew; Kwan, Stephanie; Matzel, Louis D.

2016-01-01

Attention is a component of the working memory system, and as such, is responsible for protecting task-relevant information from interference. Cognitive performance (particularly outside of the laboratory) is often plagued by interference, and the source of this interference, either external or internal, might influence the expression of individual differences in attentional ability. By definition, external attention (also described as “selective attention”) protects working memory against sensorial distractors of all kinds, while internal attention (also called “inhibition”) protects working memory against emotional impulses, irrelevant information from memory, and automatically-generated responses. At present, it is unclear if these two types of attention are expressed independently in non-human animals, and how they might differentially impact performance on other cognitive processes, such as learning. By using a diverse battery of four attention tests (with varying levels of internal and external sources of interference), here we aimed both to explore this issue, and to obtain a robust and general (less task-specific) measure of attention in mice. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two factors (external and internal attention) that in total, accounted for 73% of the variance in attentional performance. Confirmatory factor analyses found an excellent fit with the data of the model of attention that assumed an external and internal distinction (with a resulting correlation of 0.43). In contrast, a model of attention that assumed one source of variance (i.e., “general attention”) exhibited a poor fit with the data. Regarding the relationship between attention and learning, higher resistance against external sources of interference promoted better new learning, but tended to impair performance when cognitive flexibility was required, such as during the reversal of a previously instantiated response. The present results suggest that there can be (at least) two types of attention that contribute to the common variance in attentional performance in mice, and that external and internal attentions might have opposing influences on the rate at which animals learn. PMID:25452087

Mathematical model of information process of protection of the social sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novikov, D. A.; Tsarkova, E. G.; Dubrovin, A. S.; Soloviev, A. S.

2018-03-01

In work the mathematical model of information protection of society against distribution of extremist moods by means of impact on mass consciousness of information placed in media is investigated. Internal and external channels on which there is a dissemination of information are designated. The problem of optimization consisting in search of the optimum strategy allowing to use most effectively media for dissemination of antiterrorist information with the minimum financial expenses is solved. The algorithm of a numerical method of the solution of a problem of optimization is constructed and also the analysis of results of a computing experiment is carried out.

An integration of external information for foreign stallions into the Belgian genetic evaluation for jumping horses.

PubMed

Vandenplas, J; Janssens, S; Buys, N; Gengler, N

2013-06-01

The aim of this study was to test the integration of external information, i.e. foreign estimated breeding values (EBV) and the associated reliabilities (REL), for stallions into the Belgian genetic evaluation for jumping horses. The Belgian model is a bivariate repeatability Best Linear Unbiased Prediction animal model only based on Belgian performances, while Belgian breeders import horses from neighbouring countries. Hence, use of external information is needed as prior to achieve more accurate EBV. Pedigree and performance data contained 101382 horses and 712212 performances, respectively. After conversion to the Belgian trait, external information of 98 French and 67 Dutch stallions was integrated into the Belgian evaluation. Resulting Belgian rankings of the foreign stallions were more similar to foreign rankings according to the increase of the rank correlations of at least 12%. REL of their EBV were improved of at least 2% on average. External information was partially to totally equivalent to 4 years of contemporary horses' performances or to all the stallions' own performances. All these results showed the interest to integrate external information into the Belgian evaluation. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Scenes for Social Information Processing in Adolescence: Item and factor analytic procedures for psychometric appraisal.

PubMed

Vagos, Paula; Rijo, Daniel; Santos, Isabel M

2016-04-01

Relatively little is known about measures used to investigate the validity and applications of social information processing theory. The Scenes for Social Information Processing in Adolescence includes items built using a participatory approach to evaluate the attribution of intent, emotion intensity, response evaluation, and response decision steps of social information processing. We evaluated a sample of 802 Portuguese adolescents (61.5% female; mean age = 16.44 years old) using this instrument. Item analysis and exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic procedures were used for psychometric examination. Two measures for attribution of intent were produced, including hostile and neutral; along with 3 emotion measures, focused on negative emotional states; 8 response evaluation measures; and 4 response decision measures, including prosocial and impaired social behavior. All of these measures achieved good internal consistency values and fit indicators. Boys seemed to favor and choose overt and relational aggression behaviors more often; girls conveyed higher levels of neutral attribution, sadness, and assertiveness and passiveness. The Scenes for Social Information Processing in Adolescence achieved adequate psychometric results and seems a valuable alternative for evaluating social information processing, even if it is essential to continue investigation into its internal and external validity. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved.

Making the First Cut: An Analysis of Academic Medicine Editors' Reasons for Not Sending Manuscripts Out for External Peer Review.

PubMed

Meyer, Holly S; Durning, Steven J; Sklar, David P; Maggio, Lauren A

2018-03-01

Manuscripts submitted to Academic Medicine (AM) undergo an internal editor review to determine whether they will be sent for external peer review. Increasingly, manuscripts are rejected at this early stage. This study seeks to inform scholars about common reasons for internal editor review rejections, increase transparency of the process, and provide suggestions for improving submissions. A mixed-methods approach was used to retrospectively analyze editors' free-text comments. Descriptive content analysis was performed of editors' comments for 369 manuscripts submitted between December 2014 and December 2015, and rejected prior to external peer review from AM. Comments were analyzed, categorized, and counted for explicit reasons for rejection. Nine categories of rejection reasons were identified: ineffective study question and/or design (338; 92%); suboptimal data collection process (180; 49%); weak discussion and/or conclusions (139; 37%); unimportant or irrelevant topic to the journal's mission (137; 37%); weak data analysis and/or presentation of results (120; 33%); text difficult to follow, to understand (89; 24%); inadequate or incomplete introduction (67; 18%); other publishing considerations (42; 11%); and issues with scientific conduct (20; 5%). Manuscripts had, on average, three or more reasons for rejection. Findings suggest that clear identification of a research question that is addressed by a well-designed study methodology on a topic aligned with the mission of the journal would address many of the problems that lead to rejection through the internal review process. The findings also align with research on external peer review.

The impact of locus of control and priming on the endowment effect.

PubMed

Sun, Ya-Chung

2011-10-01

This paper demonstrates the effects of different priming conditions on the endowment effect with respect to seller and buyer roles for individuals with different loci of control. Individuals with an external locus of control process information less rationally, and they are more susceptible to external influences. In addition, the literature reports that when individuals are making a purchasing decision, they tend to perceive the value of the product as being higher because of its utility aspect because decision makers search for reasons and arguments to justify their choices (Shafir 1993; Tversky & Griffin, 1991). Therefore, this study investigates the effects of different priming conditions (utilitarian priming vs. hedonic priming) on the endowment effect according to each type of locus of control (internal vs. external). The results showed that the endowment effect was larger when externals were exposed to utilitarian priming as opposed to hedonic priming. Finally, the implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. © 2011 The Author. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

A resource for assessing information processing in the developing brain using EEG and eye tracking

PubMed Central

Langer, Nicolas; Ho, Erica J.; Alexander, Lindsay M.; Xu, Helen Y.; Jozanovic, Renee K.; Henin, Simon; Petroni, Agustin; Cohen, Samantha; Marcelle, Enitan T.; Parra, Lucas C.; Milham, Michael P.; Kelly, Simon P.

2017-01-01

We present a dataset combining electrophysiology and eye tracking intended as a resource for the investigation of information processing in the developing brain. The dataset includes high-density task-based and task-free EEG, eye tracking, and cognitive and behavioral data collected from 126 individuals (ages: 6–44). The task battery spans both the simple/complex and passive/active dimensions to cover a range of approaches prevalent in modern cognitive neuroscience. The active task paradigms facilitate principled deconstruction of core components of task performance in the developing brain, whereas the passive paradigms permit the examination of intrinsic functional network activity during varying amounts of external stimulation. Alongside these neurophysiological data, we include an abbreviated cognitive test battery and questionnaire-based measures of psychiatric functioning. We hope that this dataset will lead to the development of novel assays of neural processes fundamental to information processing, which can be used to index healthy brain development as well as detect pathologic processes. PMID:28398357

A resource for assessing information processing in the developing brain using EEG and eye tracking.

PubMed

Langer, Nicolas; Ho, Erica J; Alexander, Lindsay M; Xu, Helen Y; Jozanovic, Renee K; Henin, Simon; Petroni, Agustin; Cohen, Samantha; Marcelle, Enitan T; Parra, Lucas C; Milham, Michael P; Kelly, Simon P

2017-04-11

We present a dataset combining electrophysiology and eye tracking intended as a resource for the investigation of information processing in the developing brain. The dataset includes high-density task-based and task-free EEG, eye tracking, and cognitive and behavioral data collected from 126 individuals (ages: 6-44). The task battery spans both the simple/complex and passive/active dimensions to cover a range of approaches prevalent in modern cognitive neuroscience. The active task paradigms facilitate principled deconstruction of core components of task performance in the developing brain, whereas the passive paradigms permit the examination of intrinsic functional network activity during varying amounts of external stimulation. Alongside these neurophysiological data, we include an abbreviated cognitive test battery and questionnaire-based measures of psychiatric functioning. We hope that this dataset will lead to the development of novel assays of neural processes fundamental to information processing, which can be used to index healthy brain development as well as detect pathologic processes.

Modeling Common-Sense Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zak, Michail

This paper presents a methodology for efficient synthesis of dynamical model simulating a common-sense decision making process. The approach is based upon the extension of the physics' First Principles that includes behavior of living systems. The new architecture consists of motor dynamics simulating actual behavior of the object, and mental dynamics representing evolution of the corresponding knowledge-base and incorporating it in the form of information flows into the motor dynamics. The autonomy of the decision making process is achieved by a feedback from mental to motor dynamics. This feedback replaces unavailable external information by an internal knowledgebase stored in the mental model in the form of probability distributions.

Long-term information and distributed neural activation are relevant for the "internal features advantage" in face processing: electrophysiological and source reconstruction evidence.

PubMed

Olivares, Ela I; Saavedra, Cristina; Trujillo-Barreto, Nelson J; Iglesias, Jaime

2013-01-01

In face processing tasks, prior presentation of internal facial features, when compared with external ones, facilitates the recognition of subsequently displayed familiar faces. In a previous ERP study (Olivares & Iglesias, 2010) we found a visibly larger N400-like effect when identity mismatch familiar faces were preceded by internal features, as compared to prior presentation of external ones. In the present study we contrasted the processing of familiar and unfamiliar faces in the face-feature matching task to assess whether the so-called "internal features advantage" relies mainly on the use of stored face-identity-related information or if it might operate independently from stimulus familiarity. Our participants (N = 24) achieved better performance with internal features as primes and, significantly, with familiar faces. Importantly, ERPs elicited by identity mismatch complete faces displayed a negativity around 300-600 msec which was clearly enhanced for familiar faces primed by internal features when compared with the other experimental conditions. Source reconstruction showed incremented activity elicited by familiar stimuli in both posterior (ventral occipitotemporal) and more anterior (parahippocampal (ParaHIP) and orbitofrontal) brain regions. The activity elicited by unfamiliar stimuli was, in general, located in more posterior regions. Our findings suggest that the activation of multiple neural codes is required for optimal individuation in face-feature matching and that a cortical network related to long-term information for face-identity processing seems to support the internal feature effect. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation to sensory-motor reflex perturbations is blind to the source of errors.

PubMed

Hudson, Todd E; Landy, Michael S

2012-01-06

In the study of visual-motor control, perhaps the most familiar findings involve adaptation to externally imposed movement errors. Theories of visual-motor adaptation based on optimal information processing suppose that the nervous system identifies the sources of errors to effect the most efficient adaptive response. We report two experiments using a novel perturbation based on stimulating a visually induced reflex in the reaching arm. Unlike adaptation to an external force, our method induces a perturbing reflex within the motor system itself, i.e., perturbing forces are self-generated. This novel method allows a test of the theory that error source information is used to generate an optimal adaptive response. If the self-generated source of the visually induced reflex perturbation is identified, the optimal response will be via reflex gain control. If the source is not identified, a compensatory force should be generated to counteract the reflex. Gain control is the optimal response to reflex perturbation, both because energy cost and movement errors are minimized. Energy is conserved because neither reflex-induced nor compensatory forces are generated. Precision is maximized because endpoint variance is proportional to force production. We find evidence against source-identified adaptation in both experiments, suggesting that sensory-motor information processing is not always optimal.

Process connectivity in a naturally prograding river delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sendrowski, Alicia; Passalacqua, Paola

2017-03-01

River deltas are lowland systems that can display high hydrological connectivity. This connectivity can be structural (morphological connections), functional (control of fluxes), and process connectivity (information flow from system drivers to sinks). In this work, we quantify hydrological process connectivity in Wax Lake Delta, coastal Louisiana, by analyzing couplings among external drivers (discharge, tides, and wind) and water levels recorded at five islands and one channel over summer 2014. We quantify process connections with information theory, a branch of mathematics concerned with the communication of information. We represent process connections as a network; variables serve as network nodes and couplings as network links describing the strength, direction, and time scale of information flow. Comparing process connections at long (105 days) and short (10 days) time scales, we show that tides exhibit daily synchronization with water level, with decreasing strength from downstream to upstream, and that tides transfer information as tides transition from spring to neap. Discharge synchronizes with water level and the time scale of its information transfer compares well to physical travel times through the system, computed with a hydrodynamic model. Information transfer and physical transport show similar spatial patterns, although information transfer time scales are larger than physical travel times. Wind events associated with water level setup lead to increased process connectivity with highly variable information transfer time scales. We discuss the information theory results in the context of the hydrologic behavior of the delta, the role of vegetation as a connector/disconnector on islands, and the applicability of process networks as tools for delta modeling results.

Representation Elements of Spatial Thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiantika, F. R.

2017-04-01

This paper aims to add a reference in revealing spatial thinking. There several definitions of spatial thinking but it is not easy to defining it. We can start to discuss the concept, its basic a forming representation. Initially, the five sense catch the natural phenomenon and forward it to memory for processing. Abstraction plays a role in processing information into a concept. There are two types of representation, namely internal representation and external representation. The internal representation is also known as mental representation; this representation is in the human mind. The external representation may include images, auditory and kinesthetic which can be used to describe, explain and communicate the structure, operation, the function of the object as well as relationships. There are two main elements, representations properties and object relationships. These elements play a role in forming a representation.

[The balanced scorecard used as a management tool in a clinical laboratory: internal business processes indicators].

PubMed

Salinas La Casta, Maria; Flores Pardo, Emilio; Uris Selles, Joaquín

2009-01-01

to propose a set of indicators as a management tool for a clinical laboratory, by using the balanced scorecard internal business processes perspective. indicators proposed are obtained from different sources; external proficiency testing of the Valencia Community Government, by means of internal surveys and laboratory information system registers. One year testing process proportion indicators results are showed. internal management indicators are proposed (process, appropriateness and proficiency testing). The process indicators results show gradual improvement since its establishment. after one years of using a conceptually solid Balanced Scorecard Internal business processes perspective indicators, the obtained results validate the usefulness as a laboratory management tool.

Transition between Functional Regimes in an Integrate-And-Fire Network Model of the Thalamus

PubMed Central

Barardi, Alessandro; Mazzoni, Alberto

2016-01-01

The thalamus is a key brain element in the processing of sensory information. During the sleep and awake states, this brain area is characterized by the presence of two distinct dynamical regimes: in the sleep state activity is dominated by spindle oscillations (7 − 15 Hz) weakly affected by external stimuli, while in the awake state the activity is primarily driven by external stimuli. Here we develop a simple and computationally efficient model of the thalamus that exhibits two dynamical regimes with different information-processing capabilities, and study the transition between them. The network model includes glutamatergic thalamocortical (TC) relay neurons and GABAergic reticular (RE) neurons described by adaptive integrate-and-fire models in which spikes are induced by either depolarization or hyperpolarization rebound. We found a range of connectivity conditions under which the thalamic network composed by these neurons displays the two aforementioned dynamical regimes. Our results show that TC-RE loops generate spindle-like oscillations and that a minimum level of clustering (i.e. local connectivity density) in the RE-RE connections is necessary for the coexistence of the two regimes. We also observe that the transition between the two regimes occurs when the external excitatory input on TC neurons (mimicking sensory stimulation) is large enough to cause a significant fraction of them to switch from hyperpolarization-rebound-driven firing to depolarization-driven firing. Overall, our model gives a novel and clear description of the role that the two types of neurons and their connectivity play in the dynamical regimes observed in the thalamus, and in the transition between them. These results pave the way for the development of efficient models of the transmission of sensory information from periphery to cortex. PMID:27598260

Tunable External Cavity Quantum Cascade Lasers (EC-QCL): an application field for MOEMS based scanning gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grahmann, Jan; Merten, André; Ostendorf, Ralf; Fontenot, Michael; Bleh, Daniela; Schenk, Harald; Wagner, Hans-Joachim

2014-03-01

In situ process information in the chemical, pharmaceutical or food industry as well as emission monitoring, sensitive trace detection and biological sensing applications would increasingly rely on MIR-spectroscopic anal­ysis in the 3 μm - 12 μm wavelength range. However, cost effective, portable, low power consuming and fast spectrometers with a wide tuning range are not available so far. To provide these MIR-spectrometer properties, the combination of quantum cascade lasers with a MOEMS scanning grating as wavelength selective element in the external cavity is addressed to provide a very compact and fast tunable laser source for spectroscopic analysis.

Regularity in an environment produces an internal torque pattern for biped balance control.

PubMed

Ito, Satoshi; Kawasaki, Haruhisa

2005-04-01

In this paper, we present a control method for achieving biped static balance under unknown periodic external forces whose periods are only known. In order to maintain static balance adaptively in an uncertain environment, it is essential to have information on the ground reaction forces. However, when the biped is exposed to a steady environment that provides an external force periodically, uncertain factors on the regularity with respect to a steady environment are gradually clarified using learning process, and finally a torque pattern for balancing motion is acquired. Consequently, static balance is maintained without feedback from ground reaction forces and achieved in a feedforward manner.

A many-body dissipative particle dynamics study of forced water-oil displacement in capillary.

PubMed

Chen, Chen; Zhuang, Lin; Li, Xuefeng; Dong, Jinfeng; Lu, Juntao

2012-01-17

The forced water-oil displacement in capillary is a model that has important applications such as the groundwater remediation and the oil recovery. Whereas it is difficult for experimental studies to observe the displacement process in a capillary at nanoscale, the computational simulation is a unique approach in this regard. In the present work, the many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD) method is employed to simulate the process of water-oil displacement in capillary with external force applied by a piston. As the property of all interfaces involved in this system can be manipulated independently, the dynamic displacement process is studied systematically under various conditions of distinct wettability of water in capillary and miscibility between water and oil as well as of different external forces. By analyzing the dependence of the starting force on the properties of water/capillary and water/oil interfaces, we find that there exist two different modes of the water-oil displacement. In the case of stronger water-oil interaction, the water particles cannot displace those oil particles sticking to the capillary wall, leaving a low oil recovery efficiency. To minimize the residual oil content in capillary, enhancing the wettability of water and reducing the external force will be beneficial. This simulation study provides microscopic insights into the water-oil displacement process in capillary and guiding information for relevant applications. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Using time to investigate space: a review of tactile temporal order judgments as a window onto spatial processing in touch

PubMed Central

Heed, Tobias; Azañón, Elena

2014-01-01

To respond to a touch, it is often necessary to localize it in space, and not just on the skin. The computation of this external spatial location involves the integration of somatosensation with visual and proprioceptive information about current body posture. In the past years, the study of touch localization has received substantial attention and has become a central topic in the research field of multisensory integration. In this review, we will explore important findings from this research, zooming in on one specific experimental paradigm, the temporal order judgment (TOJ) task, which has proven particularly fruitful for the investigation of tactile spatial processing. In a typical TOJ task participants perform non-speeded judgments about the order of two tactile stimuli presented in rapid succession to different skin sites. This task could be solved without relying on external spatial coordinates. However, postural manipulations affect TOJ performance, indicating that external coordinates are in fact computed automatically. We show that this makes the TOJ task a reliable indicator of spatial remapping, and provide an overview over the versatile analysis options for TOJ. We introduce current theories of TOJ and touch localization, and then relate TOJ to behavioral and electrophysiological evidence from other paradigms, probing the benefit of TOJ for the study of spatial processing as well as related topics such as multisensory plasticity, body processing, and pain. PMID:24596561

Cochlea-inspired sensing node for compressive sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peckens, Courtney A.; Lynch, Jerome P.

2013-04-01

While sensing technologies for structural monitoring applications have made significant advances over the last several decades, there is still room for improvement in terms of computational efficiency, as well as overall energy consumption. The biological nervous system can offer a potential solution to address these current deficiencies. The nervous system is capable of sensing and aggregating information about the external environment through very crude processing units known as neurons. Neurons effectively communicate in an extremely condensed format by encoding information into binary electrical spike trains, thereby reducing the amount of raw information sent throughout a neural network. Due to its unique signal processing capabilities, the mammalian cochlea and its interaction with the biological nervous system is of particular interest for devising compressive sensing strategies for dynamic engineered systems. The cochlea uses a novel method of place theory and frequency decomposition, thereby allowing for rapid signal processing within the nervous system. In this study, a low-power sensing node is proposed that draws inspiration from the mechanisms employed by the cochlea and the biological nervous system. As such, the sensor is able to perceive and transmit a compressed representation of the external stimulus with minimal distortion. Each sensor represents a basic building block, with function similar to the neuron, and can form a network with other sensors, thus enabling a system that can convey input stimulus in an extremely condensed format. The proposed sensor is validated through a structural monitoring application of a single degree of freedom structure excited by seismic ground motion.

10 CFR 95.39 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Procedures Plan for the protection of classified information. (e) Security of classified information in... Section 95.39 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) FACILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.39 External...

10 CFR 95.39 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Procedures Plan for the protection of classified information. (e) Security of classified information in... Section 95.39 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) FACILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.39 External...

10 CFR 95.39 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Procedures Plan for the protection of classified information. (e) Security of classified information in... Section 95.39 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) FACILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.39 External...

10 CFR 95.39 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Procedures Plan for the protection of classified information. (e) Security of classified information in... Section 95.39 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) FACILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.39 External...

10 CFR 95.39 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Procedures Plan for the protection of classified information. (e) Security of classified information in... Section 95.39 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) FACILITY SECURITY CLEARANCE AND SAFEGUARDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION AND RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 95.39 External...

Making sense of health information technology implementation: A qualitative study protocol.

PubMed

Kitzmiller, Rebecca R; Anderson, Ruth A; McDaniel, Reuben R

2010-11-29

Implementing new practices, such as health information technology (HIT), is often difficult due to the disruption of the highly coordinated, interdependent processes (e.g., information exchange, communication, relationships) of providing care in hospitals. Thus, HIT implementation may occur slowly as staff members observe and make sense of unexpected disruptions in care. As a critical organizational function, sensemaking, defined as the social process of searching for answers and meaning which drive action, leads to unified understanding, learning, and effective problem solving -- strategies that studies have linked to successful change. Project teamwork is a change strategy increasingly used by hospitals that facilitates sensemaking by providing a formal mechanism for team members to share ideas, construct the meaning of events, and take next actions. In this longitudinal case study, we aim to examine project teams' sensemaking and action as the team prepares to implement new information technology in a tiertiary care hospital. Based on management and healthcare literature on HIT implementation and project teamwork, we chose sensemaking as an alternative to traditional models for understanding organizational change and teamwork. Our methods choices are derived from this conceptual framework. Data on project team interactions will be prospectively collected through direct observation and organizational document review. Through qualitative methods, we will identify sensemaking patterns and explore variation in sensemaking across teams. Participant demographics will be used to explore variation in sensemaking patterns. Outcomes of this research will be new knowledge about sensemaking patterns of project teams, such as: the antecedents and consequences of the ongoing, evolutionary, social process of implementing HIT; the internal and external factors that influence the project team, including team composition, team member interaction, and interaction between the project team and the larger organization; the ways in which internal and external factors influence project team processes; and the ways in which project team processes facilitate team task accomplishment. These findings will lead to new methods of implementing HIT in hospitals.

Discrete diffusion models to study the effects of Mg2+ concentration on the PhoPQ signal transduction system

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The challenge today is to develop a modeling and simulation paradigm that integrates structural, molecular and genetic data for a quantitative understanding of physiology and behavior of biological processes at multiple scales. This modeling method requires techniques that maintain a reasonable accuracy of the biological process and also reduces the computational overhead. This objective motivates the use of new methods that can transform the problem from energy and affinity based modeling to information theory based modeling. To achieve this, we transform all dynamics within the cell into a random event time, which is specified through an information domain measure like probability distribution. This allows us to use the “in silico” stochastic event based modeling approach to find the molecular dynamics of the system. Results In this paper, we present the discrete event simulation concept using the example of the signal transduction cascade triggered by extra-cellular Mg2+ concentration in the two component PhoPQ regulatory system of Salmonella Typhimurium. We also present a model to compute the information domain measure of the molecular transport process by estimating the statistical parameters of inter-arrival time between molecules/ions coming to a cell receptor as external signal. This model transforms the diffusion process into the information theory measure of stochastic event completion time to get the distribution of the Mg2+ departure events. Using these molecular transport models, we next study the in-silico effects of this external trigger on the PhoPQ system. Conclusions Our results illustrate the accuracy of the proposed diffusion models in explaining the molecular/ionic transport processes inside the cell. Also, the proposed simulation framework can incorporate the stochasticity in cellular environments to a certain degree of accuracy. We expect that this scalable simulation platform will be able to model more complex biological systems with reasonable accuracy to understand their temporal dynamics. PMID:21143785

Discrete diffusion models to study the effects of Mg2+ concentration on the PhoPQ signal transduction system.

PubMed

Ghosh, Preetam; Ghosh, Samik; Basu, Kalyan; Das, Sajal K; Zhang, Chaoyang

2010-12-01

The challenge today is to develop a modeling and simulation paradigm that integrates structural, molecular and genetic data for a quantitative understanding of physiology and behavior of biological processes at multiple scales. This modeling method requires techniques that maintain a reasonable accuracy of the biological process and also reduces the computational overhead. This objective motivates the use of new methods that can transform the problem from energy and affinity based modeling to information theory based modeling. To achieve this, we transform all dynamics within the cell into a random event time, which is specified through an information domain measure like probability distribution. This allows us to use the "in silico" stochastic event based modeling approach to find the molecular dynamics of the system. In this paper, we present the discrete event simulation concept using the example of the signal transduction cascade triggered by extra-cellular Mg2+ concentration in the two component PhoPQ regulatory system of Salmonella Typhimurium. We also present a model to compute the information domain measure of the molecular transport process by estimating the statistical parameters of inter-arrival time between molecules/ions coming to a cell receptor as external signal. This model transforms the diffusion process into the information theory measure of stochastic event completion time to get the distribution of the Mg2+ departure events. Using these molecular transport models, we next study the in-silico effects of this external trigger on the PhoPQ system. Our results illustrate the accuracy of the proposed diffusion models in explaining the molecular/ionic transport processes inside the cell. Also, the proposed simulation framework can incorporate the stochasticity in cellular environments to a certain degree of accuracy. We expect that this scalable simulation platform will be able to model more complex biological systems with reasonable accuracy to understand their temporal dynamics.

Making sense of health information technology implementation: A qualitative study protocol

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Implementing new practices, such as health information technology (HIT), is often difficult due to the disruption of the highly coordinated, interdependent processes (e.g., information exchange, communication, relationships) of providing care in hospitals. Thus, HIT implementation may occur slowly as staff members observe and make sense of unexpected disruptions in care. As a critical organizational function, sensemaking, defined as the social process of searching for answers and meaning which drive action, leads to unified understanding, learning, and effective problem solving -- strategies that studies have linked to successful change. Project teamwork is a change strategy increasingly used by hospitals that facilitates sensemaking by providing a formal mechanism for team members to share ideas, construct the meaning of events, and take next actions. Methods In this longitudinal case study, we aim to examine project teams' sensemaking and action as the team prepares to implement new information technology in a tiertiary care hospital. Based on management and healthcare literature on HIT implementation and project teamwork, we chose sensemaking as an alternative to traditional models for understanding organizational change and teamwork. Our methods choices are derived from this conceptual framework. Data on project team interactions will be prospectively collected through direct observation and organizational document review. Through qualitative methods, we will identify sensemaking patterns and explore variation in sensemaking across teams. Participant demographics will be used to explore variation in sensemaking patterns. Discussion Outcomes of this research will be new knowledge about sensemaking patterns of project teams, such as: the antecedents and consequences of the ongoing, evolutionary, social process of implementing HIT; the internal and external factors that influence the project team, including team composition, team member interaction, and interaction between the project team and the larger organization; the ways in which internal and external factors influence project team processes; and the ways in which project team processes facilitate team task accomplishment. These findings will lead to new methods of implementing HIT in hospitals. PMID:21114860

The Influence of Prior Knowledge on the Retrieval-Directed Function of Note Taking in Prior Knowledge Activation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wetzels, Sandra A. J.; Kester, Liesbeth; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.; Broers, Nick J.

2011-01-01

Background: Prior knowledge activation facilitates learning. Note taking during prior knowledge activation (i.e., note taking directed at retrieving information from memory) might facilitate the activation process by enabling learners to build an external representation of their prior knowledge. However, taking notes might be less effective in…

Your Mind Wanders Weakly, Your Mind Wanders Deeply: Objective Measures Reveal Mindless Reading at Different Levels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schad, Daniel J.; Nuthmann, Antje; Engbert, Ralf

2012-01-01

Time Factors (Learning);When the mind wanders, attention turns away from the external environment and cognitive processing is decoupled from perceptual information. Mind wandering is usually treated as a dichotomy (dichotomy-hypothesis), and is often measured using self-reports. Here, we propose the levels of inattention hypothesis, which…

An Assessment of Decision-Making Processes: The Feasibility of Incorporating Climate Change Information into Land Protection Planning (External Review Draft)

EPA Science Inventory

This report was prepared by the Global Change Research Program (GCRP) in the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) of the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This draft report is a review of decision-making pro...

Experimental Study of Short-Term Training in Social Cognition in Pre-Schoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houssa, Marine; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie; Jacobs, Emilie

2014-01-01

Using an experimental approach, our study examined the differentiated effects on pre-schoolers' social cognition of two short-term social information processing (SIP) and Theory of Mind (ToM) training sessions dealing with emotions and beliefs. The links between ToM, SIP, and social adjustment or externalizing behavior were examined. 47…

Mothers of Children with Externalizing Behavior Problems: Cognitive Risk Factors for Abuse Potential and Discipline Style and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElroy, Erika M.; Rodriguez, Christina M.

2008-01-01

Objective: Utilizing the conceptual framework of the Social Information Processing (SIP) model ([Milner, 1993] and [Milner, 2000]), associations between cognitive risk factors and child physical abuse risk and maladaptive discipline style and practices were examined in an at-risk population. Methods: Seventy-three mothers of 5-12-year-old…

Lateralization of spatial information processing in response monitoring

PubMed Central

Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Beste, Christian

2014-01-01

The current study aims at identifying how lateralized multisensory spatial information processing affects response monitoring and action control. In a previous study, we investigated multimodal sensory integration in response monitoring processes using a Simon task. Behavioral and neurophysiologic results suggested that different aspects of response monitoring are asymmetrically and independently allocated to the hemispheres: while efference-copy-based information on the motor execution of the task is further processed in the hemisphere that originally generated the motor command, proprioception-based spatial information is processed in the hemisphere contralateral to the effector. Hence, crossing hands (entering a “foreign” spatial hemifield) yielded an augmented bilateral activation during response monitoring since these two kinds of information were processed in opposing hemispheres. Because the traditional Simon task does not provide the possibility to investigate which aspect of the spatial configuration leads to the observed hemispheric allocation, we introduced a new “double crossed” condition that allows for the dissociation of internal/physiological and external/physical influences on response monitoring processes. Comparing behavioral and neurophysiologic measures of this new condition to those of the traditional Simon task setup, we could demonstrate that the egocentric representation of the physiological effector's spatial location accounts for the observed lateralization of spatial information in action control. The finding that the location of the physical effector had a very small influence on response monitoring measures suggests that this aspect is either less important and/or processed in different brain areas than egocentric physiological information. PMID:24550855

Asymmetric photon transport in organic semiconductor nanowires through electrically controlled exciton diffusion

PubMed Central

Cui, Qiu Hong; Peng, Qian; Luo, Yi; Jiang, Yuqian; Yan, Yongli; Wei, Cong; Shuai, Zhigang; Sun, Cheng; Yao, Jiannian; Zhao, Yong Sheng

2018-01-01

The ability to steer the flow of light toward desired propagation directions is critically important for the realization of key functionalities in optical communication and information processing. Although various schemes have been proposed for this purpose, the lack of capability to incorporate an external electric field to effectively tune the light propagation has severely limited the on-chip integration of photonics and electronics. Because of the noninteractive nature of photons, it is only possible to electrically control the flow of light by modifying the refractive index of materials through the electro-optic effect. However, the weak optical effects need to be strongly amplified for practical applications in high-density photonic integrations. We show a new strategy that takes advantage of the strong exciton-photon coupling in active waveguides to effectively manipulate photon transport by controlling the interaction between excitons and the external electric field. Single-crystal organic semiconductor nanowires were used to generate highly stable Frenkel exciton polaritons with strong binding and diffusion abilities. By making use of directional exciton diffusion in an external electric field, we have realized an electrically driven asymmetric photon transport and thus directional light propagation in a single nanowire. With this new concept, we constructed a dual-output single wire–based device to build an electrically controlled single-pole double-throw optical switch with fast temporal response and high switching frequency. Our findings may lead to the innovation of concepts and device architectures for optical information processing. PMID:29556529

Visual representation of spatiotemporal structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schill, Kerstin; Zetzsche, Christoph; Brauer, Wilfried; Eisenkolb, A.; Musto, A.

1998-07-01

The processing and representation of motion information is addressed from an integrated perspective comprising low- level signal processing properties as well as higher-level cognitive aspects. For the low-level processing of motion information we argue that a fundamental requirement is the existence of a spatio-temporal memory. Its key feature, the provision of an orthogonal relation between external time and its internal representation, is achieved by a mapping of temporal structure into a locally distributed activity distribution accessible in parallel by higher-level processing stages. This leads to a reinterpretation of the classical concept of `iconic memory' and resolves inconsistencies on ultra-short-time processing and visual masking. The spatial-temporal memory is further investigated by experiments on the perception of spatio-temporal patterns. Results on the direction discrimination of motion paths provide evidence that information about direction and location are not processed and represented independent of each other. This suggests a unified representation on an early level, in the sense that motion information is internally available in form of a spatio-temporal compound. For the higher-level representation we have developed a formal framework for the qualitative description of courses of motion that may occur with moving objects.

Building a culture of learning through organizational development: the experiences of the Marin County Health and Human Services Department.

PubMed

Lindberg, Arley; Meredith, Larry

2012-01-01

After determining a need for organizational change informed by changes in workforce demographics, community demographics, the socio-political and economic environment, and constraints on resources, one agency sought to transform its organizational culture into that of a learning organization. An external organizational development consultant was hired to work with agency leadership to identify ways that would help move the agency's culture towards one that was conducive to learning. Specifically, the agency director sought to create a culture where communication is encouraged both vertically and horizontally, frontline level workers are engaged and their voices heard, cross-departmental problem solving is practiced, innovative ideas are supported, and evidence-informed practice regularly implemented. This case study describes the experiences of this agency and the process taken toward engaging an external consultant and moving towards the development of a culture of learning. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

On the definition of the concepts thinking, consciousness, and conscience.

PubMed Central

Monin, A S

1992-01-01

A complex system (CS) is defined as a set of elements, with connections between them, singled out of the environment, capable of getting information from the environment, capable of making decisions (i.e., of choosing between alternatives), and having purposefulness (i.e., an urge towards preferable states or other goals). Thinking is a process that takes place (or which can take place) in some of the CS and consists of (i) receiving information from the environment (and from itself), (ii) memorizing the information, (iii) the subconscious, and (iv) consciousness. Life is a process that takes place in some CS and consists of functions i and ii, as well as (v) reproduction with passing of hereditary information to progeny, and (vi) oriented energy and matter exchange with the environment sufficient for the maintenance of all life processes. Memory is a complex of processes of placing information in memory banks, keeping it there, and producing it according to prescriptions available in the system or to inquiries arising in it. Consciousness is a process of realization by the thinking CS of some set of algorithms consisting of the comparison of its knowledge, intentions, decisions, and actions with reality--i.e., with accumulated and continuously received internal and external information. Conscience is a realization of an algorithm of good and evil pattern recognition. PMID:1631060

Brains are not just neurons. Comment on “Toward a computational framework for cognitive biology: Unifying approaches from cognitive neuroscience and comparative cognition” by Fitch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Ludwig

2014-09-01

This comment addresses the first component of Fitch's framework: the computational power of single neurons [3]. Although I agree that traditional models of neural computation have vastly underestimated the computational power of single neurons, I am hesitant to follow him completely. The exclusive focus on neurons is likely to underestimate the importance of other cells in the brain. In the last years, two such cell types have received appropriate attention by neuroscientists: interneurons and glia. Interneurons are small, tightly packed cells involved in the control of information processing in learning and memory. Rather than transmitting externally (like motor or sensory neurons), these neurons process information within internal circuits of the brain (therefore also called 'relay neurons'). Some specialized interneuron subtypes temporally regulate the flow of information in a given cortical circuit during relevant behavioral events [4]. In the human brain approx. 100 billion interneurons control information processing and are implicated in disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson's.

Computer image analysis in obtaining characteristics of images: greenhouse tomatoes in the process of generating learning sets of artificial neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaborowicz, M.; Przybył, J.; Koszela, K.; Boniecki, P.; Mueller, W.; Raba, B.; Lewicki, A.; Przybył, K.

2014-04-01

The aim of the project was to make the software which on the basis on image of greenhouse tomato allows for the extraction of its characteristics. Data gathered during the image analysis and processing were used to build learning sets of artificial neural networks. Program enables to process pictures in jpeg format, acquisition of statistical information of the picture and export them to an external file. Produced software is intended to batch analyze collected research material and obtained information saved as a csv file. Program allows for analysis of 33 independent parameters implicitly to describe tested image. The application is dedicated to processing and image analysis of greenhouse tomatoes. The program can be used for analysis of other fruits and vegetables of a spherical shape.

Views of Community Managers on Knowledge Co-creation in Online Communities for People With Disabilities: Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Rubinelli, Sara

2017-01-01

Background The use of online communities to promote end user involvement and co-creation in the product and service innovation process is well documented in the marketing and management literature. Whereas online communities are widely used for health care service provision and peer-to-peer support, only little is known about how they could be integrated into the health care innovation process. Objective The overall objective of this qualitative study was to explore community managers’ views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation in online communities for people with disabilities. Methods A descriptive qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine community managers. To complement the interview data, additional information was retrieved from the communities in the form of structural information (number of registered users, number and names of topic areas covered by the forum) and administrative information (terms and conditions and privacy statements, forum rules). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Our results highlight two main aspects: peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation and types of collaboration with external actors. Although community managers strongly encouraged peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation, our findings indicated that these activities were not common practice in the communities under investigation. In fact, much of what related to co-creation, prototyping, and product development was still perceived to be directed by professionals and experts. Community managers described the role of their respective communities as informing this process rather than a driving force. The role of community members as advisors to researchers, health care professionals, and businesses was discussed in the context of types of collaboration with external actors. According to the community managers, most of the external inquiries related to research projects of students or health care professionals in training, who often joined a community for the sole purpose of recruiting participants for their research. Despite this unilateral form of knowledge co-creation, community managers acknowledged the mere interest of these user groups as beneficial, as long as their interest was not purely financially motivated. Being able to contribute to advancing research, improving products, and informing the planning and design of health care services were described as some of the key motivations to engage with external stakeholders. Conclusions This paper draws attention to the currently under-investigated role of online communities as platforms for collaboration and co-creation between patients, health care professionals, researchers, and businesses. It describes community managers’ views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation and provides recommendations on how these activities can be leveraged to foster knowledge co-creation in health care. Engaging in knowledge co-creation with online health communities may ultimately help to inform the planning and design of products, services, and research activities that better meet the actual needs of those living with a disability. PMID:29017993

Views of Community Managers on Knowledge Co-creation in Online Communities for People With Disabilities: Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Amann, Julia; Rubinelli, Sara

2017-10-10

The use of online communities to promote end user involvement and co-creation in the product and service innovation process is well documented in the marketing and management literature. Whereas online communities are widely used for health care service provision and peer-to-peer support, only little is known about how they could be integrated into the health care innovation process. The overall objective of this qualitative study was to explore community managers' views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation in online communities for people with disabilities. A descriptive qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine community managers. To complement the interview data, additional information was retrieved from the communities in the form of structural information (number of registered users, number and names of topic areas covered by the forum) and administrative information (terms and conditions and privacy statements, forum rules). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Our results highlight two main aspects: peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation and types of collaboration with external actors. Although community managers strongly encouraged peer-to-peer knowledge co-creation, our findings indicated that these activities were not common practice in the communities under investigation. In fact, much of what related to co-creation, prototyping, and product development was still perceived to be directed by professionals and experts. Community managers described the role of their respective communities as informing this process rather than a driving force. The role of community members as advisors to researchers, health care professionals, and businesses was discussed in the context of types of collaboration with external actors. According to the community managers, most of the external inquiries related to research projects of students or health care professionals in training, who often joined a community for the sole purpose of recruiting participants for their research. Despite this unilateral form of knowledge co-creation, community managers acknowledged the mere interest of these user groups as beneficial, as long as their interest was not purely financially motivated. Being able to contribute to advancing research, improving products, and informing the planning and design of health care services were described as some of the key motivations to engage with external stakeholders. This paper draws attention to the currently under-investigated role of online communities as platforms for collaboration and co-creation between patients, health care professionals, researchers, and businesses. It describes community managers' views on and experiences with knowledge co-creation and provides recommendations on how these activities can be leveraged to foster knowledge co-creation in health care. Engaging in knowledge co-creation with online health communities may ultimately help to inform the planning and design of products, services, and research activities that better meet the actual needs of those living with a disability. ©Julia Amann, Sara Rubinelli. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 10.10.2017.

A multiscale forecasting method for power plant fleet management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hongmei

In recent years the electric power industry has been challenged by a high level of uncertainty and volatility brought on by deregulation and globalization. A power producer must minimize the life cycle cost while meeting stringent safety and regulatory requirements and fulfilling customer demand for high reliability. Therefore, to achieve true system excellence, a more sophisticated system-level decision-making process with a more accurate forecasting support system to manage diverse and often widely dispersed generation units as a single, easily scaled and deployed fleet system in order to fully utilize the critical assets of a power producer has been created as a response. The process takes into account the time horizon for each of the major decision actions taken in a power plant and develops methods for information sharing between them. These decisions are highly interrelated and no optimal operation can be achieved without sharing information in the overall process. The process includes a forecasting system to provide information for planning for uncertainty. A new forecasting method is proposed, which utilizes a synergy of several modeling techniques properly combined at different time-scales of the forecasting objects. It can not only take advantages of the abundant historical data but also take into account the impact of pertinent driving forces from the external business environment to achieve more accurate forecasting results. Then block bootstrap is utilized to measure the bias in the estimate of the expected life cycle cost which will actually be needed to drive the business for a power plant in the long run. Finally, scenario analysis is used to provide a composite picture of future developments for decision making or strategic planning. The decision-making process is applied to a typical power producer chosen to represent challenging customer demand during high-demand periods. The process enhances system excellence by providing more accurate market information, evaluating the impact of external business environment, and considering cross-scale interactions between decision actions. Along with this process, system operation strategies, maintenance schedules, and capacity expansion plans that guide the operation of the power plant are optimally identified, and the total life cycle costs are estimated.

[The compression and storage of enhanced external counterpulsation waveform based on DICOM standard].

PubMed

Hu, Ding; Xie, Shuqun; Yu, Donglan; Zheng, Zhensheng; Wang, Kuijian

2010-04-01

The development of external counterpulsation (ECP) local area network system and extensible markup language (XML)-based remote ECP medical information system conformable to digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) standard has been improving the digital interchangeablity and sharability of ECP data. However, the therapy process of ECP is a continuous and longtime supervision which builds a mass of waveform data. In order to reduce the storage space and improve the transmission efficiency, the waveform data with the normative format of ECP data files have to be compressed. In this article, we introduced the compression arithmetic of template matching and improved quick fitting of linear approximation distance thresholding (LADT) in combimation with the characters of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) waveform signal. The DICOM standard is used as the storage and transmission standard to make our system compatible with hospital information system. According to the rules of transfer syntaxes, we defined private transfer syntax for one-dimensional compressed waveform data and stored EECP data into a DICOM file. Testing result indicates that the compressed and normative data can be correctly transmitted and displayed between EECP workstations in our EECP laboratory.

Differential relations of executive functioning to borderline personality disorder presentations in adolescents.

PubMed

Kalpakci, Allison; Ha, Carolyn; Sharp, Carla

2018-05-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescents is highly complex and heterogeneous. Within the disorder, research has suggested the existence of at least two subgroups: one with predominantly internalizing psychopathology features and one with predominantly externalizing psychopathology features. One process that may differentiate these groups is executive functioning (EF), given that poor EF is linked to externalizing psychopathology. Against this background, the current study used a multi-informant approach to examine whether adolescent patients with predominantly externalizing BPD presentations experience greater deficits in EF than adolescent patients with predominantly internalizing presentations. The sample included inpatient adolescents ages 12-17 (M = 15.26; SD = 1.51). Analyses revealed that multiple EF domains distinguished the BPD subgroups. More specifically, adolescents with externalizing presentations exhibited greater difficulties in broad domains related to global executive functioning, metacognition and behavioural regulation and specific domains related to inhibitory control, working memory, planning/organizing, monitoring and organization of materials. While this study is the first to examine EF and adolescent BPD in the context of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, alternative approaches to examining this question are discussed. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Practice report: the process-based indicator dashboard. Visualising quality assurance results in standardised processes].

PubMed

Petzold, Thomas; Hertzschuch, Diana; Elchlep, Frank; Eberlein-Gonska, Maria

2014-01-01

Process management (PM) is a valuable method for the systematic analysis and structural optimisation of the quality and safety of clinical treatment. PM requires a high motivation and willingness to implement changes of both employees and management. Definition of quality indicators is required to systematically measure the quality of the specified processes. One way to represent comparable quality results is the use of quality indicators of the external quality assurance in accordance with Sect. 137 SGB V—a method which the Federal Joint Committee (GBA) and the institutions commissioned by the GBA have employed and consistently enhanced for more than ten years. Information on the quality of inpatient treatment is available for 30 defined subjects throughout Germany. The combination of specified processes with quality indicators is beneficial for the information of employees. A process-based indicator dashboard provides essential information about the treatment process. These can be used for process analysis. In a continuous consideration of these indicator results values can be determined and errors will be remedied quickly. If due consideration is given to these indicators, they can be used for benchmarking to identify potential process improvements. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Verbalization and imagery in the process of formation of operator labor skills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mistyuk, V. V.

1975-01-01

Sensorimotor control tests show that mastering operational skills occurs under conditions that stimulate the operator to independent active analysis and summarization of current information with the goal of clarifying the signs and the integral images that are a model of the situation. Goal directed determination of such an image requires inner and external speech, activates and improves the thinking of the operator, accelerates the training process, increases its effectiveness, and enables the formation of strategies in anticipating the course of events.

Towards explaining spatial touch perception: Weighted integration of multiple location codes

PubMed Central

Badde, Stephanie; Heed, Tobias

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Touch is bound to the skin – that is, to the boundaries of the body. Yet, the activity of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex just mirrors the spatial distribution of the sensors across the skin. To determine the location of a tactile stimulus on the body, the body's spatial layout must be considered. Moreover, to relate touch to the external world, body posture has to be evaluated. In this review, we argue that posture is incorporated, by default, for any tactile stimulus. However, the relevance of the external location and, thus, its expression in behaviour, depends on various sensory and cognitive factors. Together, these factors imply that an external representation of touch dominates over the skin-based, anatomical when our focus is on the world rather than on our own body. We conclude that touch localization is a reconstructive process that is adjusted to the context while maintaining all available spatial information. PMID:27327353

Markets, Herding and Response to External Information.

PubMed

Carro, Adrián; Toral, Raúl; San Miguel, Maxi

2015-01-01

We focus on the influence of external sources of information upon financial markets. In particular, we develop a stochastic agent-based market model characterized by a certain herding behavior as well as allowing traders to be influenced by an external dynamic signal of information. This signal can be interpreted as a time-varying advertising, public perception or rumor, in favor or against one of two possible trading behaviors, thus breaking the symmetry of the system and acting as a continuously varying exogenous shock. As an illustration, we use a well-known German Indicator of Economic Sentiment as information input and compare our results with Germany's leading stock market index, the DAX, in order to calibrate some of the model parameters. We study the conditions for the ensemble of agents to more accurately follow the information input signal. The response of the system to the external information is maximal for an intermediate range of values of a market parameter, suggesting the existence of three different market regimes: amplification, precise assimilation and undervaluation of incoming information.

The impact of residency match information disseminated by a third-party website.

PubMed

Kutikov, Alexander; Morgan, Todd M; Resnick, Matthew J

2009-01-01

Over the past 10 years, a dramatic shift has occurred toward web-based applications and information dissemination both for medical students applying to residency programs and for current housestaff seeking specialty-specific information. This shift has been witnessed in urology with adoption of the Internet-based Electronic Residency Application Service for residency application submission. Currently, most residency programs devote significant attention to developing and maintaining an attractive web page, as studies have suggested departmental websites may impact applicants' decisions regarding residency preference lists.(1,2) Recently, some third-party websites have been established to provide information to medical students and residents in a variety of specialties. No studies are available that evaluate the impact of these external websites on residency decision making. In 2003, a website under the domain name www.UrologyMatch.com was created by 2 coauthors (A.K. and T.M.M.) with the purpose of assisting medical students through the American Urological Association (AUA) match process. Additionally, by providing a discussion forum for students, residents, and faculty, it sought to aid with the dissemination of information between urology programs and applicants. The website has been gradually expanded to provide educational content for urology trainees at a wide range of levels. Components of the website include an introduction to the field of urology, a detailed description of the match process, an "expert advice" section from urologic leaders, a library of relevant Internet links, a digital surgical atlas, and program-specific questionnaire responses provided by residency directors and department chairs. A discussion board providing an uncensored forum for visitors is integrated into the website to aid with the dissemination of information between and among urology programs, residents, and applicants. The high usage of this site has suggested that external websites may have a marked impact on the residency application process. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the role of www.UrologyMatch.com in the AUA match process. During the 2007-2008 urology residency match, we evaluated whether information disseminated through the website influenced medical students' decisions to enter the field of urology and whether this information factored into the generation of residency preference lists. We hypothesized that information on this website played a significant role in decision making throughout the urology residency match experience.

Harnessing the wandering mind: the role of perceptual load.

PubMed

Forster, Sophie; Lavie, Nilli

2009-06-01

Perceptual load is a key determinant of distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli (e.g., Lavie, N. (2005). Distracted and confused?: Selective attention under load. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 75-82). Here we establish the role of perceptual load in determining an internal form of distraction by task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs or "mind-wandering"). Four experiments demonstrated reduced frequency of TUTs with high compared to low perceptual load in a visual-search task. Alternative accounts in terms of increased demands on responses, verbal working memory or motivation were ruled out and clear effects of load were found for unintentional TUTs. Individual differences in load effects on internal (TUTs) and external (response-competition) distractors were correlated. These results suggest that exhausting attentional capacity in task-relevant processing under high perceptual load can reduce processing of task-irrelevant information from external and internal sources alike.

Mexican-origin Early Adolescents' Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity, and Psychosocial Functioning.

PubMed

Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; O'Donnell, Megan; Knight, George P; Roosa, Mark W; Berkel, Cady; Nair, Rajni

2014-02-01

The current study examined how parental ethnic socialization informed adolescents' ethnic identity development and, in turn, youths' psychosocial functioning (i.e., mental health, social competence, academic efficacy, externalizing behaviors) among 749 Mexican-origin families. In addition, school ethnic composition was examined as a moderator of these associations. Findings indicated that mothers' and fathers' ethnic socialization were significant longitudinal predictors of adolescents' ethnic identity, although fathers' ethnic socialization interacted significantly with youths' school ethnic composition in 5 th grade to influence ethnic identity in 7 th grade. Furthermore, adolescents' ethnic identity was significantly associated with increased academic self-efficacy and social competence, and decreased depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Findings support theoretical predictions regarding the central role parents play in Mexican-origin adolescents' normative developmental processes and adjustment and, importantly, underscore the need to consider variability that is introduced into these processes by features of the social context such as school ethnic composition.

Modulation of the brain's functional network architecture in the transition from wake to sleep

PubMed Central

Larson-Prior, Linda J.; Power, Jonathan D.; Vincent, Justin L.; Nolan, Tracy S.; Coalson, Rebecca S.; Zempel, John; Snyder, Abraham Z.; Schlaggar, Bradley L.; Raichle, Marcus E.; Petersen, Steven E.

2013-01-01

The transition from quiet wakeful rest to sleep represents a period over which attention to the external environment fades. Neuroimaging methodologies have provided much information on the shift in neural activity patterns in sleep, but the dynamic restructuring of human brain networks in the transitional period from wake to sleep remains poorly understood. Analysis of electrophysiological measures and functional network connectivity of these early transitional states shows subtle shifts in network architecture that are consistent with reduced external attentiveness and increased internal and self-referential processing. Further, descent to sleep is accompanied by the loss of connectivity in anterior and posterior portions of the default-mode network and more locally organized global network architecture. These data clarify the complex and dynamic nature of the transitional period between wake and sleep and suggest the need for more studies investigating the dynamics of these processes. PMID:21854969

A DNA-based molecular motor that can navigate a network of tracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wickham, Shelley F. J.; Bath, Jonathan; Katsuda, Yousuke; Endo, Masayuki; Hidaka, Kumi; Sugiyama, Hiroshi; Turberfield, Andrew J.

2012-03-01

Synthetic molecular motors can be fuelled by the hydrolysis or hybridization of DNA. Such motors can move autonomously and programmably, and long-range transport has been observed on linear tracks. It has also been shown that DNA systems can compute. Here, we report a synthetic DNA-based system that integrates long-range transport and information processing. We show that the path of a motor through a network of tracks containing four possible routes can be programmed using instructions that are added externally or carried by the motor itself. When external control is used we find that 87% of the motors follow the correct path, and when internal control is used 71% of the motors follow the correct path. Programmable motion will allow the development of computing networks, molecular systems that can sort and process cargoes according to instructions that they carry, and assembly lines that can be reconfigured dynamically in response to changing demands.

Mexican-origin Early Adolescents’ Ethnic Socialization, Ethnic Identity, and Psychosocial Functioning

PubMed Central

Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.; O’Donnell, Megan; Knight, George P.; Roosa, Mark W.; Berkel, Cady; Nair, Rajni

2013-01-01

The current study examined how parental ethnic socialization informed adolescents’ ethnic identity development and, in turn, youths’ psychosocial functioning (i.e., mental health, social competence, academic efficacy, externalizing behaviors) among 749 Mexican-origin families. In addition, school ethnic composition was examined as a moderator of these associations. Findings indicated that mothers’ and fathers’ ethnic socialization were significant longitudinal predictors of adolescents’ ethnic identity, although fathers’ ethnic socialization interacted significantly with youths’ school ethnic composition in 5th grade to influence ethnic identity in 7th grade. Furthermore, adolescents’ ethnic identity was significantly associated with increased academic self-efficacy and social competence, and decreased depressive symptoms and externalizing behaviors. Findings support theoretical predictions regarding the central role parents play in Mexican-origin adolescents’ normative developmental processes and adjustment and, importantly, underscore the need to consider variability that is introduced into these processes by features of the social context such as school ethnic composition. PMID:24465033

Assessment of readiness for clinical decision support to aid laboratory monitoring of immunosuppressive care at U.S. liver transplant centers.

PubMed

Jacobs, J; Weir, C; Evans, R S; Staes, C

2014-01-01

Following liver transplantation, patients require lifelong immunosuppressive care and monitoring. Computerized clinical decision support (CDS) has been shown to improve post-transplant immunosuppressive care processes and outcomes. The readiness of transplant information systems to implement computerized CDS to support post-transplant care is unknown. a) Describe the current clinical information system functionality and manual and automated processes for laboratory monitoring of immunosuppressive care, b) describe the use of guidelines that may be used to produce computable logic and the use of computerized alerts to support guideline adherence, and c) explore barriers to implementation of CDS in U.S. liver transplant centers. We developed a web-based survey using cognitive interviewing techniques. We surveyed 119 U.S. transplant programs that performed at least five liver transplantations per year during 2010-2012. Responses were summarized using descriptive analyses; barriers were identified using qualitative methods. Respondents from 80 programs (67% response rate) completed the survey. While 98% of programs reported having an electronic health record (EHR), all programs used paper-based manual processes to receive or track immunosuppressive laboratory results. Most programs (85%) reported that 30% or more of their patients used external laboratories for routine testing. Few programs (19%) received most external laboratory results as discrete data via electronic interfaces while most (80%) manually entered laboratory results into the EHR; less than half (42%) could integrate internal and external laboratory results. Nearly all programs had guidelines regarding pre-specified target ranges (92%) or testing schedules (97%) for managing immunosuppressive care. Few programs used computerized alerting to notify transplant coordinators of out-of-range (27%) or overdue laboratory results (20%). Use of EHRs is common, yet all liver transplant programs were largely dependent on manual paper-based processes to monitor immunosuppression for post-liver transplant patients. Similar immunosuppression guidelines provide opportunities for sharing CDS once integrated laboratory data are available.

Specific factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities.

PubMed

Potančok, Martin; Voříšek, Jiří

2016-09-01

Healthcare facilities use a number of information system/information and communication technologies. Each healthcare facility faces a need to choose sourcing strategies most suitable to ensure provision of information system/information and communication technology services, processes and resources. Currently, it is possible to observe an expansion of sourcing possibilities in healthcare informatics, which creates new requirements for sourcing strategies. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities. The identification was based on qualitative research, namely, a case study. This study provides a set of internal and external factors with their impact levels. The findings also show that not enough attention is paid to these factors during decision-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

Knowledge Interaction Design for Creative Knowledge Work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakakoji, Kumiyo; Yamamoto, Yasuhiro

This paper describes our approach for the development of application systems for creative knowledge work, particularly for early stages of information design tasks. Being a cognitive tool serving as a means of externalization, an application system affects how the user is engaged in the creative process through its visual interaction design. Knowledge interaction design described in this paper is a framework where a set of application systems for different information design domains are developed based on an interaction model, which is designed for a particular model of a thinking process. We have developed two sets of application systems using the knowledge interaction design framework: one includes systems for linear information design, such as writing, movie-editing, and video-analysis; the other includes systems for network information design, such as file-system navigation and hypertext authoring. Our experience shows that the resulting systems encourage users to follow a certain cognitive path through graceful user experience.

RAYSAW: a log sawing simulator for 3D laser-scanned hardwood logs

Treesearch

R. Edward Thomas

2013-01-01

Laser scanning of hardwood logs provides detailed high-resolution imagery of log surfaces. Characteristics such as sweep, taper, and crook, as well as most surface defects, are visible to the eye in the scan data. In addition, models have been developed that predict interior knot size and position based on external defect information. Computerized processing of...

Exposure to violence, social information processing, and problem behavior in preschool children.

PubMed

Ziv, Yair

2012-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms by which early risk factors for social maladjustment contribute to disruptive behaviors in social settings is vital to developmental research and practice. A major risk factor for social maladjustment is early exposure to violence, which was examined in this short-term longitudinal study in relation to social information processing (SIP) patterns and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in a sample of 256 preschool children. Data on exposure to violence were obtained via parent report, data on SIP were obtained via child interview, and data on child problem behavior were obtained via teacher report. Findings supported the hypothesis that, compared to children not exposed to violence, children reported to witness and/or experience violence are more likely to attribute hostile intent to peers, generate aggressive responses, and evaluate socially unaccepted responses (aggressive and inept) as socially suitable. The former were also found to exhibit higher levels of externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Finally, SIP mediated the link between exposure to violence and problem behavior thus supporting this study's general approach, which argues that the link between exposure to violence and children's problem behaviors are better understood within the context of their perceptions about social relationships. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Web Monitoring of EOS Front-End Ground Operations, Science Downlinks and Level 0 Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cordier, Guy R.; Wilkinson, Chris; McLemore, Bruce

2008-01-01

This paper addresses the efforts undertaken and the technology deployed to aggregate and distribute the metadata characterizing the real-time operations associated with NASA Earth Observing Systems (EOS) high-rate front-end systems and the science data collected at multiple ground stations and forwarded to the Goddard Space Flight Center for level 0 processing. Station operators, mission project management personnel, spacecraft flight operations personnel and data end-users for various EOS missions can retrieve the information at any time from any location having access to the internet. The users are distributed and the EOS systems are distributed but the centralized metadata accessed via an external web server provide an effective global and detailed view of the enterprise-wide events as they are happening. The data-driven architecture and the implementation of applied middleware technology, open source database, open source monitoring tools, and external web server converge nicely to fulfill the various needs of the enterprise. The timeliness and content of the information provided are key to making timely and correct decisions which reduce project risk and enhance overall customer satisfaction. The authors discuss security measures employed to limit access of data to authorized users only.

Home Page: NYS Government Information Locator Service: New York State

Science.gov Websites

Constitution external link - from the New York State Department of State NYS Judicial System (NYS Unified Courts System) Unified Court System external link - the main resource for information about New York's decisions of the New York courts in the Official Reports. The searchable Legal Research Portal external link

77 FR 44613 - Notice of Availability of the External Review Draft of Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-30

... External Review Draft of Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment To Inform Decision Making AGENCY: U.S... external review draft of ``A Framework for Human Health Risk Assessment to Inform Decision Making.'' This... a framework for conducting human health risk assessments that are responsive to the needs of...

[Quality management and consumer orientation: survey of referring pediatricians of a Berlin pediatric clinic].

PubMed

Lüthy, A; Lotze, I; Leiske, M; Rossi, R

2000-01-01

Quality management in hospitals not only includes performance according to international medical standards but also the optimization of processes regarding internal staff as well as external customers. Total Quality Management (TQM) and the Business Excellence Model of the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) require continuous evaluation of customer satisfaction. Specialists and family physician as external customers influence the patient's choice of a hospital. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the satisfaction of admitting physicians of a children's hospital with the help of a questionnaire. The results describe their needs and their level of satisfaction regarding service, information, cooperation and communication within the hospital.

The external-internal loop of interference: two types of attention and their influence on the learning abilities of mice.

PubMed

Sauce, Bruno; Wass, Christopher; Smith, Andrew; Kwan, Stephanie; Matzel, Louis D

2014-12-01

Attention is a component of the working memory system, and is responsible for protecting task-relevant information from interference. Cognitive performance (particularly outside of the laboratory) is often plagued by interference, and the source of this interference, either external or internal, might influence the expression of individual differences in attentional ability. By definition, external attention (also described as "selective attention") protects working memory against sensorial distractors of all kinds, while internal attention (also called "inhibition") protects working memory against emotional impulses, irrelevant information from memory, and automatically-generated responses. At present, it is unclear if these two types of attention are expressed independently in non-human animals, and how they might differentially impact performance on other cognitive processes, such as learning. By using a diverse battery of four attention tests (with varying levels of internal and external sources of interference), here we aimed both to explore this issue, and to obtain a robust and general (less task-specific) measure of attention in mice. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two factors (external and internal attention) that in total, accounted for 73% of the variance in attentional performance. Confirmatory factor analyses found an excellent fit with the data of the model of attention that assumed an external and internal distinction (with a resulting correlation of 0.43). In contrast, a model of attention that assumed one source of variance (i.e., "general attention") exhibited a poor fit with the data. Regarding the relationship between attention and learning, higher resistance against external sources of interference promoted better new learning, but tended to impair performance when cognitive flexibility was required, such as during the reversal of a previously instantiated response. The present results suggest that there can be (at least) two types of attention that contribute to the common variance in attentional performance in mice, and that external and internal attentions might have opposing influences on the rate at which animals learn. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Feedback data sources that inform physician self-assessment.

PubMed

Lockyer, Jocelyn; Armson, Heather; Chesluk, Benjamin; Dornan, Timothy; Holmboe, Eric; Loney, Elaine; Mann, Karen; Sargeant, Joan

2011-01-01

Self-assessment is a process of interpreting data about one's performance and comparing it to explicit or implicit standards. To examine the external data sources physicians used to monitor themselves. Focus groups were conducted with physicians who participated in three practice improvement activities: a multisource feedback program; a program providing patient and chart audit data; and practice-based learning groups. We used grounded theory strategies to understand the external sources that stimulated self-assessment and how they worked. Data from seven focus groups (49 physicians) were analyzed. Physicians used information from structured programs, other educational activities, professional colleagues, and patients. Data were of varying quality, often from non-formal sources with implicit (not explicit) standards. Mandatory programs elicited variable responses, whereas data and activities the physicians selected themselves were more likely to be accepted. Physicians used the information to create a reference point against which they could weigh their performance using it variably depending on their personal interpretation of its accuracy, application, and utility. Physicians use and interpret data and standards of varying quality to inform self-assessment. Physicians may benefit from regular and routine feedback and guidance on how to seek out data for self-assessment.

Single cigar-shaped nanopores functionalized with amphoteric amino acid chains: experimental and theoretical characterization.

PubMed

Ali, Mubarak; Ramirez, Patricio; Nguyen, Hung Quoc; Nasir, Saima; Cervera, Javier; Mafe, Salvador; Ensinger, Wolfgang

2012-04-24

We present an experimental and theoretical characterization of single cigar-shaped nanopores with pH-responsive carboxylic acid and lysine chains functionalized on the pore surface. The nanopore characterization includes (i) optical images of the nanostructure obtained by FESEM; (ii) different chemical procedures for the nanopore preparation (etching time and functionalizations; pH and electrolyte concentration of the external solution) allowing externally tunable nanopore responses monitored by the current-voltage (I-V) curves; and (iii) transport simulations obtained with a multilayer nanopore model. We show that a single, approximately symmetric nanopore can be operated as a reconfigurable diode showing different rectifying behaviors by applying chemical and electrical signals. The remarkable characteristics of the new nanopore are the sharp response observed in the I-V curves, the improved tunability (with respect to previous designs of symmetric nanopores) which is achieved because of the direct external access to the nanostructure mouths, and the broad range of rectifying properties. The results concern both fundamental concepts useful for the understanding of transport processes in biological systems (ion channels) and applications relevant for tunable nanopore technology (information processing and drug controlled release).

Applying a health behavior theory to explore the influence of information and experience on arsenic risk representations, policy beliefs, and protective behavior.

PubMed

Severtson, Dolores J; Baumann, Linda C; Brown, Roger L

2006-04-01

The common sense model (CSM) shows how people process information to construct representations, or mental models, that guide responses to health threats. We applied the CSM to understand how people responded to information about arsenic-contaminated well water. Constructs included external information (arsenic level and information use), experience (perceived water quality and arsenic-related health effects), representations, safety judgments, opinions about policies to mitigate environmental arsenic, and protective behavior. Of 649 surveys mailed to private well users with arsenic levels exceeding the maximum contaminant level, 545 (84%) were analyzed. Structural equation modeling quantified CSM relationships. Both external information and experience had substantial effects on behavior. Participants who identified a water problem were more likely to reduce exposure to arsenic. However, about 60% perceived good water quality and 60% safe water. Participants with higher arsenic levels selected higher personal safety thresholds and 20% reported a lower arsenic level than indicated by their well test. These beliefs would support judgments of safe water. A variety of psychological and contextual factors may explain judgments of safe water when information suggested otherwise. Information use had an indirect effect on policy beliefs through understanding environmental causes of arsenic. People need concrete information about environmental risk at both personal and environmental-systems levels to promote a comprehensive understanding and response. The CSM explained responses to arsenic information and may have application to other environmental risks.

Informant Discrepancies in Externalizing and Internalizing Symptoms and Adaptive Skills of High-Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Christin A.; Lopata, Christopher; Donnelly, James P.; Thomeer, Marcus L.; Rodgers, Jonathan D.; Jordan, Allyson K.

2016-01-01

Assessment of clinical symptoms requires information from multiple informants. Discrepancies between informants' ratings can have significant implications in school settings (e.g., access to services, treatment planning, progress monitoring). This study examined parent-teacher discrepancies for ratings of internalizing and externalizing symptoms,…

Effects of external stress field on the charge stability of nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Miao-Miao; Zhu, Tian-Yuan; Shu, Da-Jun

2017-07-01

The interaction of the atom-like defects in semiconductors with external fields provides an avenue to quantum information processing and nanoscale sensors. Meanwhile, external fields may induce instability of the desired charge state of the defects. It is essential to understand how the charge state of a defect is affected by external fields that introduced in diverse applications. In this letter, we explore the stability of the negatively charged state (NV-) and the neutral state (NV0) of the nitrogen vacancy (NV) center in diamond under stress by first-principles calculations. We find that the relative stability of NV- to NV0 is always reduced by the stress if the NV center is free to relax its orientation. Once the NV center has formed and retains its orientation, however, the relative stability of NV- can be always enhanced by compressive stress along its trigonal symmetry axis. We believe that the results are not only significant for control of the charge stability of NV center but also enlightening for applications based on specific charge states of other kinds of defects in the stress field.

Practice-related improvement in working memory is modulated by changes in processing external interference.

PubMed

Berry, Anne S; Zanto, Theodore P; Rutman, Aaron M; Clapp, Wesley C; Gazzaley, Adam

2009-09-01

Working memory (WM) performance is impaired by the presence of external interference. Accordingly, more efficient processing of intervening stimuli with practice may lead to enhanced WM performance. To explore the role of practice on the impact that interference has on WM performance, we studied young adults with electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings as they performed three motion-direction, delayed-recognition tasks. One task was presented without interference, whereas two tasks introduced different types of interference during the interval of memory maintenance: distractors and interruptors. Distractors were to be ignored, whereas interruptors demanded attention based on task instructions for a perceptual discrimination. We show that WM performance was disrupted by both types of interference, but interference-induced disruption abated across a single experimental session through rapid learning. WM accuracy and response time improved in a manner that was correlated with changes in early neural measures of interference processing in visual cortex (i.e., P1 suppression and N1 enhancement). These results suggest practice-related changes in processing interference exert a positive influence on WM performance, highlighting the importance of filtering irrelevant information and the dynamic interactions that exist between neural processes of perception, attention, and WM during learning.

Junior high school students' cognitive process in solving the developed algebraic problems based on information processing taxonomy model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purwoko, Saad, Noor Shah; Tajudin, Nor'ain Mohd

2017-05-01

This study aims to: i) develop problem solving questions of Linear Equations System of Two Variables (LESTV) based on levels of IPT Model, ii) explain the level of students' skill of information processing in solving LESTV problems; iii) explain students' skill in information processing in solving LESTV problems; and iv) explain students' cognitive process in solving LESTV problems. This study involves three phases: i) development of LESTV problem questions based on Tessmer Model; ii) quantitative survey method on analyzing students' skill level of information processing; and iii) qualitative case study method on analyzing students' cognitive process. The population of the study was 545 eighth grade students represented by a sample of 170 students of five Junior High Schools in Hilir Barat Zone, Palembang (Indonesia) that were chosen using cluster sampling. Fifteen students among them were drawn as a sample for the interview session with saturated information obtained. The data were collected using the LESTV problem solving test and the interview protocol. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data were analyzed using the content analysis. The finding of this study indicated that students' cognitive process was just at the step of indentifying external source and doing algorithm in short-term memory fluently. Only 15.29% students could retrieve type A information and 5.88% students could retrieve type B information from long-term memory. The implication was the development problems of LESTV had validated IPT Model in modelling students' assessment by different level of hierarchy.

Improving Logistics Processes in Industry Using Web Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jánošík, Ján; Tanuška, Pavol; Václavová, Andrea

2016-12-01

The aim of this paper is to propose the concept of a system that takes advantage of web technologies and integrates them into the management process and management of internal stocks which may relate to external applications and creates the conditions to transform a Computerized Control of Warehouse Stock (CCWS) in the company. The importance of implementing CCWS is in the elimination of the claims caused by the human factor, as well as to allow the processing of information for analytical purposes and their subsequent use to improve internal processes. Using CCWS in the company would also facilitate better use of the potential tools Business Intelligence and Data Mining.

STS-114: Discovery Tanking Operations for Launch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

Jessica Rye from NASA Public Affairs is the narrator for the tanking operations for the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. She presents a video of the arrival and processing of the new external tank at the Kennedy Space Center. The external tank is also shown entering the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The external tank underwent new processing resulting from its redesign including inspection of the bipod heater and the external separation camera. The changes to the external tank include: 1) Electric heaters to protect from icing; and 2) Liquid Oxygen feed line bellows to carry fuel from the external tank to the Orbiter. Footage of the external tank processing facility at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. prior to its arrival at Kennedy Space Center is shown and a video of the three key modifications to the external tank including the bipod, flange and bellows are shown.

Preventing Pressure Sores

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A gateway system in rostral PFC? Evidence from biasing attention to perceptual information and internal representations.

PubMed

Henseler, Ilona; Krüger, Sebastian; Dechent, Peter; Gruber, Oliver

2011-06-01

Some situations require us to be highly sensitive to information in the environment, whereas in other situations, our attention is mainly focused on internally represented information. It has been hypothesized that a control system located in the rostral prefrontal cortex (PFC) acts as gateway between these two forms of attention. Here, we examined the neural underpinnings of this 'gateway system' using fMRI and functional connectivity analysis. We designed different tasks, in which the demands for attending to external or internal information were manipulated, and tested 1) whether there is a functional specialization within the rostral PFC along a medial-lateral dimension, and 2) whether these subregions can influence attentional weighting processes by specifically interacting with other parts of the brain. Our results show that lateral aspects of the rostral PFC are preferentially activated when attention is directed to internal representations, whereas anterior medial aspects are activated when attention is directed to sensory events. Furthermore, the rostrolateral subregion was preferentially connected to regions in the prefrontal and parietal cortex during internal attending, whereas the rostromedial subregion was connected to the basal ganglia, thalamus, and sensory association cortices during external attending. Finally, both subregions interacted with another important prefrontal region involved in cognitive control, the inferior frontal junction, in a task-specific manner, depending on the current attentional demands. These findings suggest that the rostrolateral and rostromedial part of the anterior PFC have dissociable roles in attentional control, and that they might, as part of larger networks, be involved in dynamically adjusting the contribution of internal and external information to current cognition. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tuning in to the Voices: A Multisite fMRI Study of Auditory Hallucinations

PubMed Central

Ford, Judith M.; Roach, Brian J.; Jorgensen, Kasper W.; Turner, Jessica A.; Brown, Gregory G.; Notestine, Randy; Bischoff-Grethe, Amanda; Greve, Douglas; Wible, Cynthia; Lauriello, John; Belger, Aysenil; Mueller, Bryon A.; Calhoun, Vincent; Preda, Adrian; Keator, David; O'Leary, Daniel S.; Lim, Kelvin O.; Glover, Gary; Potkin, Steven G.; Mathalon, Daniel H.

2009-01-01

Introduction: Auditory hallucinations or voices are experienced by 75% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia. We presumed that auditory cortex of schizophrenia patients who experience hallucinations is tonically “tuned” to internal auditory channels, at the cost of processing external sounds, both speech and nonspeech. Accordingly, we predicted that patients who hallucinate would show less auditory cortical activation to external acoustic stimuli than patients who did not. Methods: At 9 Functional Imaging Biomedical Informatics Research Network (FBIRN) sites, whole-brain images from 106 patients and 111 healthy comparison subjects were collected while subjects performed an auditory target detection task. Data were processed with the FBIRN processing stream. A region of interest analysis extracted activation values from primary (BA41) and secondary auditory cortex (BA42), auditory association cortex (BA22), and middle temporal gyrus (BA21). Patients were sorted into hallucinators (n = 66) and nonhallucinators (n = 40) based on symptom ratings done during the previous week. Results: Hallucinators had less activation to probe tones in left primary auditory cortex (BA41) than nonhallucinators. This effect was not seen on the right. Discussion: Although “voices” are the anticipated sensory experience, it appears that even primary auditory cortex is “turned on” and “tuned in” to process internal acoustic information at the cost of processing external sounds. Although this study was not designed to probe cortical competition for auditory resources, we were able to take advantage of the data and find significant effects, perhaps because of the power afforded by such a large sample. PMID:18987102

Basics of SCI Rehabilitation

MedlinePlus Videos and Cool Tools

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Spinal Cord Injury 101

MedlinePlus Videos and Cool Tools

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Communication between Brain Areas Based on Nested Oscillations

PubMed Central

Kastner, Sabine

2017-01-01

Abstract Unraveling how brain regions communicate is crucial for understanding how the brain processes external and internal information. Neuronal oscillations within and across brain regions have been proposed to play a crucial role in this process. Two main hypotheses have been suggested for routing of information based on oscillations, namely communication through coherence and gating by inhibition. Here, we propose a framework unifying these two hypotheses that is based on recent empirical findings. We discuss a theory in which communication between two regions is established by phase synchronization of oscillations at lower frequencies (<25 Hz), which serve as temporal reference frame for information carried by high-frequency activity (>40 Hz). Our framework, consistent with numerous recent empirical findings, posits that cross-frequency interactions are essential for understanding how large-scale cognitive and perceptual networks operate. PMID:28374013

An information extraction framework for cohort identification using electronic health records.

PubMed

Liu, Hongfang; Bielinski, Suzette J; Sohn, Sunghwan; Murphy, Sean; Wagholikar, Kavishwar B; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha R; Ravikumar, K E; Wu, Stephen T; Kullo, Iftikhar J; Chute, Christopher G

2013-01-01

Information extraction (IE), a natural language processing (NLP) task that automatically extracts structured or semi-structured information from free text, has become popular in the clinical domain for supporting automated systems at point-of-care and enabling secondary use of electronic health records (EHRs) for clinical and translational research. However, a high performance IE system can be very challenging to construct due to the complexity and dynamic nature of human language. In this paper, we report an IE framework for cohort identification using EHRs that is a knowledge-driven framework developed under the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA). A system to extract specific information can be developed by subject matter experts through expert knowledge engineering of the externalized knowledge resources used in the framework.

Quality of malaria information provided on Internet travel operator websites.

PubMed

Bazaz, Rohit; Green, Edward; Green, Steve T

2010-09-01

Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady growth in the number of reported cases of malaria in the UK. With increasing Internet flight sales over recent years, online travel operator websites may be the only place many travellers could conceivably receive pre-travel malaria prevention advice. 29 Travel operator websites which allow for online flight purchases to malarious areas from the UK, identified using a Google(®) web search and the website of the International Air Transport Association, were assessed for the existence, accuracy and accessibility of malaria prevention advice available through internal and external website links. Eight (28%) websites provided malaria prevention information on their own pages. Five (17%) websites contained country specific malaria information relevant to the requested destination, including variation of malaria risk within that country and accurate destination specific chemoprophylaxis advice. No malaria information was available, either on internal or external links, on 8 (28%) websites. On average, it took 2.4 additional mouse clicks to access malaria information during the online flight booking process. Six of the 29 websites (21%) allowed for access to information with only 1 click. Malaria prevention information on online travel operator websites is most often absent or inadequate. Even on websites where such information is of good quality, it can be difficult to access. The travel industry should introduce and enforce guidelines for the malaria information provided by online travel operators. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flight Dynamic Simulation of Fighter In the Asymmetric External Store Release Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safi’i, Imam; Arifianto, Ony; Nurohman, Chandra

2018-04-01

In the fighter design, it is important to evaluate and analyze the flight dynamic of the aircraft earlier in the development process. One of the case is the dynamics of external store release process. A simulation tool can be used to analyze the fighter/external store system’s dynamics in the preliminary design stage. This paper reports the flight dynamics of Jet Fighter Experiment (JF-1 E) in asymmetric Advance Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) release process through simulations. The JF-1 E and AIM 120 AMRAAAM models are built by using Advanced Aircraft Analysis (AAA) and Missile Datcom software. By using these softwares, the aerodynamic stability and control derivatives can be obtained and used to model the dynamic characteristic of the fighter and the external store. The dynamic system is modeled by using MATLAB/Simulink software. By using this software, both the fighter/external store integration and the external store release process is simulated, and the dynamic of the system can be analyzed.

Psychology of knowledge representation.

PubMed

Grimm, Lisa R

2014-05-01

Every cognitive enterprise involves some form of knowledge representation. Humans represent information about the external world and internal mental states, like beliefs and desires, and use this information to meet goals (e.g., classification or problem solving). Unfortunately, researchers do not have direct access to mental representations. Instead, cognitive scientists design experiments and implement computational models to develop theories about the mental representations present during task performance. There are several main types of mental representation and corresponding processes that have been posited: spatial, feature, network, and structured. Each type has a particular structure and a set of processes that are capable of accessing and manipulating information within the representation. The structure and processes determine what information can be used during task performance and what information has not been represented at all. As such, the different types of representation are likely used to solve different kinds of tasks. For example, structured representations are more complex and computationally demanding, but are good at representing relational information. Researchers interested in human psychology would benefit from considering how knowledge is represented in their domain of inquiry. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Obstruction of critical information on over-the-counter medication packages by external tags.

PubMed

Sansgiry, Sujit S; Pawaskar, Manjiri D

2005-02-01

Over-the-counter (OTC) medication packages are important sources of information for consumers during product selection and use. Consumers may not be able to access information from OTC packages if external tags, namely price or anti-theft tags, are improperly placed. To determine the amount and type of information concealed by anti-theft tags and price tags affixed on OTC drug packages. A field study was performed by evaluating packages containing acetaminophen and combinations of acetaminophen in stores located in Houston. Five packages for 4 products selected from each store after an initial survey for presence of an external tag were examined. A data collection sheet was prepared that extracted the type and amount of information concealed by these tags. Data were analyzed by performing descriptive analyses to provide an understanding of the information obscured. A total of 24 stores were considered in the study, and 67 products and 285 packages were evaluated. External tags, both anti-theft and price tags, obscured significant amounts of information on the principal display panel (53.4%) and the Drug Facts panel (47.7%) of OTC packages. These tags concealed crucial information on various aspects of labels such as brand names (42.3%), product description (36.3%), warnings (51.5%), uses (10.4%), and purposes (7.2%). Results suggest that improper use of external tags clearly obscured important information on OTC medication packages necessary for consumers to make informed decisions regarding product selection and use. Tagging practices should be altered to allow consumers full access to drug information on the product.

Unified method to integrate and blend several, potentially related, sources of information for genetic evaluation.

PubMed

Vandenplas, Jérémie; Colinet, Frederic G; Gengler, Nicolas

2014-09-30

A condition to predict unbiased estimated breeding values by best linear unbiased prediction is to use simultaneously all available data. However, this condition is not often fully met. For example, in dairy cattle, internal (i.e. local) populations lead to evaluations based only on internal records while widely used foreign sires have been selected using internally unavailable external records. In such cases, internal genetic evaluations may be less accurate and biased. Because external records are unavailable, methods were developed to combine external information that summarizes these records, i.e. external estimated breeding values and associated reliabilities, with internal records to improve accuracy of internal genetic evaluations. Two issues of these methods concern double-counting of contributions due to relationships and due to records. These issues could be worse if external information came from several evaluations, at least partially based on the same records, and combined into a single internal evaluation. Based on a Bayesian approach, the aim of this research was to develop a unified method to integrate and blend simultaneously several sources of information into an internal genetic evaluation by avoiding double-counting of contributions due to relationships and due to records. This research resulted in equations that integrate and blend simultaneously several sources of information and avoid double-counting of contributions due to relationships and due to records. The performance of the developed equations was evaluated using simulated and real datasets. The results showed that the developed equations integrated and blended several sources of information well into a genetic evaluation. The developed equations also avoided double-counting of contributions due to relationships and due to records. Furthermore, because all available external sources of information were correctly propagated, relatives of external animals benefited from the integrated information and, therefore, more reliable estimated breeding values were obtained. The proposed unified method integrated and blended several sources of information well into a genetic evaluation by avoiding double-counting of contributions due to relationships and due to records. The unified method can also be extended to other types of situations such as single-step genomic or multi-trait evaluations, combining information across different traits.

Complete information acquisition in scanning probe microscopy

DOE PAGES

Belianinov, Alex; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Jesse, Stephen

2015-03-13

In the last three decades, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has emerged as a primary tool for exploring and controlling the nanoworld. A critical part of the SPM measurements is the information transfer from the tip-surface junction to a macroscopic measurement system. This process reduces the many degrees of freedom of a vibrating cantilever to relatively few parameters recorded as images. Similarly, the details of dynamic cantilever response at sub-microsecond time scales of transients, higher-order eigenmodes and harmonics are averaged out by transitioning to millisecond time scale of pixel acquisition. Hence, the amount of information available to the external observer ismore » severely limited, and its selection is biased by the chosen data processing method. Here, we report a fundamentally new approach for SPM imaging based on information theory-type analysis of the data stream from the detector. This approach allows full exploration of complex tip-surface interactions, spatial mapping of multidimensional variability of material s properties and their mutual interactions, and SPM imaging at the information channel capacity limit.« less

NASA/DoD aerospace knowledge diffusion research project. VIII - The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1990-01-01

The U.S. aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. This article presents a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

Markets, Herding and Response to External Information

PubMed Central

Carro, Adrián; Toral, Raúl; San Miguel, Maxi

2015-01-01

We focus on the influence of external sources of information upon financial markets. In particular, we develop a stochastic agent-based market model characterized by a certain herding behavior as well as allowing traders to be influenced by an external dynamic signal of information. This signal can be interpreted as a time-varying advertising, public perception or rumor, in favor or against one of two possible trading behaviors, thus breaking the symmetry of the system and acting as a continuously varying exogenous shock. As an illustration, we use a well-known German Indicator of Economic Sentiment as information input and compare our results with Germany’s leading stock market index, the DAX, in order to calibrate some of the model parameters. We study the conditions for the ensemble of agents to more accurately follow the information input signal. The response of the system to the external information is maximal for an intermediate range of values of a market parameter, suggesting the existence of three different market regimes: amplification, precise assimilation and undervaluation of incoming information. PMID:26204451

The Effects of Different External Carbon Sources on Nitrous Oxide Emissions during Denitrification in Biological Nutrient Removal Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiang; Zhang, Jing; Hou, Hongxun

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two different external carbon sources (acetate and ethanol) on the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions during denitrification in biological nutrient removal processes. Results showed that external carbon source significantly influenced N2O emissions during the denitrification process. When acetate served as the external carbon source, 0.49 mg N/L and 0.85 mg N/L of N2O was produced during the denitrificaiton processes in anoxic and anaerobic/anoxic experiments, giving a ratio of N2O-N production to TN removal of 2.37% and 4.96%, respectively. Compared with acetate, the amount of N2O production is negligible when ethanol used as external carbon addition. This suggested that ethanol is a potential alternative external carbon source for acetate from the point of view of N2O emissions.

Acceptance Presentation and Research Study Summary: Research in Educational Communications and Technology. 1982 Association for Educational Communications and Technology Young Researcher Award, Research and Theory Division.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canelos, James

An internal cognitive variable--mental imagery representation--was studied using a set of three information-processing strategies under external stimulus visual display conditions for various learning levels. The copy strategy provided verbal and visual dual-coding and required formation of a vivid mental image. The relational strategy combined…

Environmental Scanning for Occupational Education. A Facilitator's Guide. A Model for Environmental Scanning to Systematically Assess Future Occupational Education and Training Needs of a Michigan Community College Service Area.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI.

This manual is designed to facilitate the planning and implementation of an environmental scanning project in Michigan's community colleges. (Environmental scanning is a systematic process for gathering and analyzing information about the external environment and relating it to an organization's internal environment.) This facilitator's guide is…

Scanning the Business External Environment for Information: Evidence from Greece

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kourteli, Liana

2005-01-01

Introduction: This paper examines the business external environment scanning theory for information in the context of Greece. Method. A questionnaire was developed to explore the relationships between general and task business environment, perceived uncertainty, scanning strategy, and sources of information with respect to type of environment,…

How do external donors influence national health policy processes? Experiences of domestic policy actors in Cambodia and Pakistan.

PubMed

Khan, Mishal S; Meghani, Ankita; Liverani, Marco; Roychowdhury, Imara; Parkhurst, Justin

2018-03-01

Although concerns have historically been raised about the influence of external donors on health policy process in recipient countries, remarkably few studies have investigated perspectives and experiences of domestic policymakers and advisers. This study examines donor influence at different stages of the health policy process (priority setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and monitoring and evaluation) in two aid-dependent LMICs, Cambodia and Pakistan. It identifies mechanisms through which asymmetries in influence between donors and domestic policy actors emerge. We conducted 24 key informant interviews-14 in Pakistan and 10 in Cambodia-with high-level decision-makers who inform or authorize health priority setting, allocate resources and/or are responsible for policy implementation, identifying three routes of influence: financial resources, technical expertise and indirect financial and political incentives. We used both inductive and deductive approaches to analyse the data. Our findings indicate that different routes of influence emerged depending on the stage of the policy process. Control of financial resources was the most commonly identified route by which donors influenced priority setting and policy implementation. Greater (perceived) technical expertise played an important role in donor influence at the policy formulation stage. Donors' power in influencing decisions, particularly during the final (monitoring and evaluation) stage of the policy process, was mediated by their ability to control indirect financial and political incentives as well as direct control of financial resources. This study thus helps unpack the nuances of donor influence over health policymaking in these settings, and can potentially indicate areas that require attention to increase the ownership of domestic actors of their countries' health policy processes. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

How do external donors influence national health policy processes? Experiences of domestic policy actors in Cambodia and Pakistan

PubMed Central

Khan, Mishal S; Liverani, Marco; Roychowdhury, Imara; Parkhurst, Justin

2018-01-01

Abstract Although concerns have historically been raised about the influence of external donors on health policy process in recipient countries, remarkably few studies have investigated perspectives and experiences of domestic policymakers and advisers. This study examines donor influence at different stages of the health policy process (priority setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and monitoring and evaluation) in two aid-dependent LMICs, Cambodia and Pakistan. It identifies mechanisms through which asymmetries in influence between donors and domestic policy actors emerge. We conducted 24 key informant interviews—14 in Pakistan and 10 in Cambodia—with high-level decision-makers who inform or authorize health priority setting, allocate resources and/or are responsible for policy implementation, identifying three routes of influence: financial resources, technical expertise and indirect financial and political incentives. We used both inductive and deductive approaches to analyse the data. Our findings indicate that different routes of influence emerged depending on the stage of the policy process. Control of financial resources was the most commonly identified route by which donors influenced priority setting and policy implementation. Greater (perceived) technical expertise played an important role in donor influence at the policy formulation stage. Donors’ power in influencing decisions, particularly during the final (monitoring and evaluation) stage of the policy process, was mediated by their ability to control indirect financial and political incentives as well as direct control of financial resources. This study thus helps unpack the nuances of donor influence over health policymaking in these settings, and can potentially indicate areas that require attention to increase the ownership of domestic actors of their countries’ health policy processes. PMID:29237026

The self, attributional processes and abnormal beliefs: towards a model of persecutory delusions.

PubMed

Bentall, R P; Kinderman, P; Kaney, S

1994-03-01

In this paper we review a series of recent investigations into cognitive abnormalities associated with persecutory delusions. Studies indicate that persecutory delusions are associated with abnormal attention to threat-related stimuli, an explanatory bias towards attributing negative outcomes to external causes and biases in information processing relating to the self-concept. We propose an integrative model to account for these findings in which it is hypothesized that, in deluded patients, activation of self/ideal discrepancies by threat-related information triggers defensive explanatory biases, which have the function of reducing the self/ideal discrepancies but result in persecutory ideation. We conclude by discussing the implications of this model for the cognitive-behavioural treatment of paranoid delusions.

The Effect of Augmenting OPTN Data With External Death Data on Calculating Patient Survival Rates After Organ Transplantation.

PubMed

Wilk, Amber R; Edwards, Leah B; Edwards, Erick B

2017-04-01

Although the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) database contains a rich set of data on United States transplant recipients, follow-up data may be incomplete. It was of interest to determine if augmenting OPTN data with external death data altered patient survival estimates. Solitary kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplants performed between January 1, 2011, and January 31, 2013, were queried from the OPTN database. Unadjusted Kaplan-Meier 3-year patient survival rates were computed using 4 nonmutually exclusive augmented datasets: OPTN only, OPTN + verified external deaths, OPTN + verified + unverified external deaths (OPTN + all), and an additional source extending recipient survival time if no death was found in OPTN + all (OPTN + all [Assumed Alive]). Pairwise comparisons were made using unadjusted Cox Proportional Hazards analyses applying Bonferroni adjustments. Although differences in patient survival rates across data sources were small (≤1 percentage point), OPTN only data often yielded slightly higher patient survival rates than sources including external death data. No significant differences were found, including comparing OPTN + verified (hazard ratio [HR], 1.05; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.00-1.10); P = 0.0356), OPTN + all (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01-1.11; P = 0.0243), and OPTN + all (Assumed Alive) (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.96-1.05; P = 0.8587) versus OPTN only, or OPTN + verified (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.10; P = 0.0511), and OPTN + all (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.10; P = 0.0353) versus OPTN + all (Assumed Alive). Patient survival rates varied minimally with augmented data sources, although using external death data without extending the survival time of recipients not identified in these sources results in a biased estimate. It remains important for transplant centers to maintain contact with transplant recipients and obtain necessary follow-up information, because this information can improve the transplantation process for future recipients.

76 FR 8804 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision and Approval of Information Collection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-15

... of external factors on Project expectations. Including an ex post examination of project... consist of a narrative discussion detailing project successes and/or the influence of external factors on...

Probabilistic neural networks modeling of the 48-h LC50 acute toxicity endpoint to Daphnia magna.

PubMed

Niculescu, S P; Lewis, M A; Tigner, J

2008-01-01

Two modeling experiments based on the maximum likelihood estimation paradigm and targeting prediction of the Daphnia magna 48-h LC50 acute toxicity endpoint for both organic and inorganic compounds are reported. The resulting models computational algorithms are implemented as basic probabilistic neural networks with Gaussian kernel (statistical corrections included). The first experiment uses strictly D. magna information for 971 structures as training/learning data and the resulting model targets practical applications. The second experiment uses the same training/learning information plus additional data on another 29 compounds whose endpoint information is originating from D. pulex and Ceriodaphnia dubia. It only targets investigation of the effect of mixing strictly D. magna 48-h LC50 modeling information with small amounts of similar information estimated from related species, and this is done as part of the validation process. A complementary 81 compounds dataset (involving only strictly D. magna information) is used to perform external testing. On this external test set, the Gaussian character of the distribution of the residuals is confirmed for both models. This allows the use of traditional statistical methodology to implement computation of confidence intervals for the unknown measured values based on the models predictions. Examples are provided for the model targeting practical applications. For the same model, a comparison with other existing models targeting the same endpoint is performed.

42 CFR 438.320 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS MANAGED CARE External Quality Review § 438.320 Definitions. As used in this subpart— EQR stands for external quality review. EQRO stands for external quality review organization. External quality review means the analysis and evaluation by an EQRO, of aggregated information on quality...

42 CFR 438.320 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS MANAGED CARE External Quality Review § 438.320 Definitions. As used in this subpart— EQR stands for external quality review. EQRO stands for external quality review organization. External quality review means the analysis and evaluation by an EQRO, of aggregated information on quality...

42 CFR 438.320 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS MANAGED CARE External Quality Review § 438.320 Definitions. As used in this subpart— EQR stands for external quality review. EQRO stands for external quality review organization. External quality review means the analysis and evaluation by an EQRO, of aggregated information on quality...

42 CFR 438.320 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS MANAGED CARE External Quality Review § 438.320 Definitions. As used in this subpart— EQR stands for external quality review. EQRO stands for external quality review organization. External quality review means the analysis and evaluation by an EQRO, of aggregated information on quality...

Closed-Loop Estimation of Retinal Network Sensitivity by Local Empirical Linearization

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Abstract Understanding how sensory systems process information depends crucially on identifying which features of the stimulus drive the response of sensory neurons, and which ones leave their response invariant. This task is made difficult by the many nonlinearities that shape sensory processing. Here, we present a novel perturbative approach to understand information processing by sensory neurons, where we linearize their collective response locally in stimulus space. We added small perturbations to reference stimuli and tested if they triggered visible changes in the responses, adapting their amplitude according to the previous responses with closed-loop experiments. We developed a local linear model that accurately predicts the sensitivity of the neural responses to these perturbations. Applying this approach to the rat retina, we estimated the optimal performance of a neural decoder and showed that the nonlinear sensitivity of the retina is consistent with an efficient encoding of stimulus information. Our approach can be used to characterize experimentally the sensitivity of neural systems to external stimuli locally, quantify experimentally the capacity of neural networks to encode sensory information, and relate their activity to behavior. PMID:29379871

Socio-Emotional Adaptation Theory: Charting the Emotional Process of Alzheimer's Disease.

PubMed

Halpin, Sean N; Dillard, Rebecca L; Puentes, William J

2017-08-01

The emotional reactions to the progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease (MCI/AD) oftentimes present as cognitive or behavioral changes, leading to misguided interventions by Formal Support (paid health care providers). Despite a rich body of literature identifying cognitive and behavioral staging of MCI/AD, the emotional changes that accompany these diagnoses have been largely ignored. The objective of this study was to develop a model of the emotional aspects of MCI/AD. One hour, semistructured interviews, with 14 patient-Informal Support Partner dyads (N = 28) interviewed concurrently; patients were in various stages of MCI/AD. An interdisciplinary team employed a grounded theory coding process to detect emotional characteristics of the participants with MCI/AD. Emotional reactions were categorized into depression/sadness, apathy, concern/fear, anger/frustration, and acceptance. The emotions did not present linearly along the course of the disease and were instead entwined within a set of complex (positive/negative) interactions including: relationship with the Informal Support Partner (i.e., teamwork vs infantilization), relationship with the Formal Support (i.e., patient vs disengaged), coping (i.e., adaptive vs nonadaptive), and perceived control (i.e., internal vs external locus-of-control). For example, a person with poor formal and informal support and external locus-of-control may become depressed, a condition that is known to negatively affect cognitive status. Understanding the emotional reactions of individuals diagnosed with MCI/AD will provide clinicians with information needed to develop treatments suited to current needs of the patient and provide Informal Support Partners insight into cognitive and physical changes associated with MCI/AD. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Final Report from the External Peer Review of the IRIS ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document is the final report for the 2004 external peer review for the EPA IRIS Reassessment of the Inhalation Carcinogenicity of Naphthalene, prepared by the Office of Research and Development's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Database. A panel of external peer reviewers met to discuss the IRIS report and their responses to the charge questions on July 30, 2004. This document contains the final written comments of the external peer reviewers. This document is the final report for the 2004 external peer review for the IRIS Reassessment of the Inhalation Carcinogenicity of Naphthalene, prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), for the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). A panel of external peer reviewers met to discuss their responses to the charge questions on July 30, 2004. This document contains the final written comments of the external peer reviewers.

An evaluation of emergency guidelines issued by the World Health Organization in response to four infectious disease outbreaks.

PubMed

Norris, Susan L; Sawin, Veronica Ivey; Ferri, Mauricio; Raques Sastre, Laura; Porgo, Teegwendé V

2018-01-01

The production of high-quality guidelines in response to public health emergencies poses challenges for the World Health Organization (WHO). The urgent need for guidance and the paucity of structured scientific data on emerging diseases hinder the formulation of evidence-informed recommendations using standard methods and procedures. In the context of the response to recent public health emergencies, this project aimed to describe the information products produced by WHO and assess the quality and trustworthiness of a subset of these products classified as guidelines. We selected four recent infectious disease emergencies: outbreaks of avian influenza A-H1N1 virus (2009) and H7N9 virus (2013), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) (2013), and Ebola virus disease (EVD) (2014 to 2016). We analyzed the development and publication processes and evaluated the quality of emergency guidelines using AGREE-II. We included 175 information products of which 87 were guidelines. These products demonstrated variable adherence to WHO publication requirements including the listing of external contributors, management of declarations of interest, and entry into WHO's public database of publications. For guidelines, the methods for development were incompletely reported; WHO's quality assurance process was rarely used; systematic or other evidence reviews were infrequently referenced; external peer review was not performed; and they scored poorly with AGREE II, particularly for rigour of development and editorial independence. Our study suggests that WHO guidelines produced in the context of a public health emergency can be improved upon, helping to assure the trustworthiness and utility of WHO information products in future emergencies.

Functional correlates of the lateral and medial entorhinal cortex: objects, path integration and local-global reference frames.

PubMed

Knierim, James J; Neunuebel, Joshua P; Deshmukh, Sachin S

2014-02-05

The hippocampus receives its major cortical input from the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). It is commonly believed that the MEC provides spatial input to the hippocampus, whereas the LEC provides non-spatial input. We review new data which suggest that this simple dichotomy between 'where' versus 'what' needs revision. We propose a refinement of this model, which is more complex than the simple spatial-non-spatial dichotomy. MEC is proposed to be involved in path integration computations based on a global frame of reference, primarily using internally generated, self-motion cues and external input about environmental boundaries and scenes; it provides the hippocampus with a coordinate system that underlies the spatial context of an experience. LEC is proposed to process information about individual items and locations based on a local frame of reference, primarily using external sensory input; it provides the hippocampus with information about the content of an experience.

Control Systems Cyber Security:Defense in Depth Strategies

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

David Kuipers; Mark Fabro

2006-05-01

Information infrastructures across many public and private domains share several common attributes regarding IT deployments and data communications. This is particularly true in the control systems domain. A majority of the systems use robust architectures to enhance business and reduce costs by increasing the integration of external, business, and control system networks. However, multi-network integration strategies often lead to vulnerabilities that greatly reduce the security of an organization, and can expose mission-critical control systems to cyber threats. This document provides guidance and direction for developing ‘defense-in-depth’ strategies for organizations that use control system networks while maintaining a multi-tier information architecturemore » that requires: Maintenance of various field devices, telemetry collection, and/or industrial-level process systems Access to facilities via remote data link or modem Public facing services for customer or corporate operations A robust business environment that requires connections among the control system domain, the external Internet, and other peer organizations.« less

Control Systems Cyber Security: Defense-in-Depth Strategies

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

Mark Fabro

2007-10-01

Information infrastructures across many public and private domains share several common attributes regarding IT deployments and data communications. This is particularly true in the control systems domain. A majority of the systems use robust architectures to enhance business and reduce costs by increasing the integration of external, business, and control system networks. However, multi-network integration strategies often lead to vulnerabilities that greatly reduce the security of an organization, and can expose mission-critical control systems to cyber threats. This document provides guidance and direction for developing ‘defense-in-depth’ strategies for organizations that use control system networks while maintaining a multi-tier information architecturemore » that requires: • Maintenance of various field devices, telemetry collection, and/or industrial-level process systems • Access to facilities via remote data link or modem • Public facing services for customer or corporate operations • A robust business environment that requires connections among the control system domain, the external Internet, and other peer organizations.« less

Functional correlates of the lateral and medial entorhinal cortex: objects, path integration and local–global reference frames

PubMed Central

Knierim, James J.; Neunuebel, Joshua P.; Deshmukh, Sachin S.

2014-01-01

The hippocampus receives its major cortical input from the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) and the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). It is commonly believed that the MEC provides spatial input to the hippocampus, whereas the LEC provides non-spatial input. We review new data which suggest that this simple dichotomy between ‘where’ versus ‘what’ needs revision. We propose a refinement of this model, which is more complex than the simple spatial–non-spatial dichotomy. MEC is proposed to be involved in path integration computations based on a global frame of reference, primarily using internally generated, self-motion cues and external input about environmental boundaries and scenes; it provides the hippocampus with a coordinate system that underlies the spatial context of an experience. LEC is proposed to process information about individual items and locations based on a local frame of reference, primarily using external sensory input; it provides the hippocampus with information about the content of an experience. PMID:24366146

76 FR 23850 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Approval of a Revision in Information Collection(s...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-28

... successes and/or the influence of external factors on Project expectations. Including an ex post examination... narrative discussion detailing project successes and/or the influence of external factors on project...

Robustness of near-infrared calibration models for the prediction of milk constituents during the milking process.

PubMed

Melfsen, Andreas; Hartung, Eberhard; Haeussermann, Angelika

2013-02-01

The robustness of in-line raw milk analysis with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was tested with respect to the prediction of the raw milk contents fat, protein and lactose. Near-infrared (NIR) spectra of raw milk (n = 3119) were acquired on three different farms during the milking process of 354 milkings over a period of six months. Calibration models were calculated for: a random data set of each farm (fully random internal calibration); first two thirds of the visits per farm (internal calibration); whole datasets of two of the three farms (external calibration), and combinations of external and internal datasets. Validation was done either on the remaining data set per farm (internal validation) or on data of the remaining farms (external validation). Excellent calibration results were obtained when fully randomised internal calibration sets were used for milk analysis. In this case, RPD values of around ten, five and three for the prediction of fat, protein and lactose content, respectively, were achieved. Farm internal calibrations achieved much poorer prediction results especially for the prediction of protein and lactose with RPD values of around two and one respectively. The prediction accuracy improved when validation was done on spectra of an external farm, mainly due to the higher sample variation in external calibration sets in terms of feeding diets and individual cow effects. The results showed that further improvements were achieved when additional farm information was added to the calibration set. One of the main requirements towards a robust calibration model is the ability to predict milk constituents in unknown future milk samples. The robustness and quality of prediction increases with increasing variation of, e.g., feeding and cow individual milk composition in the calibration model.

Geometry modeling and multi-block grid generation for turbomachinery configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shih, Ming H.; Soni, Bharat K.

1992-01-01

An interactive 3D grid generation code, Turbomachinery Interactive Grid genERation (TIGER), was developed for general turbomachinery configurations. TIGER features the automatic generation of multi-block structured grids around multiple blade rows for either internal, external, or internal-external turbomachinery flow fields. Utilization of the Bezier's curves achieves a smooth grid and better orthogonality. TIGER generates the algebraic grid automatically based on geometric information provided by its built-in pseudo-AI algorithm. However, due to the large variation of turbomachinery configurations, this initial grid may not always be as good as desired. TIGER therefore provides graphical user interactions during the process which allow the user to design, modify, as well as manipulate the grid, including the capability of elliptic surface grid generation.

NPY2-receptor variation modulates iconic memory processes.

PubMed

Arning, Larissa; Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Kloster, Eugen; Epplen, Jörg T; Beste, Christian

2014-08-01

Sensory memory systems are modality-specific buffers that comprise information about external stimuli, which represent the earliest stage of information processing. While these systems have been the subject of cognitive neuroscience research for decades, little is known about the neurobiological basis of sensory memory. However, accumulating evidence suggests that the glutamatergic system and systems influencing glutamatergic neural transmission are important. In the current study we examine if functional promoter variations in neuropeptide Y (NPY) and its receptor gene NPY2R affect iconic memory processes using a partial report paradigm. We found that iconic memory decayed much faster in individuals carrying the rare promoter NPY2R G allele which is associated with increased expression of the Y2 receptor. Possibly this effect is due to altered presynaptic inhibition of glutamate release, known to be modulated by Y2 receptors. Altogether, our results provide evidence that the functionally relevant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the NPY2R promoter gene affect circumscribed processes of early sensory processing, i.e. only the stability of information in sensory memory buffers. This leads us to suggest that especially the stability of information in sensory memory buffers depends on glutamatergic neural transmission and factors modulating glutamatergic turnover. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

A Hybrid Process Fidelity Assessment in a Home-based Randomized Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

WILDE, MARY H.; LIEBEL, DIANNE; FAIRBANKS, EILEEN; WILSON, PAULA; LASH, MARGARET; SHAH, SHIVANI; McDONALD, MARGARET V.; BRASCH, JUDITH; ZHANG, FENG; SCHEID, EILEEN; McMAHON, JAMES M.

2016-01-01

A process fidelity assessment was conducted as a nested study within a home-based randomized clinical trial teaching self-management to 101 long-term indwelling urinary catheter users in the treatment group. Our hybrid model combined external assessments (outside observations and tape recordings) with internal evaluation methods (through study nurse forms and notes) for a comprehensive process fidelity assessment. Barriers, patient-related issues, and nurse perspectives were identified demonstrating the complexity in home care intervention research. The complementary and synergistic approaches provided in depth information about the context of the delivery and the impact of the intervention on study outcomes. PMID:25894688

Integrating data from an online diabetes prevention program into an electronic health record and clinical workflow, a design phase usability study.

PubMed

Mishuris, Rebecca Grochow; Yoder, Jordan; Wilson, Dan; Mann, Devin

2016-07-11

Health information is increasingly being digitally stored and exchanged. The public is regularly collecting and storing health-related data on their own electronic devices and in the cloud. Diabetes prevention is an increasingly important preventive health measure, and diet and exercise are key components of this. Patients are turning to online programs to help them lose weight. Despite primary care physicians being important in patients' weight loss success, there is no exchange of information between the primary care provider (PCP) and these online weight loss programs. There is an emerging opportunity to integrate this data directly into the electronic health record (EHR), but little is known about what information to share or how to share it most effectively. This study aims to characterize the preferences of providers concerning the integration of externally generated lifestyle modification data into a primary care EHR workflow. We performed a qualitative study using two rounds of semi-structured interviews with primary care providers. We used an iterative design process involving primary care providers, health information technology software developers and health services researchers to develop the interface. Using grounded-theory thematic analysis 4 themes emerged from the interviews: 1) barriers to establishing healthy lifestyles, 2) features of a lifestyle modification program, 3) reporting of outcomes to the primary care provider, and 4) integration with primary care. These themes guided the rapid-cycle agile design process of an interface of data from an online diabetes prevention program into the primary care EHR workflow. The integration of external health-related data into the EHR must be embedded into the provider workflow in order to be useful to the provider and beneficial for the patient. Accomplishing this requires evaluation of that clinical workflow during software design. The development of this novel interface used rapid cycle iterative design, early involvement by providers, and usability testing methodology. This provides a framework for how to integrate external data into provider workflow in efficient and effective ways. There is now the potential to realize the importance of having this data available in the clinical setting for patient engagement and health outcomes.

An Information Extraction Framework for Cohort Identification Using Electronic Health Records

PubMed Central

Liu, Hongfang; Bielinski, Suzette J.; Sohn, Sunghwan; Murphy, Sean; Wagholikar, Kavishwar B.; Jonnalagadda, Siddhartha R.; Ravikumar, K.E.; Wu, Stephen T.; Kullo, Iftikhar J.; Chute, Christopher G

Information extraction (IE), a natural language processing (NLP) task that automatically extracts structured or semi-structured information from free text, has become popular in the clinical domain for supporting automated systems at point-of-care and enabling secondary use of electronic health records (EHRs) for clinical and translational research. However, a high performance IE system can be very challenging to construct due to the complexity and dynamic nature of human language. In this paper, we report an IE framework for cohort identification using EHRs that is a knowledge-driven framework developed under the Unstructured Information Management Architecture (UIMA). A system to extract specific information can be developed by subject matter experts through expert knowledge engineering of the externalized knowledge resources used in the framework. PMID:24303255

Development of a Big Data Application Architecture for Navy Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

science IT information technology JBOD just a bunch of disks JDBC java database connectivity xviii JPME Joint Professional Military Education JSO...Joint Service Officer JVM java virtual machine MPP massively parallel processing MPTE Manpower, Personnel, Training, and Education NAVMAC Navy...27 external database, whether it is MySQL , Oracle, DB2, or SQL Server (Teller, 2015). Connectors optimize the data transfer by obtaining metadata

Factors influencing responsiveness to feedback: on the interplay between fear, confidence, and reasoning processes.

PubMed

Eva, Kevin W; Armson, Heather; Holmboe, Eric; Lockyer, Jocelyn; Loney, Elaine; Mann, Karen; Sargeant, Joan

2012-03-01

Self-appraisal has repeatedly been shown to be inadequate as a mechanism for performance improvement. This has placed greater emphasis on understanding the processes through which self-perception and external feedback interact to influence professional development. As feedback is inevitably interpreted through the lens of one's self-perceptions it is important to understand how learners interpret, accept, and use feedback (or not) and the factors that influence those interpretations. 134 participants from 8 health professional training/continuing competence programs were recruited to participate in focus groups. Analyses were designed to (a) elicit understandings of the processes used by learners and physicians to interpret, accept and use (or not) data to inform their perceptions of their clinical performance, and (b) further understand the factors (internal and external) believed to influence interpretation of feedback. Multiple influences appear to impact upon the interpretation and uptake of feedback. These include confidence, experience, and fear of not appearing knowledgeable. Importantly, however, each could have a paradoxical effect of both increasing and decreasing receptivity. Less prevalent but nonetheless important themes suggested mechanisms through which cognitive reasoning processes might impede growth from formative feedback. Many studies have examined the effectiveness of feedback through variable interventions focused on feedback delivery. This study suggests that it is equally important to consider feedback from the perspective of how it is received. The interplay observed between fear, confidence, and reasoning processes reinforces the notion that there is no simple recipe for the delivery of effective feedback. These factors should be taken into account when trying to understand (a) why self-appraisal can be flawed, (b) why appropriate external feedback is vital (yet can be ineffective), and (c) why we may need to disentangle the goals of performance improvement from the goals of improving self-assessment.

Kinetic memory based on the enzyme-limited competition.

PubMed

Hatakeyama, Tetsuhiro S; Kaneko, Kunihiko

2014-08-01

Cellular memory, which allows cells to retain information from their environment, is important for a variety of cellular functions, such as adaptation to external stimuli, cell differentiation, and synaptic plasticity. Although posttranslational modifications have received much attention as a source of cellular memory, the mechanisms directing such alterations have not been fully uncovered. It may be possible to embed memory in multiple stable states in dynamical systems governing modifications. However, several experiments on modifications of proteins suggest long-term relaxation depending on experienced external conditions, without explicit switches over multi-stable states. As an alternative to a multistability memory scheme, we propose "kinetic memory" for epigenetic cellular memory, in which memory is stored as a slow-relaxation process far from a stable fixed state. Information from previous environmental exposure is retained as the long-term maintenance of a cellular state, rather than switches over fixed states. To demonstrate this kinetic memory, we study several models in which multimeric proteins undergo catalytic modifications (e.g., phosphorylation and methylation), and find that a slow relaxation process of the modification state, logarithmic in time, appears when the concentration of a catalyst (enzyme) involved in the modification reactions is lower than that of the substrates. Sharp transitions from a normal fast-relaxation phase into this slow-relaxation phase are revealed, and explained by enzyme-limited competition among modification reactions. The slow-relaxation process is confirmed by simulations of several models of catalytic reactions of protein modifications, and it enables the memorization of external stimuli, as its time course depends crucially on the history of the stimuli. This kinetic memory provides novel insight into a broad class of cellular memory and functions. In particular, applications for long-term potentiation are discussed, including dynamic modifications of calcium-calmodulin kinase II and cAMP-response element-binding protein essential for synaptic plasticity.

External details revisited - A new taxonomy for coding 'non-episodic' content during autobiographical memory retrieval.

PubMed

Strikwerda-Brown, Cherie; Mothakunnel, Annu; Hodges, John R; Piguet, Olivier; Irish, Muireann

2018-04-24

Autobiographical memory (ABM) is typically held to comprise episodic and semantic elements, with the vast majority of studies to date focusing on profiles of episodic details in health and disease. In this context, 'non-episodic' elements are often considered to reflect semantic processing or are discounted from analyses entirely. Mounting evidence suggests that rather than reflecting one unitary entity, semantic autobiographical information may contain discrete subcomponents, which vary in their relative degree of semantic or episodic content. This study aimed to (1) review the existing literature to formally characterize the variability in analysis of 'non-episodic' content (i.e., external details) on the Autobiographical Interview and (2) use these findings to create a theoretically grounded framework for coding external details. Our review exposed discrepancies in the reporting and interpretation of external details across studies, reinforcing the need for a new, consistent approach. We validated our new external details scoring protocol (the 'NExt' taxonomy) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (n = 18) and semantic dementia (n = 13), and 20 healthy older Control participants and compared profiles of the NExt subcategories across groups and time periods. Our results revealed increased sensitivity of the NExt taxonomy in discriminating between ABM profiles of patient groups, when compared to traditionally used internal and external detail metrics. Further, remote and recent autobiographical memories displayed distinct compositions of the NExt detail types. This study is the first to provide a fine-grained and comprehensive taxonomy to parse external details into intuitive subcategories and to validate this protocol in neurodegenerative disorders. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Constructive and Unproductive Processing of Traumatic Experiences in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Youth.

PubMed

Hayes, Adele M; Yasinski, Carly; Grasso, Damion; Ready, C Beth; Alpert, Elizabeth; McCauley, Thomas; Webb, Charles; Deblinger, Esther

2017-03-01

Although there is substantial evidence to support the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), there is some debate about how these treatments have their effects. Modern learning theory and cognitive and emotional processing theories highlight the importance of reducing avoidance, facilitating the constructive processing of feared experiences, and strengthening new inhibitory learning. We examined variables thought to be associated with unproductive and constructive processing of traumatic experiences in a sample of 81 youth with elevated PTSD symptoms, who received Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for abuse or traumatic interpersonal loss. Sessions during the trauma narrative phase of TF-CBT were coded for indicators of unproductive processing (overgeneralization, rumination, avoidance) and constructive processing (decentering, accommodation of corrective information), as well as levels of negative emotion. In previous analyses of this trial (Ready et al., 2015), more overgeneralization during the narrative phase predicted less improvement in internalizing symptoms at posttreatment and a worsening of externalizing symptoms over the 12-month follow-up. In contrast, more accommodation predicted improvement in internalizing symptoms and also moderated the negative effects of overgeneralization on internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The current study examined correlates of overgeneralization and accommodation. Overgeneralization was associated with more rumination, less decentering, and more negative emotion, suggesting immersion in trauma-related material. Accommodation was associated with less avoidance and more decentering, suggesting a healthy distance from trauma-related material that might allow for processing and cognitive change. Decentering also predicted improvement in externalizing symptoms at posttreatment. Rumination and avoidance showed important associations with overgeneralization and accommodation, respectively, but did not predict treatment outcomes. This study identifies correlates of overgeneralization and accommodation that might shed light on how these variables relate to unproductive and constructive processing of traumatic experiences. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Siblings versus Parents and Friends: Longitudinal Linkages to Adolescent Externalizing Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Defoe, Ivy N.; Keijsers, Loes; Hawk, Skyler T.; Branje, Susan; Dubas, Judith Semon; Buist, Kirsten; Frijns, Tom; van Aken, Marcel A. G.; Koot, Hans M.; van Lier, Pol A. C.; Meeus, Wim

2013-01-01

Background: It is well documented that friends' externalizing problems and negative parent-child interactions predict externalizing problems in adolescence, but relatively little is known about the role of siblings. This four-wave, multi-informant study investigated linkages of siblings' externalizing problems and sibling-adolescent negative…

ICU director data: using data to assess value, inform local change, and relate to the external world.

PubMed

Murphy, David J; Ogbu, Ogbonna C; Coopersmith, Craig M

2015-04-01

Improving value within critical care remains a priority because it represents a significant portion of health-care spending, faces high rates of adverse events, and inconsistently delivers evidence-based practices. ICU directors are increasingly required to understand all aspects of the value provided by their units to inform local improvement efforts and relate effectively to external parties. A clear understanding of the overall process of measuring quality and value as well as the strengths, limitations, and potential application of individual metrics is critical to supporting this charge. In this review, we provide a conceptual framework for understanding value metrics, describe an approach to developing a value measurement program, and summarize common metrics to characterize ICU value. We first summarize how ICU value can be represented as a function of outcomes and costs. We expand this equation and relate it to both the classic structure-process-outcome framework for quality assessment and the Institute of Medicine's six aims of health care. We then describe how ICU leaders can develop their own value measurement process by identifying target areas, selecting appropriate measures, acquiring the necessary data, analyzing the data, and disseminating the findings. Within this measurement process, we summarize common metrics that can be used to characterize ICU value. As health care, in general, and critical care, in particular, changes and data become more available, it is increasingly important for ICU leaders to understand how to effectively acquire, evaluate, and apply data to improve the value of care provided to patients.

[Parenting stress and the reliability of parental information in the diagnostics of children and adolescents with symptoms of psychiatric and behavioral disorders].

PubMed

Irlbauer-Müller, Viktoria; Eichler, Anna; Stemmler, Mark; Moll, Gunther H; Kratz, Oliver

2017-07-01

Information from parents is regularly used in the diagnostic process of children and adolescents with psychiatric symptoms. But the reliability of this information is debatable, because the parents’ own stress can distort their perceptions of the child’s symptoms. For each of N = 68 children and adolescents (11–18 years) who were using mental health services for the first time, we evaluated the ratings of a parent and a professional clinician (internalizing, externalizing symptoms, total-problem score). In addition, parenting stress was scored on the Eltern-Belastungs-Inventars (EBI, Tröster, 2011), which measures both child-related stress and parent-related stress as well as total stress. Highly stressed parent ratings differed more from the clinicians’ ratings than the ratings of less stressed parents. Additionally, correlations showed that higher parenting stress resulted in larger differences between the parent’s and the clinician’s assessments. Multiple regressions proved the predictive value of child-caused parenting stress for these differences. These results apply for internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and total-problem score. Parenting stress should be evaluated systematically in order to carefully assess the value of the information from parents and to determine how it should be included in diagnostic and therapeutical decisions.

External Quality Assurance Programs Managed by the U.S. Geological Survey in Support of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/Mercury Deposition Network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Latysh, Natalie E.; Wetherbee, Gregory A.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Branch of Quality Systems operates external quality assurance programs for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/Mercury Deposition Network (NADP/MDN). Beginning in 2004, three programs have been implemented: the system blank program, the interlaboratory comparison program, and the blind audit program. Each program was designed to measure error contributed by specific components in the data-collection process. The system blank program assesses contamination that may result from sampling equipment, field exposure, and routine handling and processing of the wet-deposition samples. The interlaboratory comparison program evaluates bias and precision of analytical results produced by the Mercury Analytical Laboratory (HAL) for the NADP/MDN, operated by Frontier GeoSciences, Inc. The HAL's performance is compared with the performance of five other laboratories. The blind audit program assesses bias and variability of MDN data produced by the HAL using solutions disguised as environmental samples to ascertain true laboratory performance. This report documents the implementation of quality assurance procedures for the NADP/MDN and the operating procedures for each of the external quality assurance programs conducted by the USGS. The USGS quality assurance information provides a measure of confidence to NADP/MDN data users that measurement variability is distinguished from environmental signals.

Mothers of children with externalizing behavior problems: cognitive risk factors for abuse potential and discipline style and practices.

PubMed

McElroy, Erika M; Rodriguez, Christina M

2008-08-01

Utilizing the conceptual framework of the Social Information Processing (SIP) model (Milner, 1993, 2000), associations between cognitive risk factors and child physical abuse risk and maladaptive discipline style and practices were examined in an at-risk population. Seventy-three mothers of 5-12-year-old children, who were identified by their therapist as having an externalizing behavior problem, responded to self-report measures pertaining to cognitive risk factors (empathic perspective taking, frustration tolerance, developmental expectations, parenting locus of control), abuse risk, and discipline style and practices. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) provided a confirmation of the child's externalizing behaviors independent of the therapist's assessment. The results of this study suggest several cognitive risk factors significantly predict risk of parental aggression toward children. A parent's ability to empathize and take the perspective of their child, parental locus of control, and parental level of frustration tolerance were significant predictors of abuse potential (accounting for 63% of the variance) and inappropriate discipline practices (accounting for 55% of the variance). Findings of the present study provide support for processes theorized in the SIP model. Specifically, results underscore the potential role of parents' frustration tolerance, developmental expectations, locus of control, and empathy as predictive of abuse potential and disciplinary style in an at-risk sample.

An external domino effects investment approach to improve cross-plant safety within chemical clusters.

PubMed

Reniers, Genserik

2010-05-15

Every company situated within a chemical cluster faces the risk of being struck by an escalating accident at one of its neighbouring plants (the so-called external domino effect risks). These cross-plant risks can be reduced or eliminated if neighbouring companies are willing to invest in systems and measures to prevent them. However, since reducing such multi-plant risks does not lead to direct economic benefits, enterprises tend to be reluctant to invest more than needed for meeting minimal legal requirements and they tend to invest without collaborating. The suggested approach in this article indicates what information is required to evaluate the available investment options in external domino effects prevention. To this end, game theory is used as a promising scientific technique to investigate the decision-making process on investments in prevention measures simultaneously involving several plants. The game between two neighbouring chemical plants and their strategic investment behaviour regarding the prevention of external domino effects is described and an illustrative example is provided. Recommendations are formulated to advance cross-plant prevention investments in a two-company cluster. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How External Institutions Penetrate Schools through Formal and Informal Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Min; Frank, Kenneth A.; Penuel, William R.; Kim, Chong Min

2013-01-01

Purposes: This study investigates the role of formal and informal leaders in the diffusion of external reforms into schools and to teachers' practices. Formal leaders are designated by their roles in the formal organization of the school (e.g., principals, department chairs, and instructional coaches) and informal leaders refer to those who do not…

Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part XIV: The External Environment and Research for Diagnostic Processes.

PubMed

Harolds, Jay A

2016-09-01

The work system in which diagnosis takes place is affected by the external environment, which includes requirements such as certification, accreditation, and regulations. How errors are reported, malpractice, and the system for payment are some other aspects of the external environment. Improving the external environment is expected to decrease errors in diagnosis. More research on improving the diagnostic process is needed.

Prior activity of olfactory receptor neurons is required for proper sensory processing and behavior in Drosophila larvae.

PubMed

Utashiro, Nao; Williams, Claire R; Parrish, Jay Z; Emoto, Kazuo

2018-06-05

Animal responses to their environment rely on activation of sensory neurons by external stimuli. In many sensory systems, however, neurons display basal activity prior to the external stimuli. This prior activity is thought to modulate neural functions, yet its impact on animal behavior remains elusive. Here, we reveal a potential role for prior activity in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in shaping larval olfactory behavior. We show that prior activity in larval ORNs is mediated by the olfactory receptor complex (OR complex). Mutations of Orco, an odorant co-receptor required for OR complex function, cause reduced attractive behavior in response to optogenetic activation of ORNs. Calcium imaging reveals that Orco mutant ORNs fully respond to optogenetic stimulation but exhibit altered temporal patterns of neural responses. These findings together suggest a critical role for prior activity in information processing upon ORN activation in Drosophila larvae, which in turn contributes to olfactory behavior control.

Externally induced frontoparietal synchronization modulates network dynamics and enhances working memory performance.

PubMed

Violante, Ines R; Li, Lucia M; Carmichael, David W; Lorenz, Romy; Leech, Robert; Hampshire, Adam; Rothwell, John C; Sharp, David J

2017-03-14

Cognitive functions such as working memory (WM) are emergent properties of large-scale network interactions. Synchronisation of oscillatory activity might contribute to WM by enabling the coordination of long-range processes. However, causal evidence for the way oscillatory activity shapes network dynamics and behavior in humans is limited. Here we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to exogenously modulate oscillatory activity in a right frontoparietal network that supports WM. Externally induced synchronization improved performance when cognitive demands were high. Simultaneously collected fMRI data reveals tACS effects dependent on the relative phase of the stimulation and the internal cognitive processing state. Specifically, synchronous tACS during the verbal WM task increased parietal activity, which correlated with behavioral performance. Furthermore, functional connectivity results indicate that the relative phase of frontoparietal stimulation influences information flow within the WM network. Overall, our findings demonstrate a link between behavioral performance in a demanding WM task and large-scale brain synchronization.

Complex for monitoring visual acuity and its application for evaluation of human psycho-physiological state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorokoumov, P. S.; Khabibullin, T. R.; Tolstaya, A. M.

2017-01-01

The existing psychological theories associate the movement of a human eye with its reactions to external change: what we see, hear and feel. By analyzing the glance, we can compare the external human response (which shows the behavior of a person), and the natural reaction (that they actually feels). This article describes the complex for detection of visual activity and its application for evaluation of the psycho-physiological state of a person. The glasses with a camera capture all the movements of the human eye in real time. The data recorded by the camera are transmitted to the computer for processing implemented with the help of the software developed by the authors. The result is given in an informative and an understandable report, which can be used for further analysis. The complex shows a high efficiency and stable operation and can be used both, for the pedagogic personnel recruitment and for testing students during the educational process.

Biomedical application of wavelets: analysis of electroencephalograph signals for monitoring depth of anesthesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbate, Agostino; Nayak, A.; Koay, J.; Roy, R. J.; Das, Pankaj K.

1996-03-01

The wavelet transform (WT) has been used to study the nonstationary information in the electroencephalograph (EEG) as an aid in determining the anesthetic depth. A complex analytic mother wavelet is utilized to obtain the time evolution of the various spectral components of the EEG signal. The technique is utilized for the detection and spectral analysis of transient and background processes in the awake and asleep states. It can be observed that the response of both states before the application of the stimulus is similar in amplitude but not in spectral contents, which suggests a background activity of the brain. The brain reacts to the external stimulus in two different modes depending on the state of consciousness of the subject. In the case of awake state, there is an evident increase in response, while for the sleep state a reduction in this activity is observed. This analysis seems to suggest that the brain has an ongoing background process that monitors external stimulus in both the sleep and awake states.

A reduced-form intensity-based model under fuzzy environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Liang; Zhuang, Yaming

2015-05-01

The external shocks and internal contagion are the important sources of default events. However, the external shocks and internal contagion effect on the company is not observed, we cannot get the accurate size of the shocks. The information of investors relative to the default process exhibits a certain fuzziness. Therefore, using randomness and fuzziness to study such problems as derivative pricing or default probability has practical needs. But the idea of fuzzifying credit risk models is little exploited, especially in a reduced-form model. This paper proposes a new default intensity model with fuzziness and presents a fuzzy default probability and default loss rate, and puts them into default debt and credit derivative pricing. Finally, the simulation analysis verifies the rationality of the model. Using fuzzy numbers and random analysis one can consider more uncertain sources in the default process of default and investors' subjective judgment on the financial markets in a variety of fuzzy reliability so as to broaden the scope of possible credit spreads.

Externally induced frontoparietal synchronization modulates network dynamics and enhances working memory performance

PubMed Central

Violante, Ines R; Li, Lucia M; Carmichael, David W; Lorenz, Romy; Leech, Robert; Hampshire, Adam; Rothwell, John C; Sharp, David J

2017-01-01

Cognitive functions such as working memory (WM) are emergent properties of large-scale network interactions. Synchronisation of oscillatory activity might contribute to WM by enabling the coordination of long-range processes. However, causal evidence for the way oscillatory activity shapes network dynamics and behavior in humans is limited. Here we applied transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to exogenously modulate oscillatory activity in a right frontoparietal network that supports WM. Externally induced synchronization improved performance when cognitive demands were high. Simultaneously collected fMRI data reveals tACS effects dependent on the relative phase of the stimulation and the internal cognitive processing state. Specifically, synchronous tACS during the verbal WM task increased parietal activity, which correlated with behavioral performance. Furthermore, functional connectivity results indicate that the relative phase of frontoparietal stimulation influences information flow within the WM network. Overall, our findings demonstrate a link between behavioral performance in a demanding WM task and large-scale brain synchronization. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22001.001 PMID:28288700

Synthesizing information-update functions using off-line symbolic processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenschein, Stanley J.

1990-01-01

This paper explores the synthesis of programs that track dynamic conditions in their environment. An approach is proposed in which the designer specifies, in a declarative language, aspects of the environment in which the program will be embedded. This specification is then automatically compiled into a program that, when executed, updates internal data structures so as to maintain as an invariant a desired correspondence between internal data structures and states of the external environment. This approach retains much of the flexibility of declarative programming while guaranteeing a hard bound on the execution time of information-update functions.

Cognitive processing in the primary visual cortex: from perception to memory.

PubMed

Supèr, Hans

2002-01-01

The primary visual cortex is the first cortical area of the visual system that receives information from the external visual world. Based on the receptive field characteristics of the neurons in this area, it has been assumed that the primary visual cortex is a pure sensory area extracting basic elements of the visual scene. This information is then subsequently further processed upstream in the higher-order visual areas and provides us with perception and storage of the visual environment. However, recent findings show that such neural implementations are observed in the primary visual cortex. These neural correlates are expressed by the modulated activity of the late response of a neuron to a stimulus, and most likely depend on recurrent interactions between several areas of the visual system. This favors the concept of a distributed nature of visual processing in perceptual organization.

LIFEdb: a database for functional genomics experiments integrating information from external sources, and serving as a sample tracking system

PubMed Central

Bannasch, Detlev; Mehrle, Alexander; Glatting, Karl-Heinz; Pepperkok, Rainer; Poustka, Annemarie; Wiemann, Stefan

2004-01-01

We have implemented LIFEdb (http://www.dkfz.de/LIFEdb) to link information regarding novel human full-length cDNAs generated and sequenced by the German cDNA Consortium with functional information on the encoded proteins produced in functional genomics and proteomics approaches. The database also serves as a sample-tracking system to manage the process from cDNA to experimental read-out and data interpretation. A web interface enables the scientific community to explore and visualize features of the annotated cDNAs and ORFs combined with experimental results, and thus helps to unravel new features of proteins with as yet unknown functions. PMID:14681468

Informing clinical policy decision-making practices in ambulance services.

PubMed

Muecke, Sandy; Curac, Nada; Binks, Darryn

2013-12-01

This study aims to identify the processes and frameworks that support an evidence-based approach to clinical policy decision-making practices in ambulance services. This literature review focused on: (i) the setting (pre-hospital); and (ii) the process of evidence translation, for studies published after the year 2000. Searches of Medline, CINAHL and Google were undertaken. Reference lists of eligible publications were searched for relevant articles. A total of 954 articles were identified. Of these, 20 full text articles were assessed for eligibility and seven full text articles met the inclusion criteria. Three provided detailed descriptions of the evidence-based practice processes used to inform ambulance service protocol or guideline development or review. There is little published literature that describes the processes involved, and frameworks required, to inform clinical policy decision making within ambulance services. This review found that processes were iterative and involved collaborations across many internal and external stakeholders. In several jurisdictions, these were coordinated by a dedicated team. Success appears dependent on committed leadership and purposive human and structural resources. Although time consuming, structured processes have been developed in some jurisdictions to assist decision-making processes. Further insight is likely to be obtained from literature published by those from other disciplines. © 2013 The Authors. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare © 2013 The Joanna Briggs Institute.

When Information Improves Information Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossklags, Jens; Johnson, Benjamin; Christin, Nicolas

This paper presents a formal, quantitative evaluation of the impact of bounded-rational security decision-making subject to limited information and externalities. We investigate a mixed economy of an individual rational expert and several naïve near-sighted agents. We further model three canonical types of negative externalities (weakest-link, best shot and total effort), and study the impact of two information regimes on the threat level agents are facing.

The importance of inclusion of kinetic information in the extrapolation of high-to-low concentrations for human limit setting.

PubMed

Geraets, Liesbeth; Zeilmaker, Marco J; Bos, Peter M J

2018-01-05

Human health risk assessment of inhalation exposures generally includes a high-to-low concentration extrapolation. Although this is a common step in human risk assessment, it introduces various uncertainties. One of these uncertainties is related to the toxicokinetics. Many kinetic processes such as absorption, metabolism or excretion can be subject to saturation at high concentration levels. In the presence of saturable kinetic processes of the parent compound or metabolites, disproportionate increases in internal blood or tissue concentration relative to the external concentration administered may occur resulting in nonlinear kinetics. The present paper critically reviews human health risk assessment of inhalation exposure. More specific, it emphasizes the importance of kinetic information for the determination of a safe exposure in human risk assessment of inhalation exposures assessed by conversion from a high animal exposure to a low exposure in humans. For two selected chemicals, i.e. methyl tert-butyl ether and 1,2-dichloroethane, PBTK-modelling was used, for illustrative purposes, to follow the extrapolation and conversion steps as performed in existing risk assessments for these chemicals. Human health-based limit values based on an external dose metric without sufficient knowledge on kinetics might be too high to be sufficiently protective. Insight in the actual internal exposure, the toxic agent, the appropriate dose metric, and whether an effect is related to internal concentration or dose is important. Without this, application of assessment factors on an external dose metric and the conversion to continuous exposure results in an uncertain human health risk assessment of inhalation exposures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced Fuel Cycle Cost Basis – 2017 Edition

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

Dixon, B. W.; Ganda, F.; Williams, K. A.

This report, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), provides a comprehensive set of cost data supporting a cost analysis for the relative economic comparison of options for use in the DOE Nuclear Technology Research and Development (NTRD) Program (previously the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD) and the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI)). The report describes the NTRD cost basis development process, reference information on NTRD cost modules, a procedure for estimating fuel cycle costs, economic evaluation guidelines, and a discussion on the integration of cost data into economic computer models. This reportmore » contains reference cost data for numerous fuel cycle cost modules (modules A-O) as well as cost modules for a number of reactor types (R modules). The fuel cycle cost modules were developed in the areas of natural uranium mining and milling, thorium mining and milling, conversion, enrichment, depleted uranium disposition, fuel fabrication, interim spent fuel storage, reprocessing, waste conditioning, spent nuclear fuel (SNF) packaging, long-term monitored retrievable storage, managed decay storage, recycled product storage, near surface disposal of low-level waste (LLW), geologic repository and other disposal concepts, and transportation processes for nuclear fuel, LLW, SNF, transuranic, and high-level waste. Since its inception, this report has been periodically updated. The last such internal document was published in August 2015 while the last external edition was published in December of 2009 as INL/EXT-07-12107 and is available on the Web at URL: www.inl.gov/technicalpublications/Documents/4536700.pdf. This current report (Sept 2017) is planned to be reviewed for external release, at which time it will replace the 2009 report as an external publication. This information is used in the ongoing evaluation of nuclear fuel cycles by the NE NTRD program.« less

Competitive intelligence information management and innovation in small technology-based companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanev, Stoyan

2007-05-01

In this article we examine how (i) company type and (ii) the competitive intelligence information used by small technology-based companies affect their innovation performance. The focus is on the specific information types used and not on the information sources. Information topics are classified in four groups - customers (10), company (9), competitor (11) and industry (12). The sample consists of 45 small new technology-based companies, specialized suppliers, and service companies from a variety of sectors - software, photonics, telecommunications, biomedical engineering and biotech, traditional manufacturing etc. The results suggest that the total number of intelligence information topics companies use to make decisions about innovation is not associated with the number of their new products, processes, services and patents. Therefore the companies in our sample do not seem to have the resources, processes or value systems required to use different competitive intelligence information when making decisions on innovation or may rely more on their own internal logic than on external information. Companies are classified using a Pavitt-like taxonomy. Service companies are considered as a separate company type. This allows for explicitly studying both, the innovative role of new services in product driven companies, and the role of new product development in service companies.

[Evaluating the activity of the Italian Mental Health Services inpatient and residential facilities: the PRISM (Process Indicator System for Mental health) indicators].

PubMed

Picardi, Angelo; Tarolla, Emanuele; de Girolamo, Giovanni; Gigantesco, Antonella; Neri, Giovanni; Rossi, Elisabetta; Biondi, Massimo

2014-01-01

This article describes the activities of a project aimed at developing a system of process and process/outcome indicators suitable to monitor over time the quality of psychiatric care of Italian inpatient and residential psychiatric facilities. This system, named PRISM (Process Indicator System for Mental health), was developed by means of a standardized evaluation made by a panel of experts and a consecutive pilot study in 17 inpatient and 13 residential psychiatric facilities. A total of 28 indicators were selected from a set of 251 candidate indicators developed by the most relevant and qualified Italian and international authorities. These indicators are derived by data from medical records and information about characteristics of facilities, and they cover processes of care, operational equipment of facilities, staff training and working, relationships with external agencies, and sentinel events. The procedure followed for the development of the indicator system was reliable and innovative. The data collected from the pilot study suggested a favourable benefit-cost ratio between the workload associated with regular use of the indicators into the context of daily clinical activities and the advantages related to the information gathered through regular use of the indicators. CONCLUSIONS.:The PRISM system provides additional information about the healthcare processes with respect to the information gathered via routine information systems, and it might prove useful for both continuous quality improvement programs and health services research.

Mendel-GPU: haplotyping and genotype imputation on graphics processing units

PubMed Central

Chen, Gary K.; Wang, Kai; Stram, Alex H.; Sobel, Eric M.; Lange, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Motivation: In modern sequencing studies, one can improve the confidence of genotype calls by phasing haplotypes using information from an external reference panel of fully typed unrelated individuals. However, the computational demands are so high that they prohibit researchers with limited computational resources from haplotyping large-scale sequence data. Results: Our graphics processing unit based software delivers haplotyping and imputation accuracies comparable to competing programs at a fraction of the computational cost and peak memory demand. Availability: Mendel-GPU, our OpenCL software, runs on Linux platforms and is portable across AMD and nVidia GPUs. Users can download both code and documentation at http://code.google.com/p/mendel-gpu/. Contact: gary.k.chen@usc.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:22954633

Reasons for deficiencies in health information laws in Iran.

PubMed

Moghaddasi, Hamid; Hosseini, Azamol-sadat; Sajjadi, Samad; Nikookalam, Maryam

2014-01-01

Laws, regulations, and guidelines are necessary external stimuli that influence the management of health data. They serve as external mechanisms for the reinforcement and quality improvement of health information. Despite their inevitable significance, such laws have not yet been sufficiently formulated in Iran. The current study explores reasons for inadequacies in the health information laws. In this descriptive study, health-related laws and regulations from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Iran were first collected, using a review of the literature and available data. Then, bearing in mind the significant deficiencies in health information laws in Iran, the researchers asked a group of managers and policy makers in the healthcare field to complete a questionnaire to explore the reasons for such deficiencies. A test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and tables were then used to analyze the data. Experts' opinion on reasons for deficiencies in health information laws and regulations in Iran are divided into four principal groups: cultural conditions of the community, the status of the health information system, characteristics of managers and policy makers in the healthcare field, and awareness level among public beneficiaries about laws. The health departments or ministries in developed countries have brought about suitable changes in their affiliated organizations by developing external data enhancement mechanisms such as information-related laws and standards, and accreditation of healthcare organizations. At the same time, healthcare organizations, under obligations imposed by the external forces, try to elevate the quality of information. Therefore, this study suggests that raising healthcare managers' awareness of the importance of passing health information laws, as an effective external mechanism, is essential.

How does context affect intimate relationships? linking external stress and cognitive processes within marriage.

PubMed

Neff, Lisa A; Karney, Benjamin R

2004-02-01

Stressors external to the marriage frequently affect the way spouses evaluate their marital quality. To date, however, understanding of the interplay between external stress and internal relationship processes has been limited in two ways. First, research has generally examined only the short-term consequences of stress. Second, the mechanisms through which external stressors influence relationship outcomes are unclear. This study addressed both limitations by examining relationship cognitions that may mediate the effects of external stress throughout 4 years of marriage. Analyses confirmed that stressful experiences were associated with the trajectory of marital quality overtime. Furthermore, both the content and the organization of spouses' specific relationship cognitions mediated this effect. That is, stress negatively influenced the nature of spouses' marital perceptions as well as the way spouses interpreted and processed those perceptions. These findings draw attention to ways that the context of relationships shapes and constrains relationship processes.

Safety Climate Among Nontraditional Workers in Construction: Arguing for a Focus on Construed External Safety Image.

PubMed

Stiehl, Emily; Forst, Linda

2018-05-01

Safety climate, employees' perceptions of work-related safety, 1 has been promoted as a leading indicator of workplace safety in construction. 2 , 3 While research has primarily examined internal organizational sources (e.g., manager attitudes, formal organizational policies) on these perceptions, external sources of information might be more relevant to construction workers in nontraditional jobs who work for a limited time and/or have limited interaction with other employees. This paper argues for the future development of a construed external safety image scale to measure employees' perceptions about how external groups view their organization's safety. 4 The construed external safety image would capture the external sources that nontraditional workers use to assess safety climate and will allow public health researchers to identify and change dangerous workplaces while more effectively communicating information about safe workplaces to workers. The public health relevance of safety climate and construed external safety image for monitoring and communicating safety to nontraditional workers require examination.

Your College Degree: The External Degree Way.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haponski, William C.; And Others

Information on undertaking an external degree program to obtain a college education is presented. An external degree program is one that has no, or minimal requirements for residence (on-campus attendance). Most often it can be entered at any time of the year and usually grants credit for documented learning already acquired. An external degree…

ERDDAP - RESTful Web Services

Science.gov Websites

, graphs, or information about datasets). A RESTful web service (external link) - a URL that computer to get the same information in a more computer-program-friendly format like JSON (external link .jsonlKVP, where column names are on every row): Each column has a column name and one type of information

Scaling view by the Virtual Nature Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klenov, Valeriy

2010-05-01

The Actual Nature Systems (ANS) continually are under spatial-temporal governing external influences from other systems (Meteorology and Geophysics). This influences provide own spatial temporal patterns on the Earth Nature Systems, which reforms these influences by own manner and scales. These at last three systems belong to the Open Non Equilibrium Nature Systems (ONES). The Geophysics and Meteorology Systems are both governing for the ANS on the Earth. They provide as continual energetic pressure and impacts, and direct Extremes from the both systems to the ANS on Earth surface (earthquakes, storms, and others). The Geodynamics of the ANS is under mixing of influence for both systems, on their scales and on dynamics of their spatial-temporal structures, and by own ANS properties, as the ONES. To select influences of external systems on the Earth systems always is among major tasks of the Geomorphology. Mixing of the Systems scales and dynamics provide specific properties for the memory of Earth system. The memory of the ANS has practical value for their multi-purpose management. The knowledge of these properties is the key for research spatial-temporal GeoDynamics and Trends of Earth Nature Systems. Selection of the influences in time and space requires for special tool, requires elaboration and action of the Virtual Nature Systems (VNS), which are enliven computer doubles for analysis Geodynamics of the ANS. The Experience on the VNS enables to assess influence of each and both external factors on the ANS. It is source of knowledge for regional tectonic and climate oscillations, trends, and threats. Research by the VNS for spatial-temporal dynamics and structures of stochastic regimes of governing systems and processes results in stochastic GeoDynamics of environmental processes, in forming of false trends and blanks in natural records. This ‘wild dance' of 2D stochastic patterns and their interaction each other and generates acting structures of river nets, and of river basins, in multi-layer, multi-scale, and multi-driven structures of surface processes. It results in the Information Loss Law for observed memory of the VNS (and of external drivers) which gradually cut off own Past and distort own history. This view on the GeoDynamics appeared after long time field measurements thousand of terrace levels, hundreds of terrace ranks, and many terrace complexes in river basins of all scales - for the purpose to recognize their deforming by climatic and tectonic spatial-temporal influences. The method for following up of terrace levels along valleys was used in the Geomorphology and Geology for a long time, by linking fragments of level to ‘cycles'. It gradually linked them by heights above riverbed. The understanding of this logical mistake was happened (as insight) during observing from upstream a valley. All fragmental levels downstream were good visible, without chances for their correlation ‘by height' or ‘by number'. Instead of link of fragments, this explains process of river valleys' stochastic GeoDynamics by properties of the ONES (I. Prigogine et al., 1984) to generate oscillations. Is only first view, but later it turned to simple mechanic of Information Loss Law action in the GeoInformatics for Nature Systems (Klenov, 1980, et al.). The Information Loss distorts and destroys natural records (sources for data on the Past exogenous and endogenous rivers). This simple equation was received by multiple measures of terrace rank, and other natural records. It explains origin of false trend in natural records, destroys most own history by stochastic dynamics of the ONES. It prevents to restore of nature records as a memory of the Past. Non-disturbed is only small time between the Past and the Future, which looks like a peak between two non-linear losses. The history of Past (of the ANS, and of external drivers) are destroyed by the ANS. The Future becomes none determined due unknown 2D data of future external influences. However, the effect is the reliable Outstripping Monitoring for impending disasters and of other processes with satisfactory exactness. It was proved by direct validations (by use observed records). The conclusions are as follows: The ILL is mechanics for dissipation the Past and indeterminism the Future of the Nature. Moving back along the VNS' Phase Trajectory changes a view on natural records, and is chance to restore history of the ANS and its external drivers.

Process mapping and the integration of care

PubMed Central

Santana, Silvina; Redondo, Patrícia

2011-01-01

Introduction The main objective of this work is to show how process mapping may contribute to the improvement of intra- and inter-organizational integration of care. Theory and methods Under logic of service integration, quality of care depends not only on how the internal processes are implemented, but also on the quality of the transitions of care with external entities. We conducted a case study on a health centre located in the Centre Region of Portugal. Data was collected during the first semester of 2009. Petri nets were used as a modeling tool. Results We mapped eleven processes involving a patient directly. The informality of many of the processes became evident. Activities are guided by formalisms imposed by law and by the good practices of professionals. Some processes are not normalized and represented in the computerized information system. The media most used to communicate with other entities are the phone and paper. Under the RNCCI (Rede Nacional de Cuidados Integrados e Continuados—National Network for Integrated Care), the information is all organized in an integrated manner, and the processes are support by a customized, nation-wide, web-based information system. However, this platform is not integrated with the other applications in use. Conclusions and discussion We have demonstrated the viability and the benefits of process mapping techniques in the context of a Health Centre. It allowed to identify and understand the ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘who’ of each process, sub-process, task and activity and to develop graphical views of the processes.

Management demands on information and communication technology in process-oriented health-care organizations: the importance of understanding managers' expectations during early phases of systems design.

PubMed

Andersson, Anna; Vimarlund, Vivian; Timpka, Toomas

2002-01-01

There are numerous challenges to overcome before information and communication technology (ICT) can achieve its full potential in process-oriented health-care organizations. One of these challenges is designing systems that meet users' needs, while reflecting a continuously changing organizational environment. Another challenge is to develop ICT that supports both the internal and the external stakeholders' demands. In this study a qualitative research strategy was used to explore the demands on ICT expressed by managers from functional and process units at a community hospitaL The results reveal a multitude of partially competing goals that can make the ICT development process confusing, poor in quality, inefficient and unnecessarily costly. Therefore, from the perspective of ICT development, the main task appears to be to coordinate the different visions and in particular clarify them, as well as to establish the impact that these visions would have on the forthcoming ICT application.

77 FR 29316 - Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee; Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-17

....gov ). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Committee, composed of external, knowledgeable representatives... Center External Review, sharing information about capabilities, needs and priorities of partners, and... agenda is subject to change. The latest version will be posted at http://www.mpa.gov . Dated: May 12...

[An information system for injuries from external causes (SILEX): a successful project in El Salvador].

PubMed

Salinas, Oscar; de Cosío, Gerardo; Clavel-Arcas, Carme; Montoya, Jeannette; Serpas, Mario; Morán de García, Silvia; Concha-Eastman, Alberto

2008-12-01

This article examines the stages in developing an information system for injuries from external causes (Sistema de Información de Lesiones de Causa Externa-SILEX), as well as its limitations and achievements. SILEX is a Web-based application for collection, quality control, presentation, and analysis of data available from the hospital system for surveillance of injuries from external causes created by Ministry of Health of El Salvador with data from the hospital emergency services. This system maintains comprehensive information on the injured person-type of injury, intention, injury site, activity being performed at the time of injury, risk factors, etc.-in the form of tables, graphs, and maps, which streamlines the development of intervention plans and prevention initiatives for these types of injuries in El Salvador. This experience is an example of what can be done to close the information gap on injuries by external causes in the Region of the Americas.

Adoptees’ Curiosity and Information Seeking about Birth Parents in Emerging Adulthood: Context, Motivation, and Behavior

PubMed Central

Wrobel, Gretchen Miller; Grotevant, Harold D.; Samek, Diana R.; Von Korff, Lynn

2013-01-01

The Adoption Communication Pathway(ACP) model was used to test the potential mediating effect of curiosity on adoption information seeking in a sample of 143 emerging adult adoptees (mean age = 25.0 years) who were adopted as infants within the United States by parents of the same race. Adoptees were interviewed about their intentions and actions taken to gather new information about their birth mothers and fathers. As expected, level of curiosity was positively associated with information seeking behavior. Moreover, level of curiosity was influenced by adoptees’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators toward information-dseeking. In fact, curiosity partially mediated the impact of internal and external barriers on information seeking about birth mothers. Curiosity fully mediated the impact of external barriers and partially mediated external facilitators on birth father information seeking. This study provides important support for the ACP, which describes context, motivation, and behavior relating to seeking new adoption-related information. PMID:24376288

KSC-2011-2201

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-03-10

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, processing continues for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS). AMS is a particle physics detector, designed to operate as an external experiment on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. AMS-2 will fly to the station aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. EDT. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

Pedagogical Affordances of Multiple External Representations in Scientific Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hsin-Kai; Puntambekar, Sadhana

2012-12-01

Multiple external representations (MERs) have been widely used in science teaching and learning. Theories such as dual coding theory and cognitive flexibility theory have been developed to explain why the use of MERs is beneficial to learning, but they do not provide much information on pedagogical issues such as how and in what conditions MERs could be introduced and used to support students' engagement in scientific processes and develop competent scientific practices (e.g., asking questions, planning investigations, and analyzing data). Additionally, little is understood about complex interactions among scientific processes and affordances of MERs. Therefore, this article focuses on pedagogical affordances of MERs in learning environments that engage students in various scientific processes. By reviewing literature in science education and cognitive psychology and integrating multiple perspectives, this article aims at exploring (1) how MERs can be integrated with science processes due to their different affordances, and (2) how student learning with MERs can be scaffolded, especially in a classroom situation. We argue that pairing representations and scientific processes in a principled way based on the affordances of the representations and the goals of the activities is a powerful way to use MERs in science education. Finally, we outline types of scaffolding that could help effective use of MERs including dynamic linking, model progression, support in instructional materials, teacher support, and active engagement.

Source monitoring in Korsakoff's syndrome: "Did I touch the toothbrush or did I imagine doing so?"

PubMed

El Haj, Mohamad; Nandrino, Jean Louis; Coello, Yann; Miller, Ralph; Antoine, Pascal

2017-06-01

There is a body of research suggesting compromised ability to distinguish between different external sources of information (i.e., external monitoring) in Korsakoff's syndrome. Here we replicate and extend this literature by assessing the ability of patients with Korsakoff's syndrome to distinguish between different external sources of information (i.e., external monitoring), between internal and external sources of information (i.e., reality monitoring), and between different internal sources of information (i.e., internal monitoring). On the external monitoring assessment, patients with Korsakoff's syndrome and controls watched the experimenter place objects (e.g., a toothbrush) in either a black or white box; afterward, they were asked to remember where the objects had been placed. On the reality monitoring assessment, participants had to either place objects or watch the experimenter place objects in a black box; afterward, they were asked to remember whether the objects had been placed in the box by themselves or by the experimenter. On the internal monitoring assessment, participants had to either place objects or imagine themselves placing objects in a black box; afterward, they were asked to remember whether they had previously placed the objects in the box or imagined doing so. Analyses demonstrated lower external and internal monitoring in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome than in controls, but no significant difference was observed between the two populations on the reality monitoring condition. Our data provide preliminary evidence that the ability to recognize oneself as the author of one's own actions may be relatively preserved in Korsakoff's syndrome. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementation of the external cephalic version in breech delivery. Dutch national implementation study of external cephalic version.

PubMed

Vlemmix, Floortje; Rosman, Ageeth N; Fleuren, Margot A H; Rijnders, Marlies E B; Beuckens, Antje; Haak, Monique C; Akerboom, Bettina M C; Bais, Joke M J; Kuppens, Simone M I; Papatsonis, Dimitri N; Opmeer, Brent C; van der Post, Joris A M; Mol, Ben Willem J; Kok, Marjolein

2010-05-10

Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies. External cephalic version (ECV) is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech deliveries and therefore it is recommended by clinical guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organisation for Midwives (KNOV) and the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG). Implementation of ECV does not exceed 50 to 60% and probably less.We aim to improve the implementation of ECV to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality due to breech presentations. This will be done by defining barriers and facilitators of implementation of ECV in the Netherlands. An innovative implementation strategy will be developed based on improved patient counselling and thorough instructions of health care providers for counselling. The ultimate purpose of this implementation study is to improve counselling of pregnant women and information of clinicians to realize a better implementation of ECV.The first phase of the project is to detect the barriers and facilitators of ECV. The next step is to develop an implementation strategy to inform and counsel pregnant women with a breech presentation, and to inform and educate care providers. In the third phase, the effectiveness of the developed implementation strategy will be evaluated in a randomised trial. The study population is a random selection of midwives and gynaecologists from 60 to 100 hospitals and practices. Primary endpoints are number of counselled women. Secondary endpoints are process indicators, the amount of fetes in cephalic presentation at birth, complications due to ECV, the number of caesarean sections and perinatal condition of mother and child. Cost effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured. This study will provide evidence for the cost effectiveness of a structural implementation of external cephalic versions to reduce the number of breech presentations at term. Dutch Trial Register (NTR): 1878.

Implementation of the external cephalic version in breech delivery. Dutch national implementation study of external cephalic version

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Breech presentation occurs in 3 to 4% of all term pregnancies. External cephalic version (ECV) is proven effective to prevent vaginal breech deliveries and therefore it is recommended by clinical guidelines of the Royal Dutch Organisation for Midwives (KNOV) and the Dutch Society for Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NVOG). Implementation of ECV does not exceed 50 to 60% and probably less. We aim to improve the implementation of ECV to decrease maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality due to breech presentations. This will be done by defining barriers and facilitators of implementation of ECV in the Netherlands. An innovative implementation strategy will be developed based on improved patient counselling and thorough instructions of health care providers for counselling. Method/design The ultimate purpose of this implementation study is to improve counselling of pregnant women and information of clinicians to realize a better implementation of ECV. The first phase of the project is to detect the barriers and facilitators of ECV. The next step is to develop an implementation strategy to inform and counsel pregnant women with a breech presentation, and to inform and educate care providers. In the third phase, the effectiveness of the developed implementation strategy will be evaluated in a randomised trial. The study population is a random selection of midwives and gynaecologists from 60 to 100 hospitals and practices. Primary endpoints are number of counselled women. Secondary endpoints are process indicators, the amount of fetes in cephalic presentation at birth, complications due to ECV, the number of caesarean sections and perinatal condition of mother and child. Cost effectiveness of the implementation strategy will be measured. Discussion This study will provide evidence for the cost effectiveness of a structural implementation of external cephalic versions to reduce the number of breech presentations at term. Trial Registration Dutch Trial Register (NTR): 1878 PMID:20459717

Selected Aspects Of The Risk In The Supply Chain In Context Of The Supplier Quality Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koblen, Ivan; Lestyánszka Škůrková, Katarína

2015-06-01

The introductory part of the paper underlines the importance of "Risk-based thinking" in the Quality Management System (QMS) and risk in the supply chain, as a principle part of the QMS. After introducing the key terms, the authors focused on the principle part of the article - explanation of the external and internal supply chain risks and the main factors concerning the supply risks, demand risks and environmental risks (as cardinal types of external supply chain risks) as well as the manufacturing and process risks, network/planning and control risks (as most important types of internal supply chain risks). The authors inform on the selected supply chain risk management tools, especially on those which are linked to the appropriate utilization of quality management tools.

Context matters: the experience of 14 research teams in systematically reporting contextual factors important for practice change.

PubMed

Tomoaia-Cotisel, Andrada; Scammon, Debra L; Waitzman, Norman J; Cronholm, Peter F; Halladay, Jacqueline R; Driscoll, David L; Solberg, Leif I; Hsu, Clarissa; Tai-Seale, Ming; Hiratsuka, Vanessa; Shih, Sarah C; Fetters, Michael D; Wise, Christopher G; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Hauser, Diane; McMullen, Carmit K; Scholle, Sarah Hudson; Tirodkar, Manasi A; Schmidt, Laura; Donahue, Katrina E; Parchman, Michael L; Stange, Kurt C

2013-01-01

We aimed to advance the internal and external validity of research by sharing our empirical experience and recommendations for systematically reporting contextual factors. Fourteen teams conducting research on primary care practice transformation retrospectively considered contextual factors important to interpreting their findings (internal validity) and transporting or reinventing their findings in other settings/situations (external validity). Each team provided a table or list of important contextual factors and interpretive text included as appendices to the articles in this supplement. Team members identified the most important contextual factors for their studies. We grouped the findings thematically and developed recommendations for reporting context. The most important contextual factors sorted into 5 domains: (1) the practice setting, (2) the larger organization, (3) the external environment, (4) implementation pathway, and (5) the motivation for implementation. To understand context, investigators recommend (1) engaging diverse perspectives and data sources, (2) considering multiple levels, (3) evaluating history and evolution over time, (4) looking at formal and informal systems and culture, and (5) assessing the (often nonlinear) interactions between contextual factors and both the process and outcome of studies. We include a template with tabular and interpretive elements to help study teams engage research participants in reporting relevant context. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of identifying and reporting contextual factors. Involving diverse stakeholders in assessing context at multiple stages of the research process, examining their association with outcomes, and consistently reporting critical contextual factors are important challenges for a field interested in improving the internal and external validity and impact of health care research.

Measuring health care process quality with software quality measures.

PubMed

Yildiz, Ozkan; Demirörs, Onur

2012-01-01

Existing quality models focus on some specific diseases, clinics or clinical areas. Although they contain structure, process, or output type measures, there is no model which measures quality of health care processes comprehensively. In addition, due to the not measured overall process quality, hospitals cannot compare quality of processes internally and externally. To bring a solution to above problems, a new model is developed from software quality measures. We have adopted the ISO/IEC 9126 software quality standard for health care processes. Then, JCIAS (Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards for Hospitals) measurable elements were added to model scope for unifying functional requirements. Assessment (diagnosing) process measurement results are provided in this paper. After the application, it was concluded that the model determines weak and strong aspects of the processes, gives a more detailed picture for the process quality, and provides quantifiable information to hospitals to compare their processes with multiple organizations.

Definition of information technology architectures for continuous data management and medical device integration in diabetes.

PubMed

Hernando, M Elena; Pascual, Mario; Salvador, Carlos H; García-Sáez, Gema; Rodríguez-Herrero, Agustín; Martínez-Sarriegui, Iñaki; Gómez, Enrique J

2008-09-01

The growing availability of continuous data from medical devices in diabetes management makes it crucial to define novel information technology architectures for efficient data storage, data transmission, and data visualization. The new paradigm of care demands the sharing of information in interoperable systems as the only way to support patient care in a continuum of care scenario. The technological platforms should support all the services required by the actors involved in the care process, located in different scenarios and managing diverse information for different purposes. This article presents basic criteria for defining flexible and adaptive architectures that are capable of interoperating with external systems, and integrating medical devices and decision support tools to extract all the relevant knowledge to support diabetes care.

Automating data acquisition into ontologies from pharmacogenetics relational data sources using declarative object definitions and XML.

PubMed

Rubin, Daniel L; Hewett, Micheal; Oliver, Diane E; Klein, Teri E; Altman, Russ B

2002-01-01

Ontologies are useful for organizing large numbers of concepts having complex relationships, such as the breadth of genetic and clinical knowledge in pharmacogenomics. But because ontologies change and knowledge evolves, it is time consuming to maintain stable mappings to external data sources that are in relational format. We propose a method for interfacing ontology models with data acquisition from external relational data sources. This method uses a declarative interface between the ontology and the data source, and this interface is modeled in the ontology and implemented using XML schema. Data is imported from the relational source into the ontology using XML, and data integrity is checked by validating the XML submission with an XML schema. We have implemented this approach in PharmGKB (http://www.pharmgkb.org/), a pharmacogenetics knowledge base. Our goals were to (1) import genetic sequence data, collected in relational format, into the pharmacogenetics ontology, and (2) automate the process of updating the links between the ontology and data acquisition when the ontology changes. We tested our approach by linking PharmGKB with data acquisition from a relational model of genetic sequence information. The ontology subsequently evolved, and we were able to rapidly update our interface with the external data and continue acquiring the data. Similar approaches may be helpful for integrating other heterogeneous information sources in order make the diversity of pharmacogenetics data amenable to computational analysis.

Mitigating stimulated scattering processes in gas-filled Hohlraums via external magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Tao; Zheng, Jian; Li, Zhichao; Ding, Yongkun; Yang, Dong; Hu, Guangyue; Zhao, Bin

2015-09-01

A simple model, based on energy and pressure equilibrium, is proposed to deal with the effect of external magnetic fields on the plasma parameters inside the laser path, which shows that the electron temperature can be significantly enhanced as the intensity of the external magnetic fields increases. With the combination of this model and a 1D three-wave coupling code, the effect of external magnetic fields on the reflectivities of stimulated scattering processes is studied. The results indicate that a magnetic field with an intensity of tens of Tesla can decrease the reflectivities of stimulated scattering processes by several orders of magnitude.

TU-AB-303-02: A Novel Surrogate to Identify Anatomical Changes During Radiotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer Patients

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

Gros, S; Roeske, J; Surucu, M

Purpose: To develop a novel method to monitor external anatomical changes in head and neck cancer patients in order to help guide adaptive radiotherapy decisions. Methods: The method, developed in MATLAB, reveals internal anatomical changes based on variations observed in external anatomy. Weekly kV-CBCT scans from 11 Head and neck patients were retrospectively analyzed. The pre-processing step first corrects each CBCT for artifacts and removes pixels from the immobilization mask to produce an accurate external contour of the patient’s skin. After registering the CBCTs to the initial planning CT, the external contours from each CBCT (CBCTn) are transferred to themore » first week — reference — CBCT{sub 1}. Contour radii, defined as the distances between an external contour and the central pixel of each CBCT slice, are calculated for each scan at angular increments of 1 degree. The changes in external anatomy are then quantified by the difference in radial distance between the external contours of CBCT1 and CBCTn. The radial difference is finally displayed on a 2D intensity map (angle vs radial distance difference) in order to highlight regions of interests with significant changes. Results: The 2D radial difference maps provided qualitative and quantitative information, such as the location and the magnitude of external contour divergences and the rate at which these deviations occur. With this method, anatomical changes due to tumor volume shrinkage and patient weight loss were clearly identified and could be correlated with the under-dosage of targets or over-dosage of OARs. Conclusion: This novel method provides an efficient tool to visualize 3D external anatomical modification on a single 2D map. It quickly pinpoints the location of differences in anatomy during the course of radiotherapy, which can help determine if a treatment plan needs to be adapted.« less

KSC-2010-4934

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-09-30

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians begin the process of attaching an overhead hoist to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) for its move to a rotation stand to begin processing for flight. AMS, a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, is designed to operate as an external experiment on the International Space Station. It will use the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. AMS will fly to the station aboard space shuttle Endeavour's STS-134 mission targeted to launch February, 2011. For more information visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts134/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

Familiarity and Within-Person Facial Variability: The Importance of the Internal and External Features.

PubMed

Kramer, Robin S S; Manesi, Zoi; Towler, Alice; Reynolds, Michael G; Burton, A Mike

2018-01-01

As faces become familiar, we come to rely more on their internal features for recognition and matching tasks. Here, we assess whether this same pattern is also observed for a card sorting task. Participants sorted photos showing either the full face, only the internal features, or only the external features into multiple piles, one pile per identity. In Experiments 1 and 2, we showed the standard advantage for familiar faces-sorting was more accurate and showed very few errors in comparison with unfamiliar faces. However, for both familiar and unfamiliar faces, sorting was less accurate for external features and equivalent for internal and full faces. In Experiment 3, we asked whether external features can ever be used to make an accurate sort. Using familiar faces and instructions on the number of identities present, we nevertheless found worse performance for the external in comparison with the internal features, suggesting that less identity information was available in the former. Taken together, we show that full faces and internal features are similarly informative with regard to identity. In comparison, external features contain less identity information and produce worse card sorting performance. This research extends current thinking on the shift in focus, both in attention and importance, toward the internal features and away from the external features as familiarity with a face increases.

78 FR 13056 - Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of Availability and Comment Period for the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-26

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9784-9] Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of..., and Use by Non-EPA (External) Organizations and Two Associated QA Handbooks; Extension of Comment..., Production, and Use by Non-EPA (External) Organizations and two associated QA Handbooks. The notice of...

78 FR 67140 - Office of Environmental Information; Pause the Development of the Draft Quality Standard for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-08

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Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-04

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9776-1] Office of Environmental Information; Announcement of..., and Use by Non-EPA (External) Organizations and Two Associated QA Handbooks; Extension of Comment..., Production, and Use by Non-EPA (External) Organizations and two associated QA Handbooks. The notice of...

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 395 - Electronic On-Board Recorder Performance Specifications

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... (to home office or wireless service provider). External Sensor Issue NO_ECM no ECM data No sensory information received from vehicle's Engine Control Module (ECM). External Sensor Issue ECM_ID ECM ID number mismatch ECM identification/serial number mismatch (with preprogrammed information). 2. Communications...

AIR QUALITY CRITERIA FOR PARTICULATE MATTER, VOLUMES I-III, (EXTERNAL REVIEW DRAFT, 1995)

EPA Science Inventory

There is no abstract available for these documents.

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• Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter, Volume I, Extern...

• The timing and sources of information for the adoption and implementation of production innovations

  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

  Ettlie, J. E.

  1976-01-01

  Two dimensions (personal-impersonal and internal-external) are used to characterize information sources as they become important during the interorganizational transfer of production innovations. The results of three studies are reviewed for the purpose of deriving a model of the timing and importance of different information sources and the utilization of new technology. Based on the findings of two retrospective studies, it was concluded that the pattern of information seeking behavior in user organizations during the awareness stage of adoption is not a reliable predictor of the eventual utilization rate. Using the additional findings of a real-time study, an empirical model of the relative importance of information sources for successful user organizations is presented. These results are extended and integrated into a theoretical model consisting of a time-profile of successful implementations and the relative importance of four types of information sources during seven stages of the adoption-implementation process.

• A Concept of Constructing a Common Information Space for High Tech Programs Using Information Analytical Systems

  NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

  Zakharova, Alexandra A.; Kolegova, Olga A.; Nekrasova, Maria E.

  2016-04-01

  The paper deals with the issues in program management used for engineering innovative products. The existing project management tools were analyzed. The aim is to develop a decision support system that takes into account the features of program management used for high-tech products: research intensity, a high level of technical risks, unpredictable results due to the impact of various external factors, availability of several implementing agencies. The need for involving experts and using intelligent techniques for information processing is demonstrated. A conceptual model of common information space to support communication between members of the collaboration on high-tech programs has been developed. The structure and objectives of the information analysis system “Geokhod” were formulated with the purpose to implement the conceptual model of common information space in the program “Development and production of new class mining equipment - “Geokhod”.

• Process mining is an underutilized clinical research tool in transfusion medicine.

  PubMed

  Quinn, Jason G; Conrad, David M; Cheng, Calvino K

  2017-03-01

  To understand inventory performance, transfusion services commonly use key performance indicators (KPIs) as summary descriptors of inventory efficiency that are graphed, trended, and used to benchmark institutions. Here, we summarize current limitations in KPI-based evaluation of blood bank inventory efficiency and propose process mining as an ideal methodology for application to inventory management research to improve inventory flows and performance. The transit of a blood product from inventory receipt to final disposition is complex and relates to many internal and external influences, and KPIs may be inadequate to fully understand the complexity of the blood supply chain and how units interact with its processes. Process mining lends itself well to analysis of blood bank inventories, and modern laboratory information systems can track nearly all of the complex processes that occur in the blood bank. Process mining is an analytical tool already used in other industries and can be applied to blood bank inventory management and research through laboratory information systems data using commercial applications. Although the current understanding of real blood bank inventories is value-centric through KPIs, it potentially can be understood from a process-centric lens using process mining. © 2017 AABB.

• An Event Related Potentials Study of Semantic Coherence Effect during Episodic Encoding in Schizophrenia Patients

  PubMed Central

  Blanchet, Alain; Lockman, Hazlin

  2018-01-01

  The objective of this electrophysiological study was to investigate the processing of semantic coherence during encoding in relation to episodic memory processes promoted at test, in schizophrenia patients, by using the N400 paradigm. Eighteen schizophrenia patients and 15 healthy participants undertook a recognition memory task. The stimuli consisted of pairs of words either semantically related or unrelated to a given category name (context). During encoding, both groups exhibited an N400 external semantic coherence effect. Healthy controls also showed an N400 internal semantic coherence effect, but this effect was not present in patients. At test, related stimuli were accompanied by an FN400 old/new effect in both groups and by a parietal old/new effect in the control group alone. In the patient group, external semantic coherence effect was associated with FN400, while, in the control group, it was correlated to the parietal old/new effect. Our results indicate that schizophrenia patients can process the contextual information at encoding to enhance familiarity process for related stimuli at test. Therefore, cognitive rehabilitation therapies targeting the implementation of semantic encoding strategies can mobilize familiarity which in turn can overcome the recollection deficit, promoting successful episodic memory performance in schizophrenia patients. PMID:29535872

• A Parallel and Distributed Processing Model of Joint Attention, Social-Cognition and Autism

  PubMed Central

  Mundy, Peter; Sullivan, Lisa; Mastergeorge, Ann M.

  2009-01-01

  Scientific Abstract The impaired development of joint attention is a cardinal feature of autism. Therefore, understanding the nature of joint attention is a central to research on this disorder. Joint attention may be best defined in terms of an information processing system that begins to develop by 4–6 months of age. This system integrates the parallel processing of internal information about one’s own visual attention with external information about the visual attention of other people. This type of joint encoding of information about self and other attention requires the activation of a distributed anterior and posterior cortical attention network. Genetic regulation, in conjunction with self-organizing behavioral activity guides the development of functional connectivity in this network. With practice in infancy the joint processing of self-other attention becomes automatically engaged as an executive function. It can be argued that this executive joint-attention is fundamental to human learning, as well as the development of symbolic thought, social-cognition and social-competence throughout the life span. One advantage of this parallel and distributed processing model of joint attention (PDPM) is that it directly connects theory on social pathology to a range of phenomenon in autism associated with neural connectivity, constructivist and connectionist models of cognitive development, early intervention, activity-dependent gene expression, and atypical ocular motor control. PMID:19358304

• Melatonin: a universal time messenger.

  PubMed

  Erren, Thomas C; Reiter, Russel J

  2015-01-01

  Temporal organization plays a key role in humans, and presumably all species on Earth. A core building block of the chronobiological architecture is the master clock, located in the suprachi asmatic nuclei [SCN], which organizes "when" things happen in sub-cellular biochemistry, cells, organs and organisms, including humans. Conceptually, time messenging should follow a 5 step-cascade. While abundant evidence suggests how steps 1 through 4 work, step 5 of "how is central time information transmitted througout the body?" awaits elucidation. Step 1: Light provides information on environmental (external) time; Step 2: Ocular interfaces between light and biological (internal) time are intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells [ipRGS] and rods and cones; Step 3: Via the retinohypothalamic tract external time information reaches the light-dependent master clock in the brain, viz the SCN; Step 4: The SCN translate environmental time information into biological time and distribute this information to numerous brain structures via a melanopsin-based network. Step 5: Melatonin, we propose, transmits, or is a messenger of, internal time information to all parts of the body to allow temporal organization which is orchestrated by the SCN. Key reasons why we expect melatonin to have such role include: First, melatonin, as the chemical expression of darkness, is centrally involved in time- and timing-related processes such as encoding clock and calendar information in the brain; Second, melatonin travels throughout the body without limits and is thus a ubiquitous molecule. The chemial conservation of melatonin in all tested species could make this molecule a candidate for a universal time messenger, possibly constituting a legacy of an all-embracing evolutionary history.

• Evolution of natural agents: preservation, advance, and emergence of functional information.

  PubMed

  Sharov, Alexei A

  2016-04-01

  Biological evolution is often viewed narrowly as a change of morphology or allele frequency in a sequence of generations. Here I pursue an alternative informational concept of evolution, as preservation, advance, and emergence of functional information in natural agents. Functional information is a network of signs (e.g., memory, transient messengers, and external signs) that are used by agents to preserve and regulate their functions. Functional information is preserved in evolution via complex interplay of copying and construction processes: the digital components are copied, whereas interpreting subagents together with scaffolds, tools, and resources, are constructed. Some of these processes are simple and invariant, whereas others are complex and contextual. Advance of functional information includes improvement and modification of already existing functions. Although the genome information may change passively and randomly, the interpretation is active and guided by the logic of agent behavior and embryonic development. Emergence of new functions is based on the reinterpretation of already existing information, when old tools, resources, and control algorithms are adopted for novel functions. Evolution of functional information progressed from protosemiosis, where signs correspond directly to actions, to eusemiosis, where agents associate signs with objects. Language is the most advanced form of eusemiosis, where the knowledge of objects and models is communicated between agents.

• Evolution of natural agents: preservation, advance, and emergence of functional information

  PubMed Central

  Sharov, Alexei A.

  2016-01-01

  Biological evolution is often viewed narrowly as a change of morphology or allele frequency in a sequence of generations. Here I pursue an alternative informational concept of evolution, as preservation, advance, and emergence of functional information in natural agents. Functional information is a network of signs (e.g., memory, transient messengers, and external signs) that are used by agents to preserve and regulate their functions. Functional information is preserved in evolution via complex interplay of copying and construction processes: the digital components are copied, whereas interpreting subagents together with scaffolds, tools, and resources, are constructed. Some of these processes are simple and invariant, whereas others are complex and contextual. Advance of functional information includes improvement and modification of already existing functions. Although the genome information may change passively and randomly, the interpretation is active and guided by the logic of agent behavior and embryonic development. Emergence of new functions is based on the reinterpretation of already existing information, when old tools, resources, and control algorithms are adopted for novel functions. Evolution of functional information progressed from protosemiosis, where signs correspond directly to actions, to eusemiosis, where agents associate signs with objects. Language is the most advanced form of eusemiosis, where the knowledge of objects and models is communicated between agents. PMID:27525048

• A comparative approach for the investigation of biological information processing: An examination of the structure and function of computer hard drives and DNA

  PubMed Central

  2010-01-01

  Background The robust storage, updating and utilization of information are necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of dynamic systems. These systems can exist as constructs of metal-oxide semiconductors and silicon, as in a digital computer, or in the "wetware" of organic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids that make up biological organisms. We propose that there are essential functional properties of centralized information-processing systems; for digital computers these properties reside in the computer's hard drive, and for eukaryotic cells they are manifest in the DNA and associated structures. Methods Presented herein is a descriptive framework that compares DNA and its associated proteins and sub-nuclear structure with the structure and function of the computer hard drive. We identify four essential properties of information for a centralized storage and processing system: (1) orthogonal uniqueness, (2) low level formatting, (3) high level formatting and (4) translation of stored to usable form. The corresponding aspects of the DNA complex and a computer hard drive are categorized using this classification. This is intended to demonstrate a functional equivalence between the components of the two systems, and thus the systems themselves. Results Both the DNA complex and the computer hard drive contain components that fulfill the essential properties of a centralized information storage and processing system. The functional equivalence of these components provides insight into both the design process of engineered systems and the evolved solutions addressing similar system requirements. However, there are points where the comparison breaks down, particularly when there are externally imposed information-organizing structures on the computer hard drive. A specific example of this is the imposition of the File Allocation Table (FAT) during high level formatting of the computer hard drive and the subsequent loading of an operating system (OS). Biological systems do not have an external source for a map of their stored information or for an operational instruction set; rather, they must contain an organizational template conserved within their intra-nuclear architecture that "manipulates" the laws of chemistry and physics into a highly robust instruction set. We propose that the epigenetic structure of the intra-nuclear environment and the non-coding RNA may play the roles of a Biological File Allocation Table (BFAT) and biological operating system (Bio-OS) in eukaryotic cells. Conclusions The comparison of functional and structural characteristics of the DNA complex and the computer hard drive leads to a new descriptive paradigm that identifies the DNA as a dynamic storage system of biological information. This system is embodied in an autonomous operating system that inductively follows organizational structures, data hierarchy and executable operations that are well understood in the computer science industry. Characterizing the "DNA hard drive" in this fashion can lead to insights arising from discrepancies in the descriptive framework, particularly with respect to positing the role of epigenetic processes in an information-processing context. Further expansions arising from this comparison include the view of cells as parallel computing machines and a new approach towards characterizing cellular control systems. PMID:20092652

• A comparative approach for the investigation of biological information processing: an examination of the structure and function of computer hard drives and DNA.

  PubMed

  D'Onofrio, David J; An, Gary

  2010-01-21

  The robust storage, updating and utilization of information are necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of dynamic systems. These systems can exist as constructs of metal-oxide semiconductors and silicon, as in a digital computer, or in the "wetware" of organic compounds, proteins and nucleic acids that make up biological organisms. We propose that there are essential functional properties of centralized information-processing systems; for digital computers these properties reside in the computer's hard drive, and for eukaryotic cells they are manifest in the DNA and associated structures. Presented herein is a descriptive framework that compares DNA and its associated proteins and sub-nuclear structure with the structure and function of the computer hard drive. We identify four essential properties of information for a centralized storage and processing system: (1) orthogonal uniqueness, (2) low level formatting, (3) high level formatting and (4) translation of stored to usable form. The corresponding aspects of the DNA complex and a computer hard drive are categorized using this classification. This is intended to demonstrate a functional equivalence between the components of the two systems, and thus the systems themselves. Both the DNA complex and the computer hard drive contain components that fulfill the essential properties of a centralized information storage and processing system. The functional equivalence of these components provides insight into both the design process of engineered systems and the evolved solutions addressing similar system requirements. However, there are points where the comparison breaks down, particularly when there are externally imposed information-organizing structures on the computer hard drive. A specific example of this is the imposition of the File Allocation Table (FAT) during high level formatting of the computer hard drive and the subsequent loading of an operating system (OS). Biological systems do not have an external source for a map of their stored information or for an operational instruction set; rather, they must contain an organizational template conserved within their intra-nuclear architecture that "manipulates" the laws of chemistry and physics into a highly robust instruction set. We propose that the epigenetic structure of the intra-nuclear environment and the non-coding RNA may play the roles of a Biological File Allocation Table (BFAT) and biological operating system (Bio-OS) in eukaryotic cells. The comparison of functional and structural characteristics of the DNA complex and the computer hard drive leads to a new descriptive paradigm that identifies the DNA as a dynamic storage system of biological information. This system is embodied in an autonomous operating system that inductively follows organizational structures, data hierarchy and executable operations that are well understood in the computer science industry. Characterizing the "DNA hard drive" in this fashion can lead to insights arising from discrepancies in the descriptive framework, particularly with respect to positing the role of epigenetic processes in an information-processing context. Further expansions arising from this comparison include the view of cells as parallel computing machines and a new approach towards characterizing cellular control systems.

• NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 8: The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

  NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

  Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

  1990-01-01

  The United States aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. Presented here is a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of technology. A conceptual framework is given for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

• Signal relay during the life cycle of Dictyostelium.

  PubMed

  Mahadeo, Dana C; Parent, Carole A

  2006-01-01

  A fundamental property of multicellular organisms is signal relay, the process by which information is transmitted from one cell to another. The integration of external information, such as nutritional status or developmental cues, is critical to the function of organisms. In addition, the spatial organizations of multicellular organisms require intricate signal relay mechanisms. Signal relay is remarkably exhibited during the life cycle of the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum, a eukaryote that retains a simple way of life, yet it has greatly contributed to our knowledge of the mechanisms cells use to communicate and integrate information. This chapter focuses on the molecules and mechanisms that Dictyostelium employs during its life cycle to relay temporal and spatial cues that are required for survival.

• Generation of entanglement in quantum parametric oscillators using phase control.

  PubMed

  Gonzalez-Henao, J C; Pugliese, E; Euzzor, S; Abdalah, S F; Meucci, R; Roversi, J A

  2015-08-19

  The control of quantum entanglement in systems in contact with environment plays an important role in information processing, cryptography and quantum computing. However, interactions with the environment, even when very weak, entail decoherence in the system with consequent loss of entanglement. Here we consider a system of two coupled oscillators in contact with a common heat bath and with a time dependent oscillation frequency. The possibility to control the entanglement of the oscillators by means of an external sinusoidal perturbation applied to the oscillation frequency has been theoretically explored. We demonstrate that the oscillators become entangled exactly in the region where the classical counterpart is unstable, otherwise when the classical system is stable, entanglement is not possible. Therefore, we can control the entanglement swapping from stable to unstable regions by adjusting amplitude and phase of our external controller. We also show that the entanglement rate is approximately proportional to the real part of the Floquet coefficient of the classical counterpart of the oscillators. Our results have the intriguing peculiarity of manipulating quantum information operating on a classical system.

• Information-geometric measures as robust estimators of connection strengths and external inputs.

  PubMed

  Tatsuno, Masami; Fellous, Jean-Marc; Amari, Shun-Ichi

  2009-08-01

  Information geometry has been suggested to provide a powerful tool for analyzing multineuronal spike trains. Among several advantages of this approach, a significant property is the close link between information-geometric measures and neural network architectures. Previous modeling studies established that the first- and second-order information-geometric measures corresponded to the number of external inputs and the connection strengths of the network, respectively. This relationship was, however, limited to a symmetrically connected network, and the number of neurons used in the parameter estimation of the log-linear model needed to be known. Recently, simulation studies of biophysical model neurons have suggested that information geometry can estimate the relative change of connection strengths and external inputs even with asymmetric connections. Inspired by these studies, we analytically investigated the link between the information-geometric measures and the neural network structure with asymmetrically connected networks of N neurons. We focused on the information-geometric measures of orders one and two, which can be derived from the two-neuron log-linear model, because unlike higher-order measures, they can be easily estimated experimentally. Considering the equilibrium state of a network of binary model neurons that obey stochastic dynamics, we analytically showed that the corrected first- and second-order information-geometric measures provided robust and consistent approximation of the external inputs and connection strengths, respectively. These results suggest that information-geometric measures provide useful insights into the neural network architecture and that they will contribute to the study of system-level neuroscience.

• The role of external sources of information in children’s evaluative food categories

  PubMed Central

  Nguyen, Simone P.; McCullough, Mary Beth; Noble, Ashley

  2011-01-01

  Evaluative food categories are value-laden assessments which reflect the healthfulness and palatability of foods (e.g., healthy/unhealthy, yummy/yucky). In a series of three studies, this research examines how 3- to 4-year-old children (N = 147) form evaluative food categories based on input from external sources of information. The results indicate that children prefer to ask a mom and teacher over a cartoon and child for information about the evaluative status of foods. However, children are cautious to accept information about healthy foods from all of the external sources compared to unhealthy, yummy, and yucky foods. The results also indicate that providing information about the positive taste of healthy foods helps to encourage children to select healthy foods to eat. Taken together, these results have potential implications for children’s health and nutrition education. PMID:23049450

• Repair process and a repaired component

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

  Roberts, III, Herbert Chidsey; Simpson, Stanley F.

  Matrix composite component repair processes are disclosed. The matrix composite repair process includes applying a repair material to a matrix composite component, securing the repair material to the matrix composite component with an external securing mechanism and curing the repair material to bond the repair material to the matrix composite component during the securing by the external securing mechanism. The matrix composite component is selected from the group consisting of a ceramic matrix composite, a polymer matrix composite, and a metal matrix composite. In another embodiment, the repair process includes applying a partially-cured repair material to a matrix composite component,more » and curing the repair material to bond the repair material to the matrix composite component, an external securing mechanism securing the repair material throughout a curing period, In another embodiment, the external securing mechanism is consumed or decomposed during the repair process.« less

• An interdisciplinary approach for earthquake modelling and forecasting

  NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

  Han, P.; Zhuang, J.; Hattori, K.; Ogata, Y.

  2016-12-01

  Earthquake is one of the most serious disasters, which may cause heavy casualties and economic losses. Especially in the past two decades, huge/mega earthquakes have hit many countries. Effective earthquake forecasting (including time, location, and magnitude) becomes extremely important and urgent. To date, various heuristically derived algorithms have been developed for forecasting earthquakes. Generally, they can be classified into two types: catalog-based approaches and non-catalog-based approaches. Thanks to the rapid development of statistical seismology in the past 30 years, now we are able to evaluate the performances of these earthquake forecast approaches quantitatively. Although a certain amount of precursory information is available in both earthquake catalogs and non-catalog observations, the earthquake forecast is still far from satisfactory. In most case, the precursory phenomena were studied individually. An earthquake model that combines self-exciting and mutually exciting elements was developed by Ogata and Utsu from the Hawkes process. The core idea of this combined model is that the status of the event at present is controlled by the event itself (self-exciting) and all the external factors (mutually exciting) in the past. In essence, the conditional intensity function is a time-varying Poisson process with rate λ(t), which is composed of the background rate, the self-exciting term (the information from past seismic events), and the external excitation term (the information from past non-seismic observations). This model shows us a way to integrate the catalog-based forecast and non-catalog-based forecast. Against this background, we are trying to develop a new earthquake forecast model which combines catalog-based and non-catalog-based approaches.

• [Neural Mechanisms That Facilitate Adaptive Behavior Based on Acquired Stimulus-Outcome Information].

  PubMed

  Ogawa, Masaaki

  2017-11-01

  In response to changing internal and external situations, we always need to adapt our behavior based on previous experiences, particularly, acquired stimulus-outcome information. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a prefrontal cortical region, is critical for this type of decision-making. The current understanding of the fundamental functions of the OFC has been reviewed by introducing, as an example, how the OFC contributes to the processing of uncertain rewards. Furthermore, the importance of revealing context and temporally specific causal roles of neural circuits including the OFC in decision-making, as well as the techniques to achieve the goal, have been discussed.

BODY SENSING SYSTEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mah, Robert W. (Inventor)

2005-01-01

System and method for performing one or more relevant measurements at a target site in an animal body, using a probe. One or more of a group of selected internal measurements is performed at the target site, is optionally combined with one or more selected external measurements, and is optionally combined with one or more selected heuristic information items, in order to reduce to a relatively small number the probable medical conditions associated with the target site. One or more of the internal measurements is optionally used to navigate the probe to the target site. Neural net information processing is performed to provide a reduced set of probable medical conditions associated with the target site.

77 FR 2060 - Amendment of the System of Records for Records of Pesticide Applicators Certified Under EPA...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-13

...Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs, Field and External Affairs Division, is giving notice that it proposes to amend an existing system of records that contains personally identifiable information (PII) which is collected in the process of certifying individuals to apply restricted use pesticides (RUPs) as private or commercial applicators. This amendment gives notice that the Agency plans to make the name of the applicator and information pertaining to the certification granted by EPA publicly available on an EPA Web site.

The component alignment model: a new approach to health care information technology strategic planning.

PubMed

Martin, J B; Wilkins, A S; Stawski, S K

1998-08-01

The evolving health care environment demands that health care organizations fully utilize information technologies (ITs). The effective deployment of IT requires the development and implementation of a comprehensive IT strategic plan. A number of approaches to health care IT strategic planning exist, but they are outdated or incomplete. The component alignment model (CAM) introduced here recognizes the complexity of today's health care environment, emphasizing continuous assessment and realignment of seven basic components: external environment, emerging ITs, organizational infrastructure, mission, IT infrastructure, business strategy, and IT strategy. The article provides a framework by which health care organizations can develop an effective IT strategic planning process.

Processing device with self-scrubbing logic

DOEpatents

Wojahn, Christopher K.

2016-03-01

An apparatus includes a processing unit including a configuration memory and self-scrubber logic coupled to read the configuration memory to detect compromised data stored in the configuration memory. The apparatus also includes a watchdog unit external to the processing unit and coupled to the self-scrubber logic to detect a failure in the self-scrubber logic. The watchdog unit is coupled to the processing unit to selectively reset the processing unit in response to detecting the failure in the self-scrubber logic. The apparatus also includes an external memory external to the processing unit and coupled to send configuration data to the configuration memory in response to a data feed signal outputted by the self-scrubber logic.

Long-term role of external breast prostheses after total mastectomy.

PubMed

Glaus, Simone W; Carlson, Grant W

2009-01-01

After total mastectomy, many women choose to wear external breast prosthesis rather than undergo breast reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term satisfaction among external breast prosthesis wearers and the impact of satisfaction on prosthesis use. A questionnaire was designed to assess demographic information, prosthesis information provision, prosthesis use, and satisfaction with prosthesis. Fifty-nine women who had undergone total mastectomy without breast reconstruction completed the questionnaire. The majority of women (68%) were at least 5 years out from mastectomy. Approximately half (49%) of the women had received information about breast prostheses prior to mastectomy; 29% received information from the surgeon performing the operation. Frequent and prolonged prosthesis use was prevalent with 64% of participants reporting prosthesis use all the time, 6-7 days/week. Participants showed high rates (83%) of overall satisfaction. However, women who wore their prosthesis out in public only were less satisfied than more frequent wearers (50% versus 89%, chi(2) = 8.83, d.f. = 1, alpha = 0.05). Satisfaction increased over time, as women who were greater than 5 years out from mastectomy were more satisfied than women less that 5 years post-mastectomy (90% versus 67%, chi(2) = 4.43, d.f. = 1, alpha = 0.05). The vast majority of women are satisfied with their external breast prosthesis several years after mastectomy. Most women used their prosthesis all the time and overall satisfaction contributed to higher levels of prosthesis use. Given the long-term importance of external breast prostheses for women who have undergone mastectomy, a greater effort to inform patients about external breast prostheses prior to surgery is needed.

LSP 156, Low Power Embedded Analytics: FY15 Line Supported Information, Computation, and Exploitation Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-04

from back-office big - data analytics to fieldable hot-spot systems providing storage-processing-communication services for off- grid sensors. Speed...and power efficiency are the key metrics. Current state-of-the art approaches for big - data aim toward scaling out to many computers to meet...pursued within Lincoln Laboratory as well as external sponsors. Our vision is to bring new capabilities in big - data and internet-of-things applications

IRIS Toxicological Review of Mirex (2003 External Review Draft)

EPA Science Inventory

EPA is providing for public information a draft Toxicological Review, draft IRIS Summary, and charge to external peer reviewers for EPA's Health Assessment of Mirex. These documents are provided for public viewing during an external scientific peer review period. While EPA is not...

Assessing the Exposome with External Measures: Commentary on the State of the Science and Research Recommendations.

PubMed

Turner, Michelle C; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Anderson, Kim; Balshaw, David; Cui, Yuxia; Dunton, Genevieve; Hoppin, Jane A; Koutrakis, Petros; Jerrett, Michael

2017-03-20

The exposome comprises all environmental exposures that a person experiences from conception throughout the life course. Here we review the state of the science for assessing external exposures within the exposome. This article reviews (a) categories of exposures that can be assessed externally, (b) the current state of the science in external exposure assessment, (c) current tools available for external exposure assessment, and (d) priority research needs. We describe major scientific and technological advances that inform external assessment of the exposome, including geographic information systems; remote sensing; global positioning system and geolocation technologies; portable and personal sensing, including smartphone-based sensors and assessments; and self-reported questionnaire assessments, which increasingly rely on Internet-based platforms. We also discuss priority research needs related to methodological and technological improvement, data analysis and interpretation, data sharing, and other practical considerations, including improved assessment of exposure variability as well as exposure in multiple, critical life stages.

75 FR 56601 - Privacy Act of 1974: New System of Records

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-16

...The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the Affordable Care Act), Public Law 111-148, was enacted on March 23, 2010; the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (the Reconciliation Act), Public Law 111-152, was enacted on March 30, 2010. The Affordable Care Act and implementing regulations (codified in HHS interim final rules (IFR) at 45 CFR Part 147) require that non-grandfathered health insurance plans and issuers offering group and individual coverage have effective internal claims and appeals and external review processes. The effective date for these requirements is plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010. Regarding external review, the statute requires that health plans and issuers must comply with either a state external review process or a process meeting standards issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is ``similar to'' a state process meeting requirements in section 2719 (a ``federal external review process''). The IFR includes a transition period prior to July 1, 2011, during which time HHS will work with states to assist in making any necessary changes so that the state process will meet the minimum consumer protections identified in 45 CFR 147.136 that must be met in order for the state process to apply. During this interim period, health insurance issuers in states with external review laws in effect prior to September 23, 2010 will follow that state's external review law to the extent applicable. In states that have not passed an external review law that is in effect on September 23, 2010, a health insurance issuer must follow an interim federal external review process that will be administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The system of records will be created as OPM assists HHS by providing external reviews of adverse benefit determinations and final internal adverse benefit determinations as requested by eligible claimants and their authorized representatives (``claimants''). The system of records will include any data relevant to these external reviews, and OPM proposes to add this new system of records to its inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. This action is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character of records maintained by the agency (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)).

External factors affecting decision-making and use of evidence in an Australian public health policy environment.

PubMed

Zardo, Pauline; Collie, Alex; Livingstone, Charles

2014-05-01

This study examined external factors affecting policy and program decision-making in a specific public health policy context: injury prevention and rehabilitation compensation in the Australian state of Victoria. The aim was twofold: identify external factors that affect policy and program decision-making in this specific context; use this evidence to inform targeting of interventions aimed at increasing research use in this context. Qualitative interviews were undertaken from June 2011 to January 2012 with 33 employees from two state government agencies. Key factors identified were stakeholder feedback and action, government and ministerial input, legal feedback and action, injured persons and the media. The identified external factors were able to significantly influence policy and program decision-making processes: acting as both barriers and facilitators, depending on the particular issue at hand. The factors with the most influence were the Minister and government, lawyers, and agency stakeholders, particularly health providers, trade unions and employer groups. This research revealed that interventions aimed at increasing use of research in this context must target and harness the influence of these groups. This research provides critical insights for researchers seeking to design interventions to increase use of research in policy environments and influence decision-making in Victorian injury prevention and rehabilitation compensation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Necessity of Environmental Scanning Prior to Long-Range Planning Activities at Higher Education Institutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handy, Ty J.

Formal environmental scanning procedures can provide key administrators of higher education institutions with valuable external information regarding both the probability and impact of external trends and forces. Such information may then be used in various strategic planning stages including scenario development, institutional mission and goals…

A Specific Role for Efferent Information in Self-Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsakiris, M.; Haggard, P.; Franck, N.; Mainy, N.; Sirigu, A.

2005-01-01

We investigated the specific contribution of efferent information in a self-recognition task. Subjects experienced a passive extension of the right index finger, either as an effect of moving their left hand via a lever ('self-generated action'), or imposed externally by the experimenter ('externally-generated action'). The visual feedback was…

Robust and efficient anomaly detection using heterogeneous representations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xing; Hu, Shiqiang; Xie, Jinhua; Zheng, Shiyou

2015-05-01

Various approaches have been proposed for video anomaly detection. Yet these approaches typically suffer from one or more limitations: they often characterize the pattern using its internal information, but ignore its external relationship which is important for local anomaly detection. Moreover, the high-dimensionality and the lack of robustness of pattern representation may lead to problems, including overfitting, increased computational cost and memory requirements, and high false alarm rate. We propose a video anomaly detection framework which relies on a heterogeneous representation to account for both the pattern's internal information and external relationship. The internal information is characterized by slow features learned by slow feature analysis from low-level representations, and the external relationship is characterized by the spatial contextual distances. The heterogeneous representation is compact, robust, efficient, and discriminative for anomaly detection. Moreover, both the pattern's internal information and external relationship can be taken into account in the proposed framework. Extensive experiments demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of our approach by comparison with the state-of-the-art approaches on the widely used benchmark datasets.

Storing information in-the-world: Metacognition and cognitive offloading in a short-term memory task.

PubMed

Risko, Evan F; Dunn, Timothy L

2015-11-01

We often store to-be-remembered information externally (e.g., written down on a piece of paper) rather than internally. In the present investigation, we examine factors that influence the decision to store information in-the-world versus in-the-head using a variant of a traditional short term memory task. In Experiments 1a and 1b participants were presented with to-be-remembered items and either had to rely solely on internal memory or had the option to write down the presented information. In Experiments 2a and 2b participants were presented with the same stimuli but made metacognitive judgments about their predicted performance and effort expenditure. The spontaneous use of external storage was related both to the number of items to be remembered and an individual's actual and perceived short-term-memory capacity. Interestingly, individuals often used external storage despite its use affording no observable benefit. Implications for understanding how individuals integrate external resources in pursuing cognitive goals are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

External quality-assurance programs managed by the U.S. Geological Survey in support of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network

USGS Publications Warehouse

Latysh, Natalie E.; Wetherbee, Gregory A.

2005-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Quality Systems, operates the external quality-assurance programs for the National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN). Beginning in 1978, six different programs have been implemented?the intersite-comparison program, the blind-audit program, the sample-handling evaluation program, the field-audit program, the interlaboratory-comparison program, and the collocated-sampler program. Each program was designed to measure error contributed by specific components in the data-collection process. The intersite-comparison program, which was discontinued in 2004, was designed to assess the accuracy and reliability of field pH and specific-conductance measurements made by site operators. The blind-audit and sample-handling evaluation programs, which also were discontinued in 2002 and 2004, respectively, assessed contamination that may result from sampling equipment and routine handling and processing of the wet-deposition samples. The field-audit program assesses the effects of sample handling, processing, and field exposure. The interlaboratory-comparison program evaluates bias and precision of analytical results produced by the contract laboratory for NADP, the Illinois State Water Survey, Central Analytical Laboratory, and compares its performance with the performance of international laboratories. The collocated-sampler program assesses the overall precision of wet-deposition data collected by NADP/NTN. This report documents historical operations and the operating procedures for each of these external quality-assurance programs. USGS quality-assurance information allows NADP/NTN data users to discern between actual environmental trends and inherent measurement variability.

Information technology strategic planning: art or science?

PubMed

Hutsell, Richard; Mancini-Newell, Lulcy

2005-01-01

It had been almost a decade since the hospitals that make up the Daughters of Charity Health System (DCHS) had engaged in a formal information technology strategic planning process. In the summer of 2002, as the health system re-formed, there was a unique opportunity to introduce a planning process that reflected the governance style of the new health system. DCHS embarked on this journey, with the CIO initiating and formally sponsoring the information technology strategic planning process in a dynamic and collaborative manner The system sought to develop a plan tailored to encompass both enterprise-wide and local requirements; to develop a governance model to engage the members of the local health ministries in plan development, both now and in the future; and to conduct the process in a manner that reflected the values of the Daughters of Charity. The DCHS CIO outlined a premise that the CIO would guide and be continuously involved in the development of this tailored process, in conjunction with an external resource. Together, there would be joint responsibility for introducing a flexible information technology strategic planning methodology; providing an education on the current state of healthcare IT, including future trends and success factors; facilitating support to tap into existing internal talent; cultivating a collaborative process to support both current requirements and future vision; and developing a well-functioning governance structure that would enable the plan to evolve and reflect user community requirements. This article highlights the planning process, including the lessons learned, the benchmarking during and in post-planning, and finally, but most importantly, the unexpected benefit that resulted from this planning process.

Incentive-Elicited Mesolimbic Activation and Externalizing Symptomatology in Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bjork, James M.; Chen, Gang; Smith, Ashley R.; Hommer, Daniel W.

2010-01-01

Background: Opponent-process theories of externalizing disorders (ExD) attribute them to some combination of overactive reward processing systems and/or underactive behavior inhibition systems. Reward processing has been indexed by recruitment of incentive-motivational neurocircuitry of the ventral striatum (VS), including nucleus accumbens…

Connecting Biology to Electronics: Molecular Communication via Redox Modality.

PubMed

Liu, Yi; Li, Jinyang; Tschirhart, Tanya; Terrell, Jessica L; Kim, Eunkyoung; Tsao, Chen-Yu; Kelly, Deanna L; Bentley, William E; Payne, Gregory F

2017-12-01

Biology and electronics are both expert at for accessing, analyzing, and responding to information. Biology uses ions, small molecules, and macromolecules to receive, analyze, store, and transmit information, whereas electronic devices receive input in the form of electromagnetic radiation, process the information using electrons, and then transmit output as electromagnetic waves. Generating the capabilities to connect biology-electronic modalities offers exciting opportunities to shape the future of biosensors, point-of-care medicine, and wearable/implantable devices. Redox reactions offer unique opportunities for bio-device communication that spans the molecular modalities of biology and electrical modality of devices. Here, an approach to search for redox information through an interactive electrochemical probing that is analogous to sonar is adopted. The capabilities of this approach to access global chemical information as well as information of specific redox-active chemical entities are illustrated using recent examples. An example of the use of synthetic biology to recognize external molecular information, process this information through intracellular signal transduction pathways, and generate output responses that can be detected by electrical modalities is also provided. Finally, exciting results in the use of redox reactions to actuate biology are provided to illustrate that synthetic biology offers the potential to guide biological response through electrical cues. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Process evaluation of software using the international classification of external causes of injuries for collecting burn injury data at burn centers in the United States.

PubMed

Villaveces, Andrés; Peck, Michael; Faraklas, Iris; Hsu-Chang, Naiwei; Joe, Victor; Wibbenmeyer, Lucy

2014-01-01

Detailed information on the cause of burns is necessary to construct effective prevention programs. The International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI) is a data collection tool that allows comprehensive categorization of multiple facets of injury events. The objective of this study was to conduct a process evaluation of software designed to improve the ease of use of the ICECI so as to identify key additional variables useful for understanding the occurrence of burn injuries, and compare this software with existing data-collection practices conducted for burn injuries. The authors completed a process evaluation of the implementation and ease of use of the software in six U.S. burn centers. They also collected preliminary burn injury data and compared them with existing variables reported to the American Burn Association's National Burn Repository (NBR). The authors accomplished their goals of 1) creating a data-collection tool for the ICECI, which can be linked to existing operational programs of the NBR, 2) training registrars in the use of this tool, 3) establishing quality-control mechanisms for ensuring accuracy and reliability, 4) incorporating ICECI data entry into the weekly routine of the burn registrar, and 5) demonstrating the quality differences between data collected using this tool and the NBR. Using this or similar tools with the ICECI structure or key selected variables can improve the quantity and quality of data on burn injuries in the United States and elsewhere and thus can be more useful in informing prevention strategies.

A unified 3D default space consciousness model combining neurological and physiological processes that underlie conscious experience

PubMed Central

Jerath, Ravinder; Crawford, Molly W.; Barnes, Vernon A.

2015-01-01

The Global Workspace Theory and Information Integration Theory are two of the most currently accepted consciousness models; however, these models do not address many aspects of conscious experience. We compare these models to our previously proposed consciousness model in which the thalamus fills-in processed sensory information from corticothalamic feedback loops within a proposed 3D default space, resulting in the recreation of the internal and external worlds within the mind. This 3D default space is composed of all cells of the body, which communicate via gap junctions and electrical potentials to create this unified space. We use 3D illustrations to explain how both visual and non-visual sensory information may be filled-in within this dynamic space, creating a unified seamless conscious experience. This neural sensory memory space is likely generated by baseline neural oscillatory activity from the default mode network, other salient networks, brainstem, and reticular activating system. PMID:26379573

Understanding evidence: a statewide survey to explore evidence-informed public health decision-making in a local government setting.

PubMed

Armstrong, Rebecca; Waters, Elizabeth; Moore, Laurence; Dobbins, Maureen; Pettman, Tahna; Burns, Cate; Swinburn, Boyd; Anderson, Laurie; Petticrew, Mark

2014-12-14

The value placed on types of evidence within decision-making contexts is highly dependent on individuals, the organizations in which the work and the systems and sectors they operate in. Decision-making processes too are highly contextual. Understanding the values placed on evidence and processes guiding decision-making is crucial to designing strategies to support evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM). This paper describes how evidence is used to inform local government (LG) public health decisions. The study used mixed methods including a cross-sectional survey and interviews. The Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Tool (EvIDenT) survey was designed to assess three key domains likely to impact on EIDM: access, confidence, and organizational culture. Other elements included the usefulness and influence of sources of evidence (people/groups and resources), skills and barriers, and facilitators to EIDM. Forty-five LGs from Victoria, Australia agreed to participate in the survey and up to four people from each organization were invited to complete the survey (n = 175). To further explore definitions of evidence and generate experiential data on EIDM practice, key informant interviews were conducted with a range of LG employees working in areas relevant to public health. In total, 135 responses were received (75% response rate) and 13 interviews were conducted. Analysis revealed varying levels of access, confidence and organizational culture to support EIDM. Significant relationships were found between domains: confidence, culture and access to research evidence. Some forms of evidence (e.g. community views) appeared to be used more commonly and at the expense of others (e.g. research evidence). Overall, a mixture of evidence (but more internal than external evidence) was influential in public health decision-making in councils. By comparison, a mixture of evidence (but more external than internal evidence) was deemed to be useful in public health decision-making. This study makes an important contribution to understanding how evidence is used within the public health LG context. ACTRN12609000953235.

Complex-energy approach to sum rules within nuclear density functional theory

DOE PAGES

Hinohara, Nobuo; Kortelainen, Markus; Nazarewicz, Witold; ...

2015-04-27

The linear response of the nucleus to an external field contains unique information about the effective interaction, correlations governing the behavior of the many-body system, and properties of its excited states. To characterize the response, it is useful to use its energy-weighted moments, or sum rules. By comparing computed sum rules with experimental values, the information content of the response can be utilized in the optimization process of the nuclear Hamiltonian or nuclear energy density functional (EDF). But the additional information comes at a price: compared to the ground state, computation of excited states is more demanding. To establish anmore » efficient framework to compute energy-weighted sum rules of the response that is adaptable to the optimization of the nuclear EDF and large-scale surveys of collective strength, we have developed a new technique within the complex-energy finite-amplitude method (FAM) based on the quasiparticle random- phase approximation. The proposed sum-rule technique based on the complex-energy FAM is a tool of choice when optimizing effective interactions or energy functionals. The method is very efficient and well-adaptable to parallel computing. As a result, the FAM formulation is especially useful when standard theorems based on commutation relations involving the nuclear Hamiltonian and external field cannot be used.« less

A novel surrogate to identify anatomical changes during radiotherapy of head and neck cancer patients.

PubMed

Gros, Sébastien A A; Xu, William; Roeske, John C; Choi, Mehe; Emami, Bahman; Surucu, Murat

2017-03-01

To develop a novel method to monitor external anatomical changes in head and neck cancer patients in order to triage possible adaptive radiotherapy needs. The presented approach aims to provide information on internal anatomical changes based on variations observed in external anatomy. Setup Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images are processed to produce an accurate external contour of the patient's skin. After registering the CBCTs to the reference planning CT, the external contours from each CBCT are transferred to the initial - first week - CBCT. Contour radii, defined as the distances between an external contour and the isocenter projection in each CBCT slice, are calculated for each scan over the full 360 degrees. The changes in external anatomy are then quantified by the difference in radial distance between the external contours of any secondary CBCT relative to the initial CBCT. Finally, the radial difference is displayed in cylindrical coordinates as a 2D intensity map to highlight regions of interests with significant changes. Weekly CBCT scans from 15 head and neck patients were retrospectively analyzed to demonstrate the utility of this approach as a proof of principle. External changes suggested by the 2D radial difference map of an example patient after 23 fractions were then correlated with the changes in the gross tumor volumes and organs at risks. The resulting dosimetric effects were evaluated. An interactive standalone software application has been developed to facilitate the generation and the interpretation of the 2D intensity map. The 2D radial difference maps provided qualitative and quantitative information, such as the location and the magnitude of external contour changes and the rate at which these deviations occur. Out of the 15 patients, 10 presented clear evidence of general external volume shrinkage due to weight loss, and nine patients had at least one site of local shrinkage. Only two patients showed no signs of anatomical change during their entire treatment course. For the example patient, the mean (±σ) radial difference was 6.7 (±3.0) mm for the left parotid and 7.3 (±2.5) mm for the right parotid. The mean dose to the left and right parotids increased from 20.1 Gy to 30 Gy and from 16.3 Gy to 29.6 Gy, respectively. This novel method provides an efficient tool to visualize 3D external anatomical changes on a single 2D map. It quickly pinpoints the location of differences in anatomy during the course of radiotherapy, which can help physicians determine if a treatment plan needs to be adapted. The interactive graphic user interface developed in this study will be evaluated in an adaptive radiotherapy workflow for head and neck patients in a future prospective trial. © 2016 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

External Contamination Control of Attached Payloads on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soares, Carlos E.; Mikatarian, Ronald R.; Olsen, Randy L.; Huang, Alvin Y.; Steagall, Courtney A.; Schmidl, William D.; Wright, Bruce D.; Koontz, Steven

2012-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) is an on-orbit platform for science utilization in low Earth orbit with multiple sites for external payloads with exposure to the natural and induced environments. Contamination is one of the induced environments that can impact performance, mission success and science utilization on the vehicle. This paper describes the external contamination control requirements and integration process for externally mounted payloads on the ISS. The external contamination control requirements are summarized and a description of the integration and verification process is detailed to guide payload developers in the certification process of attached payloads on the vehicle. A description of the required data certification deliverables covers the characterization of contamination sources. Such characterization includes identification, usage and operational data for each class of contamination source. Classes of external contamination sources covered are vacuum exposed materials, sources of leakage, vacuum venting and thrusters. ISS system level analyses are conducted by the ISS Space Environments Team to certify compliance with external contamination control requirements. This paper also addresses the ISS induced contamination environment at attached payload sites, both at the requirements level as well as measurements made on ISS.

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

A decision method based on uncertainty reasoning of linguistic truth-valued concept lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Li; Xu, Yang

2010-04-01

Decision making with linguistic information is a research hotspot now. This paper begins by establishing the theory basis for linguistic information processing and constructs the linguistic truth-valued concept lattice for a decision information system, and further utilises uncertainty reasoning to make the decision. That is, we first utilise the linguistic truth-valued lattice implication algebra to unify the different kinds of linguistic expressions; second, we construct the linguistic truth-valued concept lattice and decision concept lattice according to the concrete decision information system and third, we establish the internal and external uncertainty reasoning methods and talk about the rationality of them. We apply these uncertainty reasoning methods into decision making and present some generation methods of decision rules. In the end, we give an application of this decision method by an example.

Simulations of Control Schemes for Inductively Coupled Plasma Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ventzek, P. L. G.; Oda, A.; Shon, J. W.; Vitello, P.

1997-10-01

Process control issues are becoming increasingly important in plasma etching. Numerical experiments are an excellent test-bench for evaluating a proposed control system. Models are generally reliable enough to provide information about controller robustness, fitness of diagnostics. We will present results from a two dimensional plasma transport code with a multi-species plasma chemstry obtained from a global model. [1-2] We will show a correlation of external etch parameters (e.g. input power) with internal plasma parameters (e.g. species fluxes) which in turn are correlated with etch results (etch rate, uniformity, and selectivity) either by comparison to experiment or by using a phenomenological etch model. After process characterization, a control scheme can be evaluated since the relationship between the variable to be controlled (e.g. uniformity) is related to the measurable variable (e.g. a density) and external parameter (e.g. coil current). We will present an evaluation using the HBr-Cl2 system as an example. [1] E. Meeks and J. W. Shon, IEEE Trans. on Plasma Sci., 23, 539, 1995. [2] P. Vitello, et al., IEEE Trans. on Plasma Sci., 24, 123, 1996.

Rrsm: The European Rapid Raw Strong-Motion Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cauzzi, C.; Clinton, J. F.; Sleeman, R.; Domingo Ballesta, J.; Kaestli, P.; Galanis, O.

2014-12-01

We introduce the European Rapid Raw Strong-Motion database (RRSM), a Europe-wide system that provides parameterised strong motion information, as well as access to waveform data, within minutes of the occurrence of strong earthquakes. The RRSM significantly differs from traditional earthquake strong motion dissemination in Europe, which has focused on providing reviewed, processed strong motion parameters, typically with significant delays. As the RRSM provides rapid open access to raw waveform data and metadata and does not rely on external manual waveform processing, RRSM information is tailored to seismologists and strong-motion data analysts, earthquake and geotechnical engineers, international earthquake response agencies and the educated general public. Access to the RRSM database is via a portal at http://www.orfeus-eu.org/rrsm/ that allows users to query earthquake information, peak ground motion parameters and amplitudes of spectral response; and to select and download earthquake waveforms. All information is available within minutes of any earthquake with magnitude ≥ 3.5 occurring in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Waveform processing and database population are performed using the waveform processing module scwfparam, which is integrated in SeisComP3 (SC3; http://www.seiscomp3.org/). Earthquake information is provided by the EMSC (http://www.emsc-csem.org/) and all the seismic waveform data is accessed at the European Integrated waveform Data Archive (EIDA) at ORFEUS (http://www.orfeus-eu.org/index.html), where all on-scale data is used in the fully automated processing. As the EIDA community is continually growing, the already significant number of strong motion stations is also increasing and the importance of this product is expected to also increase. Real-time RRSM processing started in June 2014, while past events have been processed in order to provide a complete database back to 2005.

How the NWC handles software as product

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

Vinson, D.

1997-11-01

This tutorial provides a hands-on view of how the Nuclear Weapons Complex project should be handling (or planning to handle) software as a product in response to Engineering Procedure 401099. The SQAS has published the document SQAS96-002, Guidelines for NWC Processes for Handling Software Product, that will be the basis for the tutorial. The primary scope of the tutorial is on software products that result from weapons and weapons-related projects, although the information presented is applicable to many software projects. Processes that involve the exchange, review, or evaluation of software product between or among NWC sites, DOE, and external customersmore » will be described.« less

Creating a dashboard to track progress toward IOM recommendations for the future of nursing.

PubMed

Spetz, Joanne; Bates, Timothy; Chu, Lela; Lin, Jessica; Fishman, Nancy W; Melichar, Lori

2013-01-01

This article explains the process used to identify and develop a set of data used to track national progress toward the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine Committee for the Future of Nursing. The data are presented in a dashboard format to visually summarize information and quickly measure progress. The approach selected by the research team is outlined, the criteria for selecting candidate metrics are detailed, the process for seeking external guidance is described, and the final dashboard measures are presented. Finally, the methods for data collection for each metric are explicated, to guide states and local regions in the collection of their own data.

Proceedings: National conference on environmental externalities

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

Not Available

1990-12-31

This report is the proceedings of the National Conference on Environmental Externalities. A environmental externality is the environmental impact of a process or a plant that society must endure. It is a social cost and is paid, but not by the company who produced it or the company`s customers who endure it. The main purpose of this report is to gather the many designs and ideas of how and why to internalize the externalities into the pricing systems of the public utility commissions, especially that of the electric utilities. Economic and sociological aspects of the internalization of these externalities aremore » given in these proceedings. Individual papers are processed separately for databases. (MB)« less

Reality Monitoring and Feedback Control of Speech Production Are Related Through Self-Agency.

PubMed

Subramaniam, Karuna; Kothare, Hardik; Mizuiri, Danielle; Nagarajan, Srikantan S; Houde, John F

2018-01-01

Self-agency is the experience of being the agent of one's own thoughts and motor actions. The intact experience of self-agency is necessary for successful interactions with the outside world (i.e., reality monitoring) and for responding to sensory feedback of our motor actions (e.g., speech feedback control). Reality monitoring is the ability to distinguish internally self-generated information from outside reality (externally-derived information). In the present study, we examined the relationship of self-agency between lower-level speech feedback monitoring (i.e., monitoring what we hear ourselves say) and a higher-level cognitive reality monitoring task. In particular, we examined whether speech feedback monitoring and reality monitoring were driven by the capacity to experience self-agency-the ability to make reliable predictions about the outcomes of self-generated actions. During the reality monitoring task, subjects made judgments as to whether information was previously self-generated (self-agency judgments) or externally derived (external-agency judgments). During speech feedback monitoring, we assessed self-agency by altering environmental auditory feedback so that subjects listened to a perturbed version of their own speech. When subjects heard minimal perturbations in their auditory feedback while speaking, they made corrective responses, indicating that they judged the perturbations as errors in their speech output. We found that self-agency judgments in the reality-monitoring task were higher in people who had smaller corrective responses ( p = 0.05) and smaller inter-trial variability ( p = 0.03) during minimal pitch perturbations of their auditory feedback. These results provide support for a unitary process for the experience of self-agency governing low-level speech control and higher level reality monitoring.

Processing device with self-scrubbing logic

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

Wojahn, Christopher K.

An apparatus includes a processing unit including a configuration memory and self-scrubber logic coupled to read the configuration memory to detect compromised data stored in the configuration memory. The apparatus also includes a watchdog unit external to the processing unit and coupled to the self-scrubber logic to detect a failure in the self-scrubber logic. The watchdog unit is coupled to the processing unit to selectively reset the processing unit in response to detecting the failure in the self-scrubber logic. The apparatus also includes an external memory external to the processing unit and coupled to send configuration data to the configurationmore » memory in response to a data feed signal outputted by the self-scrubber logic.« less

77 FR 26046 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-02

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review...) titled, ``Affordable Care Act Internal Claims and Appeals and External Review Procedures for Non... provisions of the Affordable Care Act pertaining to internal claims and appeals, and the external review...

10 CFR 1016.33 - External transmission of documents and material.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false External transmission of documents and material. 1016.33 Section 1016.33 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (GENERAL PROVISIONS) SAFEGUARDING OF RESTRICTED DATA Control of Information § 1016.33 External transmission of documents and material. (a) Restrictions. (1...

A tale of two perspectives: regulation versus self-regulation. A financial reporting approach (from Sarbanes-Oxley) for research ethics.

PubMed

Richman, Vincent; Richman, Alex

2012-06-01

Reports of research fraud have raised concerns about research integrity similar to concerns raised about financial accounting fraud. We propose a departure from self-regulation in that researchers adopt the financial accounting approach in establishing trust through an external validation process, in addition to the reporting entities and the regulatory agencies. The general conceptual framework for reviewing financial reports, utilizes external auditors who are certified and objective in using established standards to provide an opinion on the financial reports. These standards have become both broader in scope and increasingly specific as to what information is reported and the methodologies to be employed. We believe that the financial reporting overhaul encompassed in the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which aims at preventing accounting fraud, can be applied to scientific research in 4 ways. First, Sarbanes-Oxley requires corporations to have a complete set of internal accounting controls. Research organizations should use appropriate sampling techniques and audit research projects for conformity with the initial research protocols. Second, corporations are required to have the chief financial officer certify the accuracy of their financial statements. In a similar way, each research organization should have their vice-president of research (or equivalent) certify the research integrity of their research activities. In contrast, the primary responsibility of the existing Research Integrity Officers is to handle allegations of research misconduct, an after-the-fact activity. Third, generally accepted auditing standards specify the appropriate procedures for external review of a corporation's financial statements. For similar reasons, the research review process would also require corresponding external auditing standards. Finally, these new requirements would be implemented in stages, with the largest 14 research organizations that receive 25% of the total National Institutes of Health funding, adopting these research oversight enhancements first.

Context Matters: The Experience of 14 Research Teams in Systematically Reporting Contextual Factors Important for Practice Change

PubMed Central

Tomoaia-Cotisel, Andrada; Scammon, Debra L.; Waitzman, Norman J.; Cronholm, Peter F.; Halladay, Jacqueline R.; Driscoll, David L.; Solberg, Leif I.; Hsu, Clarissa; Tai-Seale, Ming; Hiratsuka, Vanessa; Shih, Sarah C.; Fetters, Michael D.; Wise, Christopher G.; Alexander, Jeffrey A.; Hauser, Diane; McMullen, Carmit K.; Scholle, Sarah Hudson; Tirodkar, Manasi A.; Schmidt, Laura; Donahue, Katrina E.; Parchman, Michael L.; Stange, Kurt C.

2013-01-01

PURPOSE We aimed to advance the internal and external validity of research by sharing our empirical experience and recommendations for systematically reporting contextual factors. METHODS Fourteen teams conducting research on primary care practice transformation retrospectively considered contextual factors important to interpreting their findings (internal validity) and transporting or reinventing their findings in other settings/situations (external validity). Each team provided a table or list of important contextual factors and interpretive text included as appendices to the articles in this supplement. Team members identified the most important contextual factors for their studies. We grouped the findings thematically and developed recommendations for reporting context. RESULTS The most important contextual factors sorted into 5 domains: (1) the practice setting, (2) the larger organization, (3) the external environment, (4) implementation pathway, and (5) the motivation for implementation. To understand context, investigators recommend (1) engaging diverse perspectives and data sources, (2) considering multiple levels, (3) evaluating history and evolution over time, (4) looking at formal and informal systems and culture, and (5) assessing the (often nonlinear) interactions between contextual factors and both the process and outcome of studies. We include a template with tabular and interpretive elements to help study teams engage research participants in reporting relevant context. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of identifying and reporting contextual factors. Involving diverse stakeholders in assessing context at multiple stages of the research process, examining their association with outcomes, and consistently reporting critical contextual factors are important challenges for a field interested in improving the internal and external validity and impact of health care research. PMID:23690380

Externalization of the Health Care System's Educational Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seisser, Mary A.; Epstein, Alice L.

1999-01-01

Health care organizations with successful internal education programs can expand their offerings through a formal externalization process. The process involves needs assessment, environmental scanning, identification of internal successes, and selection of appropriate topics. (SK)

The Role of External Sources of Information in Children's Evaluative Food Categories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Simone P.

2012-01-01

Evaluative food categories are value-laden assessments, which reflect the healthfulness and palatability of foods (e.g. healthy/unhealthy, yummy/yucky). In a series of three studies, this research examines how 3- to 4-year-old children (N?=?147) form evaluative food categories based on input from external sources of information. The results…

Describing and Predicting Developmental Profiles of Externalizing Problems from Childhood to Adulthood

PubMed Central

Petersen, Isaac T.; Bates, John E.; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Pettit, Gregory S.

2014-01-01

This longitudinal study considers externalizing behavior problems from ages 5 to 27 (N = 585). Externalizing problem ratings by mothers, fathers, teachers, peers, and self-report were modeled with growth curves. Risk and protective factors across many different domains and time frames were included as predictors of the trajectories. A major contribution of the study is in demonstrating how heterotypic continuity and changing measures can be handled in modeling changes in externalizing behavior over long developmental periods. On average, externalizing problems decreased from early childhood to preadolescence, increased during adolescence, and decreased from late adolescence to adulthood. There was strong nonlinear continuity in externalizing problems over time. Family process, peer process, stress, and individual characteristics predicted externalizing problems beyond the strong continuity of externalizing problems. The model accounted for 70% of the variability in the development of externalizing problems. The model’s predicted values showed moderate sensitivity and specificity in prediction of arrests, illegal drug use, and drunk driving. Overall, the study showed that by using changing, developmentally-relevant measures and simultaneously taking into account numerous characteristics of children and their living situations, research can model lengthy spans of development and improve predictions of the development of later, severe externalizing problems. PMID:25166430

Multi-mode of Four and Six Wave Parametric Amplified Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Dayu; Yang, Yiheng; Zhang, Da; Liu, Ruizhou; Ma, Danmeng; Li, Changbiao; Zhang, Yanpeng

2017-03-01

Multiple quantum modes in correlated fields are essential for future quantum information processing and quantum computing. Here we report the generation of multi-mode phenomenon through parametric amplified four- and six-wave mixing processes in a rubidium atomic ensemble. The multi-mode properties in both frequency and spatial domains are studied. On one hand, the multi-mode behavior is dominantly controlled by the intensity of external dressing effect, or nonlinear phase shift through internal dressing effect, in frequency domain; on the other hand, the multi-mode behavior is visually demonstrated from the images of the biphoton fields directly, in spatial domain. Besides, the correlation of the two output fields is also demonstrated in both domains. Our approach supports efficient applications for scalable quantum correlated imaging.

Multi-mode of Four and Six Wave Parametric Amplified Process.

PubMed

Zhu, Dayu; Yang, Yiheng; Zhang, Da; Liu, Ruizhou; Ma, Danmeng; Li, Changbiao; Zhang, Yanpeng

2017-03-03

Multiple quantum modes in correlated fields are essential for future quantum information processing and quantum computing. Here we report the generation of multi-mode phenomenon through parametric amplified four- and six-wave mixing processes in a rubidium atomic ensemble. The multi-mode properties in both frequency and spatial domains are studied. On one hand, the multi-mode behavior is dominantly controlled by the intensity of external dressing effect, or nonlinear phase shift through internal dressing effect, in frequency domain; on the other hand, the multi-mode behavior is visually demonstrated from the images of the biphoton fields directly, in spatial domain. Besides, the correlation of the two output fields is also demonstrated in both domains. Our approach supports efficient applications for scalable quantum correlated imaging.

The bidirectional pathways between internalizing and externalizing problems and academic performance from 6 to 18 years.

PubMed

Van der Ende, Jan; Verhulst, Frank C; Tiemeier, Henning

2016-08-01

Internalizing and externalizing problems are associated with poor academic performance, both concurrently and longitudinally. Important questions are whether problems precede academic performance or vice versa, whether both internalizing and externalizing are associated with academic problems when simultaneously tested, and whether associations and their direction depend on the informant providing information. These questions were addressed in a sample of 816 children who were assessed four times. The children were 6-10 years at baseline and 14-18 years at the last assessment. Parent-reported internalizing and externalizing problems and teacher-reported academic performance were tested in cross-lagged models to examine bidirectional paths between these constructs. These models were compared with cross-lagged models testing paths between teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing problems and parent-reported academic performance. Both final models revealed similar pathways from mostly externalizing problems to academic performance. No paths emerged from internalizing problems to academic performance. Moreover, paths from academic performance to internalizing and externalizing problems were only found when teachers reported on children's problems and not for parent-reported problems. Additional model tests revealed that paths were observed in both childhood and adolescence. Externalizing problems place children at increased risk of poor academic performance and should therefore be the target for interventions.

Assessment of generalizability, applicability and predictability (GAP) for evaluating external validity in studies of universal family-based prevention of alcohol misuse in young people: systematic methodological review of randomized controlled trials.

PubMed

Fernandez-Hermida, Jose Ramon; Calafat, Amador; Becoña, Elisardo; Tsertsvadze, Alexander; Foxcroft, David R

2012-09-01

To assess external validity characteristics of studies from two Cochrane Systematic Reviews of the effectiveness of universal family-based prevention of alcohol misuse in young people. Two reviewers used an a priori developed external validity rating form and independently assessed three external validity dimensions of generalizability, applicability and predictability (GAP) in randomized controlled trials. The majority (69%) of the included 29 studies were rated 'unclear' on the reporting of sufficient information for judging generalizability from sample to study population. Ten studies (35%) were rated 'unclear' on the reporting of sufficient information for judging applicability to other populations and settings. No study provided an assessment of the validity of the trial end-point measures for subsequent mortality, morbidity, quality of life or other economic or social outcomes. Similarly, no study reported on the validity of surrogate measures using established criteria for assessing surrogate end-points. Studies evaluating the benefits of family-based prevention of alcohol misuse in young people are generally inadequate at reporting information relevant to generalizability of the findings or implications for health or social outcomes. Researchers, study authors, peer reviewers, journal editors and scientific societies should take steps to improve the reporting of information relevant to external validity in prevention trials. © 2012 The Authors. Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Challenges to Integrating Geographically-Dispersed Data and Expertise at U.S. Volcano Observatories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, T. L.; Ewert, J. W.

2010-12-01

During the past 10 years the data and information available to volcano observatories to assess hazards and forecast activity has grown dramatically, a trend that will likely continue. Similarly, the ability of observatories to draw upon external specialists who can provide needed expertise is also increasing. Though technology easily provides the ability to move large amounts of information to the observatory, the challenge remains to efficiently and quickly integrate useful information and expertise into the decision-making process. The problem is further exacerbated by the use of new research techniques during times of heightened activity. Eruptive periods typically accelerate research into volcanic processes as scientists use the opportunity to test new hypotheses and develop new tools. Such experimental methods can be extremely insightful, but may be less easily integrated into the normal data streams that inform decisions. Similarly, there is an increased need for collaborative tools that allow efficient and effective communication between the observatory and external experts. Observatories will continue to be the central focus for integrating information, assessing hazards, and communicating with the public, but will increasingly draw on experts at other observatories, government agencies, academia and even the private sector, both foreign and domestic, to provide analysis and assistance. Fostering efficient communication among such a diverse and geographically dispersed group is a challenge. Addressing these challenges is one of the goals of the U.S. National Volcano Early Warning System, falling under the effort to improve interoperability among the five U.S. volcano observatories and their collaborators. In addition to providing the mechanisms to handle the flow of data, efforts will be directed at simplifying - though retaining the required nuance - information and merging data streams while developing tools that enable observatory staff to quickly integrate the data into the decision-making process. Also, advances in the use of collaborative tools and organizational structure will be required if observatories are to tap into the intellectual resources throughout the volcanological community. The last 10 years saw a continuing explosion in the quantity and quality of data and expertise available to address volcano hazards and volcanic activity; the challenge over the next 10 years will be for us to make the best use of it.

SPECIAL ISSUE ON OPTICAL PROCESSING OF INFORMATION: Transducers of physical fields based on two-channel coaxial optical fibres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busurin, V. I.; Brazhnikova, T. Yu; Korobkov, V. V.; Prokhorov, N. I.

1995-10-01

An analysis is made of a general basic configuration and of the transfer function of a fibre-optic transducer based on controlled coupling in a multilayer two-channel coaxial optical fibre. The influence of the structure parameters and of external factors on the errors of a sensitive element in such a transducer is considered. The results are given of an investigation of the characteristics of a number of transducers constructed in accordance with the basic configuration.

Compact Polarimetry Potentials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Truong-Loi, My-Linh; Dubois-Fernandez, Pascale; Pottier, Eric

2011-01-01

The goal of this study is to show the potential of a compact-pol SAR system for vegetation applications. Compact-pol concept has been suggested to minimize the system design while maximize the information and is declined as the ?/4, ?/2 and hybrid modes. In this paper, the applications such as biomass and vegetation height estimates are first presented, then, the equivalence between compact-pol data simulated from full-pol data and compact-pol data processed from raw data as such is shown. Finally, a calibration procedure using external targets is proposed.

IRIS Toxicological Review for Carbon Tetrachloride ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA released the draft report,Toxicological Review for Carbon Tetrachloride(Interagency Science Discussion Draft), that was distributed to Federal agencies and White House Offices for comment during the Science Discussion step of the IRIS Assessment Development Process. Comments received from other Federal agencies and White House Offices are provided below with external peer review panel comments. EPA is conducting a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of carbon tetrachloride that will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database.

Factor information retrieval system version 2. 0 (fire) (for microcomputers). Software

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

Not Available

FIRE Version 2.0 contains EPA's unique recommended criteria and toxic air emission estimation factors. FIRE consists of: (1) an EPA internal repository system that contains emission factor data identified and collected, and (2) an external distribution system that contains only EPA's recommended factors. The emission factors, compiled from a review of the literature, are identified by pollutant name, CAS number, process and emission source descriptions, SIC code, SCC, and control status. The factors are rated for quality using AP-42 rating criteria.

IRIS Toxicological Review of 2-Hexanone (External Review ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA is conducting a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of 2-hexanone that will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. Peer review is meant to ensure that science is used credibly and appropriately in derivation of the dose-response assessments and toxicological characterization. 2-Hexanone was nominated for IRIS assessment because of its frequent detection at sites nation-wide and its occurrence as a byproduct of certain industrial processes.

IRIS Toxicological Review of Ethylene Glycol Mono-Butyl ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA released the draft report, Toxicological Review for Ethylene Glycol Mono-Butyl Ether , that was distributed to Federal agencies and White House Offices for comment during the Science Discussion step of the IRIS Assessment Development Process. Comments received from other Federal agencies and White House Offices are provided below with external peer review panel comments. EPA is conducting a peer review of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of EGBE that will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database.

Convergence of multimodal sensory pathways to the mushroom body calyx in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Yagi, Ryosuke; Mabuchi, Yuta; Mizunami, Makoto; Tanaka, Nobuaki K.

2016-01-01

Detailed structural analyses of the mushroom body which plays critical roles in olfactory learning and memory revealed that it is directly connected with multiple primary sensory centers in Drosophila. Connectivity patterns between the mushroom body and primary sensory centers suggest that each mushroom body lobe processes information on different combinations of multiple sensory modalities. This finding provides a novel focus of research by Drosophila genetics for perception of the external world by integrating multisensory signals. PMID:27404960

An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios (External Review Draft)

EPA Science Inventory

EPA has released an external review draft entitled, An Exploratory Study: Assessment of Modeled Dioxin Exposure in Ceramic Art Studios(External Review Draft). The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop are separate processes that provide opportunities ...

A Scalable Monitoring for the CMS Filter Farm Based on Elasticsearch

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

Andre, J.M.; et al.

2015-12-23

A flexible monitoring system has been designed for the CMS File-based Filter Farm making use of modern data mining and analytics components. All the metadata and monitoring information concerning data flow and execution of the HLT are generated locally in the form of small documents using the JSON encoding. These documents are indexed into a hierarchy of elasticsearch (es) clusters along with process and system log information. Elasticsearch is a search server based on Apache Lucene. It provides a distributed, multitenant-capable search and aggregation engine. Since es is schema-free, any new information can be added seamlessly and the unstructured informationmore » can be queried in non-predetermined ways. The leaf es clusters consist of the very same nodes that form the Filter Farm thus providing natural horizontal scaling. A separate central” es cluster is used to collect and index aggregated information. The fine-grained information, all the way to individual processes, remains available in the leaf clusters. The central es cluster provides quasi-real-time high-level monitoring information to any kind of client. Historical data can be retrieved to analyse past problems or correlate them with external information. We discuss the design and performance of this system in the context of the CMS DAQ commissioning for LHC Run 2.« less

Transaction costs, externalities and information technology in health care.

PubMed

Ferguson, B; Keen, J

1996-01-01

This paper discusses some of the economic issues which underpin the rationale for investment in information and communications technologies (ICTs). Information imperfections lead to significant transaction costs (search, negotiating and monitoring) which in turn confer a negative externality on parties involved in exchange. This divergence in private and social costs leads to a degree of resource misallocation (efficiency loss) which, uncorrected, results in a sub-optimal outcome. Traditional solutions to this problem are to rely upon direct government action to reduce the costs of transacting between market agents, or to employ tax/subsidy measures and other legislative action to achieve the desired market outcome. Three key policy questions are raised in the context of the NHS purchaser/provider relationship. Firstly, what is the optimum level of transaction costs; secondly, can ICTs assist in lowering the level of transaction costs to the optimum level; thirdly, who should bear the investment cost in reducing the level of transaction costs? The issue of property rights in different information systems is discussed and raises interesting policy questions about how much investment should be undertaken centrally rather than devolved to a more local level. In some ways this economic framework offers a post hoc justification of why different ICT systems have been introduced at various levels of the NHS. Essentially this reduces to the problem of externalities: providing good information confers a positive externality: not providing relevant, timely and accurate information confers a negative externality, by increasing further the level of transaction costs. The crucial role which ICT systems can play lies in attempting to reduce the level of transaction costs and driving the market towards what Dahlman has described as the transaction-cost-constrained equilibrium.

Adding temporally localized noise can enhance the contribution of target knowledge on contrast detection.

PubMed

Silvestre, Daphné; Cavanagh, Patrick; Arleo, Angelo; Allard, Rémy

2017-02-01

External noise paradigms are widely used to characterize sensitivity by comparing the effect of a variable on contrast threshold when it is limited by internal versus external noise. A basic assumption of external noise paradigms is that the processing properties are the same in low and high noise. However, recent studies (e.g., Allard & Cavanagh, 2011; Allard & Faubert, 2014b) suggest that this assumption could be violated when using spatiotemporally localized noise (i.e., appearing simultaneously and at the same location as the target) but not when using spatiotemporally extended noise (i.e., continuously displayed, full-screen, dynamic noise). These previous findings may have been specific to the crowding and 0D noise paradigms that were used, so the purpose of the current study is to test if this violation of noise-invariant processing also occurs in a standard contrast detection task in white noise. The rationale of the current study is that local external noise triggers the use of recognition rather than detection and that a recognition process should be more affected by uncertainty about the shape of the target than one involving detection. To investigate the contribution of target knowledge on contrast detection, the effect of orientation uncertainty was evaluated for a contrast detection task in the absence of noise and in the presence of spatiotemporally localized or extended noise. A larger orientation uncertainty effect was observed with temporally localized noise than with temporally extended noise or with no external noise, indicating a change in the nature of the processing for temporally localized noise. We conclude that the use of temporally localized noise in external noise paradigms risks triggering a shift in process, invalidating the noise-invariant processing required for the paradigm. If, instead, temporally extended external noise is used to match the properties of internal noise, no such processing change occurs.

External Data and Attribute Hyperlink Programs for Promis*e(Registered Trademark)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Derengowski, Rich; Gruel, Andrew

2001-01-01

External Data and Attribute Hyperlink are computer programs that can be added to Promis*e(trademark) which is a commercial software system that automates routine tasks in the design (including drawing schematic diagrams) of electrical control systems. The programs were developed under the Stennis Space Center's (SSC) Dual Use Technology Development Program to provide capabilities for SSC's BMCS configuration management system which uses Promis*e(trademark). The External Data program enables the storage and management of information in an external database linked to a drawing. Changes can be made either in the database or on the drawing. Information that originates outside Promis*e(trademark) can be stored in custom fields that can be added to the database. Although this information is not available in Promis*e(trademark) printed drawings, it can be associated with symbols in the drawings, and can be retrieved through the drawings when the software is running. The Attribute Hyperlink program enables the addition of hyperlink information as attributes of symbols. This program enables the formation of a direct hyperlink between a schematic diagram and an Internet site or a file on a compact disk, on the user's hard drive, or on another computer on a network to which the user's computer is connected. The user can then obtain information directly related to the part (e.g., maintenance, or troubleshooting information) associated with the hyperlink.

Partial information decomposition as a unified approach to the specification of neural goal functions.

PubMed

Wibral, Michael; Priesemann, Viola; Kay, Jim W; Lizier, Joseph T; Phillips, William A

2017-03-01

In many neural systems anatomical motifs are present repeatedly, but despite their structural similarity they can serve very different tasks. A prime example for such a motif is the canonical microcircuit of six-layered neo-cortex, which is repeated across cortical areas, and is involved in a number of different tasks (e.g. sensory, cognitive, or motor tasks). This observation has spawned interest in finding a common underlying principle, a 'goal function', of information processing implemented in this structure. By definition such a goal function, if universal, cannot be cast in processing-domain specific language (e.g. 'edge filtering', 'working memory'). Thus, to formulate such a principle, we have to use a domain-independent framework. Information theory offers such a framework. However, while the classical framework of information theory focuses on the relation between one input and one output (Shannon's mutual information), we argue that neural information processing crucially depends on the combination of multiple inputs to create the output of a processor. To account for this, we use a very recent extension of Shannon Information theory, called partial information decomposition (PID). PID allows to quantify the information that several inputs provide individually (unique information), redundantly (shared information) or only jointly (synergistic information) about the output. First, we review the framework of PID. Then we apply it to reevaluate and analyze several earlier proposals of information theoretic neural goal functions (predictive coding, infomax and coherent infomax, efficient coding). We find that PID allows to compare these goal functions in a common framework, and also provides a versatile approach to design new goal functions from first principles. Building on this, we design and analyze a novel goal function, called 'coding with synergy', which builds on combining external input and prior knowledge in a synergistic manner. We suggest that this novel goal function may be highly useful in neural information processing. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Personal resources and support when regaining the ability to work: an interview study with Exhaustion Disorder patients.

PubMed

Norlund, Sofia; Fjellman-Wiklund, Anncristine; Nordin, Maria; Stenlund, Therese; Ahlgren, Christina

2013-06-01

The aim of the study was to explore experiences and thoughts in the process of returning to work in employed patients with Exhaustion Disorder. Twelve patients with Exhaustion Disorder (burnout) who had been referred to a Stress Rehabilitation Clinic were interviewed. All patients were employed but a majority was on full or part-time sick leave. Grounded Theory was used as the qualitative method. A core category, regaining the ability to work, was developed. Alongside, two categories, internal resources and the external support system, were experienced as being important to the process. The internal resources were expressed through three key features (sub-categories), perceived validation, insights and adaptive coping abilities. The external support system was diverse and described by the sub-categories practical/structural and/or emotional support. Four external support actors were identified; the workplace, health care, the Social Insurance Agency, and the union. The supervisor was described as the most important external actor. Internal and external resources are intertwined in the process of regaining the ability to work. The internal resources and external support can directly increase the probability to regain the ability to work. Moreover, these resources can affect each other and thus indirectly have an effect on the process.

Modelling stock order flows with non-homogeneous intensities from high-frequency data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorshenin, Andrey K.; Korolev, Victor Yu.; Zeifman, Alexander I.; Shorgin, Sergey Ya.; Chertok, Andrey V.; Evstafyev, Artem I.; Korchagin, Alexander Yu.

2013-10-01

A micro-scale model is proposed for the evolution of such information system as the limit order book in financial markets. Within this model, the flows of orders (claims) are described by doubly stochastic Poisson processes taking account of the stochastic character of intensities of buy and sell orders that determine the price discovery mechanism. The proposed multiplicative model of stochastic intensities makes it possible to analyze the characteristics of the order flows as well as the instantaneous proportion of the forces of buyers and sellers, that is, the imbalance process, without modelling the external information background. The proposed model gives the opportunity to link the micro-scale (high-frequency) dynamics of the limit order book with the macro-scale models of stock price processes of the form of subordinated Wiener processes by means of limit theorems of probability theory and hence, to use the normal variance-mean mixture models of the corresponding heavy-tailed distributions. The approach can be useful in different areas with similar properties (e.g., in plasma physics).

Understanding the Stress Process of Chinese- and Korean-American Breast Cancer Survivors.

PubMed

Paek, Min-So; Lim, Jung-Won

2016-10-01

Guided by the stress process model (SPM), this study investigated the direct and indirect pathways of primary (negative self-image and life stress), secondary stressors (family communication strain) and family coping (external and internal) on mental health outcomes among Chinese- and Korean-American breast cancer survivors (BCS). A total of 156 Chinese- and Korean-American BCS were surveyed. Results showed primary and secondary stressors had a negative effect on better mental health outcomes. External coping was associated with better mental health. Family communication strain mediated the relationship between life stress and mental health outcomes. External coping mediated the relationship between family communication strain and mental health outcomes. Multi-group analysis revealed the stress process did not differ across ethnic groups. Findings suggest the SPM may be applicable to understand the stress process of Chinese- and Korean-American BCS and provide valuable insight into the role of family communication and external coping on mental health outcomes.

Scaling up antiretroviral therapy in Uganda: using supply chain management to appraise health systems strengthening.

PubMed

Windisch, Ricarda; Waiswa, Peter; Neuhann, Florian; Scheibe, Florian; de Savigny, Don

2011-08-01

Strengthened national health systems are necessary for effective and sustained expansion of antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART and its supply chain management in Uganda are largely based on parallel and externally supported efforts. The question arises whether systems are being strengthened to sustain access to ART. This study applies systems thinking to assess supply chain management, the role of external support and whether investments create the needed synergies to strengthen health systems. This study uses the WHO health systems framework and examines the issues of governance, financing, information, human resources and service delivery in relation to supply chain management of medicines and the technologies. It looks at links and causal chains between supply chain management for ART and the national supply system for essential drugs. It combines data from the literature and key informant interviews with observations at health service delivery level in a study district. Current drug supply chain management in Uganda is characterized by parallel processes and information systems that result in poor quality and inefficiencies. Less than expected health system performance, stock outs and other shortages affect ART and primary care in general. Poor performance of supply chain management is amplified by weak conditions at all levels of the health system, including the areas of financing, governance, human resources and information. Governance issues include the lack to follow up initial policy intentions and a focus on narrow, short-term approaches. The opportunity and need to use ART investments for an essential supply chain management and strengthened health system has not been exploited. By applying a systems perspective this work indicates the seriousness of missing system prerequisites. The findings suggest that root causes and capacities across the system have to be addressed synergistically to enable systems that can match and accommodate investments in disease-specific interventions. The multiplicity and complexity of existing challenges require a long-term and systems perspective essentially in contrast to the current short term and program-specific nature of external assistance.

Hippocampus Contributions to Food Intake Control: Mnemonic, Neuroanatomical, and Endocrine Mechanisms.

PubMed

Kanoski, Scott E; Grill, Harvey J

2017-05-01

Food intake is a complex behavior that can occur or cease to occur for a multitude of reasons. Decisions about where, when, what, and how much to eat are not merely reflexive responses to food-relevant stimuli or to changes in energy status. Rather, feeding behavior is modulated by various contextual factors and by previous experiences. The data reviewed here support the perspective that neurons in multiple hippocampal subregions constitute an important neural substrate linking the external context, the internal context, and mnemonic and cognitive information to control both appetitive and ingestive behavior. Feeding behavior is heavily influenced by hippocampal-dependent mnemonic functions, including episodic meal-related memories and conditional learned associations between food-related stimuli and postingestive consequences. These mnemonic processes are undoubtedly influenced by both external and internal factors relating to food availability, location, and physiological energy status. The afferent and efferent neuroanatomical connectivity of the subregions of the hippocampus is reviewed with regard to the integration of visuospatial and olfactory sensory information (the external context) with endocrine and gastrointestinal interoceptive stimuli (the internal context). Also discussed are recent findings demonstrating that peripherally derived endocrine signals act on receptors in hippocampal neurons to reduce (leptin, glucagon-like peptide-1) or increase (ghrelin) food intake and learned food reward-driven responding, thereby highlighting endocrine and neuropeptidergic signaling in hippocampal neurons as a novel substrate of importance in the higher-order regulation of feeding behavior. Copyright © 2015 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do indicators influence communication in SEA? — Experience from the Chinese practice

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

Gao, Jingjing, E-mail: jingjing@plan.aau.dk; Kørnøv, Lone, E-mail: lonek@plan.aau.dk; Christensen, Per, E-mail: pc@plan.aau.dk

Indicators have become one of the primary tools for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in the Chinese context, but what does this use of indicators mean for communication within the SEA processes? This article explores how the selection and use of indicators influence the communication between different stakeholders involved in SEA. The article provides a conceptual communication model covering directions and level of communication. Using this model on empirical findings from interviews with two specific SEA cases and from general experience collected through an online survey, the results suggest that indicators are used mainly in internal communication although a change ofmore » approach, with more external communication and stakeholder engagement, is taking place as a consequence of working with indicators in the SEA. However, the external communication mainly involves the experts and other relevant sectors (planning, energy, land use, forestry, etc.), the involvement of the public and NGOs is still not well implemented in Chinese SEA practice, and the direction of communication is mainly one-way channel of providing information rather than a two-way channel of dialogue and participation. Highlights: • Exploring indicators' influence on the communication in SEA with Chinese experience. • Providing a conceptual model covering directions and level of communication in SEA. • Empirical findings from two specific SEA cases and collected general experience. • The external communication mainly involves the experts and other sectors. • More one-way information provision than two-way dialogue and participation.« less

ISS Quasi-steady Accelerometric Data as a Tool for the Detection of External Disturbances During the Period 2009-2016

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marín, M.; Dubert, D.; Simón, M. J.; Ollé, J.; Gavaldà, Jna.; Ruiz, X.

2018-04-01

The present work aims to investigate the degree of correlation existing between the information contained in the ISS reduced quasi-steady accelerometric data and different external mechanical disturbances (reboostings, dockings/undockings, berthings/deberthings and Extra Vehicular Activities), compiled for the period 2009 to 2016. The eight hour mean (Mean8h) and the eight hour root mean square (RMS8h) acceleration values, considered as reduced data, have been extracted from the quasi-steady records provided by NASA Principal Investigator Microgravity Services website. The advantage of applying the present strategy is to drastically reduce the amount of information to be processed all along these eight years. The Mean8h values have been used for the evaluation of trends as function of time while the RMS8h ones were used to define the level (weak, medium and strong) of the different kind of external mechanical disturbances considered. These criteria has been applied for approximately four hundred selected disturbances, compiled in the Appendix. Results indicate that reboosting is always detected as a strong disturbance, while dockings/undockings, as weak ones, having lower, though detectable level, depending on the type of spacecraft considered. Extra Vehicular Activities are undetectable by the use of this reduced quasi-steady approach. The inverse problem, in other words, knowing the value of the RMS8h one could try to predict the kind of disturbance responsible of it, is thus feasible except for berthing/deberthings and Extra Vehicular Activities.

Prototype of Kepler Processing Workflows For Microscopy And Neuroinformatics

PubMed Central

Astakhov, V.; Bandrowski, A.; Gupta, A.; Kulungowski, A.W.; Grethe, J.S.; Bouwer, J.; Molina, T.; Rowley, V.; Penticoff, S.; Terada, M.; Wong, W.; Hakozaki, H.; Kwon, O.; Martone, M.E.; Ellisman, M.

2016-01-01

We report on progress of employing the Kepler workflow engine to prototype “end-to-end” application integration workflows that concern data coming from microscopes deployed at the National Center for Microscopy Imaging Research (NCMIR). This system is built upon the mature code base of the Cell Centered Database (CCDB) and integrated rule-oriented data system (IRODS) for distributed storage. It provides integration with external projects such as the Whole Brain Catalog (WBC) and Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF), which benefit from NCMIR data. We also report on specific workflows which spawn from main workflows and perform data fusion and orchestration of Web services specific for the NIF project. This “Brain data flow” presents a user with categorized information about sources that have information on various brain regions. PMID:28479932

Outsourcing cognitive control to the environment: adult age differences in the use of task cues.

PubMed

Spieler, Daniel H; Mayr, Ulrich; LaGrone, Susan

2006-10-01

When an initial phase of cued task switching is followed by a phase of single-task trials, older adults show difficulties changing to the more efficient single-task mode of processing (Mayr & Liebscher, 2001). In Experiment 1, we show that these costs follow older adults' continued tendency to inspect task cues even though these provide no new information. In Experiment 2, we included a condition in which task cues were eliminated from the display after the task-switching phase. In this condition, older adults behaved the same as younger adults, suggesting that the presence of the task cue is critical for observing age differences while switching from a "high-control" to a "low-control" mode of processing. We discuss our results in terms of a life-span shift with regard to the reliance on internal versus external sources of information under conditions of high-control demands.

Topological Magnon Modes in Patterned Ferrimagnetic Insulator Thin Films.

PubMed

Li, Yun-Mei; Xiao, Jiang; Chang, Kai

2018-05-09

Manipulation of magnons opens an attractive direction in the future energy-efficient information processing devices. Such quasi-particles can transfer and process information free from the troublesome Ohmic loss in conventional electronic devices. Here, we propose to realize topologically protected magnon modes using the interface between the patterned ferrimagnetic insulator thin films of different configurations without the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The interface thus behaves like a perfect waveguide to conduct the magnon modes lying in the band gap. These modes are immune to backscattering even in sharply bent tracks, robust against the disorders, and maintain a high degree of coherence during propagation. We design a magnonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which realizes a continuous change of magnon signal with varying external magnetic field or driving frequency. Our results pave a new way for realizing topologically protected magnon waveguide and finally achieving a scalable low-dissipation spintronic devices and even the magnonic integrated circuit.

Stepwise Connectivity of the Modal Cortex Reveals the Multimodal Organization of the Human Brain

PubMed Central

Sepulcre, Jorge; Sabuncu, Mert R.; Yeo, Thomas B.; Liu, Hesheng; Johnson, Keith A.

2012-01-01

How human beings integrate information from external sources and internal cognition to produce a coherent experience is still not well understood. During the past decades, anatomical, neurophysiological and neuroimaging research in multimodal integration have stood out in the effort to understand the perceptual binding properties of the brain. Areas in the human lateral occipito-temporal, prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices have been associated with sensory multimodal processing. Even though this, rather patchy, organization of brain regions gives us a glimpse of the perceptual convergence, the articulation of the flow of information from modality-related to the more parallel cognitive processing systems remains elusive. Using a method called Stepwise Functional Connectivity analysis, the present study analyzes the functional connectome and transitions from primary sensory cortices to higher-order brain systems. We identify the large-scale multimodal integration network and essential connectivity axes for perceptual integration in the human brain. PMID:22855814

Mapping sensory circuits by anterograde trans-synaptic transfer of recombinant rabies virus

PubMed Central

Zampieri, Niccolò; Jessell, Thomas M.; Murray, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

Summary Primary sensory neurons convey information from the external world to relay circuits within the central nervous system (CNS), but the identity and organization of the neurons that process incoming sensory information remains sketchy. Within the CNS viral tracing techniques that rely on retrograde trans-synaptic transfer provide a powerful tool for delineating circuit organization. Viral tracing of the circuits engaged by primary sensory neurons has, however, been hampered by the absence of a genetically tractable anterograde transfer system. In this study we demonstrate that rabies virus can infect sensory neurons in the somatosensory system, is subject to anterograde trans-synaptic transfer from primary sensory to spinal target neurons, and can delineate output connectivity with third-order neurons. Anterograde trans-synaptic transfer is a feature shared by other classes of primary sensory neurons, permitting the identification and potentially the manipulation of neural circuits processing sensory feedback within the mammalian CNS. PMID:24486087

Federating Clinical Data from Six Pediatric Hospitals: Process and Initial Results from the PHIS+ Consortium

PubMed Central

Narus, Scott P.; Srivastava, Rajendu; Gouripeddi, Ramkiran; Livne, Oren E.; Mo, Peter; Bickel, Jonathan P.; de Regt, David; Hales, Joseph W.; Kirkendall, Eric; Stepanek, Richard L.; Toth, Jamie; Keren, Ron

2011-01-01

Integrating clinical data with administrative data across disparate electronic medical record systems will help improve the internal and external validity of comparative effectiveness research. The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) currently collects administrative information from 43 pediatric hospital members of the Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA). Members of the Pediatric Research in Inpatient Settings (PRIS) network have partnered with CHCA and the University of Utah Biomedical Informatics Core to create an enhanced version of PHIS that includes clinical data. A specialized version of a data federation architecture from the University of Utah (“FURTHeR”) is being developed to integrate the clinical data from the member hospitals into a common repository (“PHIS+”) that is joined with the existing administrative data. We report here on our process for the first phase of federating lab data, and present initial results. PMID:22195159

75 FR 47595 - Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Clean Air...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-06

... Air Quality Standards--Second External Review Draft (June 2010). DATES: The teleconference will be... Standards--Second External Review Draft (June 2010). Background information on previous meetings and... Quality Standards--Second External Review Draft (June 2010) should be directed to Ms. Beth Hassett-Sipple...

Teleradiology mobile internet system with a new information security solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satoh, Hitoshi; Niki, Noboru; Eguchi, Kenji; Ohmatsu, Hironobu; Kusumoto, Masahiko; Kaneko, Masahiro; Moriyama, Noriyuki

2014-03-01

We have developed an external storage system by using secret sharing scheme and tokenization for regional medical cooperation, PHR service and information preservation. The use of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets will be accelerated for a PHR service, and the confidential medical information is exposed to the risk of damage and intercept. We verified the transfer rate of the sending and receiving of data to and from the external storage system that connected it with PACS by the Internet this time. External storage systems are the data centers that exist in Okinawa, in Osaka, in Sapporo and in Tokyo by using secret sharing scheme. PACS continuously transmitted 382 CT images to the external data centers. Total capacity of the CT images is about 200MB. The total time that had been required to transmit was about 250 seconds. Because the preservation method to use secret sharing scheme is applied, security is strong. But, it also takes the information transfer time of this system too much. Therefore, DICOM data is masked to the header information part because it is made to anonymity in our method. The DICOM data made anonymous is preserved in the data base in the hospital. Header information including individual information is divided into two or more tallies by secret sharing scheme, and preserved at two or more external data centers. The token to relate the DICOM data anonymity made to header information preserved outside is strictly preserved in the token server. The capacity of header information that contains patient's individual information is only about 2% of the entire DICOM data. This total time that had been required to transmit was about 5 seconds. Other, common solutions that can protect computer communication networks from attacks are classified as cryptographic techniques or authentication techniques. Individual number IC card is connected with electronic certification authority of web medical image conference system. Individual number IC card is given only to the person to whom the authority to operate web medical image conference system was given.

Quo vadimus: Coming to grips with the information world

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blados, Walter R.

1991-01-01

The new information-oriented culture in which we find ourselves has created new relationships, new stimulating and expanding opportunities, new methods of doing our work, and new environments in which we carry out our work. An integral part of the NASA aerospace research and development (R and D) process is the scientific and technical information (STI) associated with it; it is both a raw material (input) and a product (output) of this process. Within this process, the NASA STI Program is tasked to provide information management and services, to ensure that accurate and timely STI is generated and entered into an appropriate information service and made available in a usable form to those who have a need for it; in essence, a means to exploit both internal (NASA corporate) and pertinent external (other governmental/industrial/foreign) information to meet the requirements of the R and D community. To understand the STI Program management issues, it is critical to understand the role of the STI Program in the context of the R and D process. STI management must become part of the accepted culture of the R and D community, but it cannot become so unless adopted and accepted by it. A start should be made now to integrate the NASA STI Program into the R and D infrastructure, including funding and operational control. Within this infrastructure, we must obtain management commitment, review and produce policy reflecting the organizational status, allocate responsibilities, and set to work on implementing the true requirements of the R and D community.

External Link Disclaimer - Naval Oceanography Portal

Science.gov Websites

, the United States Department of the Navy or [command name] of the linked web sites, or the information purpose of this DoD web site. USNO Master Clock Time Javascript must be Enabled The Sky This Week The Sky | navy.com | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | External Link Disclaimer This is an official U.S. Navy web

Data mining of external and internal forcing of fluvial systems for catchment management: A case study on the Red River (Song Hong), Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmitt, Rafael; Bizzi, Simone; Castelletti, Andrea

2013-04-01

The understanding of river hydromorphological processes has been recognized in the last decades as a priority of modern catchment management, since interactions of natural and anthropogenic forces within the catchment drives fluvial geomorphic processes, which shape physical habitat, affect river infrastructures and influence freshwater ecological processes. The characterization of river hydromorphological features is commonly location and time specific and highly resource demanding. Therefore, its routine application at regional or national scales and the assessment of spatio-temporal changes as reaction to internal and external disturbances is rarely feasible at present. Information ranging from recently available high-resolution remote-sensing data (such as DEM), historic data such as land use maps or aerial photographs and monitoring networks of flow and rainfall, open up novel and promising capacity for basin-wide understanding of dominant hydromorphological drivers. Analysing the resulting multiparametric data sets in their temporal and spatial dimensions requires sophisticated data mining tools to exploit the potential of this information. We propose a novel framework that allows for the quantitative assessment of multiparametric data sets to identify classes of channel reaches characterized by similar geomorphic drivers using remote-sensing data and monitoring networks available in the catchment. This generic framework was applied to the Red River (Song Hong) basin, the second largest basin (87,800 sq.km) in Vietnam. Besides its economic importance, the river is experiencing severe river bed incisions due to recent construction of new dams in the upstream part of the catchment and sand mining in the surrounding of the capital city Hanoi. In this context, characterized by an high development rate, current efforts to increase water productivity and minimize impacts on the fluvial systems by means of focused infrastructure and management measures require a thorough understanding of the fluvial system and, in particular, basin-wide assessment of resilience to human-induced change. . The framework proposed has allowed producing high-dimensional samples of spatially distributed geomorphic drivers at catchment scale while integrating recent and historic point records for the Red River basin. This novel dataset has been then analysed using self-organizing maps (SOM) an artificial neural network model in combination with fuzzy clustering. The above framework is able to identify non-trivial correlations in driving forces and to derive a fuzzy classification at reach scale which represents continuities and discontinuities in the river systems. The use of the above framework allowed analyzing the spatial distribution of geomorphic features at catchment scale, revealing patterns of similarities and dissimilarities within the catchment and allowing a classification of river reaches characterized by similar geomorphic drivers, fluvial processes and response to external forcing. The paper proposes an innovative and promising technique to produce hydromorphological classifications at catchment scale integrating historical and recent available high resolution data. The framework aims at opening the way to a more structured organization and analyses of recently available information on river geomorphic features, so far often missing or rarely exploited. This approach poses the basis to produce efficient databases of river geomorphic features and processes related to natural and anthropogenic drivers. That is a necessity in order to enhance our understanding of the internal and external forces which drive fluvial systems, to assess the resilience and dynamic of river landscapes and to develop the more efficient river management strategies of the future.

Mental health treatment teams and leadership: a systems model.

PubMed

Yank, G R; Barber, J W; Spradlin, W W

1994-10-01

Mental health treatment teams are living systems at the group level and comprise key productive subsystems of organizations providing mental health care. Effective treatment teams, like effective organizations, are anticipatory systems that contain subsystems that model and predict future system and environmental conditions and enable responses that increase system viability. A systems analysis of treatment teams highlights their potential instability due to their tendencies to regress toward dysfunctional partial systems and their active maintenance in nonequilibrium steady states with their organizational and external environments. Team subsystems are analyzed from the viewpoints of system processes and also with regard to individuals and their roles. Boundary processes are central to effective team functioning, assure constancy of team membership, and regulate the team's interfaces with its parent agency and with the external environment. Various causes and forms of disturbed information processing within hierarchical organizations are examined, and their effects at the treatment team level are discussed. The conclusion of the discussion focuses on team leadership and how leadership expands upon the concept of the decider subsystem to include role and personal factors to the team's leaders, and functions that are anticipatory and integrative in nature. Effective leaders must set appropriate thresholds for feedback regulation processes, and balance several pairs of seemingly opposing forces, including homeostasis and development, role differentiation and role overlap, and personal accountability and empowerment of others.

Process evaluation to explore internal and external validity of the "Act in Case of Depression" care program in nursing homes.

PubMed

Leontjevas, Ruslan; Gerritsen, Debby L; Koopmans, Raymond T C M; Smalbrugge, Martin; Vernooij-Dassen, Myrra J F J

2012-06-01

A multidisciplinary, evidence-based care program to improve the management of depression in nursing home residents was implemented and tested using a stepped-wedge design in 23 nursing homes (NHs): "Act in case of Depression" (AiD). Before effect analyses, to evaluate AiD process data on sampling quality (recruitment and randomization, reach) and intervention quality (relevance and feasibility, extent to which AiD was performed), which can be used for understanding internal and external validity. In this article, a model is presented that divides process evaluation data into first- and second-order process data. Qualitative and quantitative data based on personal files of residents, interviews of nursing home professionals, and a research database were analyzed according to the following process evaluation components: sampling quality and intervention quality. Nursing home. The pattern of residents' informed consent rates differed for dementia special care units and somatic units during the study. The nursing home staff was satisfied with the AiD program and reported that the program was feasible and relevant. With the exception of the first screening step (nursing staff members using a short observer-based depression scale), AiD components were not performed fully by NH staff as prescribed in the AiD protocol. Although NH staff found the program relevant and feasible and was satisfied with the program content, individual AiD components may have different feasibility. The results on sampling quality implied that statistical analyses of AiD effectiveness should account for the type of unit, whereas the findings on intervention quality implied that, next to the type of unit, analyses should account for the extent to which individual AiD program components were performed. In general, our first-order process data evaluation confirmed internal and external validity of the AiD trial, and this evaluation enabled further statistical fine tuning. The importance of evaluating the first-order process data before executing statistical effect analyses is thus underlined. Copyright © 2012 American Medical Directors Association, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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.

The impact of cognitive control, incentives, and working memory load on the P3 responses of externalizing prisoners.

PubMed

Baskin-Sommers, Arielle R; Krusemark, Elizabeth A; Curtin, John J; Lee, Christopher; Vujnovich, Aleice; Newman, Joseph P

2014-02-01

The P3 amplitude reduction is one of the most common correlates of externalizing. However, few studies have used experimental manipulations designed to challenge different cognitive functions in order to clarify the processes that impact this reduction. To examine factors moderating P3 amplitude in trait externalizing, we administered an n-back task that manipulated cognitive control demands, working memory load, and incentives to a sample of male offenders. Offenders with high trait externalizing scores did not display a global reduction in P3 amplitude. Rather, the negative association between trait externalizing and P3 amplitude was specific to trials involving inhibition of a dominant response during infrequent stimuli, in the context of low working memory load, and incentives for performance. In addition, we discuss the potential implications of these findings for externalizing-related psychopathologies. The results complement and expand previous work on the process-level dysfunction contributing to externalizing-related deficits in P3. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimal diabatic dynamics of Majorana-based quantum gates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmani, Armin; Seradjeh, Babak; Franz, Marcel

2017-08-01

In topological quantum computing, unitary operations on qubits are performed by adiabatic braiding of non-Abelian quasiparticles, such as Majorana zero modes, and are protected from local environmental perturbations. In the adiabatic regime, with timescales set by the inverse gap of the system, the errors can be made arbitrarily small by performing the process more slowly. To enhance the performance of quantum information processing with Majorana zero modes, we apply the theory of optimal control to the diabatic dynamics of Majorana-based qubits. While we sacrifice complete topological protection, we impose constraints on the optimal protocol to take advantage of the nonlocal nature of topological information and increase the robustness of our gates. By using the Pontryagin's maximum principle, we show that robust equivalent gates to perfect adiabatic braiding can be implemented in finite times through optimal pulses. In our implementation, modifications to the device Hamiltonian are avoided. Focusing on thermally isolated systems, we study the effects of calibration errors and external white and 1 /f (pink) noise on Majorana-based gates. While a noise-induced antiadiabatic behavior, where a slower process creates more diabatic excitations, prohibits indefinite enhancement of the robustness of the adiabatic scheme, our fast optimal protocols exhibit remarkable stability to noise and have the potential to significantly enhance the practical performance of Majorana-based information processing.

Hospital Audit as a Useful Tool in the Process of Introducing Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) into Hospital Pharmacy Settings-A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Religioni, Urszula; Swieczkowski, Damian; Gawrońska, Anna; Kowalczuk, Anna; Drozd, Mariola; Zerhau, Mikołaj; Smoliński, Dariusz; Radomiński, Stanisław; Cwalina, Natalia; Brindley, David; Jaguszewski, Miłosz J; Merks, Piotr

2017-11-09

Recently, the European Union has introduced the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD). Additionally, in early 2016, a Delegated Act (DA) related to the FMD was published. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of external audits in the context of implementing new regulations provided by the FMD in the secondary care environment. The external, in-person workflow audits were performed by an authentication company in three Polish hospital pharmacies. Each audit consisted of a combination of supervision (non-participant observation), secondary data analysis, and expert interviews with the use of an independently designed authorial Diagnostic Questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about hospital drug distribution procedures, data concerning drug usage, IT systems, medication order systems, the processes of medication dispensing, and the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs. Data analysis included a thorough examination of hospital documentation in regard to drug management. All data were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the aim of generating meaningful information through inductive inference. Only one dispensing location in the Polish hospitals studied has the potential to be a primary authentication area. In the audited hospitals, an Automated Drug Dispensing System and unit dose were not identified during the study. Hospital wards contained an enclosed place within the department dedicated to drug storage under the direct supervision of senior nursing staff. An electronic order system was not available. In the largest center, unused medications are re-dispensed to different hospital departments, or may be sold to various institutions. Additionally, in one hospital pharmacy, pharmacists prepared parenteral nutrition and chemotherapeutic drugs for patients admitted to the hospital. External audits might prove beneficial in the course of introducing new regulations into everyday settings. However, such action should be provided before the final implementation of authentication services. To sum up, FMD can impact several hospital departments.

Hospital Audit as a Useful Tool in the Process of Introducing Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) into Hospital Pharmacy Settings—A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Religioni, Urszula; Gawrońska, Anna; Kowalczuk, Anna; Drozd, Mariola; Zerhau, Mikołaj; Smoliński, Dariusz; Radomiński, Stanisław; Cwalina, Natalia; Brindley, David; Jaguszewski, Miłosz J.; Merks, Piotr

2017-01-01

Background: Recently, the European Union has introduced the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD). Additionally, in early 2016, a Delegated Act (DA) related to the FMD was published. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of external audits in the context of implementing new regulations provided by the FMD in the secondary care environment. Methods: The external, in-person workflow audits were performed by an authentication company in three Polish hospital pharmacies. Each audit consisted of a combination of supervision (non-participant observation), secondary data analysis, and expert interviews with the use of an independently designed authorial Diagnostic Questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about hospital drug distribution procedures, data concerning drug usage, IT systems, medication order systems, the processes of medication dispensing, and the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs. Data analysis included a thorough examination of hospital documentation in regard to drug management. All data were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the aim of generating meaningful information through inductive inference. Results: Only one dispensing location in the Polish hospitals studied has the potential to be a primary authentication area. In the audited hospitals, an Automated Drug Dispensing System and unit dose were not identified during the study. Hospital wards contained an enclosed place within the department dedicated to drug storage under the direct supervision of senior nursing staff. An electronic order system was not available. In the largest center, unused medications are re-dispensed to different hospital departments, or may be sold to various institutions. Additionally, in one hospital pharmacy, pharmacists prepared parenteral nutrition and chemotherapeutic drugs for patients admitted to the hospital. Conclusions: External audits might prove beneficial in the course of introducing new regulations into everyday settings. However, such action should be provided before the final implementation of authentication services. To sum up, FMD can impact several hospital departments. PMID:29120385

A Cognitive Framework for Understanding and Improving Interference Resolution in the Brain

PubMed Central

Mishra, Jyoti; Anguera, Joaquin A.; Ziegler, David A.; Gazzaley, Adam

2014-01-01

All of us are familiar with the negative impact of interference on achieving our task goals. We are referring to interference by information, which either impinges on our senses from an external environmental source or is internally generated by our thoughts. Informed by more than a decade of research on the cognitive and neural processing of interference, we have developed a framework for understanding how interference impacts our neural systems and especially how it is regulated and suppressed during efficient on-task performance. Importantly, externally and internally generated interferences have distinct neural signatures, and further, distinct neural processing emerges depending on whether individuals must ignore and suppress the interference, as for distractions, or engage with them in a secondary task, as during multitasking. Here, we elaborate on this cognitive framework and how it changes throughout the human lifespan, focusing mostly on research evidence from younger adults and comparing these findings to data from older adults, children, and cognitively impaired populations. With insights gleaned from our growing understanding, we then describe three novel translational efforts in our lab directed at improving distinct aspects of interference resolution using cognitive training. Critically, these training approaches were specifically developed to target improved interference resolution based on neuroplasticity principles and have shown much success in randomized controlled first version evaluations in healthy aging. Our results show not only on-task training improvements but also robust generalization of benefit to other cognitive control abilities. This research showcases how an in-depth understanding of neural mechanisms can then inform the development of effective deficit-targeted interventions, which can in turn benefit both healthy and cognitively impaired populations. PMID:24309262

Developing Climate Resilience Toolkit Decision Support Training Sectio

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Livezey, M. M.; Herring, D.; Keck, J.; Meyers, J. C.

2014-12-01

The Climate Resilience Toolkit (CRT) is a Federal government effort to address the U.S. President's Climate Action Plan and Executive Order for Climate Preparedness. The toolkit will provide access to tools and products useful for climate-sensitive decision making. To optimize the user experience, the toolkit will also provide access to training materials. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been building a climate training capability for 15 years. The target audience for the training has historically been mainly NOAA staff with some modified training programs for external users and stakeholders. NOAA is now using this climate training capacity for the CRT. To organize the CRT training section, we collaborated with the Association of Climate Change Officers to determine the best strategy and identified four additional complimentary skills needed for successful decision making: climate literacy, environmental literacy, risk assessment and management, and strategic execution and monitoring. Developing the climate literacy skills requires knowledge of climate variability and change, as well as an introduction to the suite of available products and services. For the development of an environmental literacy category, specific topics needed include knowledge of climate impacts on specific environmental systems. Climate risk assessment and management introduces a process for decision making and provides knowledge on communication of climate information and integration of climate information in planning processes. The strategic execution and monitoring category provides information on use of NOAA climate products, services, and partnership opportunities for decision making. In order to use the existing training modules, it was necessary to assess their level of complexity, catalog them, and develop guidance for users on a curriculum to take advantage of the training resources to enhance their learning experience. With the development of this CRT training section, NOAA has made significant progress in sharing resources with the external community.

Increased Health Information Technology Adoption and Use Among Small Primary Care Physician Practices Over Time: A National Cohort Study.

PubMed

Rittenhouse, Diane R; Ramsay, Patricia P; Casalino, Lawrence P; McClellan, Sean; Kandel, Zosha K; Shortell, Stephen M

2017-01-01

Implementation and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) has been shown to facilitate delivery system transformation, yet implementation is far from universal. This study examined correlates of greater HIT implementation over time among a national cohort of small primary care practices in the United States. We used data from a 40-minute telephone panel survey of 566 small primary care practices having 8 or fewer physicians to investigate adoption and use of HIT in 2007-2010 and 2012-2013. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to estimate the association of practice characteristics and external incentives with the adoption and use of HIT. We studied 18 measures of HIT functionalities, including record keeping, clinical decision support, patient communication, and health information exchange with hospitals and pharmacies. Overall, use of 16 HIT functionalities increased significantly over time, whereas use of 2 decreased significantly. On average, compared with physician-owned practices, hospital-owned practices used 1.48 (95% CI, 1.07-1.88; P <.001) more HIT processes. And relative to smaller practices, practices with 3 to 8 physicians used 2.49 (95% CI, 2.26-2.72; P <.001) more HIT processes. Participation in pay-for-performance programs, participation in public reporting of clinical quality data, and a larger proportion of revenue from Medicare were also associated with greater adoption and use of HIT. The new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will provide payment incentives and technical support to speed HIT adoption and use by small practices. We found that external incentives were, indeed, positively associated with greater adoption and use of HIT. Our findings also support a strategy of targeting assistance to smaller physician practices and those that are physician owned. © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Parallel and convergent processing in grid cell, head-direction cell, boundary cell, and place cell networks

PubMed Central

Brandon, Mark P; Koenig, Julie; Leutgeb, Stefan

2014-01-01

The brain is able to construct internal representations that correspond to external spatial coordinates. Such brain maps of the external spatial topography may support a number of cognitive functions, including navigation and memory. The neuronal building block of brain maps are place cells, which are found throughout the hippocampus of rodents and, in a lower proportion, primates. Place cells typically fire in one or few restricted areas of space, and each area where a cell fires can range, along the dorsoventral axis of the hippocampus, from 30 cm to at least several meters. The sensory processing streams that give rise to hippocampal place cells are not fully understood, but substantial progress has been made in characterizing the entorhinal cortex, which is the gateway between neocortical areas and the hippocampus. Entorhinal neurons have diverse spatial firing characteristics, and the different entorhinal cell types converge in the hippocampus to give rise to a single, spatially modulated cell type—the place cell. We therefore suggest that parallel information processing in different classes of cells—as is typically observed at lower levels of sensory processing—continues up into higher level association cortices, including those that provide the inputs to hippocampus. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:207–219. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1272 PMID:24587849

External cues challenging the internal appetite control system-Overview and practical implications.

PubMed

Bilman, Els; van Kleef, Ellen; van Trijp, Hans

2017-09-02

Inadequate regulation of food intake plays an important role in the development of overweight and obesity, and is under the influence of both the internal appetite control system and external environmental cues. Especially in environments where food is overly available, external cues seem to override and/or undermine internal signals, which put severe challenges on the accurate regulation of food intake. By structuring these external cues around five different phases in the food consumption process this paper aims to provide an overview of the wide range of external cues that potentially facilitate or hamper internal signals and with that influence food intake. For each of the five phases of the food consumption process, meal initiation, meal planning, consumption phase, end of eating episode and time till next meal, the most relevant internal signals are discussed and it is explained how specific external cues exert their influence.

Alternative mechanisms for regulating racial responses according to internal vs external cues.

PubMed

Amodio, David M; Kubota, Jennifer T; Harmon-Jones, Eddie; Devine, Patricia G

2006-06-01

Personal (internal) and normative (external) impetuses for regulating racially biased behaviour are well-documented, yet the extent to which internally and externally driven regulatory processes arise from the same mechanism is unknown. Whereas the regulation of race bias according to internal cues has been associated with conflict-monitoring processes and activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), we proposed that responses regulated according to external cues to respond without prejudice involves mechanisms of error-perception, a process associated with rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) activity. We recruited low-prejudice participants who reported high or low sensitivity to non-prejudiced norms, and participants completed a stereotype inhibition task in private or public while electroencephalography was recorded. Analysis of event-related potentials revealed that the error-related negativity component, linked to dACC activity, predicted behavioural control of bias across conditions, whereas the error-perception component, linked to rACC activity, predicted control only in public among participants sensitive to external pressures to respond without prejudice.

The variable polarity plasma arc welding process: Its application to the Space Shuttle external tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nunes, A. C., Jr.; Bayless, O. E., Jr.; Jones, C. S., III; Munafo, A. P.; Wilson, W. A.

1983-01-01

The technical history of the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding process being introduced as a partial replacement for the gas shielded tungsten arc process in assembly welding of the space shuttle external tank is described. Interim results of the weld strength qualification studies, and plans for further work on the implementation of the VPPA process are included.

Electron-proton spectrometer: Summary for critical design review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The electron-proton spectrometer (EPS) is mounted external to the Skylab module complex on the command service module. It is designed to make a 2 pi omni-directional measurement of electrons and protons which result from solar flares or enhancement of the radiation belts. The EPS data will provide accurate radiation dose information so that uncertain Relative biological effectiveness factors are eliminated by measuring the external particle spectra. Astronaut radiation safety, therefore, can be ensured, as the EPS data can be used to correct or qualify radiation dose measurements recorded by other radiation measuring instrumentation within the Skylab module complex. The EPS has the capability of measuring and extremely wide dynamic radiation dose rate range, approaching 10 to the 7th power. Simultaneously the EPS has the capability to process data from extremely high radiation fields such as might be encountered in the wake of an intense solar flare.

Non-Equlibrium Driven Dynamics of Continuous Attractors in Place Cell Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Weishun; Kim, Hyun Jin; Schwab, David; Murugan, Arvind

Attractors have found much use in neuroscience as a means of information processing and decision making. Examples include associative memory with point and continuous attractors, spatial navigation and planning using place cell networks, dynamic pattern recognition among others. The functional use of such attractors requires the action of spatially and temporally varying external driving signals and yet, most theoretical work on attractors has been in the limit of small or no drive. We take steps towards understanding the non-equilibrium driven dynamics of continuous attractors in place cell networks. We establish an `equivalence principle' that relates fluctuations under a time-dependent external force to equilibrium fluctuations in a `co-moving' frame with only static forces, much like in Newtonian physics. Consequently, we analytically derive a network's capacity to encode multiple attractors as a function of the driving signal size and rate of change.

IRIS Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene (Interagency ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

On August 21, 2013, the draft Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene and the draft charge to external peer reviewers were released for public review and comment. The Toxicological Review and charge were reviewed internally by EPA and by other federal agencies and White House Offices before public release. Consistent with the May 2009 IRIS assessment development process, all written comments on IRIS assessments submitted by other federal agencies and White House Offices are made publicly available. Accordingly, interagency comments and the interagency science consultation materials provided to other agencies, including interagency review drafts of the IRIS Toxicological Review of Benzo[a]pyrene and the charge to external peer reviewers, are posted on this site. EPA is undertaking an update of the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). The outcome of this project is an updated Toxicological Review and IRIS Summary for BaP that will be entered into the IRIS database.

Kinetic model of mitochondrial Krebs cycle: unraveling the mechanism of salicylate hepatotoxic effects.

PubMed

Mogilevskaya, Ekaterina; Demin, Oleg; Goryanin, Igor

2006-10-01

This paper studies the effect of salicylate on the energy metabolism of mitochondria using in silico simulations. A kinetic model of the mitochondrial Krebs cycle is constructed using information on the individual enzymes. Model parameters for the rate equations are estimated using in vitro experimental data from the literature. Enzyme concentrations are determined from data on respiration in mitochondrial suspensions containing glutamate and malate. It is shown that inhibition in succinate dehydrogenase and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase by salicylate contributes substantially to the cumulative inhibition of the Krebs cycle by salicylates. Uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation has little effect and coenzyme A consumption in salicylates transformation processes has an insignificant effect on the rate of substrate oxidation in the Krebs cycle. It is found that the salicylate-inhibited Krebs cycle flux can be increased by flux redirection through addition of external glutamate and malate, and depletion in external alpha-ketoglutarate and glycine concentrations.

Leveraging Industry-Academia Collaborations in Adaptive Biomedical Innovation.

PubMed

Stewart, S R; Barone, P W; Bellisario, A; Cooney, C L; Sharp, P A; Sinskey, A J; Natesan, S; Springs, S L

2016-12-01

Despite the rapid pace of biomedical innovation, research and development (R&D) productivity in the pharmaceutical industry has not improved broadly. Increasingly, firms need to leverage new approaches to product development and commercial execution, while maintaining adaptability to rapid changes in the marketplace and in biomedical science. Firms are also seeking ways to capture some of the talent, infrastructure, and innovation that depends on federal R&D investment. As a result, a major transition to external innovation is taking place across the industry. One example of these external innovation initiatives is the Sanofi-MIT Partnership, which provided seed funding to MIT investigators to develop novel solutions and approaches in areas of interest to Sanofi. These projects were highly collaborative, with information and materials flowing both ways. The relatively small amount of funding and short time frame of the awards built an adaptable and flexible process to advance translational science. © 2016 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Method for noninvasive determination of acoustic properties of fluids inside pipes

DOEpatents

None

2016-08-02

A method for determining the composition of fluids flowing through pipes from noninvasive measurements of acoustic properties of the fluid is described. The method includes exciting a first transducer located on the external surface of the pipe through which the fluid under investigation is flowing, to generate an ultrasound chirp signal, as opposed to conventional pulses. The chirp signal is received by a second transducer disposed on the external surface of the pipe opposing the location of the first transducer, from which the transit time through the fluid is determined and the sound speed of the ultrasound in the fluid is calculated. The composition of a fluid is calculated from the sound speed therein. The fluid density may also be derived from measurements of sound attenuation. Several signal processing approaches are described for extracting the transit time information from the data with the effects of the pipe wall having been subtracted.

External Error Monitoring in Subclinical Obsessive-Compulsive Subjects: Electrophysiological Evidence from a Gambling Task

PubMed Central

Ye, Rong; Chen, Xingui; Dong, Yi; Li, Dan; Zhang, Long; Li, Dandan; Wang, Kai

2014-01-01

Background Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is believed to be an important electrophysiology index of “external” negative feedback processing. Previous studies on FRN in obsessive-compulsive (OC) individuals are scarce and controversial. In these studies, anxiety symptoms were not evaluated in detail. However, OC disorders have a number of radical differences from anxiety disorders. It is necessary to study FRN and its neuroanatomical correlates in OC individuals without anxious symptoms. Methods A total of 628 undergraduate students completed an OC questionnaire. We chose 14 students who scored in the upper 10% and 14 students who scored in the lowest 10% without anxiety symptoms as a subclinical OC group (SOC) and a low obsessive-compulsive group (LOC). The students all performed the revised Iowa Gambling Task. We used the event-related potentials (ERP) and standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) to track external negative feedback processing and its substrate in the brain. Results Our study revealed poorer decision-making ability and greater FRN amplitudes in SOC subjects compared with LOC controls. The SOC subjects displayed anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) hyperactivation during the loss feedback condition. Specifically, we found an intercorrelation of current source density during the loss condition between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and aPFC in the LOC subjects but not in the SOC group. Conclusions Our results support the notion that overactive external feedback error processing may reflect a candidate endophenotype of OC. We also provide important information on the dysfunction in the interaction between aPFC and dACC in populations with OC. Nevertheless, the findings support that OC may be distinguished from other anxiety disorders using a new electrophysiology perspective. PMID:24609106

Influence of neural adaptation on dynamics and equilibrium state of neural activities in a ring neural network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takiyama, Ken

2017-12-01

How neural adaptation affects neural information processing (i.e. the dynamics and equilibrium state of neural activities) is a central question in computational neuroscience. In my previous works, I analytically clarified the dynamics and equilibrium state of neural activities in a ring-type neural network model that is widely used to model the visual cortex, motor cortex, and several other brain regions. The neural dynamics and the equilibrium state in the neural network model corresponded to a Bayesian computation and statistically optimal multiple information integration, respectively, under a biologically inspired condition. These results were revealed in an analytically tractable manner; however, adaptation effects were not considered. Here, I analytically reveal how the dynamics and equilibrium state of neural activities in a ring neural network are influenced by spike-frequency adaptation (SFA). SFA is an adaptation that causes gradual inhibition of neural activity when a sustained stimulus is applied, and the strength of this inhibition depends on neural activities. I reveal that SFA plays three roles: (1) SFA amplifies the influence of external input in neural dynamics; (2) SFA allows the history of the external input to affect neural dynamics; and (3) the equilibrium state corresponds to the statistically optimal multiple information integration independent of the existence of SFA. In addition, the equilibrium state in a ring neural network model corresponds to the statistically optimal integration of multiple information sources under biologically inspired conditions, independent of the existence of SFA.

BIO-Plex Information System Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry; Boulanger, Richard; Arnold, James O. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

This paper describes a suggested design for an integrated information system for the proposed BIO-Plex (Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), including distributed control systems, central control, networks, database servers, personal computers and workstations, applications software, and external communications. The system will have an open commercial computing and networking, architecture. The network will provide automatic real-time transfer of information to database server computers which perform data collection and validation. This information system will support integrated, data sharing applications for everything, from system alarms to management summaries. Most existing complex process control systems have information gaps between the different real time subsystems, between these subsystems and central controller, between the central controller and system level planning and analysis application software, and between the system level applications and management overview reporting. An integrated information system is vitally necessary as the basis for the integration of planning, scheduling, modeling, monitoring, and control, which will allow improved monitoring and control based on timely, accurate and complete data. Data describing the system configuration and the real time processes can be collected, checked and reconciled, analyzed and stored in database servers that can be accessed by all applications. The required technology is available. The only opportunity to design a distributed, nonredundant, integrated system is before it is built. Retrofit is extremely difficult and costly.

More than skin deep: body representation beyond primary somatosensory cortex.

PubMed

Longo, Matthew R; Azañón, Elena; Haggard, Patrick

2010-02-01

The neural circuits underlying initial sensory processing of somatic information are relatively well understood. In contrast, the processes that go beyond primary somatosensation to create more abstract representations related to the body are less clear. In this review, we focus on two classes of higher-order processing beyond somatosensation. Somatoperception refers to the process of perceiving the body itself, and particularly of ensuring somatic perceptual constancy. We review three key elements of somatoperception: (a) remapping information from the body surface into an egocentric reference frame, (b) exteroceptive perception of objects in the external world through their contact with the body, and (c) interoceptive percepts about the nature and state of the body itself. Somatorepresentation, in contrast, refers to the essentially cognitive process of constructing semantic knowledge and attitudes about the body, including: (d) lexical-semantic knowledge about bodies generally and one's own body specifically, (e) configural knowledge about the structure of bodies, (f) emotions and attitudes directed towards one's own body, and (g) the link between physical body and psychological self. We review a wide range of neuropsychological, neuroimaging and neurophysiological data to explore the dissociation between these different aspects of higher somatosensory function. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.