The Beneficial Effects of Additional Task Load, Positive Affect, and Instruction on the Attentional Blink

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olivers, Christian N. L.; Nieuwenhuis, Sander

2006-01-01

The attentional blink reflects the impaired ability to identify the 2nd of 2 targets presented in close succession--a phenomenon that is generally thought to reflect a fundamental cognitive limitation. However, the fundamental nature of this impairment has recently been called into question by the counterintuitive finding that task-irrelevant…

Is Memory Search Governed by Universal Principles or Idiosyncratic Strategies?

PubMed Central

Healey, M. Karl; Kahana, Michael J.

2013-01-01

Laboratory paradigms have provided an empirical foundation for much of psychological science. Some have argued, however, that such paradigms are highly susceptible to idiosyncratic strategies and that rather than reflecting fundamental cognitive principles, many findings are artifacts of averaging across participants who employ different strategies. We develop a set of techniques to rigorously test the extent to which average data are distorted by such strategy differences and apply these techniques to free recall data from the Penn Electrophysiology of Encoding and Retrieval Study (PEERS). Recall initiation showed evidence of subgroups: the majority of participants initiate recall from the last item in the list, but one subgroup show elevated initiation probabilities for items 2–4 back from the end of the list and another showed elevated probabilities for the beginning of the list. By contrast, serial position curves and temporal and semantic clustering functions were remarkably consistent, with almost every participant exhibiting a recognizable version of the average function, suggesting that these functions reflect fundamental principles of the memory system. The approach taken here can serve as a model for evaluating the extent to which other laboratory paradigms are influenced by individual differences in strategy use. PMID:23957279

ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy in the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory: Part I--Fundamentals and Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuttlefield, Jennifer D.; Grassian, Vicki H.

2008-01-01

Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy is a useful technique for measuring the infrared spectra of solids and liquids as well as probing adsorption on particle surfaces. Several examples of the use of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy in different undergraduate chemistry laboratory courses are presented here. These…

A fundamental approach to adhesion: Synthesis, surface analysis, thermodynamics and mechanics. [acid-base properties of titanium 6-4 surfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siriwardane, R.; Wightman, J. P.

1980-01-01

The acid-base properties of titanium 6-4 plates (low surface area) were investigated after three different pretreatments, namely Turco, phosphate-fluoride and Pasa-Jell. A series of indicators was used and color changes were detected using diffuse reflectance visible spectroscopy. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis was used to examine the indicator on the Ti 6-4 surface. Specular reflectance infra-red spectroscopy was used to study the adsorption of stearic acid from cyclohexane solutions on the Ti 6-4 surface.

Recent Surface Reflectance Measurement Campaigns with Emphasis on Best Practices, SI Traceability and Uncertainty Estimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helder, Dennis; Thome, Kurtis John; Aaron, Dave; Leigh, Larry; Czapla-Myers, Jeff; Leisso, Nathan; Biggar, Stuart; Anderson, Nik

2012-01-01

A significant problem facing the optical satellite calibration community is limited knowledge of the uncertainties associated with fundamental measurements, such as surface reflectance, used to derive satellite radiometric calibration estimates. In addition, it is difficult to compare the capabilities of calibration teams around the globe, which leads to differences in the estimated calibration of optical satellite sensors. This paper reports on two recent field campaigns that were designed to isolate common uncertainties within and across calibration groups, particularly with respect to ground-based surface reflectance measurements. Initial results from these efforts suggest the uncertainties can be as low as 1.5% to 2.5%. In addition, methods for improving the cross-comparison of calibration teams are suggested that can potentially reduce the differences in the calibration estimates of optical satellite sensors.

Study of the Variability of the Reflection Component in Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Connecting the Fe K Variability with the Compton Hump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponti, G.; Miniutti, G.; Malaguti, G.; Gallo, L.; Goldwurm, A.

2009-05-01

We present preliminary results of an ongoing project devoted to the study of the continuum and Fe K band variability in a sample of bright AGNs. These kind of studies may break the spectral degeneracy between the different absorption/emission models, allowing ``safe'' measurements of the disc and black hole properties from the broad line shapes. In fact, the Fe K band, alone, allows a first separation between the different components. Here we show the case of NGC 3783 which shows both a constant and a variable reflection component as well as strong ionized absorption. We show that a fundamental contribution will be given by Simbol-X that will allow to simultaneously measure not only the Fe K variability, but also the connected reflection hump variations.

Meeting of Minds and Futures: The Nature of Knowledge in Diverse Global Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odora Hoppers, Catherine A.; Sandgren, Björn

2014-01-01

When we think of communities of the future, we have to think of new social contracts between universities and society with a different ecology, and an intense compatibility towards transdisciplinarity. We know that today there is a need for truly fundamental reflections and questions on knowledge as the building block of global societies…

Memory: enduring traces of perceptual and reflective attention.

PubMed

Chun, Marvin M; Johnson, Marcia K

2011-11-17

Attention and memory are typically studied as separate topics, but they are highly intertwined. Here we discuss the relation between memory and two fundamental types of attention: perceptual and reflective. Memory is the persisting consequence of cognitive activities initiated by and/or focused on external information from the environment (perceptual attention) and initiated by and/or focused on internal mental representations (reflective attention). We consider three key questions for advancing a cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory: to what extent do perception and reflection share representational areas? To what extent are the control processes that select, maintain, and manipulate perceptual and reflective information subserved by common areas and networks? During perception and reflection, to what extent are common areas responsible for binding features together to create complex, episodic memories and for reviving them later? Considering similarities and differences in perceptual and reflective attention helps integrate a broad range of findings and raises important unresolved issues. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Full-wave generalizations of the fundamental Gaussian beam.

PubMed

Seshadri, S R

2009-12-01

The basic full wave corresponding to the fundamental Gaussian beam was discovered for the outwardly propagating wave in a half-space by the introduction of a source in the complex space. There is a class of extended full waves all of which reduce to the same fundamental Gaussian beam in the appropriate limit. For the extended full Gaussian waves that include the basic full Gaussian wave as a special case, the sources are in the complex space on different planes transverse to the propagation direction. The sources are cylindrically symmetric Gaussian distributions centered at the origin of the transverse planes, the axis of symmetry being the propagation direction. For the special case of the basic full Gaussian wave, the source is a point source. The radiation intensity of the extended full Gaussian waves is determined and their characteristics are discussed and compared with those of the fundamental Gaussian beam. The extended full Gaussian waves are also obtained for the oppositely propagating outwardly directed waves in the second half-space. The radiation intensity distributions in the two half-spaces have reflection symmetry about the midplane. The radiation intensity distributions of the various extended full Gaussian waves are not significantly different. The power carried by the extended full Gaussian waves is evaluated and compared with that of the fundamental Gaussian beam.

Jigsaw puzzle metasurface for multiple functions: polarization conversion, anomalous reflection and diffusion.

PubMed

Zhao, Yi; Cao, Xiangyu; Gao, Jun; Liu, Xiao; Li, Sijia

2016-05-16

We demonstrate a simple reconfigurable metasurface with multiple functions. Anisotropic tiles are investigated and manufactured as fundamental elements. Then, the tiles are combined in a certain sequence to construct a metasurface. Each of the tiles can be adjusted independently which is like a jigsaw puzzle and the whole metasurface can achieve diverse functions by different layouts. For demonstration purposes, we realize polarization conversion, anomalous reflection and diffusion by a jigsaw puzzle metasurface with 6 × 6 pieces of anisotropic tile. Simulated and measured results prove that our method offers a simple and effective strategy for metasurface design.

Role of magnetic fluctuations in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Jia-Kun; Ren, Xiao-Dong; Huang, Xian-Bin; Ouyang, Kai; Chen, Guang-Hua

2014-12-01

The influences of magnetic fluctuations on quasiperiodic structure formation and fundamental wavelength selection of the instability have been studied using two 25-μm-diameter tungsten wires on a 100 ns rise time, 220 kA pulsed power facility. Two different load configurations were adopted to make end surfaces of electrodes approximately satisfy reflecting and absorbing boundary conditions, respectively. The experimental results that the fundamental wavelength in the case of absorbing boundary condition is about one half of that in the case of reflecting boundary condition have demonstrated that magnetic fluctuations appear to play a key role in mode selection of magnetically driven instabilities. The dominant wavelength should be proportional to magnetic field and inversely proportional to square root of mass density, provided that the magnetosonic wave propagating perpendicular to magnetic fields provides a leading candidate for magnetic fluctuations. Therefore, magnetic fluctuation is one of the three key perturbations, along with surface contaminants and surface roughness, that seeds magnetically driven instabilities.

Polarization Characteristics of Zebra Patterns in Type IV Solar Radio Bursts

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

Kaneda, K.; Misawa, H.; Tsuchiya, F.

The polarization characteristics of zebra patterns (ZPs) in type IV solar bursts were studied. We analyzed 21 ZP events observed by the Assembly of Metric-band Aperture Telescope and Real-time Analysis System between 2010 and 2015 and identified the following characteristics: a degree of circular polarization (DCP) in the range of 0%–70%, a temporal delay of 0–70 ms between the two circularly polarized components (i.e., the right- and left-handed components), and dominant ordinary-mode emission in about 81% of the events. For most events, the relation between the dominant and delayed components could be interpreted in the framework of fundamental plasma emissionmore » and depolarization during propagation, though the values of DCP and delay were distributed across wide ranges. Furthermore, it was found that the DCP and delay were positively correlated (rank correlation coefficient R = 0.62). As a possible interpretation of this relationship, we considered a model based on depolarization due to reflections at sharp density boundaries assuming fundamental plasma emission. The model calculations of depolarization including multiple reflections and group delay during propagation in the inhomogeneous corona showed that the DCP and delay decreased as the number of reflections increased, which is consistent with the observational results. The dispersive polarization characteristics could be explained by the different numbers of reflections causing depolarization.« less

Developing objectives with multiple stakeholders: adaptive management of horseshoe crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGowan, Conor P.; Lyons, James E.; Smith, David

2015-01-01

Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be transparently stated in unambiguous and measurable terms. We used these concepts to develop consensus objectives for the multiple stakeholders of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay. Participating stakeholders first agreed on a qualitative statement of fundamental objectives, and then worked to convert those objectives to specific and measurable quantities, so that management decisions could be assessed. We used a constraint-based approach where the conservation objectives for Red Knots, a species of migratory shorebird that relies on horseshoe crab eggs as a food resource during migration, constrained the utility of crab harvest. Developing utility functions to effectively reflect the management objectives allowed us to incorporate stakeholder risk aversion even though different stakeholder groups were averse to different or competing risks. While measurable objectives and quantitative utility functions seem scientific, developing these objectives was fundamentally driven by the values of the participating stakeholders.

Developing Objectives with Multiple Stakeholders: Adaptive Management of Horseshoe Crabs and Red Knots in the Delaware Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGowan, Conor P.; Lyons, James E.; Smith, David R.

2015-04-01

Structured decision making (SDM) is an increasingly utilized approach and set of tools for addressing complex decisions in environmental management. SDM is a value-focused thinking approach that places paramount importance on first establishing clear management objectives that reflect core values of stakeholders. To be useful for management, objectives must be transparently stated in unambiguous and measurable terms. We used these concepts to develop consensus objectives for the multiple stakeholders of horseshoe crab harvest in Delaware Bay. Participating stakeholders first agreed on a qualitative statement of fundamental objectives, and then worked to convert those objectives to specific and measurable quantities, so that management decisions could be assessed. We used a constraint-based approach where the conservation objectives for Red Knots, a species of migratory shorebird that relies on horseshoe crab eggs as a food resource during migration, constrained the utility of crab harvest. Developing utility functions to effectively reflect the management objectives allowed us to incorporate stakeholder risk aversion even though different stakeholder groups were averse to different or competing risks. While measurable objectives and quantitative utility functions seem scientific, developing these objectives was fundamentally driven by the values of the participating stakeholders.

Changing the Spatial Scope of Attention Alters Patterns of Neural Gain in Human Cortex

PubMed Central

Garcia, Javier O.; Rungratsameetaweemana, Nuttida; Sprague, Thomas C.

2014-01-01

Over the last several decades, spatial attention has been shown to influence the activity of neurons in visual cortex in various ways. These conflicting observations have inspired competing models to account for the influence of attention on perception and behavior. Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to assess steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) in human subjects and showed that highly focused spatial attention primarily enhanced neural responses to high-contrast stimuli (response gain), whereas distributed attention primarily enhanced responses to medium-contrast stimuli (contrast gain). Together, these data suggest that different patterns of neural modulation do not reflect fundamentally different neural mechanisms, but instead reflect changes in the spatial extent of attention. PMID:24381272

An Arduino-Based Experiment Designed to Clarify the Transition to Total Internal Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkin, Keith

2018-01-01

The topic of refraction and reflection of light at the boundary of transparent media is a fundamentally important one. The special case of total internal reflection is however commonly misrepresented in elementary textbooks. This paper addresses the problem and describes an experimental procedure for measuring and displaying reflected and…

Ethical principles in health research and review process.

PubMed

Tangwa, Godfrey B

2009-11-01

In this paper I want to reflect on the fundamental ethical principles and their application in different particular contexts, especially in health research and the ethics review process. Four fundamental ethical principles have been identified and widely discussed in bioethical literature. These principles namely are: autonomy or respect for others, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. These principles have cross-cultural validity, relevance and applicability. Every real-life situation and every concrete particular case in which ethical decision-making is called-for is unique and different from all others; but the same fundamental ethical principles are relevant and used in addressing all such cases and situations. Very often ethical problems will present themselves in the form of dilemmas and it is then necessary to use the same fundamental principles to analyze the situations, to argue persuasively and cogently with competence for the best options or choices in such situations. The issues I will be dealing with in this paper are necessarily more abstract and theoretical, but we will be discussing them from a very practical viewpoint and impulse, with a view to application in concrete real-life situations. The paper ends with some sample practical examples of cases that the reader can use to test his/her grasp of the principles, how to apply them, how to balance them in differing situations and contexts and how to adjudicate between them when they seem to be in conflict.

Pulse wave velocity in patients with severe head injury a pilot study.

PubMed

Shahsavari, S; McKelvey, T; Rydenhag, B; Ritzén, C Eriksson

2010-01-01

The study aimed to determine the potential of pulse wave velocity measurements to reflect changes in compliant cerebral arteries/arterioles in head injured patients. The approach utilizes the electrocardiogram and intracranial pressure signals to measure the wave transit time between heart and cranial cavity. Thirty five clinical records of nineteen head injured patients, with different levels of cerebrovascular pressure-reactivity response, were investigated through the study. Results were compared with magnitude of normalized transfer function at the fundamental cardiac frequency. In patients with intact cerebrovascular pressure-reactivity, magnitude of normalized transfer function at the fundamental cardiac component was found to be highly correlated with pulse wave transit time.

Integrating the fundamentals of care framework in baccalaureate nursing education: An example from a nursing school in Denmark.

PubMed

Voldbjerg, Siri Lygum; Laugesen, Britt; Bahnsen, Iben Bøgh; Jørgensen, Lone; Sørensen, Ingrid Maria; Grønkjaer, Mette; Sørensen, Erik Elgaard

2018-06-01

To describe and discuss the process of integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework in a baccalaureate nursing education at a School of Nursing in Denmark. Nursing education plays an essential role in educating nurses to work within healthcare systems in which a demanding workload on nurses results in fundamental nursing care being left undone. Newly graduated nurses often lack knowledge and skills to meet the challenges of delivering fundamental care in clinical practice. To develop nursing students' understanding of fundamental nursing, the conceptual Fundamentals of Care framework has been integrated in nursing education at a School of Nursing in Denmark. Discursive paper using an adjusted descriptive case study design for describing and discussing the process of integrating the conceptual Fundamentals of Care Framework in nursing education. The process of integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework is illuminated through a description of the context, in which the process occurs including the faculty members, lectures, case-based work and simulation laboratory in nursing education. Based on this description, opportunities such as supporting a holistic approach to an evidence-based integrative patient care and challenges such as scepticism among the faculty are discussed. It is suggested how integration of Fundamentals of Care Framework in lectures, case-based work and simulation laboratory can make fundamental nursing care more explicit in nursing education, support critical thinking and underline the relevance of evidence-based practice. The process relies on a supportive context, a well-informed and engaged faculty, and continuous reflections on how the conceptual framework can be integrated. Integrating the Fundamentals of Care framework can support nursing students' critical thinking and reflection on what fundamental nursing care is and requires and eventually educate nurses in providing evidence-based fundamental nursing care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

What determines the relationship between color naming, unique hues, and sensory singularities: Illuminations, surfaces, or photoreceptors?

PubMed

Witzel, Christoph; Cinotti, François; O'Regan, J Kevin

2015-01-01

The relationship between the sensory signal of the photoreceptors on one hand and color appearance and language on the other hand is completely unclear. A recent finding established a surprisingly accurate correlation between focal colors, unique hues, and so-called singularities in the laws governing how sensory signals for different surfaces change across illuminations. This article examines how this correlation with singularities depends on reflectances, illuminants, and cone sensitivities. Results show that this correlation holds for a large range of illuminants and for a large range of sensors, including sensors that are fundamentally different from human photoreceptors. In contrast, the spectral characteristics of the reflectance spectra turned out to be the key factor that determines the correlation between focal colors, unique hues, and sensory singularities. These findings suggest that the origins of color appearance and color language may be found in particular characteristics of the reflectance spectra that correspond to focal colors and unique hues.

Principles of cost-effective resource allocation in health care organizations.

PubMed

Weinstein, M C

1990-01-01

Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a method of economic evaluation that can be used to assess the efficiency with which health care technologies use limited resources to produce health outputs. However, inconsistencies in the way that such ratios are constructed often lead to misleading conclusions when CEAs are compared. Some of these inconsistencies, such as failure to discount or to calculate incremental ratios correctly, reflect analytical errors that, if corrected, would resolve the inconsistencies. Others reflect fundamental differences in the viewpoint of the analysis. The perspectives of different decision-making entities can properly lead to different items in the numerator and denominator of the cost-effectiveness (C/E) ratio. Producers and consumers of CEA need to be more conscious of the perspectives of analysis, so that C/E comparisons from a given perspective are based upon a common understanding of the elements that are properly included.

Transmission and reflection of the fundamental Lamb modes in a metallic plate with a semi-infinite horizontal crack.

PubMed

Ramadas, C; Hood, Avinash; Khan, Irfan; Balasubramaniam, Krishnan; Joshi, M

2013-03-01

Numerical simulations were carried out to quantify the reflection and transmission characteristics of the fundamental Lamb modes propagating in aluminium sub-plates, which are formed due to a semi-infinite horizontal crack. It was observed that, a Lamb mode propagating in a sub-plate when incident at the edge of a crack, undergoes reflection and transmits through the main plate, as well as the other sub-plate. The mode transmitted through the sub-plate has been termed the 'Turning Lamb Mode' (TLM). Furthermore, a mode converted mode also propagates along with the TLM. This mode has been termed the 'Mode Converted Turning Lamb Mode' (MCTLM). Reflection and transmission characteristics of the fundamental Lamb modes in aluminium sub-plates were studied at frequencies 150 kHz, 175 kHz, and 200 kHz. Experiments conducted to validate the observations made in numerical simulations, confirmed that the transmission and reflection characteristics depend on the thickness ratio. From this study it is surmised that when a Lamb mode propagates through a plate containing horizontal crack, the TLM and the MCTLM start propagating from one sub-plate to the other at the rear edge of the crack and amplitude of these modes depends on the location of the crack across the plate thickness. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fundamentalist physics: why Dark Energy is bad for astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Simon D. M.

2007-06-01

Astronomers carry out observations to explore the diverse processes and objects which populate our Universe. High-energy physicists carry out experiments to approach the Fundamental Theory underlying space, time and matter. Dark Energy is a unique link between them, reflecting deep aspects of the Fundamental Theory, yet apparently accessible only through astronomical observation. Large sections of the two communities have therefore converged in support of astronomical projects to constrain Dark Energy. In this essay I argue that this convergence can be damaging for astronomy. The two communities have different methodologies and different scientific cultures. By uncritically adopting the values of an alien system, astronomers risk undermining the foundations of their own current success and endangering the future vitality of their field. Dark Energy is undeniably an interesting problem to tackle through astronomical observation, but it is one of many and not necessarily the one where significant progress is most likely to follow a major investment of resources.

Real and virtual worlds alike: Adolescents' psychopathology is reflected in their videogame virtual behaviors.

PubMed

Segev, Aviv; Gabay-Weschler, Hila; Naar, Yossi; Maoz, Hagai; Bloch, Yuval

2017-01-01

Current research refers to videogames as a constant variable. However, games today are designed to be highly interactive and versatile: two players may be using the same videogame, but as a result of different using patterns, the game will not necessarily encompass the same content and gameplay. The current study examined the possible relationship between psychopathology and in-game playing patterns. We hypothesized that adolescents would play videogames differently, in a manner that would reflect their particular psychopathologies. We examined 47 male adolescents from three diagnostic groups: those suffering from externalizing psychopathologies, internalizing psychopathologies and controls. We performed a high-resolution examination of their gameplay, using in-game quantitative statistics mechanisms of two fundamentally different games, a structured racing game and an unstructured adventure game. While there was no difference in the groups' using patterns of the structured game, there was a high variability between the groups' using patterns when they were using a non-structured game. These findings suggest that virtual behavior in unstructured games is reflective of adolescent-players psychopathology, and might shed light on an unexplored facet of videogames research. Possible implications are discussed.

Real and virtual worlds alike: Adolescents' psychopathology is reflected in their videogame virtual behaviors

PubMed Central

Gabay-Weschler, Hila; Naar, Yossi; Maoz, Hagai; Bloch, Yuval

2017-01-01

Current research refers to videogames as a constant variable. However, games today are designed to be highly interactive and versatile: two players may be using the same videogame, but as a result of different using patterns, the game will not necessarily encompass the same content and gameplay. The current study examined the possible relationship between psychopathology and in-game playing patterns. We hypothesized that adolescents would play videogames differently, in a manner that would reflect their particular psychopathologies. We examined 47 male adolescents from three diagnostic groups: those suffering from externalizing psychopathologies, internalizing psychopathologies and controls. We performed a high-resolution examination of their gameplay, using in-game quantitative statistics mechanisms of two fundamentally different games, a structured racing game and an unstructured adventure game. While there was no difference in the groups' using patterns of the structured game, there was a high variability between the groups' using patterns when they were using a non-structured game. These findings suggest that virtual behavior in unstructured games is reflective of adolescent-players psychopathology, and might shed light on an unexplored facet of videogames research. Possible implications are discussed. PMID:28708879

Electronic and Optical properties of Graphene Nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molinari, Elisa; Ferretti, Andrea; Cardoso, Claudia; Prezzi, Deborah; Ruini, Alice

Narrow graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) exhibit substantial electronic band gaps, and optical properties expected to be fundamentally different from the ones of their parent material graphene. Unlike graphene the optical response of GNRs may be tuned by the ribbon width and the directly related electronic band gap. We have addressed the optical properties of chevron-like and finite-size armchair nanoribbons by computing the fundamental and optical gap from ab initio methods. Our results are in very good agreement with the experimental values obtained by STS, ARPES, and differential reflectance spectroscopy, indicating that this computational scheme can be quantitatively predictive for electronic and optical spectroscopies of nanostructures. These study has been partly supported by the EU Centre of Excellence ''MaX - MAterials design at the eXascale''.

An Arduino-based experiment designed to clarify the transition to total internal reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atkin, Keith

2018-03-01

The topic of refraction and reflection of light at the boundary of transparent media is a fundamentally important one. The special case of total internal reflection is however commonly misrepresented in elementary textbooks. This paper addresses the problem and describes an experimental procedure for measuring and displaying reflected and transmitted light intensities using readily available components and the Arduino microcontroller.

Contrast performance modeling of broadband reflective imaging systems with hypothetical tunable filter fore-optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodgkin, Van A.

2015-05-01

Most mass-produced, commercially available and fielded military reflective imaging systems operate across broad swaths of the visible, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR) wavebands without any spectral selectivity within those wavebands. In applications that employ these systems, it is not uncommon to be imaging a scene in which the image contrasts between the objects of interest, i.e., the targets, and the objects of little or no interest, i.e., the backgrounds, are sufficiently low to make target discrimination difficult or uncertain. This can occur even when the spectral distribution of the target and background reflectivity across the given waveband differ significantly from each other, because the fundamental components of broadband image contrast are the spectral integrals of the target and background signatures. Spectral integration by the detectors tends to smooth out any differences. Hyperspectral imaging is one approach to preserving, and thus highlighting, spectral differences across the scene, even when the waveband integrated signatures would be about the same, but it is an expensive, complex, noncompact, and untimely solution. This paper documents a study of how the capability to selectively customize the spectral width and center wavelength with a hypothetical tunable fore-optic filter would allow a broadband reflective imaging sensor to optimize image contrast as a function of scene content and ambient illumination.

Unmanned aerial system nadir reflectance and MODIS nadir BRDF-adjusted surface reflectances intercompared over Greenland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faulkner Burkhart, John; Kylling, Arve; Schaaf, Crystal B.; Wang, Zhuosen; Bogren, Wiley; Storvold, Rune; Solbø, Stian; Pedersen, Christina A.; Gerland, Sebastian

2017-07-01

Albedo is a fundamental parameter in earth sciences, and many analyses utilize the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF)/albedo (MCD43) algorithms. While derivative albedo products have been evaluated over Greenland, we present a novel, direct comparison with nadir surface reflectance collected from an unmanned aerial system (UAS). The UAS was flown from Summit, Greenland, on 210 km transects coincident with the MODIS sensor overpass on board the Aqua and Terra satellites on 5 and 6 August 2010. Clear-sky acquisitions were available from the overpasses within 2 h of the UAS flights. The UAS was equipped with upward- and downward-looking spectrometers (300-920 nm) with a spectral resolution of 10 nm, allowing for direct integration into the MODIS bands 1, 3, and 4. The data provide a unique opportunity to directly compare UAS nadir reflectance with the MODIS nadir BRDF-adjusted surface reflectance (NBAR) products. The data show UAS measurements are slightly higher than the MODIS NBARs for all bands but agree within their stated uncertainties. Differences in variability are observed as expected due to different footprints of the platforms. The UAS data demonstrate potentially large sub-pixel variability of MODIS reflectance products and the potential to explore this variability using the UAS as a platform. It is also found that, even at the low elevations flown typically by a UAS, reflectance measurements may be influenced by haze if present at and/or below the flight altitude of the UAS. This impact could explain some differences between data from the two platforms and should be considered in any use of airborne platforms.

Spoof four-wave mixing for all-optical wavelength conversion.

PubMed

Gong, Yongkang; Huang, Jungang; Li, Kang; Copner, Nigel; Martinez, J J; Wang, Leirang; Duan, Tao; Zhang, Wenfu; Loh, W H

2012-10-08

We present for the first time an all-optical wavelength conversion (AOWC) scheme supporting modulation format independency without requiring phase matching. The new scheme is named "spoof" four wave mixing (SFWM) and in contrast to the well-known FWM theory, where the induced dynamic refractive index grating modulates photons to create a wave at a new frequency, the SFWM is different in that the dynamic refractive index grating is generated in a nonlinear Bragg Grating (BG) to excite additional reflective peaks at either side of the original BG bandgap in reflection spectrum. This fundamental difference enable the SFWM to avoid the intrinsic shortcoming of stringent phase matching required in the conventional FWM, and allows AOWC with modulation format transparency and ultrabroad conversion range, which may have great potential applications for next generation of all-optical networks.

Understanding the changes of cone reflectance in adaptive optics flood illumination retinal images over three years

PubMed Central

Mariotti, Letizia; Devaney, Nicholas; Lombardo, Giuseppe; Lombardo, Marco

2016-01-01

Although there is increasing interest in the investigation of cone reflectance variability, little is understood about its characteristics over long time scales. Cone detection and its automation is now becoming a fundamental step in the assessment and monitoring of the health of the retina and in the understanding of the photoreceptor physiology. In this work we provide an insight into the cone reflectance variability over time scales ranging from minutes to three years on the same eye, and for large areas of the retina (≥ 2.0 × 2.0 degrees) at two different retinal eccentricities using a commercial adaptive optics (AO) flood illumination retinal camera. We observed that the difference in reflectance observed in the cones increases with the time separation between the data acquisitions and this may have a negative impact on algorithms attempting to track cones over time. In addition, we determined that displacements of the light source within 0.35 mm of the pupil center, which is the farthest location from the pupil center used by operators of the AO camera to acquire high-quality images of the cone mosaic in clinical studies, does not significantly affect the cone detection and density estimation. PMID:27446708

Understanding the changes of cone reflectance in adaptive optics flood illumination retinal images over three years.

PubMed

Mariotti, Letizia; Devaney, Nicholas; Lombardo, Giuseppe; Lombardo, Marco

2016-07-01

Although there is increasing interest in the investigation of cone reflectance variability, little is understood about its characteristics over long time scales. Cone detection and its automation is now becoming a fundamental step in the assessment and monitoring of the health of the retina and in the understanding of the photoreceptor physiology. In this work we provide an insight into the cone reflectance variability over time scales ranging from minutes to three years on the same eye, and for large areas of the retina (≥ 2.0 × 2.0 degrees) at two different retinal eccentricities using a commercial adaptive optics (AO) flood illumination retinal camera. We observed that the difference in reflectance observed in the cones increases with the time separation between the data acquisitions and this may have a negative impact on algorithms attempting to track cones over time. In addition, we determined that displacements of the light source within 0.35 mm of the pupil center, which is the farthest location from the pupil center used by operators of the AO camera to acquire high-quality images of the cone mosaic in clinical studies, does not significantly affect the cone detection and density estimation.

Reflection on Balanced Allocation of Fundamental Education Teachers in Poverty-Stricken Areas of Ethnic Minorities: Example of a Survey in the Tibetan Autonomous County of Tianzhu in Gansu Province

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Jun

2006-01-01

Balanced allocation of fundamental education teachers is one of the most important ways to achieve the highest quality of compulsory education. It also guarantees an accelerated achievement of a balanced development of fundamental education. In poverty-stricken areas of ethnic minorities, unbalanced teacher allocation is a major factor that…

Comparison of fundamental, second harmonic, and superharmonic imaging: a simulation study.

PubMed

van Neer, Paul L M J; Danilouchkine, Mikhail G; Verweij, Martin D; Demi, Libertario; Voormolen, Marco M; van der Steen, Anton F W; de Jong, Nico

2011-11-01

In medical ultrasound, fundamental imaging (FI) uses the reflected echoes from the same spectral band as that of the emitted pulse. The transmission frequency determines the trade-off between penetration depth and spatial resolution. Tissue harmonic imaging (THI) employs the second harmonic of the emitted frequency band to construct images. Recently, superharmonic imaging (SHI) has been introduced, which uses the third to the fifth (super) harmonics. The harmonic level is determined by two competing phenomena: nonlinear propagation and frequency dependent attenuation. Thus, the transmission frequency yielding the optimal trade-off between the spatial resolution and the penetration depth differs for THI and SHI. This paper quantitatively compares the concepts of fundamental, second harmonic, and superharmonic echocardiography at their optimal transmission frequencies. Forward propagation is modeled using a 3D-KZK implementation and the iterative nonlinear contrast source (INCS) method. Backpropagation is assumed to be linear. Results show that the fundamental lateral beamwidth is the narrowest at focus, while the superharmonic one is narrower outside the focus. The lateral superharmonic roll-off exceeds the fundamental and second harmonic roll-off. Also, the axial resolution of SHI exceeds that of FI and THI. The far-field pulse-echo superharmonic pressure is lower than that of the fundamental and second harmonic. SHI appears suited for echocardiography and is expected to improve its image quality at the cost of a slight reduction in depth-of-field.

Attenuation of harmonic noise in vibroseis data using Simulated Annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, S. P.; Tildy, Peter; Iranpour, Kambiz; Scholtz, Peter

2009-04-01

Processing of high productivity vibroseis seismic data (such as slip-sweep acquisition records) suffers from the well known disadvantage of harmonic distortion. Harmonic distortions are observed after cross-correlation of the recorded seismic signal with the pilot sweep and affect the signals in negative time (before the actual strong reflection event). Weak reflection events of the earlier sweeps falling in the negative time window of the cross-correlation sequence are being masked by harmonic distortions. Though the amplitude of the harmonic distortion is small (up to 10-20 %) compared to the fundamental amplitude of the reflection events, but it is significant enough to mask weak reflected signals. Elimination of harmonic noise due to source signal distortion from the cross-correlated seismic trace is a challenging task since the application of vibratory sources started and it still needs improvement. An approach has been worked out that minimizes the level of harmonic distortion by designing the signal similar to the harmonic distortion. An arbitrary length filter is optimized using the Simulated Annealing global optimization approach to design a harmonic signal. The approach deals with the convolution of a ratio trace (ratio of the harmonics with respect to the fundamental sweep) with the correlated "positive time" recorded signal and an arbitrary filter. Synthetic data study has revealed that this procedure of designing a signal similar to the desired harmonics using convolution of a suitable filter with theoretical ratio of harmonics with fundamental sweep helps in reducing the problem of harmonic distortion. Once we generate a similar signal for a vibroseis source using an optimized filter, then, this filter could be used to generate harmonics, which can be subtracted from the main cross-correlated trace to get the better, undistorted image of the subsurface. Designing the predicted harmonics to reduce the energy in the trace by considering weak reflection and observed harmonics together yields the desired result (resolution of weak reflected signal from the harmonic distortion). As optimization steps proceeds forward it is possible to observe from the difference plots of desired and predicted harmonics how weak reflections evolved from the harmonic distortion gradually during later iterations of global optimization. The procedure is applied in resolving weak reflections from a number of traces considered together. For a more precise design of harmonics SA procedure needs longer computation time which is impractical to deal with voluminous seismic data. However, the objective of resolving weak reflection signal in the strong harmonic noise can be achieved with fast computation using faster cooling schedule and less number of iterations and number of moves in simulated annealing procedure. This process could help in reducing the harmonics distortion and achieving the objective of resolving the lost weak reflection events in the cross-correlated seismic traces. Acknowledgements: The research was supported under the European Marie Curie Host Fellowships for Transfer of Knowledge (TOK) Development Host Scheme (contract no. MTKD-CT-2006-042537).

Bidirectional Reflectance Modeling of Non-homogeneous Plant Canopies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norman, J. M. (Principal Investigator)

1985-01-01

The objective of this research is to develop a 3-dimensional radiative transfer model for predicting the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) for heterogeneous vegetation canopies. The model (named BIGAR) considers the angular distribution of leaves, leaf area index, the location and size of individual subcanopies such as widely spaced rows or trees, spectral and directional properties of leaves, multiple scattering, solar position and sky condition, and characteristics of the soil. The model relates canopy biophysical attributes to down-looking radiation measurements for nadir and off-nadir viewing angles. Therefore, inversion of this model, which is difficult but practical should provide surface biophysical pattern; a fundamental goal of remote sensing. Such a model also will help to evaluate atmospheric limitations to satellite remote sensing by providing a good surface boundary condition for many different kinds of canopies. Furthermore, this model can relate estimates of nadir reflectance, which is approximated by most satellites, to hemispherical reflectance, which is necessary in the energy budget of vegetated surfaces.

A theoretical and practical clarification on the calculation of reflection loss for microwave absorbing materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ying; Zhao, Kun; Drew, Michael G. B.; Liu, Yue

2018-01-01

Reflection loss is usually calculated and reported as a function of the thickness of microwave absorption material. However, misleading results are often obtained since the principles imbedded in the popular methods contradict the fundamental facts that electromagnetic waves cannot be reflected in a uniform material except when there is an interface and that there are important differences between the concepts of characteristic impedance and input impedance. In this paper, these inconsistencies have been analyzed theoretically and corrections provided. The problems with the calculations indicate a gap between the background knowledge of material scientists and microwave engineers and for that reason a concise review of transmission line theory is provided along with the mathematical background needed for a deeper understanding of the theory of reflection loss. The expressions of gradient, divergence, Laplacian, and curl operators in a general orthogonal coordinate system have been presented including the concept of reciprocal vectors. Gauss's and Stokes's theorems have been related to Green's theorem in a novel way.

Atmospheric and Science Complexity Effects on Surface Bidirectional Reflectance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diner, D. J. (Principal Investigator); Martonchik, J. V.; Sythe, W. D.; Hessom, C.

1985-01-01

Among the tools used in passive remote sensing of Earth resources in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions are measurements of spectral signature and bidirectional reflectance functions (BDRFs). Determination of surface properties using these observables is complicated by a number of factors, including: (1) mixing of surface components, such as soil and vegetation, (2) multiple reflections of radiation due to complex geometry, such as in crop canopies, and (3) atmospheric effects. In order to bridge the diversity in these different approaches, there is a need for a fundamental physical understanding of the influence of the various effects and a quantiative measure of their relative importance. In particular, we consider scene complexity effects using the example of reflection by vegetative surfaces. The interaction of sunlight with a crop canopy and interpretation of the spectral and angular dependence of the emergent radiation is basically a multidimensional radiative transfer problem. The complex canopy geometry, underlying soil cover, and presence of diffuse as well as collimated illumination will modify the reflectance characteristics of the canopy relative to those of the individual elements.

XRD measurement of mean crystallite thickness of illite and illite/smectite: Reappraisal of the Kubler index and the Scherrer equation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drits, Victor A.; Środoń, Jan; Eberl, D.D.

1997-01-01

The standard form of the Scherrer equation, which has been used to calculate the mean thickness of the coherent scattering domain (CSD) of illite crystals from X-ray diffraction (XRD) full width data at half maximum (FWHM) intensity, employs a constant, Ksh, of 0.89. Use of this constant is unjustified, even if swelling has no effect on peak broadening, because this constant is valid only if all CSDs have a single thickness. For different thickness distributions, the Scherrer “constant” has very different values.Analysis of fundamental particle thickness data (transmission electron microscopy, TEM) for samples of authigenic illite and illite/smectite from diagenetically altered pyroclastics and filamentous illites from sandstones reveals a unique family of lognormal thickness distributions for these clays. Experimental relations between the distributions' lognormal parameters and mean thicknesses are established. These relations then are used to calculate the mean thickness of CSDs for illitic samples from XRD FWHM, or from integral XRD peak widths (integrated intensity/maximum intensity).For mixed-layer illite/smectite, the measured thickness of the CSD corresponds to the mean thickness of the mixed-layer crystal. Using this measurement, the mean thickness of the fundamental particles that compose the mixed-layer crystals can be calculated after XRD determination of percent smectitic interlayers. The effect of mixed layering (swelling) on XRD peak width for these samples is eliminated by using the 003 reflection for glycolated samples, and the 001, 002 or 003 reflection for dehydrated, K-saturated samples. If this technique is applied to the 001 reflection of air-dried samples (Kubler index measurement), mean CSD thicknesses are underestimated due to the mixed-layering effect.The technique was calibrated using NEW MOD©-simulated XRD profiles of illite, and then tested on well-characterized illite and illite/smectite samples. The XRD measurements are in good agreement with estimates of the mean thickness of fundamental particles obtained both from TEM measurements and from fixed cations content, up to a mean value of 20 layers. Correction for instrumental broadening under the conditions employed here is unnecessary for this range of thicknesses.

General Medical Practitioners Need to Be Aware of the Theories on Which Our Work Depend

PubMed Central

Thomas, Paul

2006-01-01

When general practitioners and family physicians listen, reflect, and diagnose, we use 3 different theories of knowledge. This essay explores these theories to highlight an approach to clinical practice, inquiry, and learning that can do justice to the complex and uncertain world we experience. The following points are made: (1) A variety of approaches to research and audit are needed to illuminate the richness of experience witnessed by general medical practitioners. (2) Evidence about the past cannot predict the future except in simple, short-term, or slowly changing situations. (3) We consciously or unconsciously weave together evidence generated through 3 fundamental theories of knowledge, termed postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism, to make sense of everyday experience. We call it listening, reflecting, and diagnosing. (4) These 3 fundamental theories of knowledge highlight different aspects within a world that is more complex, integrated, and changing than any single theory can reveal on its own; they frame what we see and how we act in everyday situations. (5) Moving appropriately between these different theories helps us to see a fuller picture and provides a framework for improving our skills as clinicians, researchers, and learners. (6) Narrative unity offers a way to bring together different kinds of evidence to understand the overall health of patients and of communities; evidence of all kinds provides discrete snapshots of more complex stories in evolution. (7) We need to understand these issues so we can create an agenda for clinical practice, inquiry, and learning appropriate to our discipline. PMID:17003147

General medical practitioners need to be aware of the theories on which our work depend.

PubMed

Thomas, Paul

2006-01-01

When general practitioners and family physicians listen, reflect, and diagnose, we use 3 different theories of knowledge. This essay explores these theories to highlight an approach to clinical practice, inquiry, and learning that can do justice to the complex and uncertain world we experience. The following points are made: (1) A variety of approaches to research and audit are needed to illuminate the richness of experience witnessed by general medical practitioners. (2) Evidence about the past cannot predict the future except in simple, short-term, or slowly changing situations. (3) We consciously or unconsciously weave together evidence generated through 3 fundamental theories of knowledge, termed postpositivism, critical theory, and constructivism, to make sense of everyday experience. We call it listening, reflecting, and diagnosing. (4) These 3 fundamental theories of knowledge highlight different aspects within a world that is more complex, integrated, and changing than any single theory can reveal on its own; they frame what we see and how we act in everyday situations. (5) Moving appropriately between these different theories helps us to see a fuller picture and provides a framework for improving our skills as clinicians, researchers, and learners. (6) Narrative unity offers a way to bring together different kinds of evidence to understand the overall health of patients and of communities; evidence of all kinds provides discrete snapshots of more complex stories in evolution. (7) We need to understand these issues so we can create an agenda for clinical practice, inquiry, and learning appropriate to our discipline.

Widespread correlation patterns of fMRI signal across visual cortex reflect eccentricity organization.

PubMed

Arcaro, Michael J; Honey, Christopher J; Mruczek, Ryan E B; Kastner, Sabine; Hasson, Uri

2015-02-19

The human visual system can be divided into over two-dozen distinct areas, each of which contains a topographic map of the visual field. A fundamental question in vision neuroscience is how the visual system integrates information from the environment across different areas. Using neuroimaging, we investigated the spatial pattern of correlated BOLD signal across eight visual areas on data collected during rest conditions and during naturalistic movie viewing. The correlation pattern between areas reflected the underlying receptive field organization with higher correlations between cortical sites containing overlapping representations of visual space. In addition, the correlation pattern reflected the underlying widespread eccentricity organization of visual cortex, in which the highest correlations were observed for cortical sites with iso-eccentricity representations including regions with non-overlapping representations of visual space. This eccentricity-based correlation pattern appears to be part of an intrinsic functional architecture that supports the integration of information across functionally specialized visual areas.

Metasurface optical antireflection coating

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Boyang; Hendrickson, Joshua; Nader, Nima; ...

2014-12-15

Light reflection at the boundary of two different media is one of the fundamental phenomena in optics, and reduction of reflection is highly desirable in many optical systems. Traditionally, optical antireflection has been accomplished using single- or multiple-layer dielectric films and graded index surface structures in various wavelength ranges. However, these approaches either impose strict requirements on the refractive index matching and film thickness, or involve complicated fabrication processes and non-planar surfaces that are challenging for device integration. Here, we demonstrate an antireflection coating strategy, both experimentally and numerically, by using metasurfaces with designer optical properties in the mid-wave infrared.more » Our results show that the metasurface antireflection is capable of eliminating reflection and enhancing transmission over a broad spectral band and a wide incidence angle range. In conclusion, the demonstrated antireflection technique has no requirement on the choice of materials and is scalable to other wavelengths.« less

Take a Selfie of Life: A Qualitative Exploration of College Students' Self-Reflections on Free Time Use and Personal Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hsin-Yu; Yarnal, Careen; Hustad, John T. P.; Sims, Damon

2016-01-01

Adopting a qualitative approach, this study explores college students' self-reflections on free time use and personal values. Data were collected from 111 students' final reflection papers for a class entitled "Leisure and Human Behavior." The findings suggest that leisure education may empower students with fundamental knowledge about…

Modular and configurable optimal sequence alignment software: Cola.

PubMed

Zamani, Neda; Sundström, Görel; Höppner, Marc P; Grabherr, Manfred G

2014-01-01

The fundamental challenge in optimally aligning homologous sequences is to define a scoring scheme that best reflects the underlying biological processes. Maximising the overall number of matches in the alignment does not always reflect the patterns by which nucleotides mutate. Efficiently implemented algorithms that can be parameterised to accommodate more complex non-linear scoring schemes are thus desirable. We present Cola, alignment software that implements different optimal alignment algorithms, also allowing for scoring contiguous matches of nucleotides in a nonlinear manner. The latter places more emphasis on short, highly conserved motifs, and less on the surrounding nucleotides, which can be more diverged. To illustrate the differences, we report results from aligning 14,100 sequences from 3' untranslated regions of human genes to 25 of their mammalian counterparts, where we found that a nonlinear scoring scheme is more consistent than a linear scheme in detecting short, conserved motifs. Cola is freely available under LPGL from https://github.com/nedaz/cola.

What can fish brains tell us about visual perception?

PubMed Central

Rosa Salva, Orsola; Sovrano, Valeria Anna; Vallortigara, Giorgio

2014-01-01

Fish are a complex taxonomic group, whose diversity and distance from other vertebrates well suits the comparative investigation of brain and behavior: in fish species we observe substantial differences with respect to the telencephalic organization of other vertebrates and an astonishing variety in the development and complexity of pallial structures. We will concentrate on the contribution of research on fish behavioral biology for the understanding of the evolution of the visual system. We shall review evidence concerning perceptual effects that reflect fundamental principles of the visual system functioning, highlighting the similarities and differences between distant fish groups and with other vertebrates. We will focus on perceptual effects reflecting some of the main tasks that the visual system must attain. In particular, we will deal with subjective contours and optical illusions, invariance effects, second order motion and biological motion and, finally, perceptual binding of object properties in a unified higher level representation. PMID:25324728

Collection of in situ forest canopy spectra using a helicopter - A discussion of methodology and preliminary results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. L.; Walthall, C. L.; Goward, S. N.

1984-01-01

An important part of fundamental remote sensing research is based on the measurement and analysis of spectral reflectance from earth surface materials in situ. It has been found that for an effective analysis of the target of interest, different applications of remotely sensed data require spectral measurements from different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is pointed out that the detailed spectral reflectance characteristics of forest vegetation are currently not well understood, particularly in the middle infrared wavelength region. Details regarding the need for in situ forest canopy measurements are examined, taking into account certain difficulties arising in the case of satellite observations. Because of these difficulties, the present paper provides a discussion of methodology and preliminary spectra based on an experiment to use a helicopter as an observing platform for in situ forest canopy spectra measurement.

Cross-study projections of genomic biomarkers: an evaluation in cancer genomics.

PubMed

Lucas, Joseph E; Carvalho, Carlos M; Chen, Julia Ling-Yu; Chi, Jen-Tsan; West, Mike

2009-01-01

Human disease studies using DNA microarrays in both clinical/observational and experimental/controlled studies are having increasing impact on our understanding of the complexity of human diseases. A fundamental concept is the use of gene expression as a "common currency" that links the results of in vitro controlled experiments to in vivo observational human studies. Many studies--in cancer and other diseases--have shown promise in using in vitro cell manipulations to improve understanding of in vivo biology, but experiments often simply fail to reflect the enormous phenotypic variation seen in human diseases. We address this with a framework and methods to dissect, enhance and extend the in vivo utility of in vitro derived gene expression signatures. From an experimentally defined gene expression signature we use statistical factor analysis to generate multiple quantitative factors in human cancer gene expression data. These factors retain their relationship to the original, one-dimensional in vitro signature but better describe the diversity of in vivo biology. In a breast cancer analysis, we show that factors can reflect fundamentally different biological processes linked to molecular and clinical features of human cancers, and that in combination they can improve prediction of clinical outcomes.

Higher-harmonics suppressor for soft x rays

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

Waki, I.; Hirai, Y.; Momose, A.

We have developed an apparatus for suppressing higher harmonics contained in the soft x-ray output beam of grazing-incidence grating monochromators. It consists of eight pairs of total-reflection mirrors. Each pair serves as a low-pass filter with the cutoff energy different from one another. The eight pairs are designed to cover an energy range of 80--1600 eV with an efficiency of harmonic suppression better than 97%, while transmitting more than 50% of the fundamental photons. We have tested its preliminary performance on the soft x-ray beamline BL-8A at the Photon Factory. We present the observed transmission efficiencies and the effects ofmore » the harmonic suppressor on measurements of reflectivity and fluorescence spectra.« less

Non-Gaussian Correlations between Reflected and Transmitted Intensity Patterns Emerging from Opaque Disordered Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starshynov, I.; Paniagua-Diaz, A. M.; Fayard, N.; Goetschy, A.; Pierrat, R.; Carminati, R.; Bertolotti, J.

2018-04-01

The propagation of monochromatic light through a scattering medium produces speckle patterns in reflection and transmission, and the apparent randomness of these patterns prevents direct imaging through thick turbid media. Yet, since elastic multiple scattering is fundamentally a linear and deterministic process, information is not lost but distributed among many degrees of freedom that can be resolved and manipulated. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that the reflected and transmitted speckle patterns are robustly correlated, and we unravel all the complex and unexpected features of this fundamentally non-Gaussian and long-range correlation. In particular, we show that it is preserved even for opaque media with thickness much larger than the scattering mean free path, proving that information survives the multiple scattering process and can be recovered. The existence of correlations between the two sides of a scattering medium opens up new possibilities for the control of transmitted light without any feedback from the target side, but using only information gathered from the reflected speckle.

Functional diversity of potassium channel voltage-sensing domains.

PubMed

Islas, León D

2016-01-01

Voltage-gated potassium channels or Kv's are membrane proteins with fundamental physiological roles. They are composed of 2 main functional protein domains, the pore domain, which regulates ion permeation, and the voltage-sensing domain, which is in charge of sensing voltage and undergoing a conformational change that is later transduced into pore opening. The voltage-sensing domain or VSD is a highly conserved structural motif found in all voltage-gated ion channels and can also exist as an independent feature, giving rise to voltage sensitive enzymes and also sustaining proton fluxes in proton-permeable channels. In spite of the structural conservation of VSDs in potassium channels, there are several differences in the details of VSD function found across variants of Kvs. These differences are mainly reflected in variations in the electrostatic energy needed to open different potassium channels. In turn, the differences in detailed VSD functioning among voltage-gated potassium channels might have physiological consequences that have not been explored and which might reflect evolutionary adaptations to the different roles played by Kv channels in cell physiology.

Functional diversity of potassium channel voltage-sensing domains

PubMed Central

Islas, León D.

2016-01-01

Abstract Voltage-gated potassium channels or Kv's are membrane proteins with fundamental physiological roles. They are composed of 2 main functional protein domains, the pore domain, which regulates ion permeation, and the voltage-sensing domain, which is in charge of sensing voltage and undergoing a conformational change that is later transduced into pore opening. The voltage-sensing domain or VSD is a highly conserved structural motif found in all voltage-gated ion channels and can also exist as an independent feature, giving rise to voltage sensitive enzymes and also sustaining proton fluxes in proton-permeable channels. In spite of the structural conservation of VSDs in potassium channels, there are several differences in the details of VSD function found across variants of Kvs. These differences are mainly reflected in variations in the electrostatic energy needed to open different potassium channels. In turn, the differences in detailed VSD functioning among voltage-gated potassium channels might have physiological consequences that have not been explored and which might reflect evolutionary adaptations to the different roles played by Kv channels in cell physiology. PMID:26794852

Free boundary problems in shock reflection/diffraction and related transonic flow problems

PubMed Central

Chen, Gui-Qiang; Feldman, Mikhail

2015-01-01

Shock waves are steep wavefronts that are fundamental in nature, especially in high-speed fluid flows. When a shock hits an obstacle, or a flying body meets a shock, shock reflection/diffraction phenomena occur. In this paper, we show how several long-standing shock reflection/diffraction problems can be formulated as free boundary problems, discuss some recent progress in developing mathematical ideas, approaches and techniques for solving these problems, and present some further open problems in this direction. In particular, these shock problems include von Neumann's problem for shock reflection–diffraction by two-dimensional wedges with concave corner, Lighthill's problem for shock diffraction by two-dimensional wedges with convex corner, and Prandtl-Meyer's problem for supersonic flow impinging onto solid wedges, which are also fundamental in the mathematical theory of multidimensional conservation laws. PMID:26261363

Refractive index measurement for biomaterial samples by total internal reflection.

PubMed

Jin, Y L; Chen, J Y; Xu, L; Wang, P N

2006-10-21

The refractive index of biological tissue is a fundamental parameter in applications of optical diagnosis and laser treatments. In the present work, the refractive indices and thermo-optic coefficients of some basic biomaterials, such as blood plasma, haemoglobin solution and lipid membrane, were studied by the method of total internal reflection at the wavelengths of 532 and 632.8 nm that are the most frequently used laser wavelengths in the biomedical field. The effects of the sample concentration and the temperature on refractive index were measured, and empirical relationships were summarized, accompanied by a theoretical explanation based on molecular polarization theory. The results provide some fundamental data for the refractive indices of these biomaterials under variant conditions, and also demonstrate that the total internal reflection method is a feasible and reliable way to measure the refractive indices of biological samples.

Al-Faruqi's Fundamental Ideas and Philosophy of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahman, Tasnim Abdul; Yusof, Wan Sabri Wan; Rashid, Zuriati Mohd; Amir, Ahmad Nabil

2015-01-01

This paper discusses the fundamental ideal and philosophy of education advocated by Ismail Raji al-Faruqi (1921-1986) in realizing the Islamization of knowledge (IOK) project. The concept and perspective of education projected by al-Faruqi was constructed on the worldview of tawhid that reflected the essence and intrinsic philosophy and paradigm…

Using Blogs as a Means of Enhancing Reflective Teaching Practice in Open Distance Learning Ecologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Wyk, Micheal M.

2013-01-01

Reflection is an important concept or principle that is fundamental in the interpretation of new information, and is also required if learning is to advance from surface to deep learning. The purpose of this article is to explore the use of blogs as an e-learning journal writing tool for reflection and peer-feedback during Teaching Practice…

Second harmonic generation: Effects of the multiple reflections of the fundamental and the second harmonic waves on the Maker fringes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tellier, Gildas; Boisrobert, Christian

2007-11-01

The Maker fringes technique is commonly used for the determination of nonlinear optical coefficients. In this article, we present a new formulation of Maker fringes in parallel-surface samples, using boundary conditions taking into account the anisotropy of the crystal, the refractive-index dispersion, and the reflections of the fundamental and the second harmonic waves inside the material. Complete expressions for the generated second harmonic intensity are given for birefringent crystals for the case of no pump depletion. A comparison between theory and experimental results is made, showing the accuracy of our theoretical expressions.

Reflections on Revitalizing and Reinforcing Native Languages and Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Real Bird, Lanny

2017-01-01

The purpose of this essay is to introduce nativist expression, historic practices, and perceptions in describing an important approach to exercising language revitalization based on traditional fundamentals and operational ownership in Native organizations of these reflections. Information is presented to enhance the understanding of how Native…

Infrared (2.08-14 micron) spectra of powered stony meteorites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salisbury, J. W.; Daria, D. M.; Jarosewich, E.

1991-01-01

Infrared biconical reflectance spectra of 60 powdered meteorite samples, representing 50 different stony meteorites, were measured as analogues of asteroidal regolith. Representative samples were measured in directional hemispherical reflectance to assure that Kirchhoff's Law can be used to predict relative emissivity from the reflectance spectra. These spectral data confirm that the O-H fundamental absorption band near 2.9 microns is an extremely sensitive indicator of incipient alteration, which often has taken place in powdered meteorite samples exposed only to water vapor in the air. Such non-carbonaceous samples typically contain less than 1 percent water by weight. Likewise, the C-H fundamental absorption bands near 3.4 and 3.5 microns are equally sensitive indicators of contamination with volatile hydrocarbons, which can also be absorbed from the air. The heavy, macromolecular hydrocarbons native to chondrites do not display such heavy bands, making detection of these bands in remote sensing of asteroids unlikely. Despite the spectral artifacts introduced by alteration and hydrocarbon contamination, powdered stony meteorites display a wide variety of real spectral features that can be used for their identification, including residual reststrahlen bands, absorption bands, and the Christiansen feature. Researchers found that the wavelengths of the peaks or troughs of each of these spectral features can be used independently to infer meteorite composition, but the best results are obtained when the entire spectral curve is used, or at least the portion of it encompassed by the 8 to 14 micron atmospheric window, in a digital search library.

Teacher Educator Identity Emerging from Identity as a Person

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, M. Shaun; Pinnegar, Stefinee

2011-01-01

Experience is fundamental in identity development. In research, concepts and issues around identity are shaped and confronted in moments of reflection. The act of reflection requires a backward attention to engender a present understanding and create future possibilities. Kim and Greene, and Young and Erickson capture this temporal aspect of…

Augmented Reflective Learning and Knowledge Retention Perceived among Students in Classrooms Involving Virtual Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achuthan, Krishnashree; Francis, Saneesh P.; Diwakar, Shyam

2017-01-01

Learning theories converge on the principles of reflective learning processes and perceive them as fundamental to effective learning. Traditional laboratory education in science and engineering often happens in highly resource-constrained environments that compromise some of the learning objectives. This paper focuses on characterizing three…

New Pathways for Teaching Chemistry: Reflective Judgment in Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finster, David C.

1992-01-01

The reflective judgment model offers a rich context for analysis of science and science teaching. It provides deeper understanding of the scientific process and its critical thinking and reveals fundamental connections between science and the other liberal arts. Classroom techniques from a college chemistry course illustrate the utility of the…

Reflections on How Color Term Acquisition Is Constrained

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitchford, Nicola J.

2006-01-01

Compared with object word learning, young children typically find learning color terms to be a difficult linguistic task. In this reflections article, I consider two questions that are fundamental to investigations into the developmental acquisition of color terms. First, I consider what constrains color term acquisition and how stable these…

The Focusing of Light Scattered from Diffuse Reflectors Using Phase Modulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-22

was recently demonstrated for imaging otherwise hidden scene information through the collection and radiometric modeling of light reflecting off of...effectively reducing the radiometric model to that of the previously demonstrated dual photography, and leading to much-simplified results. This...angle. The fundamental geometric descriptor of reflectance is given by the bidirectional reflectance distribution function ( BRDF ) fr (θi, φi; θs, φs

Lightning location relative to storm structure in a supercell storm and a multicell storm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Peter S.; Macgorman, Donald R.; Rust, W. David; Taylor, William L.; Rasmussen, Lisa Walters

1987-01-01

Relationships between lightning location and storm structure are examined for one radar volume scan in each of two mature, severe storms. One of these storms had characteristics of a supercell storm, and the other was a multicell storm. Data were analyzed from dual-Doppler radar and dual-VHF lightning-mapping systems. The distributions of VHF impulse sources were compared with radar reflectivity, vertical air velocity, and their respective gradients. In the supercell storm, lightning tended to occur along streamlines above and down-shear of the updraft and reflectivity cores; VHF impulse sources were most concentrated in reflectivities between 30 and 40 dBZ and were distributed uniformly with respect to updraft speed. In the multicell storm, on the other hand, lightning tended to coincide with the vertical reflectivity and updraft core and with the diverging streamlines near the top of the storm. The results suggest that the location of lightning in these severe storms were most directly associated with the wind field structure relative to updraft and reflectivity cores. Since the magnitude and vertical shear of the environmental wind are fundamental in determining the reflectivity and wind field structure of a storm, it is suggested that these environmental parameters are also fundamental in determining lightning location.

The contrasting nature of woody plant species in different neotropical forest biomes reflects differences in ecological stability.

PubMed

Pennington, R Toby; Lavin, Matt

2016-04-01

A fundamental premise of this review is that distinctive phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns in clades endemic to different major biomes illuminate the evolutionary process. In seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), phylogenies are geographically structured and multiple individuals representing single species coalesce. This pattern of monophyletic species, coupled with their old species stem ages, is indicative of maintenance of small effective population sizes over evolutionary timescales, which suggests that SDTF is difficult to immigrate into because of persistent resident lineages adapted to a stable, seasonally dry ecology. By contrast, lack of coalescence in conspecific accessions of abundant and often widespread species is more frequent in rain forests and is likely to reflect large effective population sizes maintained over huge areas by effective seed and pollen flow. Species nonmonophyly, young species stem ages and lack of geographical structure in rain forest phylogenies may reflect more widespread disturbance by drought and landscape evolution causing resident mortality that opens up greater opportunities for immigration and speciation. We recommend full species sampling and inclusion of multiple accessions representing individual species in phylogenies to highlight nonmonophyletic species, which we predict will be frequent in rain forest and savanna, and which represent excellent case studies of incipient speciation. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Dual-cavity mode converter for a fundamental mode output in an over-moded relativistic backward-wave oscillator

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

Li, Jiawei; Huang, Wenhua; Science and Technology on High Power Microwave Laboratory, Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi'an 710024

2015-03-16

A dual-cavity TM{sub 02}–TM{sub 01} mode converter is designed for a dual-mode operation over-moded relativistic backward-wave oscillator. With the converter, the fundamental mode output is achieved. Particle-in-cell simulation shows that the efficiency of beam-wave conversion was over 46% and a pureTM{sub 01} mode output was obtained. Effects of end reflection provided by the mode converter were studied. Adequate TM{sub 01} mode feedback provided by the converter enhances conversion efficiency. The distance between the mode converter and extraction cavity critically affect the generation of microwaves depending on the reflection phase of TM{sub 01} mode feedback.

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth of GaAs: effect of doping on LPE growth behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zytkiewicz, Z. R.; Dobosz, D.; Pawlowska, M.

1999-05-01

Results of epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of GaAs on (001) GaAs substrates by liquid phase epitaxy are reported. We show that by introducing Si, Sn or Te impurities to the Ga-As solution the vertical growth rate is reduced while the lateral growth rate is significantly enhanced, which leads to a growth habit modification. Furthermore, the impurity incorporation into the growing layer is different on the upper and side surfaces of the ELO, reflecting the fundamental differences between the lateral and vertical growth modes. This phenomenon can be applied for studying the temporal development of ELO layers.

Disposable attenuated total reflection-infrared crystals from silicon wafer: a versatile approach to surface infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Karabudak, Engin; Kas, Recep; Ogieglo, Wojciech; Rafieian, Damon; Schlautmann, Stefan; Lammertink, R G H; Gardeniers, Han J G E; Mul, Guido

2013-01-02

Attenuated total reflection-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy is increasingly used to characterize solids and liquids as well as (catalytic) chemical conversion. Here we demonstrate that a piece of silicon wafer cut by a dicing machine or cleaved manually can be used as disposable internal reflection element (IRE) without the need for polishing and laborious edge preparation. Technical aspects, fundamental differences, and pros and cons of these novel disposable IREs and commercial IREs are discussed. The use of a crystal (the Si wafer) in a disposable manner enables simultaneous preparation and analysis of substrates and application of ATR spectroscopy in high temperature processes that may lead to irreversible interaction between the crystal and the substrate. As representative application examples, the disposable IREs were used to study high temperature thermal decomposition and chemical changes of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in a titania (TiO(2)) matrix and assemblies of 65-450 nm thick polystyrene (PS) films.

Experimental Validation of Plasma Metasurfaces as Tunable THz Reflectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colon Quinones, Roberto; Underwood, Thomas; Cappelli, Mark

2016-10-01

Measurements are presented which validate the use of plasma metasurfaces (PMs) as potential tunable THz reflectors. The PM considered here is an n x n array of laser produced plasma kernels generated by focusing the fundamental output from a 2 J/p Q-switched Nd:YAG laser through a multi-lens array (MLA) and into a gas of varying pressure. An M Squared Firefly-THz laser is used to generate a collimated pulse of THz light, which is then directed to the PM at varying angles of incidence. The reflected energy is measured using a Gentec-EO SDX-1187 joulemeter probe to characterize the surface impedance or reflectivity. In this presentation, we will compare the measured reflectance to values obtained from theoretical predictions and 3D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. Work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). R. Colon Quinones and T. Underwood acknowledge the support of the Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) Program.

Widespread correlation patterns of fMRI signal across visual cortex reflect eccentricity organization

PubMed Central

Arcaro, Michael J; Honey, Christopher J; Mruczek, Ryan EB; Kastner, Sabine; Hasson, Uri

2015-01-01

The human visual system can be divided into over two-dozen distinct areas, each of which contains a topographic map of the visual field. A fundamental question in vision neuroscience is how the visual system integrates information from the environment across different areas. Using neuroimaging, we investigated the spatial pattern of correlated BOLD signal across eight visual areas on data collected during rest conditions and during naturalistic movie viewing. The correlation pattern between areas reflected the underlying receptive field organization with higher correlations between cortical sites containing overlapping representations of visual space. In addition, the correlation pattern reflected the underlying widespread eccentricity organization of visual cortex, in which the highest correlations were observed for cortical sites with iso-eccentricity representations including regions with non-overlapping representations of visual space. This eccentricity-based correlation pattern appears to be part of an intrinsic functional architecture that supports the integration of information across functionally specialized visual areas. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03952.001 PMID:25695154

Kinematics of reflections in subsurface offset and angle-domain image gathers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dafni, Raanan; Symes, William W.

2018-05-01

Seismic migration in the angle-domain generates multiple images of the earth's interior in which reflection takes place at different scattering-angles. Mechanically, the angle-dependent reflection is restricted to happen instantaneously and at a fixed point in space: Incident wave hits a discontinuity in the subsurface media and instantly generates a scattered wave at the same common point of interaction. Alternatively, the angle-domain image may be associated with space-shift (regarded as subsurface offset) extended migration that artificially splits the reflection geometry. Meaning that, incident and scattered waves interact at some offset distance. The geometric differences between the two approaches amount to a contradictory angle-domain behaviour, and unlike kinematic description. We present a phase space depiction of migration methods extended by the peculiar subsurface offset split and stress its profound dissimilarity. In spite of being in radical contradiction with the general physics, the subsurface offset reveals a link to some valuable angle-domain quantities, via post-migration transformations. The angle quantities are indicated by the direction normal to the subsurface offset extended image. They specifically define the local dip and scattering angles if the velocity at the split reflection coordinates is the same for incident and scattered wave pairs. Otherwise, the reflector normal is not a bisector of the opening angle, but of the corresponding slowness vectors. This evidence, together with the distinguished geometry configuration, fundamentally differentiates the angle-domain decomposition based on the subsurface offset split from the conventional decomposition at a common reflection point. An asymptotic simulation of angle-domain moveout curves in layered media exposes the notion of split versus common reflection point geometry. Traveltime inversion methods that involve the subsurface offset extended migration must accommodate the split geometry in the inversion scheme for a robust and successful convergence at the optimal velocity model.

Enhanced Detection of Sea-Disposed Man-Made Objects in Backscatter Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, M.; Davis, R. B.

2016-12-01

The Hawai'i Undersea Military Munitions Assessment (HUMMA) project developed software to increase data visualization capabilities applicable to seafloor reflectivity datasets acquired by a variety of bottom-mapping sonar systems. The purpose of these improvements is to detect different intensity values within an arbitrary amplitude range that may be associated with relative target reflectivity as well as extend the overall amplitude range across which detailed dynamic contrast may be effectively displayed. The backscatter dataset used to develop this software imaged tens of thousands of reflective targets resting on the seabed that were systematically sea disposed south of Oahu, Hawaii, around the end of World War II in waters ranging from 300-600 meters depth. Human-occupied and remotely operated vehicles conducted ground-truth video and photographic reconnaissance of thousands of these reflective targets, documenting and geo-referencing long curvilinear trials of items including munitions, paint cans, airplane parts, scuttled ships, cars and bundled anti-submarine nets. Edwards et al. [2012] determined that most individual trails consist of objects of one particular type. The software described in this presentation, in combination with the ground-truth images, was developed to help recognize different types of objects based on reflectivity, size, and shape from altitudes of tens of meters above the seabed. The fundamental goal of the software is to facilitate rapid underway detection and geo-location of specific sea-disposed objects so their impact on the environment can be assessed.

An evaluation of the partial reflection technique and results from the winter 1971 - 1972 D region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dasilva, L. C.; Bowhill, S. A.

1974-01-01

Fundamental physical and chemical processes, and measurement techniques on the D region are reviewed. Design considerations about a partial-reflection system are made, and the main characteristics of the partial-reflection system at the University of Illinois are presented. The nature of the partial reflections is discussed, particularly reflections produced by gradients in electron density and by random fluctuations in a locally homogeneous random medium. Possible reasons for disagreement between partial reflections and rocket measurements are discussed. Some suggestions are made to improve partial-reflection data reduction, including the use of only maximums of the reflections and deconvolution of the data. The results of partial-reflection measurements at Wallops Island, Virginia during the 1971-1972 winter are presented and compared to rocket measurements.

Affection of Fundamental Brain Activity By Using Sounds For Patients With Prosodic Disorders: A Pilot Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imai, Emiko; Katagiri, Yoshitada; Seki, Keiko; Kawamata, Toshio

2011-06-01

We present a neural model of the production of modulated speech streams in the brain, referred to as prosody, which indicates the limbic structure essential for producing prosody both linguistically and emotionally. This model suggests that activating the fundamental brain including monoamine neurons at the basal ganglia will potentially contribute to helping patients with prosodic disorders coming from functional defects of the fundamental brain to overcome their speech problem. To establish effective clinical treatment for such prosodic disorders, we examine how sounds affect the fundamental activity by using electroencephalographic measurements. Throughout examinations with various melodious sounds, we found that some melodies with lilting rhythms successfully give rise to the fast alpha rhythms at the electroencephalogram which reflect the fundamental brain activity without any negative feelings.

Enhancement of second harmonic generation in NaNO{sub 2}-infiltrated opal photonic crystal using structural light focusing

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

Zaytsev, Kirill I., E-mail: kirzay@gmail.com; Yurchenko, Stanislav O., E-mail: st.yurchenko@mail.ru

Experimental and numerical results for second harmonic generation (SHG) in photonic crystal (PC) based on NaNO{sub 2}-infiltrated opal matrix are presented. SHG is performed in reflection mode; thus, the direction of the SHG maximum is equal to the angle of mirror reflection. The PC was pumped with femtosecond optical pulses at different angles of incidence, allowing the dependence of the SHG efficiency on the location of the fundamental wavelength toward the PC band gap (BG) to be examined. The most efficient SHG was observed when pumping the BG of the PC. To interpret the experimental results, finite-difference time-domain numerical simulationsmore » of the light interaction with the PC were conducted. The observed effect of highly efficient SHG is associated with structural light focusing, and, as a consequence, with strong optical field localization within certain near-surface PC regions. Thus, SHG enhancement based on structural light focusing in PC was demonstrated.« less

To punish or repair? Evolutionary psychology and lay intuitions about modern criminal justice.

PubMed

Petersen, Michael Bang; Sell, Aaron; Tooby, John; Cosmides, Leda

2012-11-01

We propose that intuitions about modern mass-level criminal justice emerge from evolved mechanisms designed to operate in ancestral small-scale societies. By hypothesis, individuals confronted with a crime compute two distinct psychological magnitudes: one that reflects the crime's seriousness and another that reflects the criminal's long-term value as an associate. These magnitudes are computed based on different sets of cues and are fed into motivational mechanisms regulating different aspects of sanctioning. The seriousness variable regulates how much to react (e.g., how severely we want to punish); the variable indexing the criminal's association value regulates the more fundamental decision of how to react (i.e., whether we want to punish or repair). Using experimental designs embedded in surveys, we validate this theory across several types of crime and two countries. The evidence augments past research and suggests that the human mind contains dedicated psychological mechanisms for restoring social relationships following acts of exploitation.

Of black swans and tossed coins: is the description-experience gap in risky choice limited to rare events?

PubMed

Ludvig, Elliot A; Spetch, Marcia L

2011-01-01

When faced with risky decisions, people tend to be risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses (the reflection effect). Studies examining this risk-sensitive decision making, however, typically ask people directly what they would do in hypothetical choice scenarios. A recent flurry of studies has shown that when these risky decisions include rare outcomes, people make different choices for explicitly described probabilities than for experienced probabilistic outcomes. Specifically, rare outcomes are overweighted when described and underweighted when experienced. In two experiments, we examined risk-sensitive decision making when the risky option had two equally probable (50%) outcomes. For experience-based decisions, there was a reversal of the reflection effect with greater risk seeking for gains than for losses, as compared to description-based decisions. This fundamental difference in experienced and described choices cannot be explained by the weighting of rare events and suggests a separate subjective utility curve for experience.

Of Black Swans and Tossed Coins: Is the Description-Experience Gap in Risky Choice Limited to Rare Events?

PubMed Central

Ludvig, Elliot A.; Spetch, Marcia L.

2011-01-01

When faced with risky decisions, people tend to be risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses (the reflection effect). Studies examining this risk-sensitive decision making, however, typically ask people directly what they would do in hypothetical choice scenarios. A recent flurry of studies has shown that when these risky decisions include rare outcomes, people make different choices for explicitly described probabilities than for experienced probabilistic outcomes. Specifically, rare outcomes are overweighted when described and underweighted when experienced. In two experiments, we examined risk-sensitive decision making when the risky option had two equally probable (50%) outcomes. For experience-based decisions, there was a reversal of the reflection effect with greater risk seeking for gains than for losses, as compared to description-based decisions. This fundamental difference in experienced and described choices cannot be explained by the weighting of rare events and suggests a separate subjective utility curve for experience. PMID:21673807

Can there be a physics of financial markets? Methodological reflections on econophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Tobias A.; Sornette, Didier

2016-12-01

We address the question whether there can be a physical science of financial markets. In particular, we examine the argument that, given the reflexivity of financial markets (i.e., the feedback mechanism between expectations and prices), there is a fundamental difference between social and physical systems, which demands a new scientific method. By providing a selective history of the mutual cross-fertilization between physics and economics, we reflect on the methodological differences of how models and theories get constructed in these fields. We argue that the novel conception of financial markets as complex adaptive systems is one of the most important contributions of econophysics and show that this field of research provides the methods, concepts, and tools to scientifically account for reflexivity. We conclude by arguing that a new science of economic and financial systems should not only be physics-based, but needs to integrate findings from other scientific fields, so that a truly multi-disciplinary complex systems science of financial markets can be built.

To punish or repair? Evolutionary psychology and lay intuitions about modern criminal justice

PubMed Central

Petersen, Michael Bang; Sell, Aaron; Tooby, John; Cosmides, Leda

2013-01-01

We propose that intuitions about modern mass-level criminal justice emerge from evolved mechanisms designed to operate in ancestral small-scale societies. By hypothesis, individuals confronted with a crime compute two distinct psychological magnitudes: one that reflects the crime’s seriousness and another that reflects the criminal’s long-term value as an associate. These magnitudes are computed based on different sets of cues and are fed into motivational mechanisms regulating different aspects of sanctioning. The seriousness variable regulates how much to react (e.g., how severely we want to punish); the variable indexing the criminal’s association value regulates the more fundamental decision of how to react (i.e., whether we want to punish or repair). Using experimental designs embedded in surveys, we validate this theory across several types of crime and two countries. The evidence augments past research and suggests that the human mind contains dedicated psychological mechanisms for restoring social relationships following acts of exploitation. PMID:23412662

Fundamentals of thinking, patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gafurov, O. M.; Gafurov, D. O.; Syryamkin, V. I.

2018-05-01

The authors analyze the fundamentals of thinking and propose to consider a model of the brain based on the presence of magnetic properties of gliacytes (Schwann cells) because of their oxygen saturation (oxygen has paramagnetic properties). The authors also propose to take into account the motion of electrical discharges through synapses causing electric and magnetic fields as well as additional effects such as paramagnetic resonance, which allows combining multisensory object-related information located in different parts of the brain. Therefore, the events of the surrounding world are reflected and remembered in the cortex columns, thus, creating isolated subnets with altered magnetic properties (patterns) and subsequently participate in recognition of objects, form a memory, and so on. The possibilities for the pattern-based thinking are based on the practical experience of applying methods and technologies of artificial neural networks in the form of a neuroemulator and neuromorphic computing devices.

Pulse generation scheme for flying electromagnetic doughnuts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papasimakis, Nikitas; Raybould, Tim; Fedotov, Vassili A.; Tsai, Din Ping; Youngs, Ian; Zheludev, Nikolay I.

2018-05-01

Transverse electromagnetic plane waves are fundamental solutions of Maxwells equations. It is less known that a radically different type of solutions has been described theoretically, but has never been realized experimentally, that exist only in the form of short bursts of electromagnetic energy propagating in free space at the speed of light. They are distinguished from transverse waves by a doughnutlike configuration of electric and magnetic fields with a strong field component along the propagation direction. Here, we demonstrate numerically that such flying doughnuts can be generated from conventional pulses using a singular metamaterial converter designed to manipulate both the spatial and spectral structure of the input pulse. The ability to generate flying doughnuts is of fundamental interest, as they shall interact with matter in unique ways, including nontrivial field transformations upon reflection from interfaces and the excitation of toroidal response and anapole modes in matter, hence offering opportunities for telecommunications, sensing, and spectroscopy.

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

PubMed

Heh, Ding Yu; Tan, Eng Leong

2011-04-12

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

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

PubMed Central

Heh, Ding Yu; Tan, Eng Leong

2011-01-01

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

Exertional oxygen uptake kinetics: a stamen of stamina?

PubMed

Whipp, Brian J; Rossiter, H B; Ward, S A

2002-04-01

The fundamental pulmonary O(2) uptake (.VO(2)) response to moderate, constant-load exercise can be characterized as (d.VO(2)/dt)(tau)+Delta.VO(2) (t)=Delta.VO(2SS) where Delta.VO(2SS) is the steady-state response, and tau is the time constant, with the .VO(2) kinetics reflecting intramuscular O(2) uptake (.QO(2)) kinetics, to within 10%. The role of phosphocreatine (PCr) turnover in .QO(2) control can be explored using (31)P-MR spectroscopy, simultaneously with .VO(2). Although tau.VO(2) and tauPCr vary widely among subjects (approx. 20-65 s), they are not significantly different from each other, either at the on- or off-transient. A caveat to interpreting the "well-fit" exponential is that numerous units of similar Delta.VO(2SS) but with a wide tau distribution can also yield a .VO(2) response with an apparent single tau. This tau is, significantly, inversely correlated with lactate threshold and .VO(2max)(but is poorly predictive; a frail stamen, therefore), consistent with tau not characterizing a compartment with uniform kinetics. At higher intensities, the fundamental kinetics become supplemented with a slowly-developing phase, setting .VO(2)on a trajectory towards maximum .VO(2). This slow component is also demonstrable in Delta[PCr]: the decreased efficiency thereby reflecting a predominantly high phosphate-cost of force production rather than a high O(2)-cost of phosphate production. We also propose that the O(2)-deficit for the slow-component is more likely to reflect shifting Delta.VO(2SS) rather than a single one with a single tau.

Chemical bond activation observed with an x-ray laser

DOE PAGES

Beye, Martin; Öberg, Henrik; Xin, Hongliang; ...

2016-09-01

The concept of bonding and anti-bonding orbitals is fundamental in chemistry. The population of those orbitals and the energetic difference between the two reflect the strength of the bonding interaction. Weakening the bond is expected to reduce this energetic splitting, but the transient character of bond-activation has so far prohibited direct experimental access. Lastly, we apply time-resolved soft X-ray spectroscopy at a free-electron laser to directly observe the decreased bonding–anti-bonding splitting following bond-activation using an ultra short optical laser pulse.

Structure functions in decomposing CuRh systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prem, M.; Blaschko, O.; Rosta, L.

1997-02-01

The time evolution of a CuRh alloy quenched within the miscibility gap is investigated by small and wide angle neutron scattering techniques. Near fundamental Bragg reflections diffuse satellites arising from a lattice parameter modulation induced by the precipitation pattern are investigated. The results show that in CuRh the precipitation morphology and its time evolution are quite different from decomposition characteristics recently observed in the system AuPt. The results are discussed and related to the larger lattice misfit present in CuRh in comparison to AuPt.

Cognitive Plasticity and Cortical Modules

PubMed Central

Mercado, Eduardo

2009-01-01

Some organisms learn to calculate, accumulate knowledge, and communicate in ways that others do not. What factors determine which intellectual abilities a particular species or individual can easily acquire? I propose that cognitive-skill learning capacity reflects (a) the availability of specialized cortical circuits, (b) the flexibility with which cortical activity is coordinated, and (c) the customizability of cortical networks. This framework can potentially account for differences in learning capacity across species, individuals, and developmental stages. Understanding the mechanisms that constrain cognitive plasticity is fundamental to developing new technologies and educational practices that maximize intellectual advancements. PMID:19750239

Cognitive Plasticity and Cortical Modules.

PubMed

Mercado, Eduardo

2009-06-01

Some organisms learn to calculate, accumulate knowledge, and communicate in ways that others do not. What factors determine which intellectual abilities a particular species or individual can easily acquire? I propose that cognitive-skill learning capacity reflects (a) the availability of specialized cortical circuits, (b) the flexibility with which cortical activity is coordinated, and (c) the customizability of cortical networks. This framework can potentially account for differences in learning capacity across species, individuals, and developmental stages. Understanding the mechanisms that constrain cognitive plasticity is fundamental to developing new technologies and educational practices that maximize intellectual advancements.

It's what you do! Reflections on the VERB campaign.

PubMed

Wong, Faye L; Greenwell, Michael; Gates, Suzanne; Berkowitz, Judy M

2008-06-01

This article shares the first-hand experiences of the CDC's VERB team in planning, executing, and evaluating a campaign that used social marketing principles, which involved paid media advertising, promotions, and national and community partnerships to increase physical activity among children aged 9-13 years (tweens). VERB staff gained valuable experience in applying commercial marketing techniques to a public health issue. This article describes how marketing, partnership, and evaluation activities were implemented to reach a tween audience. In doing so, fundamental differences in marketing between public health and the private sector were revealed.

Microwave bulk-acoustic-wave reflection-grating resonators.

PubMed

Oates, D E; Pan, J Y

1988-01-01

A technique for fabrication of bulk-acoustic-wave (BAW) resonators operating at fundamental frequencies between 1 and 10 GHz is presented. The resonators utilize a reflection grating made by optical holographic methods in iron-doped lithium niobate. Q factors of 30000 at 1 GHz have been demonstrated. Extension to Q of 10000 at 10 GHz appears feasible. Projected limitations to performance are discussed. The high Q at the high fundamental frequency directly results in low-phase noise. Phase-noise measurements of BAW resonator-stabilized oscillators operating at 1.14 GHz are presented. The single-sideband noise floor of <-140 dBc/Hz is shown to be in agreement with an analytical model. Projected improvements in the devices and circuits promise performance of <-160 dBc/Hz.

Hyperspectral diffuse reflectance for determination of the optical properties of milk and fruit and vegetable juices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Jianwei; Lu, Renfu

2005-11-01

Absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are two fundamental optical properties for turbid biological materials. This paper presents the technique and method of using hyperspectral diffuse reflectance for fast determination of the optical properties of fruit and vegetable juices and milks. A hyperspectral imaging system was used to acquire spatially resolved steady-state diffuse reflectance over the spectral region between 530 and 900 nm from a variety of fruit and vegetable juices (citrus, grapefruit, orange, and vegetable) and milks with different fat levels (full, skim and mixed). The system collected diffuse reflectance in the source-detector separation range from 1.1 to 10.0 mm. The hyperspectral reflectance data were analyzed by using a diffusion theory model for semi-infinite homogeneous media. The absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of the fruit and vegetable juices and milks were extracted by inverse algorithms from the scattering profiles for wavelengths of 530-900 nm. Values of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficient at 650 nm were highly correlated to the fat content of the milk samples with the correlation coefficient of 0.990 and 0.989, respectively. The hyperspectral imaging technique can be extended to the measurement of other liquid and solid foods in which light scattering is dominant.

Reflections on Pedagogy and Place: A Journey into Learning for Sustainability through Environmental Narrative and Deep Attentive Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tooth, Ron; Renshaw, Peter

2009-01-01

Narrative is fundamental to our diverse capacities to remember, to provide an account of self, and to represent our actions, motivations and place in society. The narrative mode is concerned with central aspects of the human condition--commitments and personal agency; motivations and emotions; collective experiences and cultural histories and…

The Poles, the Jews and the Holocaust: Reflections on an AME Trip to Auschwitz

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blum, Lawrence

2004-01-01

Two trips to Auschwitz (in 1989 and 2003) provide a context for reflection on fundamental issues in civic and moral education. Custodians of the Auschwitz historical site are currently aware of its responsibility to humanity to educate about the genocide against the Jews, as a morally distinct element in its presentation of Nazi crimes at…

Complex networks of functional connectivity in a wetland reconnected to its floodplain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Laurel G.; Newman, Susan; Saunders, Colin; Harvey, Judson

2017-01-01

Disturbances such as fire or flood, in addition to changing the local magnitude of ecological, hydrological, or biogeochemical processes, can also change their functional connectivity—how those processes interact in space. Complex networks offer promise for quantifying functional connectivity in watersheds. The approach resolves connections between nodes in space based on statistical similarities in perturbation signals (derived from solute time series) and is sensitive to a wider range of timescales than traditional mass-balance modeling. We use this approach to test hypotheses about how fire and flood impact ecological and biogeochemical dynamics in a wetland (Everglades, FL, USA) that was reconnected to its floodplain. Reintroduction of flow pulses after decades of separation by levees fundamentally reconfigured functional connectivity networks. The most pronounced expansion was that of the calcium network, which reflects periphyton dynamics and may represent an indirect influence of elevated nutrients, despite the comparatively smaller observed expansion of phosphorus networks. With respect to several solutes, periphyton acted as a “biotic filter,” shifting perturbations in water-quality signals to different timescales through slow but persistent transformations of the biotic community. The complex-networks approach also revealed portions of the landscape that operate in fundamentally different regimes with respect to dissolved oxygen, separated by a threshold in flow velocity of 1.2 cm/s, and suggested that complete removal of canals may be needed to restore connectivity with respect to biogeochemical processes. Fire reconfigured functional connectivity networks in a manner that reflected localized burn severity, but had a larger effect on the magnitude of solute concentrations.

Complex networks of functional connectivity in a wetland reconnected to its floodplain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larsen, Laurel G.; Newman, Susan; Saunders, Colin; Harvey, Judson W.

2017-07-01

Disturbances such as fire or flood, in addition to changing the local magnitude of ecological, hydrological, or biogeochemical processes, can also change their functional connectivity—how those processes interact in space. Complex networks offer promise for quantifying functional connectivity in watersheds. The approach resolves connections between nodes in space based on statistical similarities in perturbation signals (derived from solute time series) and is sensitive to a wider range of timescales than traditional mass-balance modeling. We use this approach to test hypotheses about how fire and flood impact ecological and biogeochemical dynamics in a wetland (Everglades, FL, USA) that was reconnected to its floodplain. Reintroduction of flow pulses after decades of separation by levees fundamentally reconfigured functional connectivity networks. The most pronounced expansion was that of the calcium network, which reflects periphyton dynamics and may represent an indirect influence of elevated nutrients, despite the comparatively smaller observed expansion of phosphorus networks. With respect to several solutes, periphyton acted as a "biotic filter," shifting perturbations in water-quality signals to different timescales through slow but persistent transformations of the biotic community. The complex-networks approach also revealed portions of the landscape that operate in fundamentally different regimes with respect to dissolved oxygen, separated by a threshold in flow velocity of 1.2 cm/s, and suggested that complete removal of canals may be needed to restore connectivity with respect to biogeochemical processes. Fire reconfigured functional connectivity networks in a manner that reflected localized burn severity, but had a larger effect on the magnitude of solute concentrations.

Global Patterns of Bacterial Beta-Diversity in Seafloor and Seawater Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Zinger, Lucie; Amaral-Zettler, Linda A.; Fuhrman, Jed A.; Horner-Devine, M. Claire; Huse, Susan M.; Welch, David B. Mark; Martiny, Jennifer B. H.; Sogin, Mitchell; Boetius, Antje; Ramette, Alban

2011-01-01

Background Marine microbial communities have been essential contributors to global biomass, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity since the early history of Earth, but so far their community distribution patterns remain unknown in most marine ecosystems. Methodology/Principal Findings The synthesis of 9.6 million bacterial V6-rRNA amplicons for 509 samples that span the global ocean's surface to the deep-sea floor shows that pelagic and benthic communities greatly differ, at all taxonomic levels, and share <10% bacterial types defined at 3% sequence similarity level. Surface and deep water, coastal and open ocean, and anoxic and oxic ecosystems host distinct communities that reflect productivity, land influences and other environmental constraints such as oxygen availability. The high variability of bacterial community composition specific to vent and coastal ecosystems reflects the heterogeneity and dynamic nature of these habitats. Both pelagic and benthic bacterial community distributions correlate with surface water productivity, reflecting the coupling between both realms by particle export. Also, differences in physical mixing may play a fundamental role in the distribution patterns of marine bacteria, as benthic communities showed a higher dissimilarity with increasing distance than pelagic communities. Conclusions/Significance This first synthesis of global bacterial distribution across different ecosystems of the World's oceans shows remarkable horizontal and vertical large-scale patterns in bacterial communities. This opens interesting perspectives for the definition of biogeographical biomes for bacteria of ocean waters and the seabed. PMID:21931760

The principle of cooperation and life's origin and evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oro, J.; Armangue, G.; Mar, A.

1986-01-01

In simple terms a living entity is a negentropic system that replicates, mutates and evoluves. A number of suggestions have been made, such as directed panspermia, atmospheric photosynthesis, genetic overtaking from inorganic processes, etc., as alternative models to the accepted Oparin-Haldane-Urey model of the origin of life on Earth. This has probably occurred because in spite of tremendous advances in the prebiotic synthesis of biochemical compounds, the fundamental problem of the appearance of the first life--a primordial replicating cell-ancestral to all other forms of extant life, has remained elusive. This is indeed a reflection on the different fundamental nature of the problem involved. Regardless of which were the fundamental processes which occurred on the primitive Earth, it has to end up with the fundamental characteristics of an ancestral protocell. The problem of the emergence of the first ancestral cell was one of synergistic macromolecular cooperation, as it has been discussed by authors recently (COSPAR XXV Plenary Meeting). An analogous situation must have occurred at the time of the appearance of the first eucaryotic organism. Procaryotic life appeared probably during the first 600 million years of Earth history when the Earth was sufficiently cool and continually bombarded (in the late accretion period) by comets and minor bodies of the solar system, when the sea had not yet acquired its present form.

Reflection and transmission of light at periodic layered metamaterial films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Thomas; Menzel, Christoph; Śmigaj, Wojciech; Rockstuhl, Carsten; Lalanne, Philippe; Lederer, Falk

2011-09-01

The appropriate description of light scattering (transmission/reflection) at a bulky artificial medium, consisting of a sequence of functional metamaterial and natural material films, represents a major challenge in current theoretical nano-optics. Because in many relevant cases, in particular, in the optical domain, a metamaterial must not be described by an effective permittivity and permeability the usual Fresnel formalism cannot be applied. A reliable alternative consists in using a Bloch mode formalism known, e.g., from the theory of photonic crystals. It permits to split this complex issue into two more elementary ones, namely the study of light propagation in an infinitely extended metamaterial and the analysis of light scattering at interfaces between adjacent meta and natural materials. The first problem is routinely solved by calculating the relevant Bloch modes and their dispersion relations. The second task is more involved and represents the subject of the present study. It consists in using the general Bloch mode orthogonality to derive rigorous expressions for the reflection and transmission coefficients at an interface between two three-dimensional absorptive periodic media for arbitrary incidence. A considerable simplification can be achieved if only the fundamental Bloch modes of both media govern the scattering properties at the interface. If this approximation is valid, which depends on the longitudinal metamaterial period, the periodic metamaterial may be termed homogeneous. Only in this case the disentanglement of the fundamental modes of both media can be performed and the reflection/transmission coefficients can be expressed in terms of two impedances, each depending solely on the properties of the fundamental mode of the respective medium. In order to complement the picture, we apply the present formalism to the quite general problem of reflection/transmission at a metamaterial film sandwiched between a dissimilar metamaterial. This situation asks for a devoted treatment where multiple modes have to be taken into account.

Multiscale energy reallocation during low-frequency steady-state brain response.

PubMed

Wang, Yifeng; Chen, Wang; Ye, Liangkai; Biswal, Bharat B; Yang, Xuezhi; Zou, Qijun; Yang, Pu; Yang, Qi; Wang, Xinqi; Cui, Qian; Duan, Xujun; Liao, Wei; Chen, Huafu

2018-05-01

Traditional task-evoked brain activations are based on detection and estimation of signal change from the mean signal. By contrast, the low-frequency steady-state brain response (lfSSBR) reflects frequency-tagging activity at the fundamental frequency of the task presentation and its harmonics. Compared to the activity at these resonant frequencies, brain responses at nonresonant frequencies are largely unknown. Additionally, because the lfSSBR is defined by power change, we hypothesize using Parseval's theorem that the power change reflects brain signal variability rather than the change of mean signal. Using a face recognition task, we observed power increase at the fundamental frequency (0.05 Hz) and two harmonics (0.1 and 0.15 Hz) and power decrease within the infra-slow frequency band (<0.1 Hz), suggesting a multifrequency energy reallocation. The consistency of power and variability was demonstrated by the high correlation (r > .955) of their spatial distribution and brain-behavior relationship at all frequency bands. Additionally, the reallocation of finite energy was observed across various brain regions and frequency bands, forming a particular spatiotemporal pattern. Overall, results from this study strongly suggest that frequency-specific power and variability may measure the same underlying brain activity and that these results may shed light on different mechanisms between lfSSBR and brain activation, and spatiotemporal characteristics of energy reallocation induced by cognitive tasks. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Gradient metasurfaces: a review of fundamentals and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Fei; Pors, Anders; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I.

2018-02-01

In the wake of intense research on metamaterials the two-dimensional analogue, known as metasurfaces, has attracted progressively increasing attention in recent years due to the ease of fabrication and smaller insertion losses, while enabling an unprecedented control over spatial distributions of transmitted and reflected optical fields. Metasurfaces represent optically thin planar arrays of resonant subwavelength elements that can be arranged in a strictly or quasi periodic fashion, or even in an aperiodic manner, depending on targeted optical wavefronts to be molded with their help. This paper reviews a broad subclass of metasurfaces, viz. gradient metasurfaces, which are devised to exhibit spatially varying optical responses resulting in spatially varying amplitudes, phases and polarizations of scattered fields. Starting with introducing the concept of gradient metasurfaces, we present classification of different metasurfaces from the viewpoint of their responses, differentiating electrical-dipole, geometric, reflective and Huygens’ metasurfaces. The fundamental building blocks essential for the realization of metasurfaces are then discussed in order to elucidate the underlying physics of various physical realizations of both plasmonic and purely dielectric metasurfaces. We then overview the main applications of gradient metasurfaces, including waveplates, flat lenses, spiral phase plates, broadband absorbers, color printing, holograms, polarimeters and surface wave couplers. The review is terminated with a short section on recently developed nonlinear metasurfaces, followed by the outlook presenting our view on possible future developments and perspectives for future applications.

Gradient metasurfaces: a review of fundamentals and applications.

PubMed

Ding, Fei; Pors, Anders; Bozhevolnyi, Sergey I

2018-02-01

In the wake of intense research on metamaterials the two-dimensional analogue, known as metasurfaces, has attracted progressively increasing attention in recent years due to the ease of fabrication and smaller insertion losses, while enabling an unprecedented control over spatial distributions of transmitted and reflected optical fields. Metasurfaces represent optically thin planar arrays of resonant subwavelength elements that can be arranged in a strictly or quasi periodic fashion, or even in an aperiodic manner, depending on targeted optical wavefronts to be molded with their help. This paper reviews a broad subclass of metasurfaces, viz. gradient metasurfaces, which are devised to exhibit spatially varying optical responses resulting in spatially varying amplitudes, phases and polarizations of scattered fields. Starting with introducing the concept of gradient metasurfaces, we present classification of different metasurfaces from the viewpoint of their responses, differentiating electrical-dipole, geometric, reflective and Huygens' metasurfaces. The fundamental building blocks essential for the realization of metasurfaces are then discussed in order to elucidate the underlying physics of various physical realizations of both plasmonic and purely dielectric metasurfaces. We then overview the main applications of gradient metasurfaces, including waveplates, flat lenses, spiral phase plates, broadband absorbers, color printing, holograms, polarimeters and surface wave couplers. The review is terminated with a short section on recently developed nonlinear metasurfaces, followed by the outlook presenting our view on possible future developments and perspectives for future applications.

Mask technology for EUV lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bujak, M.; Burkhart, Scott C.; Cerjan, Charles J.; Kearney, Patrick A.; Moore, Craig E.; Prisbrey, Shon T.; Sweeney, Donald W.; Tong, William M.; Vernon, Stephen P.; Walton, Christopher C.; Warrick, Abbie L.; Weber, Frank J.; Wedowski, Marco; Wilhelmsen, Karl C.; Bokor, Jeffrey; Jeong, Sungho; Cardinale, Gregory F.; Ray-Chaudhuri, Avijit K.; Stivers, Alan R.; Tejnil, Edita; Yan, Pei-yang; Hector, Scott D.; Nguyen, Khanh B.

1999-04-01

Extreme UV Lithography (EUVL) is one of the leading candidates for the next generation lithography, which will decrease critical feature size to below 100 nm within 5 years. EUVL uses 10-14 nm light as envisioned by the EUV Limited Liability Company, a consortium formed by Intel and supported by Motorola and AMD to perform R and D work at three national laboratories. Much work has already taken place, with the first prototypical cameras operational at 13.4 nm using low energy laser plasma EUV light sources to investigate issues including the source, camera, electro- mechanical and system issues, photoresists, and of course the masks. EUV lithograph masks are fundamentally different than conventional photolithographic masks as they are reflective instead of transmissive. EUV light at 13.4 nm is rapidly absorbed by most materials, thus all light transmission within the EUVL system from source to silicon wafer, including EUV reflected from the mask, is performed by multilayer mirrors in vacuum.

Aquinas and Contemporary Cosmology: Creation and Beginnings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, William E.

Discussions in the Middle Ages about creation and the temporal beginning of the world involved sophisticated analyses in theology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy. Mediaeval insights on this subject, especially Thomas Aquinas' defense of the intelligibility of an eternal, created universe, can help to clarify reflections about the philosophical and theological implications of contemporary cosmological theories: from the "singularity" of the Big Bang, to "quantum tunneling from nothing," to multiverse scenarios. Thomas' insights help us to see the value of Georges Lemaître's insistence that his cosmological reflections must be kept separate from an analysis of creation. This essay will look at different senses of "beginning" and examine the claim that creation, in its fundamental meaning, tells us nothing about whether there is a temporal beginning to the universe. Multiverse models, like that recently proposed by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, may challenge certain views of a Grand Designer, but not of a Creator.

Anti-coalescence of bosons on a lossy beam splitter.

PubMed

Vest, Benjamin; Dheur, Marie-Christine; Devaux, Éloïse; Baron, Alexandre; Rousseau, Emmanuel; Hugonin, Jean-Paul; Greffet, Jean-Jacques; Messin, Gaétan; Marquier, François

2017-06-30

Two-boson interference, a fundamentally quantum effect, has been extensively studied with photons through the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect and observed with guided plasmons. Using two freely propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) interfering on a lossy beam splitter, we show that the presence of loss enables us to modify the reflection and transmission factors of the beam splitter, thus revealing quantum interference paths that do not exist in a lossless configuration. We investigate the two-plasmon interference on beam splitters with different sets of reflection and transmission factors. Through coincidence-detection measurements, we observe either coalescence or anti-coalescence of SPPs. The results show that losses can be viewed as a degree of freedom to control quantum processes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

[Reflections on Martha E. Rogers' theory].

PubMed

Castellanos Tejero, M

1998-06-01

This article is a brief review on the assertions made by Martha E. Rogers. If one enlarges these assertions, one arrives at the conclusion that each individual lives his/her own designated life, totally different from other people; hence, having a unique living experience. A whole set reality about human nature becomes known by considering an energy field, as well as subatomic particles, to be the fundamental unit of life. As Ms. Rogers see it, "man lives in a probabilistic universe". This affirmation drives us to the limits of uncertainty since we can never really learn all the health-nursing procedures.

What makes dreams positive or negative: relations to fundamental dimensions of positive and negative mood.

PubMed

Kallmeyer, R J; Chang, E C

1998-02-01

The present study examined the general emotional content of dreams reported by individuals who typically experience "positive" versus "negative" dreams. Self-reports of the 153 participants indicated that positive versus negative dreamers (ns = 42 and 24, respectively) generally experienced more positive emotions, e.g., joviality, self-assurance, and fewer negative emotions, e.g., fear, sadness. No differences were found in the self-reports of the participants in the experience of surprise, guilt, fatigue, and shyness between the groups, hence, positive and negative dreams do not appear to reflect simply more positive and fewer negative emotions, respectively.

Brain transcriptome atlases: a computational perspective.

PubMed

Mahfouz, Ahmed; Huisman, Sjoerd M H; Lelieveldt, Boudewijn P F; Reinders, Marcel J T

2017-05-01

The immense complexity of the mammalian brain is largely reflected in the underlying molecular signatures of its billions of cells. Brain transcriptome atlases provide valuable insights into gene expression patterns across different brain areas throughout the course of development. Such atlases allow researchers to probe the molecular mechanisms which define neuronal identities, neuroanatomy, and patterns of connectivity. Despite the immense effort put into generating such atlases, to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, an even greater effort is needed to develop methods to probe the resulting high-dimensional multivariate data. We provide a comprehensive overview of the various computational methods used to analyze brain transcriptome atlases.

The global carbon dioxide budget

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sundquist, E.T.

1993-01-01

The increase in atmospheric CO2 levels during the last deglaciation was comparable in magnitude to the recent historical increase. However, global CO2 budgets for these changes reflect fundamental differences in rates and in sources and sinks. The modern oceans are a rapid net CO2 sink, whereas the oceans were a gradual source during the deglaciation. Unidentified terrestrial CO2 sinks are important uncertainties in both the deglacial and recent CO2 budgets. The deglacial CO2 budget represents a complexity of long-term dynamic behavior that is not adequately addressed by current models used to forecast future atmospheric CO2 levels.

Becoming a Doctor in Different Cultures: Toward a Cross-Cultural Approach to Supporting Professional Identity Formation in Medicine.

PubMed

Helmich, Esther; Yeh, Huei-Ming; Kalet, Adina; Al-Eraky, Mohamed

2017-01-01

Becoming a doctor is fundamentally about developing a new, professional identity as a physician, which in and of itself may evoke many emotions. Additionally, medical trainees are increasingly moving from one cultural context to another and are challenged with navigating the resulting shifts in their professional identify. In this Article, the authors aim to address medical professional identity formation from a polyvocal, multidisciplinary, cross-cultural perspective. They delineate the cultural approaches to medical professionalism, reflect on professional identity formation in different cultures and on different theories of identity development, and advocate for a context-specific approach to professional identity formation. In doing so, the authors aim to broaden the developing professional identity formation discourse to include non-Western approaches and notions.

Local surface curvature analysis based on reflection estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Qinglin; Laligant, Olivier; Fauvet, Eric; Zakharova, Anastasia

2015-07-01

In this paper, we propose a novel reflection based method to estimate the local orientation of a specular surface. For a calibrated scene with a fixed light band, the band is reflected by the surface to the image plane of a camera. Then the local geometry between the surface and reflected band is estimated. Firstly, in order to find the relationship relying the object position, the object surface orientation and the band reflection, we study the fundamental theory of the geometry between a specular mirror surface and a band source. Then we extend our approach to the spherical surface with arbitrary curvature. Experiments are conducted with mirror surface and spherical surface. Results show that our method is able to obtain the local surface orientation merely by measuring the displacement and the form of the reflection.

Laboratory Studies of Organic Compounds With Reflectance Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curchin, J. M.; Clark, R. N.; Hoefen, T. M.

2007-12-01

In order to properly interpret reflectance spectra of any solar system surface from the earth to the Oort cloud, laboratory spectra of candidate materials for comparative analysis are needed. Although the common cosmochemical species (H2O, CO2, CO, NH3, and CH4) are well represented in the spectroscopic literature, comparatively little reflectance work has been done on organics from room to cryogenic temperatures at visible to near infrared wavelengths. Reflectance spectra not only enhance weak or unseen transmission features, they are also more analogous to spectra obtained by spacecraft that are imaging such bodies as giant planet moons, kuiper belt objects, centaurs, comets and asteroids, as well as remote sensing of the earth. The USGS Spectroscopy Laboratory is measuring reflectance spectra of organic compounds from room to cryogenic temperatures over the spectral range of 0.35 to 15.5 microns. This region encompasses the fundamental absorptions and many overtones and combinations of C, H, O, and N molecular bonds. Because most organic compounds belong to families whose members have similar structure and composition, individual species identification within a narrow wavelength range may be ambiguous. By measuring spectral reflectance of the pure laboratory samples from the visible through the near and mid-infrared, absorption bands unique to each can be observed, cataloged, and compared to planetary reflectance data. We present here spectra of organic compounds belonging to five families: the alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatics, and cyanides. Common to all of these are the deep C-H stretch fundamental absorptions, which shift shortward from 3.35+ microns in alkanes to 3.25+ microns in aromatics, to 3.2+ microns in alkenes, and down to 3.0+ microns in alkynes. Mid-IR absorptions due to C-H bending deformations at 6.8+ and 7.2+ microns are also identified. In the near infrared these stretching and bending fundamentals yield a diagnostic set of combination absorptions at approximately 2.3 microns, as well as the first C-H stretching overtones at 1.6 to 1.7 microns, and even the second stretching overtones at 1.2+ microns. Additionally, the spectral properties of these organic materials have applications to remote sensing of terrestrial environments, including hazardous waste and disaster site characterization.

Goal-Directed Visual Processing Differentially Impacts Human Ventral and Dorsal Visual Representations

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Recent studies have challenged the ventral/“what” and dorsal/“where” two-visual-processing-pathway view by showing the existence of “what” and “where” information in both pathways. Is the two-pathway distinction still valid? Here, we examined how goal-directed visual information processing may differentially impact visual representations in these two pathways. Using fMRI and multivariate pattern analysis, in three experiments on human participants (57% females), by manipulating whether color or shape was task-relevant and how they were conjoined, we examined shape-based object category decoding in occipitotemporal and parietal regions. We found that object category representations in all the regions examined were influenced by whether or not object shape was task-relevant. This task effect, however, tended to decrease as task-relevant and irrelevant features were more integrated, reflecting the well-known object-based feature encoding. Interestingly, task relevance played a relatively minor role in driving the representational structures of early visual and ventral object regions. They were driven predominantly by variations in object shapes. In contrast, the effect of task was much greater in dorsal than ventral regions, with object category and task relevance both contributing significantly to the representational structures of the dorsal regions. These results showed that, whereas visual representations in the ventral pathway are more invariant and reflect “what an object is,” those in the dorsal pathway are more adaptive and reflect “what we do with it.” Thus, despite the existence of “what” and “where” information in both visual processing pathways, the two pathways may still differ fundamentally in their roles in visual information representation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual information is thought to be processed in two distinctive pathways: the ventral pathway that processes “what” an object is and the dorsal pathway that processes “where” it is located. This view has been challenged by recent studies revealing the existence of “what” and “where” information in both pathways. Here, we found that goal-directed visual information processing differentially modulates shape-based object category representations in the two pathways. Whereas ventral representations are more invariant to the demand of the task, reflecting what an object is, dorsal representations are more adaptive, reflecting what we do with the object. Thus, despite the existence of “what” and “where” information in both pathways, visual representations may still differ fundamentally in the two pathways. PMID:28821655

Rally effects, threat, and attitude change: an integrative approach to understanding the role of emotion.

PubMed

Lambert, Alan J; Scherer, Laura D; Schott, John Paul; Olson, Kristina R; Andrews, Rick K; O'Brien, Thomas C; Zisser, Alison R

2010-06-01

Rally 'round the flag effects (J. E. Mueller, 1970) represent sudden and dramatically powerful situation-specific shifts in attitudes toward the American president. However, the extant literature has yet to fully clarify the nature of the psychological dynamics associated with this effect. These ambiguities reflect fundamental differences of opinion among scholars on some very basic questions such as whether overtly experienced emotion should mediate these attitudinal shifts or whether these changes reflect more general shifts in conservative ideology. Across 4 experiments, the authors sought to gain greater clarity on these and other important matters using a multimethod approach in which the authors varied whether participants viewed documentary footage of the 9/11 attacks (Experiments 1-2), generated autobiographical memories of that event (Experiment 3), or retrieved nonpolitical memories from their past (Experiment 4). The authors discuss the relevance of the present findings for theory and research across a variety of different theoretical and methodological paradigms, including social psychological models of threat, emotional appraisal models, and the political science literature. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Bioethics for clinicians: 27. Catholic bioethics

PubMed Central

Markwell, Hazel J.; Brown, Barry F.

2001-01-01

THERE IS A LONG TRADITION OF BIOETHICAL REASONING within the Roman Catholic faith, a tradition expressed in scripture, the writings of the Doctors of the Church, papal encyclical documents and reflections by contemporary Catholic theologians. Catholic bioethics is concerned with a broad range of issues, including social justice and the right to health care, the duty to preserve life and the limits of that duty, the ethics of human reproduction and end-of-life decisions. Fundamental to Catholic bioethics is a belief in the sanctity of life and a metaphysical conception of the person as a composite of body and soul. Although there is considerable consensus among Catholic thinkers, differences in philosophical approach have given rise to some diversity of opinion with respect to specific issues. Given the influential history of Catholic reflection on ethical matters, the number of people in Canada who profess to be Catholic, and the continuing presence of Catholic health care institutions, it is helpful for clinicians to be familiar with the central tenets of this tradition while respecting the differing perspectives of patients who identify themselves as Catholic. PMID:11501460

Taking a Stand: The Next 50 Years of Community Psychology.

PubMed

Brodsky, Anne E

2016-12-01

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of community psychology, the author looks backwards in community psychology literature and to each side in other allied disciplines to suggest three fundamental issues that are in need of critical reflection and re-evaluation as we move toward the next 50 plus years of our field. These fundamental issues are: Defining community psychology, Doing community psychology, and Perfecting community psychology. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

The alliance in reflective supervision: a commentary on Tomlin, Weatherston, and Pavkov's critical components of reflective supervision.

PubMed

Watkins, C Edward

2015-01-01

What are the critical components of reflective supervision? In this commentary, I offer a complementary perspective on A.M. Tomlin, D.J. Weatherston, and T. Pavkov's (2014) seminal study about that very question. I consider their findings within the context of what we now know about the supervisory alliance-a highly robust, heuristic, and eminently practical construct that appears to capture the spirit of reflection, collaboration, and regularity at its best. Matters of alliance theory, practice, and research are briefly addressed, and effort is made to consider the implications of the supervisory alliance as fundamental, foundational, and quintessentially organizational for reflective supervision practice. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Gaussian-reflectivity mirror resonator for a high-power transverse-flow CO2 laser.

PubMed

Ling, Dongxiong; Chen, Junruo; Li, Junchang

2006-05-01

A Gaussian-reflectivity mirror resonator is proposed to achieve high-quality laser beams. To analyze the laser fields in a Gaussian-reflectivity mirror resonator, the diffraction integral equations of a Gaussian-reflectivity mirror resonator are converted to the finite-sum matrix equations. Consequently, according to the Fox-Li laser self-reproducing principle, we describe the mode fields and their losses in the proposed resonator as eigenvectors and eigenvalues of a transfer matrix. The conclusion can be drawn from the numerical results that, if a Gaussian-reflectivity mirror is adopted for a plano-concave resonator, a fundamental mode can easily be obtained from a transverse-flow CO2 laser and high-quality laser beams can be expected.

78 FR 44627 - HOME Investment Partnerships Program: Improving Performance and Accountability; Updating Property...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-24

... (Faith-Based Activities) to reflect the amendments made by Executive Order 13559 (Fundamental Principles... several important values and principles of community development. First, the HOME program's flexibility is...

Decision Making and Priority Setting: The Evolving Path Towards Universal Health Coverage.

PubMed

Paolucci, Francesco; Redekop, Ken; Fouda, Ayman; Fiorentini, Gianluca

2017-12-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) is widely viewed as an essential component in good universal health coverage (UHC) decision-making in any country. Various HTA tools and metrics have been developed and refined over the years, including systematic literature reviews (Cochrane), economic modelling, and cost-effectiveness ratios and acceptability curves. However, while the cost-effectiveness ratio is faithfully reported in most full economic evaluations, it is viewed by many as an insufficient basis for reimbursement decisions. Emotional debates about the reimbursement of cancer drugs, orphan drugs, and end-of-life treatments have revealed fundamental disagreements about what should and should not be considered in reimbursement decisions. Part of this disagreement seems related to the equity-efficiency tradeoff, which reflects fundamental differences in priorities. All in all, it is clear that countries aiming to improve UHC policies will have to go beyond the capacity building needed to utilize the available HTA toolbox. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) offers a more comprehensive tool for reimbursement decisions where different weights of different factors/attributes can give policymakers important insights to consider. Sooner or later, every country will have to develop their own way to carefully combine the results of those tools with their own priorities. In the end, all policymaking is based on a mix of facts and values.

Environmentally Controlled Infrared Spectroscopy System for Fundamental Studies of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-15

to state-of- hydration . Polarization modulated infrared reflection- absorption spectroscopy experiments are enabled by the use of a spin-coater to coat...NAME(S) AND ADDRESS (ES) U.S. Army Research Office P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 SPEEK, Nafion, Ionomers, state-of- hydration ...enabled correlation of the exchange site structure to state-of- hydration . Polarization modulated infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy experiments

Rogue waves in the Davey-Stewartson I equation.

PubMed

Ohta, Yasuhiro; Yang, Jianke

2012-09-01

General rogue waves in the Davey-Stewartson-I equation are derived by the bilinear method. It is shown that the simplest (fundamental) rogue waves are line rogue waves which arise from the constant background with a line profile and then disappear into the constant background again. It is also shown that multirogue waves describe the interaction of several fundamental rogue waves. These multirogue waves also arise from the constant background and then decay back to it, but in the intermediate times, interesting curvy wave patterns appear. However, higher-order rogue waves exhibit different dynamics. Specifically, only part of the wave structure in the higher-order rogue waves rises from the constant background and then retreats back to it, and this transient wave possesses patterns such as parabolas. But the other part of the wave structure comes from the far distance as a localized lump, which decelerates to the near field and interacts with the transient rogue wave, and is then reflected back and accelerates to the large distance again.

Relationship of Various Open Quotients With Acoustic Property, Phonation Types, Fundamental Frequency, and Intensity.

PubMed

Yokonishi, Hisayuki; Imagawa, Hiroshi; Sakakibara, Ken-Ichi; Yamauchi, Akihito; Nito, Takaharu; Yamasoba, Tatsuya; Tayama, Niro

2016-03-01

In the present study, we examined the relationship between various open quotients (Oqs) and phonation types, fundamental frequency (F0), and intensity by multivariate linear regression analysis (MVA) to determine which Oq best reflects vocal fold vibratory characteristics. Using high-speed digital imaging (HSDI), a sustained vowel /e/ at different phonation types, F0s, and intensities was recorded from six vocally healthy male volunteers: the types of phonation included modal, falsetto, modal breathy, and modal pressed phonations; and each phonation was performed at different F0s and intensities. Electroglottography (EGG) and sound signals were simultaneously recorded with HSDI. From the obtained data, 10 conventional Oqs (four Oqs from the glottal area function, four kymographic Oqs, and two EGG-derived Oqs) and two newly introduced Oqs (Oq(edge)+ and Oq(edge)) were evaluated. And, relationships between various Oqs and phonation types, F0, and intensity were evaluated by MVA. Among the various Oqs, Oq(edge)+ and Oq(edge) revealed the strongest correlations with an acoustic property and could best describe changes in phonation types: Oq(edge) was found to be better than Oq(edge)¯. Oq(MLK), the average of five Oqs from five-line multiline kymography was a very good alternative to Oq(edge)¯. EGG-derived Oqs were able to differentiate between modal phonation and falsetto phonation, but it was necessary to consider the change of F0 simultaneously. MVA showed the changes in Oq values between modal and other phonation types, the degree of involvement of intensity, and no relationship between F0 and Oqs. Among Oqs evaluated in this study, Oq(edge)+ and Oq(edge) were considered to best reflect the vocal fold vibratory characteristics. Copyright © 2016 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Universal spin-momentum locked optical forces

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

Kalhor, Farid; Thundat, Thomas; Jacob, Zubin, E-mail: zjacob@purdue.edu

2016-02-08

Evanescent electromagnetic waves possess spin-momentum locking, where the direction of propagation (momentum) is locked to the inherent polarization of the wave (transverse spin). We study the optical forces arising from this universal phenomenon and show that the fundamental origin of recently reported non-trivial optical chiral forces is spin-momentum locking. For evanescent waves, we show that the direction of energy flow, the direction of decay, and the direction of spin follow a right hand rule for three different cases of total internal reflection, surface plasmon polaritons, and HE{sub 11} mode of an optical fiber. Furthermore, we explain how the recently reportedmore » phenomena of lateral optical force on chiral and achiral particles are caused by the transverse spin of the evanescent field and the spin-momentum locking phenomenon. Finally, we propose an experiment to identify the unique lateral forces arising from the transverse spin in the optical fiber and point to fundamental differences of the spin density from the well-known orbital angular momentum of light. Our work presents a unified view on spin-momentum locking and how it affects optical forces on chiral and achiral particles.« less

Clinical modeling--a critical analysis.

PubMed

Blobel, Bernd; Goossen, William; Brochhausen, Mathias

2014-01-01

Modeling clinical processes (and their informational representation) is a prerequisite for optimally enabling and supporting high quality and safe care through information and communication technology and meaningful use of gathered information. The paper investigates existing approaches to clinical modeling, thereby systematically analyzing the underlying principles, the consistency with and the integration opportunity to other existing or emerging projects, as well as the correctness of representing the reality of health and health services. The analysis is performed using an architectural framework for modeling real-world systems. In addition, fundamental work on the representation of facts, relations, and processes in the clinical domain by ontologies is applied, thereby including the integration of advanced methodologies such as translational and system medicine. The paper demonstrates fundamental weaknesses and different maturity as well as evolutionary potential in the approaches considered. It offers a development process starting with the business domain and its ontologies, continuing with the Reference Model-Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) related conceptual models in the ICT ontology space, the information and the computational view, and concluding with the implementation details represented as engineering and technology view, respectively. The existing approaches reflect at different levels the clinical domain, put the main focus on different phases of the development process instead of first establishing the real business process representation and therefore enable quite differently and partially limitedly the domain experts' involvement. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Focusing hard x rays beyond the critical angle of total reflection by adiabatically focusing lenses

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

Patommel, Jens; Klare, Susanne; Hoppe, Robert

In response to the conjecture that the numerical aperture of x-ray optics is fundamentally limited by the critical angle of total reflection, the concept of adiabatically focusing refractive lenses was proposed to overcome this limit. Here, we present an experimental realization of these optics made of silicon and demonstrate that they indeed focus 20 keV x rays to a 18.4 nm focus with a numerical aperture of 1.73(9) × 10 –3 that clearly exceeds the critical angle of total reflection of 1.55 mrad.

Excitonic and band-band transitions of Cu2ZnSiS4 determined from reflectivity spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guc, M.; Levcenko, S.; Dermenji, L.; Gurieva, G.; Schorr, S.; Syrbu, N. N.; Arushanov, E.

2014-07-01

Exciton spectra of Cu2ZnSiS4 single crystals are investigated by reflection spectroscopy at 10 and 300 K for light polarized perpendicular (E⊥c) and parallel (E∥c) to the optical axis. The parameters of the excitons and dielectric constant are determined. The free carriers effective masses have been estimated. The room temperature reflectivity spectra at photon energies higher than the fundamental band gap in the polarization Е⊥с and E∥с were measured and related to the electronic band structure of Cu2ZnSiS4.

Focusing hard x rays beyond the critical angle of total reflection by adiabatically focusing lenses

DOE PAGES

Patommel, Jens; Klare, Susanne; Hoppe, Robert; ...

2017-03-06

In response to the conjecture that the numerical aperture of x-ray optics is fundamentally limited by the critical angle of total reflection, the concept of adiabatically focusing refractive lenses was proposed to overcome this limit. Here, we present an experimental realization of these optics made of silicon and demonstrate that they indeed focus 20 keV x rays to a 18.4 nm focus with a numerical aperture of 1.73(9) × 10 –3 that clearly exceeds the critical angle of total reflection of 1.55 mrad.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) liver imaging reporting and data system (LI-RADS) 2017 – a review of important differences compared to the CT/MRI system

PubMed Central

Noh, Seung Yeon; Wilson, Stephanie R; Kono, Yuko; Piscaglia, Fabio; Jang, Hyun-Jung; Lyshchik, Andrej; Dietrich, Christoph F.; Willmann, Juergen K.; Vezeridis, Alexander; Sirlin, Claude B

2017-01-01

Medical imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) was initially created to standardize the reporting and data collection of CT and MR imaging for patients at risk for HCC. As contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been widely used in clinical practice, it has recently been added to the LI-RADS. While CEUS LI-RADS shares fundamental concepts with CT/MRI LI-RADS, there are key differences between the modalities reflecting dissimilarities in the underlying methods of image acquisition and types of contrast material. This review introduces a recent update of CEUS LI-RADS and explains the key differences from CT/MRI LI-RADS. PMID:28911220

Differences in Arithmetic Performance between Chinese and German Children Are Accompanied by Differences in Processing of Symbolic Numerical Magnitude

PubMed Central

Lonnemann, Jan; Linkersdörfer, Janosch; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Lindberg, Sven

2016-01-01

Symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills are assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning. It is, however, still an open question whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills. To address this issue, Chinese and German third graders were compared regarding their performance in arithmetic tasks and in a symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese children performed better in the arithmetic tasks and were faster in deciding which one of two Arabic numbers was numerically larger. The group difference in symbolic numerical magnitude processing was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks. We assume that a higher degree of familiarity with arithmetic in Chinese compared to German children leads to a higher speed of retrieving symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge. PMID:27630606

Education effects on authoritarian-libertarian values: a question of socialization.

PubMed

Stubager, Rune

2008-06-01

Over the past decades an authoritarian-libertarian value dimension has become increasingly important to electoral behaviour across western countries. Previous analyses have shown that education is the most important social antecedent of individuals' positions on this value dimension; high education groups tend towards the libertarian pole and low education groups tend towards the authoritarian pole. It remains an open question, however, what aspects of education cause this relationship. The article examines a range of explanatory models: a psychodynamic, a cognitive, a socialization, and an allocation effects model. The results strongly favour the socialization model in which the relationship between education and authoritarian-libertarian values is explained as a result of differences in the value sets transferred to students in different educational milieus. The value differences between the educational groups should thus not be seen as reflecting economic differences between the groups but rather as the result of a more fundamental value conflict.

Depositional and erosional architectures of gravelly braid bar formed by a flood in the Abe River, central Japan, inferred from a three-dimensional ground-penetrating radar analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okazaki, Hiroko; Kwak, Youngjoo; Tamura, Toru

2015-07-01

We conducted a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey of gravelly braid bars in the Abe River, central Japan, to clarify the three-dimensional (3D) variations in their depositional facies under various geomorphologic conditions. In September 2011, a ten-year return-period flood in the study area reworked and deposited braid bars. After the flood, we surveyed three bars with different geomorphologies using a GPR system with a 250-MHz antenna and identified seven fundamental radar depositional facies: Inclined reflections (facies Ia and Ib), horizontal to subhorizontal reflections (facies IIa and IIb), discontinuous reflections (facies IIIa and IIIb), and facies assemblage with a large-scale channel-shaped lower boundary (facies IV). Combinations of these facies indicate bar formation processes: channel filling, lateral aggradation, and lateral and downstream accretion. In the Abe River, aerial photographs and airborne laser scanning data were obtained before and after the flood. The observed changes of the surface topography are consistent with the subsurface results seen in the GPR sections. This study demonstrated that the erosional and depositional architecture observed among bars with different channel styles was related to river width and represented depositional processes for high-sediment discharge. The quantitative characterizations of the sedimentary architecture will be useful for interpreting gravelly fluvial deposits in the rock record.

Automatic processing of political preferences in the human brain.

PubMed

Tusche, Anita; Kahnt, Thorsten; Wisniewski, David; Haynes, John-Dylan

2013-05-15

Individual political preferences as expressed, for instance, in votes or donations are fundamental to democratic societies. However, the relevance of deliberative processing for political preferences has been highly debated, putting automatic processes in the focus of attention. Based on this notion, the present study tested whether brain responses reflect participants' preferences for politicians and their associated political parties in the absence of explicit deliberation and attention. Participants were instructed to perform a demanding visual fixation task while their brain responses were measured using fMRI. Occasionally, task-irrelevant images of German politicians from two major competing parties were presented in the background while the distraction task was continued. Subsequent to scanning, participants' political preferences for these politicians and their affiliated parties were obtained. Brain responses in distinct brain areas predicted automatic political preferences at the different levels of abstraction: activation in the ventral striatum was positively correlated with preference ranks for unattended politicians, whereas participants' preferences for the affiliated political parties were reflected in activity in the insula and the cingulate cortex. Using an additional donation task, we showed that the automatic preference-related processing in the brain extended to real-world behavior that involved actual financial loss to participants. Together, these findings indicate that brain responses triggered by unattended and task-irrelevant political images reflect individual political preferences at different levels of abstraction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Functional groups of ecosystem engineers: a proposed classification with comments on current issues.

PubMed

Berke, Sarah K

2010-08-01

Ecologists have long known that certain organisms fundamentally modify, create, or define habitats by altering the habitat's physical properties. In the past 15 years, these processes have been formally defined as "ecosystem engineering", reflecting a growing consensus that environmental structuring by organisms represents a fundamental class of ecological interactions occurring in most, if not all, ecosystems. Yet, the precise definition and scope of ecosystem engineering remains debated, as one should expect given the complexity, enormity, and variability of ecological systems. Here I briefly comment on a few specific current points of contention in the ecosystem engineering concept. I then suggest that ecosystem engineering can be profitably subdivided into four narrower functional categories reflecting four broad mechanisms by which ecosystem engineering occurs: structural engineers, bioturbators, chemical engineers, and light engineers. Finally, I suggest some conceptual model frameworks that could apply broadly within these functional groups.

Gilligan's different voice: a perspective for nursing.

PubMed

Cooper, M C

1989-01-01

This article proposes that Carol Gilligan's ethic of care provides for nursing a paradigm for moral deliberation that demonstrates compatibility with nursing's historical and philosophical traditions of relational caring and furnishes empirical support for the value of caring as a moral activity. The appropriateness of Gilligan's theory for nursing is further illustrated by an elucidation of the similarities between Gilligan's theory and nurse theorist Jean Watson's claims that caring constitutes both a necessary and a fundamental component of nursing. It is argued that Gilligan's theory of moral deliberation more faithfully reflects the nursing experience than Kohlberg's contractual, Kantian theory, which currently dominates the nursing literature.

[Sampling in qualitative research: basic principles and some controversies].

PubMed

Martínez-Salgado, Carolina

2012-03-01

This paper presents the rationale for the choice of participants in qualitative research in contrast with that of probability sampling principles in epidemiological research. For a better understanding of the differences, concepts of nomothetic and ideographic generalizability, as well as those of transferability and reflexivity, are proposed, Fundamentals of the main types of sampling commonly used in qualitative research, and the meaning of the concept of saturation are mentioned. Finally, some reflections on the controversies that have arisen in recent years on various paradigmatic perspectives from which to conduct qualitative research, their possibilities of combination with epidemiological research, and some implications for the study of health issues are presented.

Solvent effects in time-dependent self-consistent field methods. I. Optical response calculations

DOE PAGES

Bjorgaard, J. A.; Kuzmenko, V.; Velizhanin, K. A.; ...

2015-01-22

In this study, we implement and examine three excited state solvent models in time-dependent self-consistent field methods using a consistent formalism which unambiguously shows their relationship. These are the linear response, state specific, and vertical excitation solvent models. Their effects on energies calculated with the equivalent of COSMO/CIS/AM1 are given for a set of test molecules with varying excited state charge transfer character. The resulting solvent effects are explained qualitatively using a dipole approximation. It is shown that the fundamental differences between these solvent models are reflected by the character of the calculated excitations.

The Absolute Reflectance and New Calibration Site of the Moon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yunzhao; Wang, Zhenchao; Cai, Wei; Lu, Yu

2018-05-01

How bright the Moon is forms a simple but fundamental and important question. Although numerous efforts have been made to answer this question such as use of sophisticated electro-optical measurements and suggestions for calibration sites, the answer is still debated. An in situ measurement with a calibration panel on the surface of the Moon is crucial for obtaining the accurate absolute reflectance and resolving the debate. China’s Chang’E-3 (CE-3) “Yutu” rover accomplished this type of measurement using the Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS). The measurements of the VNIS, which were at large emission and phase angles, complement existing measurements for the range of photometric geometry. The in situ reflectance shows that the CE-3 landing site is very dark with an average reflectance of 3.86% in the visible bands. The results are compared with recent mission instruments: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC), the Spectral Profiler (SP) on board the SELENE, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) on board the Chandrayaan-1, and the Chang’E-1 Interference Imaging Spectrometer (IIM). The differences in the measurements of these instruments are very large and indicate inherent differences in their absolute calibration. The M3 and IIM measurements are smaller than LROC WAC and SP, and the VNIS measurement falls between these two pairs. When using the Moon as a radiance source for the on-orbit calibration of spacecraft instruments, one should be cautious about the data. We propose that the CE-3 landing site, a young and homogeneous surface, should serve as the new calibration site.

Femtosecond pulse inscription of a selective mode filter in large mode area fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krämer, Ria G.; Voigtländer, Christian; Freier, Erik; Liem, Andreas; Thomas, Jens U.; Richter, Daniel; Schreiber, Thomas; Tünnermann, Andreas; Nolte, Stefan

2013-02-01

We present a selective mode filter inscribed with ultrashort pulses directly into a few mode large mode area (LMA) fiber. The mode filter consists of two refractive index modifications alongside the fiber core in the cladding. The refractive index modifications, which were of approximately the same order of magnitude as the refractive index difference between core and cladding have been inscribed by nonlinear absorption of femtosecond laser pulses (800 nm wavelength, 120 fs pulse duration). If light is guided in the core, it will interact with the inscribed modifications causing modes to be coupled out of the core. In order to characterize the mode filter, we used a femtosecond inscribed fiber Bragg grating (FBG), which acts as a wavelength and therefore mode selective element in the LMA fiber. Since each mode has different Bragg reflection wavelengths, an FBG in a multimode fiber will exhibit multiple Bragg reflection peaks. In our experiments, we first inscribed the FBG using the phase mask scanning technique. Then the mode filter was inscribed. The reflection spectrum of the FBG was measured in situ during the inscription process using a supercontinuum source. The reflectivities of the LP01 and LP11 modes show a dependency on the length of the mode filter. Two stages of the filter were obtained: one, in which the LP11 mode was reduced by 60% and one where the LP01 mode was reduced by 80%. The other mode respectively showed almost no losses. In conclusion, we could selectively filter either the fundamental or higher order modes.

Fundamental physical theories: Mathematical structures grounded on a primitive ontology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allori, Valia

In my dissertation I analyze the structure of fundamental physical theories. I start with an analysis of what an adequate primitive ontology is, discussing the measurement problem in quantum mechanics and theirs solutions. It is commonly said that these theories have little in common. I argue instead that the moral of the measurement problem is that the wave function cannot represent physical objects and a common structure between these solutions can be recognized: each of them is about a clear three-dimensional primitive ontology that evolves according to a law determined by the wave function. The primitive ontology is what matter is made of while the wave function tells the matter how to move. One might think that what is important in the notion of primitive ontology is their three-dimensionality. If so, in a theory like classical electrodynamics electromagnetic fields would be part of the primitive ontology. I argue that, reflecting on what the purpose of a fundamental physical theory is, namely to explain the behavior of objects in three-dimensional space, one can recognize that a fundamental physical theory has a particular architecture. If so, electromagnetic fields play a different role in the theory than the particles and therefore should be considered, like the wave function, as part of the law. Therefore, we can characterize the general structure of a fundamental physical theory as a mathematical structure grounded on a primitive ontology. I explore this idea to better understand theories like classical mechanics and relativity, emphasizing that primitive ontology is crucial in the process of building new theories, being fundamental in identifying the symmetries. Finally, I analyze what it means to explain the word around us in terms of the notion of primitive ontology in the case of regularities of statistical character. Here is where the notion of typicality comes into play: we have explained a phenomenon if the typical histories of the primitive ontology give rise to the statistical regularities we observe.

A new fundamental type of conformational isomerism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canfield, Peter J.; Blake, Iain M.; Cai, Zheng-Li; Luck, Ian J.; Krausz, Elmars; Kobayashi, Rika; Reimers, Jeffrey R.; Crossley, Maxwell J.

2018-06-01

Isomerism is a fundamental chemical concept, reflecting the fact that the arrangement of atoms in a molecular entity has a profound influence on its chemical and physical properties. Here we describe a previously unclassified fundamental form of conformational isomerism through four resolved stereoisomers of a transoid (BF)O(BF)-quinoxalinoporphyrin. These comprise two pairs of enantiomers that manifest structural relationships not describable within existing IUPAC nomenclature and terminology. They undergo thermal diastereomeric interconversion over a barrier of 104 ± 2 kJ mol-1, which we term `akamptisomerization'. Feasible interconversion processes between conceivable synthesis products and reaction intermediates were mapped out by density functional theory calculations, identifying bond-angle inversion (BAI) at a singly bonded atom as the reaction mechanism. We also introduce the necessary BAI stereodescriptors parvo and amplo. Based on an extended polytope formalism of molecular structure and stereoisomerization, BAI-driven akamptisomerization is shown to be the final fundamental type of conformational isomerization.

Reconnaissance profiles with WLP in complex geological regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michon, Dominique

1993-04-01

3-D has now become an essential technique for subsurface imaging. Until recently, it was predominantly employed for reservoir description, but is now starting to be used for exploration. However, in crustal seismic, it would seem that such a tool is still far from being cost-effective. WLP, or Wide Line Profiling, developed by CGG in 1973, is an attractive alternative which we shall examine. First, we shall examine why 3-D is so difficult to apply, for both financial and technical reasons. Next, we shall study the principle of WLP, and emphasize the fundamental differences between WLP and 3-D. We shall then study the resulting data processing and parameters. Using a set of examples, we shall also examine the special characteristics of the method and the advantages that it can offer: (1) 3-D analysis of reflections on a 2-D section. (2) Avoiding interference between reflections. (3) Highlighting faults or folds. (4) For continuous horizons, positioning reflection points. (5) Possibility of mapping in depth, whether in migrated time or not, the swaths explored by the seismic line. (6) Improving the quality of the standard time section by noise reduction.

St. Augustine's Reflections on Memory and Time and the Current Concept of Subjective Time in Mental Time Travel.

PubMed

Manning, Liliann; Cassel, Daniel; Cassel, Jean-Christophe

2013-06-01

Reconstructing the past and anticipating the future, i.e., the ability of travelling in mental time, is thought to be at the heart of consciousness and, by the same token, at the center of human cognition. This extraordinary mental activity is possible thanks to the ability of being aware of 'subjective time'. In the present study, we attempt to trace back the first recorded reflections on the relations between time and memory, to the end of the fourth century's work, the Confessions, by the theologian and philosopher, St. Augustine. We concentrate on Book 11, where he extensively developed a series of articulated and detailed observations on memory and time. On the bases of selected paragraphs, we endeavor to highlight some concepts that may be considered as the product of the first or, at least, very early reflections related to our current notions of subjective time in mental time travel. We also draw a fundamental difference inherent to the frameworks within which the questions were raised. The contribution of St. Augustine on time and memory remains significant, notwithstanding the 16 centuries elapsed since it was made, likely because of the universality of its contents.

Theoretical and experimental studies of hyperreflective polymer-network cholesteric liquid crystal structures with helicity inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tasolamprou, A. C.; Mitov, M.; Zografopoulos, D. C.; Kriezis, E. E.

2009-03-01

Single-layer cholesteric liquid crystals exhibit a reflection coefficient which is at most 50% for unpolarized incident light. We give theoretical and experimental evidence of single-layer polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid-crystalline structures that demonstrate hyper-reflective properties. Such original features are derived by the concurrent and randomly interlaced presence of both helicities. The fundamental properties of such structures are revealed by detailed numerical simulations based on a stochastic approach.

Squeezing of Light via Reflection from a Silicon Micromechanical Resonator

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-14

Hz. Laser phase noise on the signal beam can be converted to intensity noise by reflection from the dispersive cavity or due to frequency dependent...Figure A6: Experimental setup for characterization of intensity and phase noise. The laser is amplitude stabilized and an attenuator is used to select...nm thick silicon de- vice layer of a silicon-on-insulator microchip (see Fig. 1a). The in-plane differential motion of the two beams at a fundamental

Concert halls with strong lateral reflections enhance musical dynamics.

PubMed

Pätynen, Jukka; Tervo, Sakari; Robinson, Philip W; Lokki, Tapio

2014-03-25

One of the most thrilling cultural experiences is to hear live symphony-orchestra music build up from a whispering passage to a monumental fortissimo. The impact of such a crescendo has been thought to depend only on the musicians' skill, but here we show that interactions between the concert-hall acoustics and listeners' hearing also play a major role in musical dynamics. These interactions contribute to the shoebox-type concert hall's established success, but little prior research has been devoted to dynamic expression in this three-part transmission chain as a complete system. More forceful orchestral playing disproportionately excites high frequency harmonics more than those near the note's fundamental. This effect results in not only more sound energy, but also a different tone color. The concert hall transmits this sound, and the room geometry defines from which directions acoustic reflections arrive at the listener. Binaural directional hearing emphasizes high frequencies more when sound arrives from the sides of the head rather than from the median plane. Simultaneously, these same frequencies are emphasized by higher orchestral-playing dynamics. When the room geometry provides reflections from these directions, the perceived dynamic range is enhanced. Current room-acoustic evaluation methods assume linear behavior and thus neglect this effect. The hypothesis presented here is that the auditory excitation by reflections is emphasized with an orchestra forte most in concert halls with strong lateral reflections. The enhanced dynamic range provides an explanation for the success of rectangularly shaped concert-hall geometry.

Scattering of three-dimensional plane waves in a self-reinforced half-space lying over a triclinic half-space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Shishir; Pramanik, Abhijit; Smita; Pramanik, Snehamoy

2018-06-01

The phenomenon of plane waves at the intersecting plane of a triclinic half-space and a self-reinforced half-space is discussed with possible applications during wave propagation. Analytical expressions of the phase velocities of reflection and refraction for quasi-compressional and quasi-shear waves under initial stress are discussed carefully. The closest form of amplitude proportions on reflection and refraction factors of three quasi-plane waves are developed mathematically by applying appropriate boundary conditions. Graphics are sketched to exhibit the consequences of initial stress in the three-dimensional plane wave on reflection and refraction coefficients. Some special cases that coincide with the fundamental properties of several layers are designed to express the reflection and refraction coefficients.

[Man's place and anthropology in bioethics].

PubMed

Tomar Romero, Francisca

2013-01-01

From the analysis of its epistemological status, the article focuses on the philosophical fundament of bioethics, stressing the need for an authentic anthropology as a reference or starting point. Being an applied ethics, the first fundament of bioethics is in ethics. It shows how only personalistic ethics, which takes as reference the nature or essence of man, can offer objective and universal criteria. Philosophical anthropology studies man as a whole, in an integral manner, from the perspective of its nature or fundamental aspects of his being. It analyzes the distinction and relationship between the philosophical anthropology and the positive anthropologies, as well as with the physical, human and social sciences. Finally, it reflects on the current anthropological crisis and its ethical consequences.

'Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him': a critical reconstruction of Winnicott's theory of value.

PubMed

Groarke, Steven

2016-08-01

This paper extrapolates an outline for a theory of value from Winnicott's reflections on war in 'Discussion of war aims' (1940). The author treats Winnicott's discussion as an occasion for a critical reconstruction of his theory of life-values. He discerns an implicit set of distinctions in Winnicott's reflections on war, including different orders of value (existential, ethical, and psychosocial); a distinction between maturity and necessity; and a yet more fundamental distinction between violence and brutality. The paper argues, on the basis of these distinctions, that Winnicott allows for an understanding of one's encounter with the enemy as an ethical relation. The main argument of the paper is that the ethical attitude underpins recognition of the enemy's humanity. On a more critical note, the author argues that Winnicott doesn't adhere consistently to the ethical attitude he presupposes, that in certain passages he privileges the maturity of combatants over the humanity of the enemy. Copyright © 2015 Institute of Psychoanalysis.

Consideration of Dynamical Balances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Errico, Ronald M.

2015-01-01

The quasi-balance of extra-tropical tropospheric dynamics is a fundamental aspect of nature. If an atmospheric analysis does not reflect such balance sufficiently well, the subsequent forecast will exhibit unrealistic behavior associated with spurious fast-propagating gravity waves. Even if these eventually damp, they can create poor background fields for a subsequent analysis or interact with moist physics to create spurious precipitation. The nature of this problem will be described along with the reasons for atmospheric balance and techniques for mitigating imbalances. Attention will be focused on fundamental issues rather than on recipes for various techniques.

Predictive information processing is a fundamental learning mechanism present in early development: evidence from infants.

PubMed

Trainor, Laurel J

2012-02-01

Evidence is presented that predictive coding is fundamental to brain function and present in early infancy. Indeed, mismatch responses to unexpected auditory stimuli are among the earliest robust cortical event-related potential responses, and have been measured in young infants in response to many types of deviation, including in pitch, timing, and melodic pattern. Furthermore, mismatch responses change quickly with specific experience, suggesting that predictive coding reflects a powerful, early-developing learning mechanism. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nondestructive Electromagnetic Characterization of Uniaxial Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-18

architecture and the chemical composition.” It is also well-understood that metamaterials are man-made materials which possess physical characteristics...Negative-refraction metamaterials: fundamental principles and applications. Wiley-IEEE Press, 2005. [38] Engen , Glenn F and Cletus A Hoer. “Thru-reflect

Accuracy improvement in measurement of arterial wall elasticity by applying pulse inversion to phased-tracking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyachi, Yukiya; Arakawa, Mototaka; Kanai, Hiroshi

2018-07-01

In our studies on ultrasonic elasticity assessment, minute change in the thickness of the arterial wall was measured by the phased-tracking method. However, most images in carotid artery examinations contain multiple-reflection noise, making it difficult to evaluate arterial wall elasticity precisely. In the present study, a modified phased-tracking method using the pulse inversion method was examined to reduce the influence of the multiple-reflection noise. Moreover, aliasing in the harmonic components was corrected by the fundamental components. The conventional and proposed methods were applied to a pulsated tube phantom mimicking the arterial wall. For the conventional method, the elasticity was 298 kPa without multiple-reflection noise and 353 kPa with multiple-reflection noise on the posterior wall. That of the proposed method was 302 kPa without multiple-reflection noise and 297 kPa with multiple-reflection noise on the posterior wall. Therefore, the proposed method was very robust against multiple-reflection noise.

Individual differences in fundamental social motives.

PubMed

Neel, Rebecca; Kenrick, Douglas T; White, Andrew Edward; Neuberg, Steven L

2016-06-01

Motivation has long been recognized as an important component of how people both differ from, and are similar to, each other. The current research applies the biologically grounded fundamental social motives framework, which assumes that human motivational systems are functionally shaped to manage the major costs and benefits of social life, to understand individual differences in social motives. Using the Fundamental Social Motives Inventory, we explore the relations among the different fundamental social motives of Self-Protection, Disease Avoidance, Affiliation, Status, Mate Seeking, Mate Retention, and Kin Care; the relationships of the fundamental social motives to other individual difference and personality measures including the Big Five personality traits; the extent to which fundamental social motives are linked to recent life experiences; and the extent to which life history variables (e.g., age, sex, childhood environment) predict individual differences in the fundamental social motives. Results suggest that the fundamental social motives are a powerful lens through which to examine individual differences: They are grounded in theory, have explanatory value beyond that of the Big Five personality traits, and vary meaningfully with a number of life history variables. A fundamental social motives approach provides a generative framework for considering the meaning and implications of individual differences in social motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Reflectance Prediction Modelling for Residual-Based Hyperspectral Image Coding

PubMed Central

Xiao, Rui; Gao, Junbin; Bossomaier, Terry

2016-01-01

A Hyperspectral (HS) image provides observational powers beyond human vision capability but represents more than 100 times the data compared to a traditional image. To transmit and store the huge volume of an HS image, we argue that a fundamental shift is required from the existing “original pixel intensity”-based coding approaches using traditional image coders (e.g., JPEG2000) to the “residual”-based approaches using a video coder for better compression performance. A modified video coder is required to exploit spatial-spectral redundancy using pixel-level reflectance modelling due to the different characteristics of HS images in their spectral and shape domain of panchromatic imagery compared to traditional videos. In this paper a novel coding framework using Reflectance Prediction Modelling (RPM) in the latest video coding standard High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) for HS images is proposed. An HS image presents a wealth of data where every pixel is considered a vector for different spectral bands. By quantitative comparison and analysis of pixel vector distribution along spectral bands, we conclude that modelling can predict the distribution and correlation of the pixel vectors for different bands. To exploit distribution of the known pixel vector, we estimate a predicted current spectral band from the previous bands using Gaussian mixture-based modelling. The predicted band is used as the additional reference band together with the immediate previous band when we apply the HEVC. Every spectral band of an HS image is treated like it is an individual frame of a video. In this paper, we compare the proposed method with mainstream encoders. The experimental results are fully justified by three types of HS dataset with different wavelength ranges. The proposed method outperforms the existing mainstream HS encoders in terms of rate-distortion performance of HS image compression. PMID:27695102

Some See It, Some Don’t: Exploring the Relation between Inattentional Blindness and Personality Factors

PubMed Central

Kreitz, Carina; Schnuerch, Robert; Gibbons, Henning; Memmert, Daniel

2015-01-01

Human awareness is highly limited, which is vividly demonstrated by the phenomenon that unexpected objects go unnoticed when attention is focused elsewhere (inattentional blindness). Typically, some people fail to notice unexpected objects while others detect them instantaneously. Whether this pattern reflects stable individual differences is unclear to date. In particular, hardly anything is known about the influence of personality on the likelihood of inattentional blindness. To fill this empirical gap, we examined the role of multiple personality factors, namely the Big Five, BIS/BAS, absorption, achievement motivation, and schizotypy, in these failures of awareness. In a large-scale sample (N = 554), susceptibility to inattentional blindness was associated with a low level of openness to experience and marginally with a low level of achievement motivation. However, in a multiple regression analysis, only openness emerged as an independent, negative predictor. This suggests that the general tendency to be open to experience extends to the domain of perception. Our results complement earlier work on the possible link between inattentional blindness and personality by demonstrating, for the first time, that failures to consciously perceive unexpected objects reflect individual differences on a fundamental dimension of personality. PMID:26011567

Universal Long-Range Nanometric Bending of Water by Light.

PubMed

Verma, Gopal; Singh, Kamal P

2015-10-02

Resolving mechanical effects of light on fluids has fundamental importance with wide applications. Most experiments to date on optofluidic interface deformation exploited radiation forces exerted by normally incident lasers. However, the intriguing effects of photon momentum for any configuration, including the unique total internal reflection regime, where an evanescent wave leaks above the interface, remain largely unexplored. A major difficulty in resolving nanomechanical effects has been the lack of a sensitive detection technique. Here, we devise a simple setup whereby a probe laser produces high-contrast Newton-ring-like fringes from a sessile water drop. The mechanical action of the photon momentum of a pump beam modulates the fringes, thus allowing us to perform a direct noninvasive measurement of a nanometric bulge with sub-5-nm precision. Remarkably, a <10  nm difference in the height of the bulge due to different laser polarizations and nonlinear enhancement in the bulge near total internal reflection is isolated. In addition, the nanometric bulge is shown to extend far longer, 100 times beyond the pump spot. Our high precision data validate the century-old Minkowski theory for a general angle and offer potential for novel optofluidic devices and noncontact nanomanipulation strategies.

Unique inhibitory cascade pattern of molars in canids contributing to their potential to evolutionary plasticity of diet

PubMed Central

Asahara, Masakazu

2013-01-01

Developmental origins that guide the evolution of dental morphology and dental formulae are fundamental subjects in mammalian evolution. In a previous study, a developmental model termed the inhibitory cascade model was established. This model could explain variations in relative molar sizes and loss of the lower third molars, which sometimes reflect diet, in murine rodents and other mammals. Here, I investigated the pattern of relative molar sizes (inhibitory cascade pattern) in canids, a taxon exhibiting a wide range of dietary habits. I found that interspecific variation in canid molars suggests a unique inhibitory cascade pattern that differs from that in murine rodents and other previously reported mammals, and that this variation reflects dietary habits. This unique variability in molars was also observed in individual variation in canid species. According to these observations, canid species have greater variability in the relative sizes of first molars (carnassials), which are functionally important for dietary adaptation in the Carnivora. In conclusion, an inhibitory cascade that differs from that in murine rodents and other mammals may have contributed to diverse dietary patterns and to their parallel evolution in canids. PMID:23467478

Temporal Tuning of Word- and Face-selective Cortex.

PubMed

Yeatman, Jason D; Norcia, Anthony M

2016-11-01

Sensitivity to temporal change places fundamental limits on object processing in the visual system. An emerging consensus from the behavioral and neuroimaging literature suggests that temporal resolution differs substantially for stimuli of different complexity and for brain areas at different levels of the cortical hierarchy. Here, we used steady-state visually evoked potentials to directly measure three fundamental parameters that characterize the underlying neural response to text and face images: temporal resolution, peak temporal frequency, and response latency. We presented full-screen images of text or a human face, alternated with a scrambled image, at temporal frequencies between 1 and 12 Hz. These images elicited a robust response at the first harmonic that showed differential tuning, scalp topography, and delay for the text and face images. Face-selective responses were maximal at 4 Hz, but text-selective responses, by contrast, were maximal at 1 Hz. The topography of the text image response was strongly left-lateralized at higher stimulation rates, whereas the response to the face image was slightly right-lateralized but nearly bilateral at all frequencies. Both text and face images elicited steady-state activity at more than one apparent latency; we observed early (141-160 msec) and late (>250 msec) text- and face-selective responses. These differences in temporal tuning profiles are likely to reflect differences in the nature of the computations performed by word- and face-selective cortex. Despite the close proximity of word- and face-selective regions on the cortical surface, our measurements demonstrate substantial differences in the temporal dynamics of word- versus face-selective responses.

Structural analysis of eyespots: dynamics of morphogenic signals that govern elemental positions in butterfly wings

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background To explain eyespot colour-pattern determination in butterfly wings, the induction model has been discussed based on colour-pattern analyses of various butterfly eyespots. However, a detailed structural analysis of eyespots that can serve as a foundation for future studies is still lacking. In this study, fundamental structural rules related to butterfly eyespots are proposed, and the induction model is elaborated in terms of the possible dynamics of morphogenic signals involved in the development of eyespots and parafocal elements (PFEs) based on colour-pattern analysis of the nymphalid butterfly Junonia almana. Results In a well-developed eyespot, the inner black core ring is much wider than the outer black ring; this is termed the inside-wide rule. It appears that signals are wider near the focus of the eyespot and become narrower as they expand. Although fundamental signal dynamics are likely to be based on a reaction-diffusion mechanism, they were described well mathematically as a type of simple uniformly decelerated motion in which signals associated with the outer and inner black rings of eyespots and PFEs are released at different time points, durations, intervals, and initial velocities into a two-dimensional field of fundamentally uniform or graded resistance; this produces eyespots and PFEs that are diverse in size and structure. The inside-wide rule, eyespot distortion, structural differences between small and large eyespots, and structural changes in eyespots and PFEs in response to physiological treatments were explained well using mathematical simulations. Natural colour patterns and previous experimental findings that are not easily explained by the conventional gradient model were also explained reasonably well by the formal mathematical simulations performed in this study. Conclusions In a mode free from speculative molecular interactions, the present study clarifies fundamental structural rules related to butterfly eyespots, delineates a theoretical basis for the induction model, and proposes a mathematically simple mode of long-range signalling that may reflect developmental mechanisms associated with butterfly eyespots. PMID:22409965

Structural analysis of eyespots: dynamics of morphogenic signals that govern elemental positions in butterfly wings.

PubMed

Otaki, Joji M

2012-03-13

To explain eyespot colour-pattern determination in butterfly wings, the induction model has been discussed based on colour-pattern analyses of various butterfly eyespots. However, a detailed structural analysis of eyespots that can serve as a foundation for future studies is still lacking. In this study, fundamental structural rules related to butterfly eyespots are proposed, and the induction model is elaborated in terms of the possible dynamics of morphogenic signals involved in the development of eyespots and parafocal elements (PFEs) based on colour-pattern analysis of the nymphalid butterfly Junonia almana. In a well-developed eyespot, the inner black core ring is much wider than the outer black ring; this is termed the inside-wide rule. It appears that signals are wider near the focus of the eyespot and become narrower as they expand. Although fundamental signal dynamics are likely to be based on a reaction-diffusion mechanism, they were described well mathematically as a type of simple uniformly decelerated motion in which signals associated with the outer and inner black rings of eyespots and PFEs are released at different time points, durations, intervals, and initial velocities into a two-dimensional field of fundamentally uniform or graded resistance; this produces eyespots and PFEs that are diverse in size and structure. The inside-wide rule, eyespot distortion, structural differences between small and large eyespots, and structural changes in eyespots and PFEs in response to physiological treatments were explained well using mathematical simulations. Natural colour patterns and previous experimental findings that are not easily explained by the conventional gradient model were also explained reasonably well by the formal mathematical simulations performed in this study. In a mode free from speculative molecular interactions, the present study clarifies fundamental structural rules related to butterfly eyespots, delineates a theoretical basis for the induction model, and proposes a mathematically simple mode of long-range signalling that may reflect developmental mechanisms associated with butterfly eyespots.

Reflections of ions in electrostatic analyzers: A case study with New Horizons/Solar Wind Around Pluto

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randol, B. M.; Ebert, R. W.; Allegrini, F.; McComas, D. J.; Schwadron, N. A.

2010-11-01

Electrostatic analyzers (ESAs), in various forms, are used to measure plasma in a range of applications. In this article, we describe how ions reflect from the interior surfaces of an ESA, the detection of which constitutes a fundamentally nonideal response of ESAs. We demonstrate this effect by comparing laboratory data from a real ESA-based space instrument, the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument, aboard the NASA New Horizons spacecraft, to results from a model based on quantum mechanical simulations of particles reflected from the instrument's surfaces combined with simulations of particle trajectories through the instrument's applied electrostatic fields. Thus, we show, for the first time, how reflected ions in ESAs lead to nonideal effects that have important implications for understanding the data returned by these instruments, as well as for designing new low-background ESA-based instruments. Specifically, we show that the response of SWAP widens considerably below a level of 10-3 of the peak response. Thus, a direct measurement of a plasma distribution with SWAP will have an energy-dependent background on the order of <=10-3 of the peak of the signal due to that distribution. We predict that this order of magnitude estimate for the background applies to a large number of ESA-based instruments because ESAs operate using a common principle. However, the exact shape of the energy-dependent response will be different for different instruments. The principle of operation is that ions outside the ideal range of energy-per-charge are deflected into the walls of the ESA. Therefore, we propose that a new design paradigm is necessary to mitigate the effect of ion reflections and thus accurately and directly measure the energy spectrum of a plasma using ESAs. In this article, we build a framework for minimizing the effect of ion reflections in the design of new ESAs. Through the use of existing computer simulation software, a design team can use our method to quantify the amount of reflections in their instrument and iteratively change design parameters before fabrication, conserving resources. A possible direction for the new design paradigm is having nonsolid walls of the ESA, already used in some applications.

Magic star puzzle for educational mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gan, Yee Siang; Fong, Wan Heng; Sarmin, Nor Haniza

2013-04-01

One of the interesting fields in recreational mathematics is the magic number arrangement. There are different kinds of arrays in the arrangement for a group of numbers. In particular, one of the arrays in magic number arrangement is called magic star. In fact, magic star involves combinatorics that contributes to geometrical analysis and number theory. Hence, magic star is suitable to be introduced as educational mathematics to cultivate interest in different area of mathematics. To obtain the solutions of normal magic stars of order six, the possible sets of numbers for every line in a magic star have been considered. Previously, the calculation for obtaining the solutions has been done manually which is time-consuming. Therefore, a programming code to generate all the fundamental solutions for normal magic star of order six without including the properties of rotation and reflection has been done. In this puzzle, a magic star puzzle is created by using Matlab software, which enables a user to verify the entries for the cells of magic star of order six. Moreover, it is also user-friendly as it provides interactive commands on the inputs given by the user, which enables the user to detect the incorrect inputs. In addition, user can also choose to view all the fundamental solutions as generated by the programming code.

Shifts in growth strategies reflect tradeoffs in cellular economics

PubMed Central

Molenaar, Douwe; van Berlo, Rogier; de Ridder, Dick; Teusink, Bas

2009-01-01

The growth rate-dependent regulation of cell size, ribosomal content, and metabolic efficiency follows a common pattern in unicellular organisms: with increasing growth rates, cell size and ribosomal content increase and a shift to energetically inefficient metabolism takes place. The latter two phenomena are also observed in fast growing tumour cells and cell lines. These patterns suggest a fundamental principle of design. In biology such designs can often be understood as the result of the optimization of fitness. Here we show that in basic models of self-replicating systems these patterns are the consequence of maximizing the growth rate. Whereas most models of cellular growth consider a part of physiology, for instance only metabolism, the approach presented here integrates several subsystems to a complete self-replicating system. Such models can yield fundamentally different optimal strategies. In particular, it is shown how the shift in metabolic efficiency originates from a tradeoff between investments in enzyme synthesis and metabolic yields for alternative catabolic pathways. The models elucidate how the optimization of growth by natural selection shapes growth strategies. PMID:19888218

Silences and Silence in "Creativity"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saunders, Lesley

2012-01-01

This reflective piece--written primarily to provoke discussion--raises some questions about and for the recent "creativity agenda" in educational policy in England, suggesting that something fundamental is missing. The author argues that "creativity" has characteristically been defined in recent policy discourse as a set of…

Reflections on Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DiRanna, Kathy; Osmundson, Ellen; Topps, Jo; Gearhart, Maryl

2008-01-01

In this article, the authors describe an assessment-centered teaching (ACT) framework they developed to communicate the integration of assessment and instruction. The framework is a visual representation of the relationships among the fundamental elements of assessment knowledge: the characteristics of quality goals for student learning and…

Conscience in Childhood: Old Questions, New Answers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aksan, Nazan; Kochanska, Grazyna

2005-01-01

Although conscience has been the focus of reflection for centuries, fundamental questions regarding its organization have not been fully answered. To address those questions, the authors applied structural equation modeling techniques to longitudinal data comprising multiple behavioral measures of children's conscience, obtained in parallel…

Statistical characteristics of MST radar echoes and its interpretation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodman, Ronald F.

1989-01-01

Two concepts of fundamental importance are reviewed: the autocorrelation function and the frequency power spectrum. In addition, some turbulence concepts, the relationship between radar signals and atmospheric medium statistics, partial reflection, and the characteristics of noise and clutter interference are discussed.

State Higher Education Appropriations, 1996-97.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hines, Edward R.; Higham, J. Russell, III

This report tabulates state funding for higher education, comparing 1996-97 and 1995-96 appropriations. It reviews recent trends, fiscal pressures, political realities, reallocation, restructuring, and reorganizations. Among the report's conclusions is that current financing constraints are reflections of fundamental changes in the structure of…

Effects of differential habitat warming on complex communities.

PubMed

Tunney, Tyler D; McCann, Kevin S; Lester, Nigel P; Shuter, Brian J

2014-06-03

Food webs unfold across a mosaic of micro and macro habitats, with each habitat coupled by mobile consumers that behave in response to local environmental conditions. Despite this fundamental characteristic of nature, research on how climate change will affect whole ecosystems has overlooked (i) that climate warming will generally affect habitats differently and (ii) that mobile consumers may respond to this differential change in a manner that may fundamentally alter the energy pathways that sustain ecosystems. This reasoning suggests a powerful, but largely unexplored, avenue for studying the impacts of climate change on ecosystem functioning. Here, we use lake ecosystems to show that predictable behavioral adjustments to local temperature differentials govern a fundamental structural shift across 54 food webs. Data show that the trophic pathways from basal resources to a cold-adapted predator shift toward greater reliance on a cold-water refuge habitat, and food chain length increases, as air temperatures rise. Notably, cold-adapted predator behavior may substantially drive this decoupling effect across the climatic range in our study independent of warmer-adapted species responses (for example, changes in near-shore species abundance and predator absence). Such modifications reflect a flexible food web architecture that requires more attention from climate change research. The trophic pathway restructuring documented here is expected to alter biomass accumulation, through the regulation of energy fluxes to predators, and thus potentially threatens ecosystem sustainability in times of rapid environmental change.

Development of Foundational Movement Skills: A Conceptual Model for Physical Activity Across the Lifespan.

PubMed

Hulteen, Ryan M; Morgan, Philip J; Barnett, Lisa M; Stodden, David F; Lubans, David R

2018-03-09

Evidence supports a positive association between competence in fundamental movement skills (e.g., kicking, jumping) and physical activity in young people. Whilst important, fundamental movement skills do not reflect the broad diversity of skills utilized in physical activity pursuits across the lifespan. Debate surrounds the question of what are the most salient skills to be learned which facilitate physical activity participation across the lifespan. In this paper, it is proposed that the term 'fundamental movement skills' be replaced with 'foundational movement skills'. The term 'foundational movement skills' better reflects the broad range of movement forms that increase in complexity and specificity and can be applied in a variety of settings. Thus, 'foundational movement skills' includes both traditionally conceptualized 'fundamental' movement skills and other skills (e.g., bodyweight squat, cycling, swimming strokes) that support physical activity engagement across the lifespan. A proposed conceptual model outlines how foundational movement skill competency can provide a direct or indirect pathway, via specialized movement skills, to a lifetime of physical activity. Foundational movement skill development is hypothesized to vary according to culture and/or geographical location. Further, skill development may be hindered or enhanced by physical (i.e., fitness, weight status) and psychological (i.e., perceived competence, self-efficacy) attributes. This conceptual model may advance the application of motor development principles within the public health domain. Additionally, it promotes the continued development of human movement in the context of how it leads to skillful performance and how movement skill development supports and maintains a lifetime of physical activity engagement.

Top-down and bottom-up neurodynamic evidence in patients with tinnitus.

PubMed

Hong, Sung Kwang; Park, Sejik; Ahn, Min-Hee; Min, Byoung-Kyong

2016-12-01

Although a peripheral auditory (bottom-up) deficit is an essential prerequisite for the generation of tinnitus, central cognitive (top-down) impairment has also been shown to be an inherent neuropathological mechanism. Using an auditory oddball paradigm (for top-down analyses) and a passive listening paradigm (for bottom-up analyses) while recording electroencephalograms (EEGs), we investigated whether top-down or bottom-up components were more critical in the neuropathology of tinnitus, independent of peripheral hearing loss. We observed significantly reduced P300 amplitudes (reflecting fundamental cognitive processes such as attention) and evoked theta power (reflecting top-down regulation in memory systems) for target stimuli at the tinnitus frequency of patients with tinnitus but without hearing loss. The contingent negative variation (reflecting top-down expectation of a subsequent event prior to stimulation) and N100 (reflecting auditory bottom-up selective attention) were different between the healthy and patient groups. Interestingly, when tinnitus patients were divided into two subgroups based on their P300 amplitudes, their P170 and N200 components, and annoyance and distress indices to their tinnitus sound were different. EEG theta-band power and its Granger causal neurodynamic results consistently support a double dissociation of these two groups in both top-down and bottom-up tasks. Directed cortical connectivity corroborates that the tinnitus network involves the anterior cingulate and the parahippocampal areas, where higher-order top-down control is generated. Together, our observations provide neurophysiological and neurodynamic evidence revealing a differential engagement of top-down impairment along with deficits in bottom-up processing in patients with tinnitus but without hearing loss. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Witchcraft, genealogy, Foucault.

PubMed

Russell, S

2001-03-01

This paper is a genealogical reflection on both the historiography of European witchcraft and the dynamics of witchcraft trials. I argue that traditional scholarly assumptions about the 'unsophisticated' nature of early modern European mentalities result in inadequate representations of accused witches and of the social contexts and processes of the trials. Genealogy, by contrast, problematizes fundamental notions such as reason, order, power and progress in ways that not only provide a different range of effective tools for the analysis of belief in witchcraft, but also underline its crucial significance for social theory. In the final section, an analysis of a typical trial is undertaken employing key genealogical insights into confession, torture, truth, governmentality, power, pleasure and pain.

Review of phase measuring deflectometry

DOE PAGES

Huang, Lei; Idir, Mourad; Zuo, Chao; ...

2018-04-07

As a low cost, full-field three-dimensional shape measurement technique with high dynamic range, Phase Measuring Deflectometry (PMD) has been studied and improved to be a simple and effective manner to inspect specular reflecting surfaces. In this review, the fundamental principle and the basic concepts of PMD technique are introduced and followed by a brief overview of its key developments since it was first proposed. In addition, the similarities and differences compared with other related techniques are discussed to highlight the distinguishing features of the PMD technique. In conclusion, we will address the major challenges, the existing solutions and the remainingmore » limitations in this technique to provide some suggestions for potential future investigations.« less

Neural networks predict tomato maturity stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, Federico

1999-03-01

Almost 40% of the total horticultural produce exported from Mexico the USA is tomato, and quality is fundamental for maintaining the market. Many fruits packed at the green-mature stage do not mature towards a red color as they were harvested before achieving its physiological maturity. Tomato gassed for advancing maturation does not respond on those fruits, and repacking is necessary at terminal markets, causing losses to the producer. Tomato spectral signatures are different on each maturity stage and tomato size was poorly correlated against peak wavelengths. A back-propagation neural network was used to predict tomato maturity using reflectance ratios as inputs. Higher success rates were achieved on tomato maturity stage recognition with neural networks than with discriminant analysis.

Manipulating acoustic wave reflection by a nonlinear elastic metasurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xinxin; Gusev, Vitalyi E.; Bertoldi, Katia; Tournat, Vincent

2018-03-01

The acoustic wave reflection properties of a nonlinear elastic metasurface, derived from resonant nonlinear elastic elements, are theoretically and numerically studied. The metasurface is composed of a two degree-of-freedom mass-spring system with quadratic elastic nonlinearity. The possibility of converting, during the reflection process, most of the fundamental incoming wave energy into the second harmonic wave is shown, both theoretically and numerically, by means of a proper design of the nonlinear metasurface. The theoretical results from the harmonic balance method for a monochromatic source are compared with time domain simulations for a wave packet source. This protocol allows analyzing the dynamics of the nonlinear reflection process in the metasurface as well as exploring the limits of the operating frequency bandwidth. The reported methodology can be applied to a wide variety of nonlinear metasurfaces, thus possibly extending the family of exotic nonlinear reflection processes.

Determination of the effective transverse coherence of the neutron wave packet as employed in reflectivity investigations of condensed-matter structures. I. Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majkrzak, Charles F.; Metting, Christopher; Maranville, Brian B.; Dura, Joseph A.; Satija, Sushil; Udovic, Terrence; Berk, Norman F.

2014-03-01

The primary purpose of this investigation is to determine the effective coherent extent of the neutron wave packet transverse to its mean propagation vector k when it is prepared in a typical instrument used to study the structure of materials in thin film form via specular reflection. There are two principal reasons for doing so. One has to do with the fundamental physical interest in the characteristics of a free neutron as a quantum object, while the other is of a more practical nature, relating to the understanding of how to interpret elastic scattering data when the neutron is employed as a probe of condensed-matter structure on an atomic or nanometer scale. Knowing such a basic physical characteristic as the neutron's effective transverse coherence can dictate how to properly analyze specular reflectivity data obtained for material film structures possessing some amount of in-plane inhomogeneity. In this study we describe a means of measuring the effective transverse coherence length of the neutron wave packet by specular reflection from a series of diffraction gratings of different spacings. Complementary nonspecular measurements of the widths of grating reflections were also performed, which corroborate the specular results. (This paper principally describes measurements interpreted according to the theoretical picture presented in a companion paper.) Each grating was fabricated by lift-off photolithography patterning of a nickel film (approximately 1000 Å thick) formed by physical vapor deposition on a flat silicon crystal surface. The grating periods ranged from 10 μm (5 μm Ni stripe, 5 μm intervening space) to several hundred microns. The transverse coherence length, modeled as the width of the wave packet, was determined from an analysis of the specular reflectivity curves of the set of gratings.

Construction of an adaptable European transnational ecological deprivation index: the French version.

PubMed

Pornet, Carole; Delpierre, Cyrille; Dejardin, Olivier; Grosclaude, Pascale; Launay, Ludivine; Guittet, Lydia; Lang, Thierry; Launoy, Guy

2012-11-01

Studying social disparities in health implies the ability to measure them accurately, to compare them between different areas or countries and to follow trends over time. This study proposes a method for constructing a French European deprivation index, which will be replicable in several European countries and is related to an individual deprivation indicator constructed from a European survey specifically designed to study deprivation. Using individual data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, goods/services indicated by individuals as being fundamental needs, the lack of which reflect deprivation, were selected. From this definition, which is specific to a cultural context, an individual deprivation indicator was constructed by selecting fundamental needs associated both with objective and subjective poverty. Next, the authors selected among variables available both in the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey and French national census those best reflecting individual experience of deprivation using multivariate logistic regression. An ecological measure of deprivation was provided for all the smallest French geographical units. Preliminary validation showed a higher association between the French European Deprivation Index (EDI) score and both income and education than the Townsend index, partly ensuring its ability to measure individual socioeconomic status. This index, which is specific to a particular cultural and social policy context, could be replicated in 25 other European countries, thereby allowing European comparisons. EDI could also be reproducible over time. EDI could prove to be a relevant tool in evidence-based policy-making for measuring and reducing social disparities in health issues and even outside the medical domain.

Office immunotherapy in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and multifocal motor neuropathy.

PubMed

Dyck, Peter J; Taylor, Bruce V; Davies, Jenny L; Mauermann, Michelle L; Litchy, William J; Klein, Christopher J; Dyck, P James B

2015-10-01

Intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIg], plasma exchange [PE], and corticosteroids are efficacious treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy [CIDP]. IVIg is effective in multifocal motor neuropathy [MMN]. NIS, NIS-weakness, sum scores of raw amplitudes of motor fiber (CMAPs) amplitudes, and Dyck/Rankin score provided reliable measures to detect and scale abnormality and reflect change; they are therefore ideal for office management of response-based immunotherapy (R-IRx) of CIDP. Using efficacious R-IRx, a large early and late therapeutic response (≥ one-fourth were in remission or had recovered) was demonstrated in CIDP. In MMN only an early improvement with late non-significant worsening was observed. The difference in immunotherapy response supports a fundamental difference between CIDP (immune attack on Schwann cells and myelin) and MMN (attack on nodes of Ranvier and axons). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Office Immunotherapy in Chronic Inflammatoryh Demyelinating Polyneuropathy and Multifocal Motor Neuropathy

PubMed Central

Dyck, Peter J.; Taylor, Bruce V.; Davies, Jenny L.; Mauermann, Michelle L.; Litchy, William J.; Klein, Christopher J.; Dyck, P. James B.

2015-01-01

Background Intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIg], plasma exchange [PE], and corticosteroids are efficacious treatment in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy [CIDP]. IVIg is effective in multifocal motor neuropathy [MMN]. Objective and Methods Results and Conclusions NIS, NIS-weakness, sum scores of raw amplitudes of motor fiber (CMAPs) amplitudes, and Dyck/Rankin score provided reliable measures to detect and scale abnormality and reflect change; they are therefore ideal for office management of response-basedimmunotherapy (R-IRx) of CIDP. Using efficacious R-IRx, a large early and late therapeutic response (≥ one-fourth were in remission or had recovered) was demonstrated in CIDP. In MMN only an early improvement with late non-significant worsening was observed. The difference in immunotherapy response supports a fundamental difference between CIDP (immune attack on Schwann cells and myelin) and MMN (attack on nodes of Ranvier and axons). PMID:25976871

Female compared with male fatality risk from similar physical impacts.

PubMed

Evans, L

2001-02-01

If a female and a male suffer similar potentially lethal physical impacts, which of them (other factors being equal) is more likely to die? This question is addressed using 245,836 traffic fatalities. Fatality risk ratios were estimated using crash data for cars, light trucks, and motorcycles with two occupants, at least one being killed. Combinations of seat belt use, helmet use, and seating location led to 14 occupant categories. Relationships between fatality risk and gender are similar for all 14 occupant categories. Female fatality risk exceeds male risk from preteens to late 50s. For ages from about 20 to about 35, female risk exceeds male risk by (28 +/- 3)%. Whereas specific injury mechanisms differ greatly between the 14 occupant categories, the effect of gender on fatality risk does not, thus implying that the relationships reflect fundamental gender-dependent differences.

Broad Themes of Difference between French and Americans in Attitudes to Food and Other Life Domains: Personal Versus Communal Values, Quantity Versus Quality, and Comforts Versus Joys

PubMed Central

Rozin, Paul; Remick, Abigail K.; Fischler, Claude

2011-01-01

Analysis of previous literature on the role of food in life in France and the United States suggests some fundamental differences in attitudes which may generalize outside of the food domain. Questionnaire results from French and American adults suggest that, compared to the French, Americans emphasize quantity rather than quality in making choices, Americans have a higher preference for variety, and Americans usually prefer comforts (things that make life easier) over joys (unique things that make life interesting). The American preference for quantity over quality is discussed in terms of the American focus on abundance as opposed to the French preference for moderation. The American preference for variety is reflective of Americans’ more personal as opposed to communal food and other values. PMID:21845184

Broad Themes of Difference between French and Americans in Attitudes to Food and Other Life Domains: Personal Versus Communal Values, Quantity Versus Quality, and Comforts Versus Joys.

PubMed

Rozin, Paul; Remick, Abigail K; Fischler, Claude

2011-01-01

Analysis of previous literature on the role of food in life in France and the United States suggests some fundamental differences in attitudes which may generalize outside of the food domain. Questionnaire results from French and American adults suggest that, compared to the French, Americans emphasize quantity rather than quality in making choices, Americans have a higher preference for variety, and Americans usually prefer comforts (things that make life easier) over joys (unique things that make life interesting). The American preference for quantity over quality is discussed in terms of the American focus on abundance as opposed to the French preference for moderation. The American preference for variety is reflective of Americans' more personal as opposed to communal food and other values.

Journalism in the Movies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehrlich, Matthew C.

1997-01-01

Analyzes how Hollywood's journalism movie genre has portrayed the news media over the years. Suggests that the movies' relationship to the press reflects a fundamentally ambivalent relationship between the press and the broader culture and that Hollywood explicitly portrays institutional and cultural tensions within journalism which the news media…

Linguistic Recycling and the Open Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dasgupta, Probal

2001-01-01

Examines linguistic recycling in the context of domestic Esperanto use. Argues that word-meaning recycling reflects the same fundamental principles as sentential recursion, and that a linguistics theoretically sensitive to these principles strengthens practical efforts towards the social goal of an open speech community. (Author/VWL)

Reflection and transmission characteristics of a layer obeying the two-pressure field poroelastic phenomenological model of Berryman and Wang.

PubMed

Kachkouch, F; Franklin, H; Tinel, A

2018-07-01

The characteristics of the reflection and transmission by a fluid-loaded double porosity layer are studied. The medium obeys the two-pressure field poroelastic phenomenological model of Berryman and Wang. The open pore hydraulic conditions applied at the interfaces yield factorized expressions for the coefficients exhibiting on the one hand a separation allowing to distinguish between symmetrical and antisymmetrical motions and on the other hand the way each of the three dilatational waves associate with the shear wave. The numerical study done for a layer of Berea sandstone saturated by water shows clearly the role of each of the dilatational waves. There are peculiarities such as the absence of the fundamental antisymmetrical mode (zero order) and a singular behaviour of the symmetrical fundamental mode. The low frequency approximation for this latter is derived from the proposed formulas and compared with the numerical results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cause for concern: the absence of consideration of public and ethical interest in British public policy

PubMed Central

Pattison, S; Evans, H M

2006-01-01

In the UK, many fundamentally important policy decisions that are likely to affect the relationship between citizens and care services are now made at the sublegislative level and without adequate ethical consideration and scrutiny. This is well exemplified in the proposed guidance on the disclosure of information on children. A recent consultation paper by the UK government on the subject proposes an approach that seeks a simple technical solution to a complex problem, emphasising control and surveillance. This reflects pressure to be seen to act. The document fails with regard to ethical reflection appropriate to the complexity of the issue, an appreciation of complex relationships of trust, and a proper sense of the richness and complexity of the public interest. Such policies would, if implemented, fundamentally change the relationships between citizens and their carers, and among carers and the law and the state. This and similar proposals require far more ethical scrutiny and consideration of the public interest in the widest sense. PMID:17145911

Experimental Realization of a Reflections-Free Compact Delay Line Based on a Photonic Topological Insulator

PubMed Central

Lai, Kueifu; Ma, Tsuhsuang; Bo, Xiao; Anlage, Steven; Shvets, Gennady

2016-01-01

Electromagnetic (EM) waves propagating through an inhomogeneous medium are generally scattered whenever the medium’s electromagnetic properties change on the scale of a single wavelength. This fundamental phenomenon constrains how optical structures are designed and interfaced with each other. Recent theoretical work indicates that electromagnetic structures collectively known as photonic topological insulators (PTIs) can be employed to overcome this fundamental limitation, thereby paving the way for ultra-compact photonic structures that no longer have to be wavelength-scale smooth. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of a photonic delay line based on topologically protected surface electromagnetic waves (TPSWs) between two PTIs which are the EM counterparts of the quantum spin-Hall topological insulators in condensed matter. Unlike conventional guided EM waves that do not benefit from topological protection, TPSWs are shown to experience multi-wavelength reflection-free time delays when detoured around sharply-curved paths, thus offering a unique paradigm for compact and efficient wave buffers and other devices. PMID:27345575

A computer-generated animated face stimulus set for psychophysiological research

PubMed Central

Naples, Adam; Nguyen-Phuc, Alyssa; Coffman, Marika; Kresse, Anna; Faja, Susan; Bernier, Raphael; McPartland., James

2014-01-01

Human faces are fundamentally dynamic, but experimental investigations of face perception traditionally rely on static images of faces. While naturalistic videos of actors have been used with success in some contexts, much research in neuroscience and psychophysics demands carefully controlled stimuli. In this paper, we describe a novel set of computer generated, dynamic, face stimuli. These grayscale faces are tightly controlled for low- and high-level visual properties. All faces are standardized in terms of size, luminance, and location and size of facial features. Each face begins with a neutral pose and transitions to an expression over the course of 30 frames. Altogether there are 222 stimuli spanning 3 different categories of movement: (1) an affective movement (fearful face); (2) a neutral movement (close-lipped, puffed cheeks with open eyes); and (3) a biologically impossible movement (upward dislocation of eyes and mouth). To determine whether early brain responses sensitive to low-level visual features differed between expressions, we measured the occipital P100 event related potential (ERP), which is known to reflect differences in early stages of visual processing and the N170, which reflects structural encoding of faces. We found no differences between faces at the P100, indicating that different face categories were well matched on low-level image properties. This database provides researchers with a well-controlled set of dynamic faces controlled on low-level image characteristics that are applicable to a range of research questions in social perception. PMID:25028164

Optical properties and surface morphology studies of palladium contacts on mercuric iodide single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, M. A.; Azoulay, M.; Burger, A.; Biao, Y.; Silberman, E.; Nason, D.

1993-04-01

Palladium is chemically suitable for electric contacts on mercuric iodide detectors for photon and nuclear radiation detection, so the understanding of palladium contacts is important for fundamental and practical scientific purposes. A study has been conducted on the surface morphology of evaporated contacts using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical transmission and reflection. Evaporated palladium coatings are typically nonuniform and may deposit selectively on mercuric iodide surface defects. Reflection measurements show that coating thickness and surface treatment affect intensity, position, and shape of a reflected peak characteristic of the mercuric iodide structure. Results indicate that the band gap energy in the surface of the mercuric iodide is lowered by palladium contacts.

Optimized 2D array of thin silicon pillars for efficient antireflective coatings in the visible spectrum

PubMed Central

Proust, Julien; Fehrembach, Anne-Laure; Bedu, Frédéric; Ozerov, Igor; Bonod, Nicolas

2016-01-01

Light reflection occuring at the surface of silicon wafers is drastically diminished by etching square pillars of height 110 nm and width 140 nm separated by a 100 nm gap distance in a square lattice. The design of the nanostructure is optimized to widen the spectral tolerance of the antireflective coatings over the visible spectrum for both fundamental polarizations. Angle and polarized resolved optical measurements report a light reflection remaining under 5% when averaged in the visible spectrum for both polarizations in a wide angular range. Light reflection remains almost insensitive to the light polarization even in oblique incidence. PMID:27109643

PolarBRDF: A general purpose Python package for visualization and quantitative analysis of multi-angular remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Manoj K.; Gautam, Ritesh; Gatebe, Charles K.; Poudyal, Rajesh

2016-11-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wildfire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

PolarBRDF: A general purpose Python package for visualization and quantitative analysis of multi-angular remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poudyal, R.; Singh, M.; Gautam, R.; Gatebe, C. K.

2016-12-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR)- http://car.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wildfire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

Polarbrdf: A General Purpose Python Package for Visualization Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Angular Remote Sensing Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Manoj K.; Gautam, Ritesh; Gatebe, Charles K.; Poudyal, Rajesh

2016-01-01

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is a fundamental concept for characterizing the reflectance property of a surface, and helps in the analysis of remote sensing data from satellite, airborne and surface platforms. Multi-angular remote sensing measurements are required for the development and evaluation of BRDF models for improved characterization of surface properties. However, multi-angular data and the associated BRDF models are typically multidimensional involving multi-angular and multi-wavelength information. Effective visualization of such complex multidimensional measurements for different wavelength combinations is presently somewhat lacking in the literature, and could serve as a potentially useful research and teaching tool in aiding both interpretation and analysis of BRDF measurements. This article describes a newly developed software package in Python (PolarBRDF) to help visualize and analyze multi-angular data in polar and False Color Composite (FCC) forms. PolarBRDF also includes functionalities for computing important multi-angular reflectance/albedo parameters including spectral albedo, principal plane reflectance and spectral reflectance slope. Application of PolarBRDF is demonstrated using various case studies obtained from airborne multi-angular remote sensing measurements using NASA's Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR). Our visualization program also provides functionalities for untangling complex surface/atmosphere features embedded in pixel-based remote sensing measurements, such as the FCC imagery generation of BRDF measurements of grasslands in the presence of wild fire smoke and clouds. Furthermore, PolarBRDF also provides quantitative information of the angular distribution of scattered surface/atmosphere radiation, in the form of relevant BRDF variables such as sunglint, hotspot and scattering statistics.

Accelerated Brain Aging in Schizophrenia: A Longitudinal Pattern Recognition Study.

PubMed

Schnack, Hugo G; van Haren, Neeltje E M; Nieuwenhuis, Mireille; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; Cahn, Wiepke; Kahn, René S

2016-06-01

Despite the multitude of longitudinal neuroimaging studies that have been published, a basic question on the progressive brain loss in schizophrenia remains unaddressed: Does it reflect accelerated aging of the brain, or is it caused by a fundamentally different process? The authors used support vector regression, a supervised machine learning technique, to address this question. In a longitudinal sample of 341 schizophrenia patients and 386 healthy subjects with one or more structural MRI scans (1,197 in total), machine learning algorithms were used to build models to predict the age of the brain and the presence of schizophrenia ("schizophrenia score"), based on the gray matter density maps. Age at baseline ranged from 16 to 67 years, and follow-up scans were acquired between 1 and 13 years after the baseline scan. Differences between brain age and chronological age ("brain age gap") and between schizophrenia score and healthy reference score ("schizophrenia gap") were calculated. Accelerated brain aging was calculated from changes in brain age gap between two consecutive measurements. The age prediction model was validated in an independent sample. In schizophrenia patients, brain age was significantly greater than chronological age at baseline (+3.36 years) and progressively increased during follow-up (+1.24 years in addition to the baseline gap). The acceleration of brain aging was not constant: it decreased from 2.5 years/year just after illness onset to about the normal rate (1 year/year) approximately 5 years after illness onset. The schizophrenia gap also increased during follow-up, but more pronounced variability in brain abnormalities at follow-up rendered this increase nonsignificant. The progressive brain loss in schizophrenia appears to reflect two different processes: one relatively homogeneous, reflecting accelerated aging of the brain and related to various measures of outcome, and a more variable one, possibly reflecting individual variation and medication use. Differentiating between these two processes may not only elucidate the various factors influencing brain loss in schizophrenia, but also assist in individualizing treatment.

Capturing differences in dental training using a virtual reality simulator.

PubMed

Mirghani, I; Mushtaq, F; Allsop, M J; Al-Saud, L M; Tickhill, N; Potter, C; Keeling, A; Mon-Williams, M A; Manogue, M

2018-02-01

Virtual reality simulators are becoming increasingly popular in dental schools across the world. But to what extent do these systems reflect actual dental ability? Addressing this question of construct validity is a fundamental step that is necessary before these systems can be fully integrated into a dental school's curriculum. In this study, we examined the sensitivity of the Simodont (a haptic virtual reality dental simulator) to differences in dental training experience. Two hundred and eighty-nine participants, with 1 (n = 92), 3 (n = 79), 4 (n = 57) and 5 (n = 61) years of dental training, performed a series of tasks upon their first exposure to the simulator. We found statistically significant differences between novice (Year 1) and experienced dental trainees (operationalised as 3 or more years of training), but no differences between performance of experienced trainees with varying levels of experience. This work represents a crucial first step in understanding the value of haptic virtual reality simulators in dental education. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Forecasting the Technological Future: Directions for Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Peter

1986-01-01

Recent studies indicate that the popular acceptance of linking education instrumentally to high technology leads to contradictory outcomes (for example, Sweet 1984, Rumberger and Levin 1985). Education is better directed toward the more fundamental skills of criticism and reflection on these technological changes in society. (24 references) (CJH)

[Genetic expertise and the penal process].

PubMed

Choclán Montalvo, J A

1998-01-01

The author reflects on the major forensic biology issues related to human genome analysis. He also discusses, from the comparative law perspective, the extent to which genetic test evidence is binding on judges. He concludes with a discussion of the influence of genetic research on people's fundamental rights.

Integrating Opportunities: Applied Interdisciplinary Research in Undergraduate Geography and Geology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viertel, David C.; Burns, Diane M.

2012-01-01

Unique integrative learning approaches represent a fundamental opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty alike to combine interdisciplinary methods with applied spatial research. Geography and geoscience-related disciplines are particularly well-suited to adapt multiple methods within a holistic and reflective mentored research paradigm.…

One Vision, Many Eyes: Reflections on Leadership and Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walters, David

2012-01-01

Emotional factors play a part in the learning process, and, so too for leadership. Fullan (2001) identified self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills, adaptability, stress management and general mood as fundamental characteristics of emotional intelligence. If leaders exemplify these characteristics, this will positively…

Adult Literacy Education: Program Evaluation and Learner Assessment. Information Series No. 338.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lytle, Susan L.; Wolfe, Marcie

Adult literacy programs need reliable information about program quality and effectiveness for accountability, improvement of practice, and expansion of knowledge. Evaluation and assessment reflect fundamental beliefs about adult learners, concepts of literacy, and educational settings. Resources for planning program evaluations include surveys,…

Metacognition: Student Reflections on Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wismath, Shelly; Orr, Doug; Good, Brandon

2014-01-01

Twenty-first century teaching and learning focus on the fundamental skills of critical thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, and collaboration and communication. Metacognition is a crucial aspect of both problem solving and critical thinking, but it is often difficult to get students to engage in authentic metacognitive…

U-series ages of solitary corals from the California coast by mass spectrometry

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

Stein, M.; Wasserburg, G.J.; Chen, J.H.

1991-12-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of dating fossil solitary corals from Pleistocene marine strandlines outside tropical latitudes using the recently developed high sensitivity, high-precision U-series technique based on thermal-ionization mass-spectrometry (TIMS). The TIMS technique is much more efficient than conventional {alpha} spectrometry and, as a result, multiple samples of an individual coral skeleton, or different specimens from the same bed can be analyzed. Detached and well-rounded fossil specimens of the solitary coral Balanophyllia elegans were collected from relict littoral deposits on emergent marine terraces along the California coast at Cayucos terrace, Shell Beach terrace, Nestormore » terrace, San Diego, Bird Rock terrace, San Diego. Attached living specimens were collected from the intertidal zone on the modern terrace at Moss Beach. The calculated initial {sup 234}U activities in the fossil specimens of Balanophyllia elegans are higher than the {sup 234}U activity in modern seawater or in the modern specimen. The higher initial activities could possibly reflect the influx of {sup 234}U-enriched continental water into Pleistocene coastal waters, or it could reflect the influx of {sup 234}U-enriched continental water into Pleistocene coastal waters, or it could reflect minor diagenetic alteration, a persistent and fundamental problem in dating all corals.« less

Yet another time about time … Part I: An essay on the phenomenology of physical time.

PubMed

Simeonov, Plamen L

2015-12-01

This paper presents yet another personal reflection on one the most important concepts in both science and the humanities: time. This elusive notion has been not only bothering philosophers since Plato and Aristotle. It goes throughout human history embracing all analytical and creative (anthropocentric) disciplines. Time has been a central theme in physical and life sciences, philosophy, psychology, music, art and many more. This theme is known with a vast body of knowledge across different theories and categories. What has been explored concerns its nature (rational, irrational, arational), appearances/qualia, degrees, dimensions and scales of conceptualization (internal, external, fractal, discrete, continuous, mechanical, quantum, local, global, etc.). Of particular interest have been parameters of time such as duration ranges, resolutions, modes (present, now, past, future), varieties of tenses (e.g. present perfect, present progressive, etc.) and some intuitive, but also fancy phenomenological characteristics such as "arrow", "stream", "texture", "width", "depth", "density", even "scent". Perhaps the most distinct characteristic of this fundamental concept is the absolute time constituting the flow of consciousness according to Husserl, the reflection of pure (human) nature without having the distinction between exo and endo. This essay is a personal reflection upon time in modern physics and phenomenological philosophy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

St. Augustine’s Reflections on Memory and Time and the Current Concept of Subjective Time in Mental Time Travel

PubMed Central

Manning, Liliann; Cassel, Daniel; Cassel, Jean-Christophe

2013-01-01

Reconstructing the past and anticipating the future, i.e., the ability of travelling in mental time, is thought to be at the heart of consciousness and, by the same token, at the center of human cognition. This extraordinary mental activity is possible thanks to the ability of being aware of ‘subjective time’. In the present study, we attempt to trace back the first recorded reflections on the relations between time and memory, to the end of the fourth century’s work, the Confessions, by the theologian and philosopher, St. Augustine. We concentrate on Book 11, where he extensively developed a series of articulated and detailed observations on memory and time. On the bases of selected paragraphs, we endeavor to highlight some concepts that may be considered as the product of the first or, at least, very early reflections related to our current notions of subjective time in mental time travel. We also draw a fundamental difference inherent to the frameworks within which the questions were raised. The contribution of St. Augustine on time and memory remains significant, notwithstanding the 16 centuries elapsed since it was made, likely because of the universality of its contents. PMID:25379236

Reflection second harmonic generation on a z -cut congruent lithium niobate crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sono, T. J.; Scott, J. G.; Sones, C. L.; Valdivia, C. E.; Mailis, S.; Eason, R. W.; Frey, J. G.; Danos, L.

2006-11-01

Reflection second harmonic generation experiments were performed on z -cut congruent lithium niobate crystals (LiNbO3) to reveal the interfacial layer symmetry as the crystal is rotated around the z axis. To suppress the bulk contribution, the fundamental wavelength was selected to be 532nm , resulting in second harmonic generation at a wavelength within the absorption region of the crystal. The polarity of the direction of the y -axis was determined from second harmonic generation data and used to show that this direction also inverts during domain inversion.

Sound diffraction at wall impedance discontinuities in a circular cylinder, investigated using Wiener-Hopf technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cho, Y. C.

1983-01-01

Rigorous solutions are presented for sound diffraction in a circular cylinder with axial discontinuities of the wall admittance (or impedance). Analytical expressions are derived for the reflection and the transmission coefficients for duct modes. The results are discussed quantitatively in the limits of small admittance shifts (delta) and of low frequencies (ka). One of the results is the low frequency behavior of the reflection coefficient R(o) sub 00 of the fundamental mode. For the mode of a hardwall duct reflected from the junction with a softwall duct, (R(o) sub oo yields - (1-square root of (ka) square root of (2/i delta)); this result is in contrast to the frequency dependence of the reflection from the open end of a hardwall duct, for which R(o) sub oo yields - 1-(ka) squared/2 .

Applying tribology to teeth of hoofed mammals.

PubMed

Schulz, Ellen; Calandra, Ivan; Kaiser, Thomas M

2010-01-01

Mammals inhabit all types of environments and have evolved chewing systems capable of processing a huge variety of structurally diverse food components. Surface textures of cheek teeth should thus reflect the mechanisms of wear as well as the functional traits involved. We employed surface textures parameters from ISO/DIS 25178 and scale-sensitive fractal analysis (SSFA) to quantify dental wear in herbivorous mammals at the level of an individual wear enamel facet. We evaluated cheek dentitions of two grazing ungulates: the Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and the Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi). Both inhabit the east African grassland savanna habitat, but they belong to fundamentally different taxonomic units. We tested the hypothesis that the foregut fermenting wildebeest and the hindgut fermenting zebra show functional traits in their dentitions that relate to their specific mode of food-composition processing and digestion. In general, surface texture parameters from SSFA as well as ISO/DIS 25178 indicated that individual enamel ridges acting as crushing blades and individual wear facets of upper cheek teeth are significantly different in surface textures in the zebra when compared with the wildebeest. We interpreted the complexity and anisotropy signals to be clearly related to the brittle, dry grass component in the diet of the zebra, unlike the wildebeest, which ingests a more heterogeneous diet including fresh grass and herbs. Thus, SSFA and ISO parameters allow distinctions within the subtle dietary strategies that evolved in herbivorous ungulates with fundamentally different systematic affinities but which exploit a similar dietary niche. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Thinking Allowed: Content and Language Integrated Learning--A Research Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalton-Puffer, Christiane; Smit, Ute

2013-01-01

While Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has received a considerable amount of research interest lately, its increasing popularity as an approach to teaching content subjects in a foreign language requires concerted investigation that reflects and recognises its fundamentally contextualised nature. In this contribution, we sketch…

Introduction: Self-Regulation of Learning in Postsecondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bembenutty, Hefer

2011-01-01

Self-regulation of learning occupies a fundamental place in postsecondary education. "Self-regulation of learning" refers to learners' beliefs about their capability to engage in appropriate actions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in order to pursue valuable academic goals while self-monitoring and self-reflecting on their progress toward goal…

Teaching the Calculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sauerheber, Richard D.

2012-01-01

Methods of teaching the Calculus are presented in honour of Sir Isaac Newton, by discussing an extension of his original proofs and discoveries. The methods, requested by Newton to be used that reflect the historical sequence of the discovered Fundamental Theorems, allow first-time students to grasp quickly the basics of the Calculus from its…

A Relational Frame and Artificial Neural Network Approach to Computer-Interactive Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ninness, Chris; Rumph, Robin; McCuller, Glen; Vasquez III, Eleazar; Harrison, Carol; Ford, Angela M.; Capt, Ashley; Ninness, Sharon K.; Bradfield, Anna

2005-01-01

Fifteen participants unfamiliar with mathematical operations relative to reflections and vertical and horizontal shifts were exposed to an introductory lecture regarding the fundamentals of the rectangular coordinate system and the relationship between formulas and their graphed analogues. The lecture was followed immediately by computer-assisted…

Undergraduate Students as Partners in New Faculty Orientation and Academic Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook-Sather, Alison

2016-01-01

Addressing both the increasingly complex process of becoming an educator at the tertiary level and the growing recognition of the importance of student engagement, student-faculty partnerships have emerged as one way of fundamentally rethinking academic development. Participant reflections suggest that the over-time, partnership approach to…

Reflections on the Internationality of Montessori Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brunold-Conesa, Cynthia

2008-01-01

One of the major components of Dr. Montessori's plan for peace education is a curriculum that de-emphasizes nationalism. The "big picture" of the cultural curriculum encourages the perspective that people are citizens of Earth first, and only secondarily American, Japanese, Polish, or other nationalities. Through the fundamental needs…

The Retreat from Equity in American Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Best, John Hardin

Evidence is overwhelming that in spite of our rhetoric of equality of opportunity, American schools have endorsed and promoted the children of advantage and restrained and discouraged those of disadvantage. Our rhetoric of equality of opportunity, our American dream, is at stake. This concern is reflected fundamentally in the current national…

On Discourse, Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Firth, Alan; Wagner, Johannes

2007-01-01

This article argues for a reconceptualization of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research that would enlarge the ontological and empirical parameters of the field. We claim that methodologies, theories, and foci within SLA reflect an imbalance between cognitive and mentalistic orientations, and social and contextual orientations to language, the…

Posterior Predictive Checks for Conditional Independence between Response Time and Accuracy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolsinova, Maria; Tijmstra, Jesper

2016-01-01

Conditional independence (CI) between response time and response accuracy is a fundamental assumption of many joint models for time and accuracy used in educational measurement. In this study, posterior predictive checks (PPCs) are proposed for testing this assumption. These PPCs are based on three discrepancy measures reflecting different…

Shape from Shading in Pigeons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Robert G.; Qadri, Muhammad A. J.; Kieres, Art; Commons-Miller, Nicholas

2012-01-01

Light is the origin of vision. The pattern of shading reflected from object surfaces is one of several optical features that provide fundamental information about shape and surface orientation. To understand how surface and object shading is processed by birds, six pigeons were tested with differentially illuminated convex and concave curved…

Implementing a Critically Quasi-Ethnographic Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murtagh, Lisa

2007-01-01

This paper provides an account of the methodological approach of a study designed to address some fundamental questions relating to formative assessment. The paper reports on the use of a critically quasi-ethnographic approach and describes the practicalities of adopting such an approach. The validity of the study is also considered, reflecting on…

The Fundamentals of School Security. ERIC Digest Number 132.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaustad, Joan

This digest presents ways that school administrators can realistically assess their schools' security needs. It opens by reporting that some types of school violence are declining, such as self-reported weapon carrying and fighting on school property, which reflects an overall decline in youth violence. However, schools still must perform…

The Swiss Society of Microbiology: Small Bugs, Big Questions and Cool Answers.

PubMed

Greub, Gilbert; Holliger, Christof; Sanglard, Dominique; Schrenzel, Jacques; Thiel, Volker; Viollier, Patrick

2016-12-21

The Swiss Society for Microbiology (SSM) represents around 700 scientists working in the fields of medical (human and veterinary), microbial biotechnology as well as fundamental, environmental, and food microbiology. Five sections: Clinical Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Mycology, Prokaryotic Biology, and Virology reflects the main interests of the membership.

Modernization Through Education: The Answer for Combating Terrorism?

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

toward relativism , that is, the doctrine that all horizons and values systems are relative to their time and place, and that none are true but reflect...Fundamentalisms and the State, 598. 28 Sinhalese majority. While Sinhalese politicians were being forced to acquiesce to Buddhist demands, more ethic violence

Chapter 2: Sampling strategies in forest hydrology and biogeochemistry

Treesearch

Roger C. Bales; Martha H. Conklin; Branko Kerkez; Steven Glaser; Jan W. Hopmans; Carolyn T. Hunsaker; Matt Meadows; Peter C. Hartsough

2011-01-01

Many aspects of forest hydrology have been based on accurate but not necessarily spatially representative measurements, reflecting the measurement capabilities that were traditionally available. Two developments are bringing about fundamental changes in sampling strategies in forest hydrology and biogeochemistry: (a) technical advances in measurement capability, as is...

The Potential Perils of Praise in a Democratic Interactive Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larrivee, Barbara

2002-01-01

Teacher praise can undermine the development of fundamental democratic values. This article presents styles of teacher talk in line with the principles and goals of democratic leadership and interactive teaching. Advocated discourse patterns encourage self-evaluation and self-reflection, enabling students to develop standards for judging their own…

Reflections on the Cognitive-Learning Trend in Psychotherapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahoney, Michael J.

1977-01-01

Asserting that recent efforts to combine cognitive and behavioristic approaches to psychotherapy are one indication "that psychology is undergoing some sort of 'revolution' in the sense that cognitive processes have become a very popular topic," this paper discusses the trend's development, as well as some of its fundamental assertions,…

48 CFR 9904.409-40 - Fundamental requirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... service life shall reflect the pattern of consumption of services over the life of the asset. (4) The gain... function as, an organizational unit whose costs are charged to other cost objectives based on measurement... pools. (4) The gain or loss which is recognized upon disposition of a tangible capital asset, where...

48 CFR 9904.409-40 - Fundamental requirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... service life shall reflect the pattern of consumption of services over the life of the asset. (4) The gain... function as, an organizational unit whose costs are charged to other cost objectives based on measurement... pools. (4) The gain or loss which is recognized upon disposition of a tangible capital asset, where...

48 CFR 9904.409-40 - Fundamental requirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... service life shall reflect the pattern of consumption of services over the life of the asset. (4) The gain... function as, an organizational unit whose costs are charged to other cost objectives based on measurement... pools. (4) The gain or loss which is recognized upon disposition of a tangible capital asset, where...

Applying the CREAM Strategy for Coaching Teaching Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milad, Marine

2017-01-01

Monitoring and evaluating staff tutors necessitates constant follow-up to ensure that they are in line with the University's mission and vision. This has raised a fundamental educational question: how to coach rather than monitor the tutors. To answer this question, Cottrell's (2008) CREAM (Creative, Reflective, Effective, Active, Motivated)…

At Work in the Genre Laboratory: Brian DePalma's "Scarface."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welsch, Tricia

1997-01-01

Postulates that, if genres serve as problem-solving constructs for the cultures they reflect and are fundamentally conservative structures committed to temporary resolutions of the hopeless contradictions that produce their dramas, then Brian DePalma's "Scarface" exemplifies the ways gangster films of the 1980s redefined generic…

Reflections on Neuroscience in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coch, Donna

2018-01-01

The majority of teacher preparation programs do not address neuroscience in their curricula. This is curious, as learning occurs in the brain in context and teachers fundamentally foster and facilitate learning. On the one hand, merging neuroscience knowledge into teacher training programs is fraught with challenges, such as reconciling how…

Horizontal Axis Levitron--A Physics Demonstration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michaelis, Max M.

2014-01-01

After a brief history of the Levitron, the first horizontal axis Levitron is reported. Because it is easy to operate, it lends itself to educational physics experiments and analogies. Precession and nutation are visualized by reflecting the beam from a laser pointer off the "spignet". Precession is fundamental to nuclear magnetic…

Establishing Learning Communities among Science Teachers through Lesson Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mee, Lee Shok; Oyao, Sheila Gamut

2013-01-01

The fundamental philosophy embedded in lesson study is the collaborative practice of teachers working together to plan, teach, observe, reflect and refine lessons. It has been well established that collaboration strengthens teacher collegial relationships and enhances pedagogical content knowledge. While teacher collaboration seems to be a norm in…

Right Temporoparietal Gray Matter Predicts Accuracy of Social Perception in the Autism Spectrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Nicole; Schultz, Johannes; Milne, Elizabeth; Schunke, Odette; Schöttle, Daniel; Münchau, Alexander; Siegel, Markus; Vogeley, Kai; Engel, Andreas K.

2014-01-01

Individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show hallmark deficits in social perception. These difficulties might also reflect fundamental deficits in integrating visual signals. We contrasted predictions of a social perception and a spatial-temporal integration deficit account. Participants with ASD and matched controls performed two…

Indiana's Foundation Program: A Conceptual Introduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toutkoushian, Robert K.; Michael, Robert S.

2004-01-01

Individual states have a long tradition of providing financial support for their public K-12 schools. This support reflects the state's constitutional requirement to educate its citizens. However, states vary widely in both the amount of funding provided to public schools, and the distribution of funding among schools. The fundamental observation…

Research Designs and Methods in Self-Assessment Studies: A Content Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pastore, Serafina

2017-01-01

This paper focuses on self-assessment studies in the higher education field. In the assessment for learning perspective, self-assessment is related to reflection, metacognition, and self-regulation: all these aspects are considered as fundamental prerequisites for students' future professional development. Despite the recognition of…

Learning Particle Physics with DIY Play Dough Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thunyaniti, T.; Toedtanya, K.; Wuttiprom, S.

2017-09-01

The scientists once believed an atom was the smallest particle, nothing was smaller than this tiny particle. Later, they discovered an atom which consists of protons, neutrons and electrons, and they believed that these particles cannot be broken into the smaller particles. According to advanced technology, the scientists have discovered these particles are consisted of a smaller particles. The new particles are called quarks leptons and bosons which we called fundamental particle. Atomic structure cannot be observed directly, so it is complicated for studying these particles. To help the students get more understanding of its properties, so the researcher develops the learning pattern of fundamental particles from Play Dough Model for high school to graduate students. Four step of learning are 1) to introduces the concept of the fundamental particles discovery 2) to play the Happy Families game by using fundamental particles cards 3) to design and make their particle in a way that reflects its properties 4) to represents their particles from Play Dough Model. After doing activities, the students had more conceptual understanding and better memorability on fundamental particles. In addition, the students gained collaborative working experience among their friends also.

Nomadic lifestyle of Lactobacillus plantarum revealed by comparative genomics of 54 strains isolated from different habitats.

PubMed

Martino, Maria Elena; Bayjanov, Jumamurat R; Caffrey, Brian E; Wels, Michiel; Joncour, Pauline; Hughes, Sandrine; Gillet, Benjamin; Kleerebezem, Michiel; van Hijum, Sacha A F T; Leulier, François

2016-12-01

The ability of bacteria to adapt to diverse environmental conditions is well-known. The process of bacterial adaptation to a niche has been linked to large changes in the genome content, showing that many bacterial genomes reflect the constraints imposed by their habitat. However, some highly versatile bacteria are found in diverse habitats that almost share nothing in common. Lactobacillus plantarum is a lactic acid bacterium that is found in a large variety of habitat. With the aim of unravelling the link between evolution and ecological versatility of L. plantarum, we analysed the genomes of 54 L. plantarum strains isolated from different environments. Comparative genome analysis identified a high level of genomic diversity and plasticity among the strains analysed. Phylogenomic and functional divergence studies coupled with gene-trait matching analyses revealed a mixed distribution of the strains, which was uncoupled from their environmental origin. Our findings revealed the absence of specific genomic signatures marking adaptations of L. plantarum towards the diverse habitats it is associated with. This suggests fundamentally similar trends of genome evolution in L. plantarum, which occur in a manner that is apparently uncoupled from ecological constraint and reflects the nomadic lifestyle of this species. © 2016 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Teaching law in medical schools: first, reflect.

PubMed

Campbell, Amy T

2012-01-01

Law is now routinely included in the medical school curriculum, often incorporated into bioethics and/or practice of medicine coursework. There seems to lack, however, a systematic understanding of what works in terms of getting across an effective depth and breadth of legal knowledge for medical students - or what such would even look like. Moreover, and more critically, while some literature addresses these what, when, how, and who questions, a more fundamental question is left unanswered: why teach law in medical school? This article suggests a process to reveal a more consensual understanding of this latter question. The author highlights findings and recommendations of some of the leading literature to date related to teaching law in medical schools, and also recent U.K. projects addressing legal teaching in medical schools. Reflecting on these materials and activities, the author suggests that we take a "pause" before we argue for more or different legal topics within the medical curriculum. Before we alter the curricula for more and/or different "law," first, it is critical to have a meaningful, stakeholder-driven, consensus-seeking discussion of the goals of legal education: why do we think it matters that medical students learn about "the law"? © 2012 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

Stoichiometric network theory for nonequilibrium biochemical systems.

PubMed

Qian, Hong; Beard, Daniel A; Liang, Shou-dan

2003-02-01

We introduce the basic concepts and develop a theory for nonequilibrium steady-state biochemical systems applicable to analyzing large-scale complex isothermal reaction networks. In terms of the stoichiometric matrix, we demonstrate both Kirchhoff's flux law sigma(l)J(l)=0 over a biochemical species, and potential law sigma(l) mu(l)=0 over a reaction loop. They reflect mass and energy conservation, respectively. For each reaction, its steady-state flux J can be decomposed into forward and backward one-way fluxes J = J+ - J-, with chemical potential difference deltamu = RT ln(J-/J+). The product -Jdeltamu gives the isothermal heat dissipation rate, which is necessarily non-negative according to the second law of thermodynamics. The stoichiometric network theory (SNT) embodies all of the relevant fundamental physics. Knowing J and deltamu of a biochemical reaction, a conductance can be computed which directly reflects the level of gene expression for the particular enzyme. For sufficiently small flux a linear relationship between J and deltamu can be established as the linear flux-force relation in irreversible thermodynamics, analogous to Ohm's law in electrical circuits.

Probing clouds in planets with a simple radiative transfer model: the Jupiter case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mendikoa, Iñigo; Pérez-Hoyos, Santiago; Sánchez-Lavega, Agustín

2012-11-01

Remote sensing of planets evokes using expensive on-orbit satellites and gathering complex data from space. However, the basic properties of clouds in planetary atmospheres can be successfully estimated with small telescopes even from an urban environment using currently available and affordable technology. This makes the process accessible for undergraduate students while preserving most of the physics and mathematics involved. This paper presents the methodology for carrying out a photometric study of planetary atmospheres, focused on the planet Jupiter. The method introduces the basics of radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres, some notions on inverse problem theory and the fundamentals of planetary photometry. As will be shown, the procedure allows the student to derive the spectral reflectivity and top altitude of clouds from observations at different wavelengths by applying a simple but enlightening ‘reflective layer model’. In this way, the planet's atmospheric structure is estimated by students as an inverse problem from the observed photometry. Web resources are also provided to help those unable to obtain telescopic observations of the planets.

Resolving the bulk δ 15N values of ancient human and animal bone collagen via compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis of constituent amino acids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Styring, Amy K.; Sealy, Judith C.; Evershed, Richard P.

2010-01-01

Stable nitrogen isotope analysis is a fundamental tool in assessing dietary preferences and trophic positions within contemporary and ancient ecosystems. In order to assess more fully the dietary contributions to human tissue isotope values, a greater understanding of the complex biochemical and physiological factors which underpin bulk collagen δ 15N values is necessary. Determinations of δ 15N values of the individual amino acids which constitute bone collagen are necessary to unravel these relationships, since different amino acids display different δ 15N values according to their biosynthetic origins. A range of collagen isolates from archaeological faunal and human bone ( n = 12 and 11, respectively), representing a spectrum of terrestrial and marine protein origins and diets, were selected from coastal and near-coastal sites at the south-western tip of Africa. The collagens were hydrolysed and δ 15N values of their constituent amino acids determined as N-acetylmethyl esters (NACME) via gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS). The analytical approach employed accounts for 56% of bone collagen nitrogen. Reconstruction of bulk bone collagen δ 15N values reveals a 2‰ offset from bulk collagen δ 15N values which is attributable to the δ 15N value of the amino acids which cannot currently be determined by GC-C-IRMS, notably arginine which comprises 53% of the nitrogen unaccounted for (23% of the total nitrogen). The δ 15N values of individual amino acids provide insights into both the contributions of various amino acids to the bulk δ 15N value of collagen and the factors influencing trophic position and the nitrogen source at the base of the food web. The similarity in the δ 15N values of alanine, glutamate, proline and hydroxyproline reflects the common origin of their amino groups from glutamate. The depletion in the δ 15N value of threonine with increasing trophic level indicates a fundamental difference between the biosynthetic pathway of threonine and the other amino acids. The δ 15N value of phenylalanine does not change significantly with trophic level, reflecting its conservative nature as an essential amino acid, and thus represents the isotopic composition of the nitrogen at the base of the food web. Δ 15N Glu-Phe values in particular are shown to reflect trophic level nitrogen sources within a food web. In relation to the reconstruction of ancient human diet the contribution of marine and terrestrial protein are strongly reflected in Δ 15N Glu-Phe values. Differences in nitrogen metabolism are also shown to have an influence upon individual amino acid δ 15N values with Δ 15N Glu-Phe values emphasising differences between the different physiological adaptations. The latter is demonstrated in tortoises, which can excrete nitrogen in the form of uric acid and urea and display negative Δ 15N Glu-Phe values whereas those for marine and terrestrial mammals are positive. The findings amplify the potential advantages of compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis in the study of nitrogen flow within food webs and in the reconstruction of past human diets.

Laser generation of XeCl exciplex molecules in a longitudinal repetitively pulsed discharge in a Xe - CsCl mixture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boichenko, A. M.; Klenovskii, M. S.

2015-12-01

By using the previously developed kinetic model, we have carried out simulations to study the possibility of laser generation of XeCl exciplex molecules in the working medium based on a mixture of Xe with CsCl vapours, excited by a longitudinal repetitively pulsed discharge. The formation mechanism of exciplex molecules in this mixture is fundamentally different from the formation mechanisms in the traditional mixtures of exciplex lasers. The conditions that make the laser generation possible are discussed. For these conditions, with allowance for available specific experimental conditions of the repetitively pulsed discharge excitation, we have obtained the calculated dependences of the power and efficiency of generation on the reflectivity of mirrors in a laser cavity.

Graph distance for complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimada, Yutaka; Hirata, Yoshito; Ikeguchi, Tohru; Aihara, Kazuyuki

2016-10-01

Networks are widely used as a tool for describing diverse real complex systems and have been successfully applied to many fields. The distance between networks is one of the most fundamental concepts for properly classifying real networks, detecting temporal changes in network structures, and effectively predicting their temporal evolution. However, this distance has rarely been discussed in the theory of complex networks. Here, we propose a graph distance between networks based on a Laplacian matrix that reflects the structural and dynamical properties of networked dynamical systems. Our results indicate that the Laplacian-based graph distance effectively quantifies the structural difference between complex networks. We further show that our approach successfully elucidates the temporal properties underlying temporal networks observed in the context of face-to-face human interactions.

Multi-segmental movement patterns reflect juggling complexity and skill level.

PubMed

Zago, Matteo; Pacifici, Ilaria; Lovecchio, Nicola; Galli, Manuela; Federolf, Peter Andreas; Sforza, Chiarella

2017-08-01

The juggling action of six experts and six intermediates jugglers was recorded with a motion capture system and decomposed into its fundamental components through Principal Component Analysis. The aim was to quantify trends in movement dimensionality, multi-segmental patterns and rhythmicity as a function of proficiency level and task complexity. Dimensionality was quantified in terms of Residual Variance, while the Relative Amplitude was introduced to account for individual differences in movement components. We observed that: experience-related modifications in multi-segmental actions exist, such as the progressive reduction of error-correction movements, especially in complex task condition. The systematic identification of motor patterns sensitive to the acquisition of specific experience could accelerate the learning process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The politics of adjustment and lifelong education: The case of Argentina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sirvent, Maria Teresa

1994-05-01

This article seeks to indicate some of the aspects of lifelong education in Argentina. Empirical evidence is found for the hypothesis that continuing education reproduces and reinforces social differences. Secondly, the article identifies some of the contradictions in the present socio-economic and political context of the country, which are posing new challenges to critical and participatory lifelong education. Educational practice is having to respond to a model of society which derives from neo-conservative practices in the economic, social and educational spheres. The article is fundamentally descriptive. Qualitative and quantitative data refer to potential demand, actual demand and social demand for lifelong education. The article concludes with some reflections on lifelong education as a global policy confronting a historical crisis situation.

Overview and perspective of occupational health from the international viewpoint.

PubMed

Murray, R

1983-12-01

Occupational health can mean many different things, but fundamentally it is concerned with the effect of work on health and the effect of health on the capacity for work. Many disciplines are involved at the professional level, including medicine, nursing, hygiene, and ergonomics. These are brought together in an international organisation, the Permanent Commission and International Association on Occupational Health. Administratively the United Nations specialised agencies, the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organization, provide an international forum for policy making. National patterns of occupational health reflect variations in industrial history, methods of administration and health resourses, which result in occupational health services becoming the responsibility, either of the Department of Health or the Department of Labour.

The Integration of Negative Affect, Pain, and Cognitive Control in the Cingulate Cortex

PubMed Central

Shackman, Alexander J.; Salomons, Tim V.; Slagter, Heleen A.; Fox, Andrew S.; Winter, Jameel J.; Davidson, Richard J.

2011-01-01

Preface It has been argued that emotion, pain, and cognitive control are functionally segregated in distinct subdivisions of the cingulate cortex. But recent observations encourage a fundamentally different view. Imaging studies indicate that negative affect, pain, and cognitive control activate an overlapping region of dorsal cingulate, the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). Anatomical studies reveal that aMCC constitutes a hub where information about reinforcers can be linked to motor centers responsible for expressing affect and executing goal-directed behavior. Computational modeling and other kinds of evidence suggest that this intimacy reflects control processes that are common to all three domains. These observations compel a reconsideration of dorsal cingulate’s contribution to negative affect and pain. PMID:21331082

Perception of the fundamental frequencies of children's voices by trained and untrained listeners.

PubMed

Wilson, F B; Wellen, C J; Kimbarow, M L

1983-10-01

This study was designed to determine if trained voice clinicians were better than untrained listeners in judging differences in the fundamental frequencies of children's voices. We also attempted to determine the degree of difference in fundamental frequency necessary for accurate judgments. Finally, ability to perceive pitch differences in speaking voices was correlated with ability to judge puretone stimuli. Results indicated that trained clinicians were no better at judging average fundamental frequency than were untrained listeners. Both groups performed at chance level until differences in vocal fundamental frequency exceeded 20 Hz. Finally, there was no correlation between subjects' success on standardized puretone pitch tests and ability to judge average pitch in the speaking voice.

Thermal Diffusivity for III-VI Semiconductor Melts at Different Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ban, H.; Li, C.; Lin, B.; Emoto, K.; Scripa, R. N.; Su, C.-H.; Lehoczky, S. L.

2004-01-01

The change of the thermal properties of semiconductor melts reflects the structural changes inside the melts, and a fundamental understanding of this structural transformation is essential for high quality semiconductor crystal growth process. This paper focused on the technical development and the measurement of thermal properties of III-VI semiconductor melts at high temperatures. Our previous work has improved the laser flash method for the specialized quartz sample cell. In this paper, we reported the results of our recent progress in further improvements of the measurement system by minimizing the free convection of the melt, adding a front IR detector, and placing the sample cell in a vacuum environment. The results for tellurium and selenium based compounds, some of which have never been reported in the literature, were obtained at different temperatures as a function of time. The data were compared with other measured thermophysical properties to shed light on the structural transformations of the melt.

Novel Intrinsic Ignition Method Measuring Local-Global Integration Characterizes Wakefulness and Deep Sleep

PubMed Central

Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Sanjuán, Ana

2017-01-01

Abstract A precise definition of a brain state has proven elusive. Here, we introduce the novel local-global concept of intrinsic ignition characterizing the dynamical complexity of different brain states. Naturally occurring intrinsic ignition events reflect the capability of a given brain area to propagate neuronal activity to other regions, giving rise to different levels of integration. The ignitory capability of brain regions is computed by the elicited level of integration for each intrinsic ignition event in each brain region, averaged over all events. This intrinsic ignition method is shown to clearly distinguish human neuroimaging data of two fundamental brain states (wakefulness and deep sleep). Importantly, whole-brain computational modelling of this data shows that at the optimal working point is found where there is maximal variability of the intrinsic ignition across brain regions. Thus, combining whole brain models with intrinsic ignition can provide novel insights into underlying mechanisms of brain states. PMID:28966977

Innovations in disaster mental health services and evaluation: national, state, and local responses to Hurricane Katrina (introduction to the special issue).

PubMed

Norris, Fran H; Rosen, Craig S

2009-05-01

The severe consequences of Hurricane Katrina on mental health have sparked tremendous interest in improving the quality of mental health care for disaster victims. In this special issue, we seek to illustrate the breadth of work emerging in this area. The five empirical examples each reflect innovation, either in the nature of the services being provided or in the evaluation approach. Most importantly, they portray the variability of post-Katrina mental health programs, which ranged from national to state to local in scope and from educational to clinical in intensity. As a set, these papers address the fundamental question of whether it is useful and feasible to provide different intensities of mental health care to different populations according to presumed need. The issue concludes with recommendations for future disaster mental health service delivery and evaluation.

Non-destructive splitter of twisted light based on modes splitting in a ring cavity.

PubMed

Li, Yan; Zhou, Zhi-Yuan; Ding, Dong-Sheng; Zhang, Wei; Shi, Shuai; Shi, Bao-Sen; Guo, Guang-Can

2016-02-08

Efficiently discriminating beams carrying different orbital angular momentum (OAM) is of fundamental importance for various applications including high capacity optical communication and quantum information processing. We design and experimentally verify a distinguished method for effectively splitting different OAM-carried beams by introducing Dove prisms in a ring cavity. Because of rotational symmetry broken of two OAM-carried beams with opposite topological charges, their transmission spectra will split. When mode and impedance matches between the cavity and one OAM-carried beam are achieved, this beam will transmit through the cavity and other beam will be reflected, both beams keep their spatial shapes. In this case, the cavity acts like a polarized beam splitter. Besides, the transmitting beam can be selected at your will, the splitting efficiency can reach unity if the cavity is lossless and it completely matches the beam. Furthermore, beams carry multi-OAMs can also be split by cascading ring cavities.

Jung, Winnicott and the divided psyche.

PubMed

Saban, Mark

2016-06-01

In his review of Memories Dreams Reflections, Winnicott diagnosed Jung as suffering from a psychic split, and characterized the content and the structure of analytical psychology as primarily moulded and conditioned by Jung's own defensive quest for a 'self that he could call his own'. This pathologizing analysis continues to be endorsed by contemporary Jungian writers. In this paper I attempt to show that Winnicott's critique is fundamentally misguided because it derives from a psychoanalytic model of the psyche, a model that regards all dissociation as necessarily pathological. I argue that Jung's understanding of the psyche differs radically from this model, and further, that it conforms by and large to the kind of dissociative model that we find in the writings of Frederic Myers, William James and Theodor Flournoy. I conclude that a fruitful relationship between psychoanalysis and analytical psychology must depend upon an awareness of these important differences between the two psychic models. © 2016, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Novel Intrinsic Ignition Method Measuring Local-Global Integration Characterizes Wakefulness and Deep Sleep.

PubMed

Deco, Gustavo; Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Laufs, Helmut; Sanjuán, Ana; Kringelbach, Morten L

2017-01-01

A precise definition of a brain state has proven elusive. Here, we introduce the novel local-global concept of intrinsic ignition characterizing the dynamical complexity of different brain states. Naturally occurring intrinsic ignition events reflect the capability of a given brain area to propagate neuronal activity to other regions, giving rise to different levels of integration. The ignitory capability of brain regions is computed by the elicited level of integration for each intrinsic ignition event in each brain region, averaged over all events. This intrinsic ignition method is shown to clearly distinguish human neuroimaging data of two fundamental brain states (wakefulness and deep sleep). Importantly, whole-brain computational modelling of this data shows that at the optimal working point is found where there is maximal variability of the intrinsic ignition across brain regions. Thus, combining whole brain models with intrinsic ignition can provide novel insights into underlying mechanisms of brain states.

Evaluation Of The MODIS-VIIRS Land Surface Reflectance Fundamental Climate Data Record.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roger, J. C.; Vermote, E.; Skakun, S.; Murphy, E.; Holben, B. N.; Justice, C. O.

2016-12-01

The land surface reflectance is a fundamental climate data record at the basis of the derivation of other climate data records (Albedo, LAI/Fpar, Vegetation indices) and has been recognized as a key parameter in the understanding of the land-surface-climate processes. Here, we present the validation of the Land surface reflectance used for MODIS and VIIRS data. This methodology uses the 6SV Code and data from the AERONET network. The first part was to define a protocol to use the AERONET data. To correctly take into account the aerosol model, we used the aerosol microphysical properties provided by the AERONET network including size-distribution (%Cf, %Cc, rf, rc, σr, σc), complex refractive indices and sphericity. Over the 670 available AERONET sites, we selected 230 sites with sufficient data. To be useful for validation, the aerosol model should be readily available anytime, which is rarely the case. We then used regressions for each microphysical parameter using the aerosol optical thickness at 440nm and the Angström coefficient as parameters. Comparisons with the AERONET dataset give good APU (Accuracy-Precision-Uncertainties) for each parameter. The second part of the study relies on the theoretical land surface retrieval. We generated TOA synthetic data using aerosol models from AERONET and determined APU on the surface reflectance retrieval while applying the MODIS and VIRRS Atmospheric correction software. Over 250 AERONET sites, the global uncertainties are for MODIS band 1 (red) is always lower than 0.0015 (when surface reflectance is > 0.04). This very good result shows the validity of our reference. Then, we used this reference for validating the MODIS and VIIRS surface reflectance products. The overall accuracy clearly reaches specifications. Finally, we will present an error budget of the surface reflectance retrieval. Indeed, to better understand how to improve the methodology, we defined an exhaustive error budget. We included all inputs i.e. sensor, calibration, aerosol properties, atmospheric conditions… This latter work provides a lot of information, such as the aerosol optical thickness obviously drives the uncertainties of the retrieval, the absorption and the volume concentration of the fine aerosol mode have an important impact as well…

Futurism in nursing: Technology, robotics and the fundamentals of care.

PubMed

Archibald, Mandy M; Barnard, Alan

2018-06-01

To explore the concept of futurism and the emergence of robotics in relation to the fundamentals of care, highlighting how nurses need a more anticipatory and contemporary position towards technology to maintain relevance in the future. The future of nursing in Western countries will soon be linked with the emergence of robotics for efficient and cost-effective provision of fundamental care. Their emergence and roles with care of the body and more broadly assisting people with their daily living activities has enormous implications for the profession and health care. Despite this importance, how nursing understands and will respond to technological trends and developments is insufficiently reflected in the professions discourse. A discursive article. Literature from nursing fundamentals of care/fundamental care, information science, technology, humanities and philosophy informed the arguments in this article. This article examines the intersection of futurism and the fundamentals of care, and how adopting an anticipatory and posthuman perspective towards technological-care integration is necessary amidst a robot revolution in the techno-era. Nurses are currently challenged to understand, prioritise and deliver fundamental care. Health systems are challenged by a lack of care predicated by shortfalls in skilled staff and deficiencies in staff mobilisation. Both challenges can be compounded or alleviated by further integration of technology, but to maximise benefit requires forethought and understanding. This article can help open needed dialogue around planning for the future and is a call to action for the nursing profession to conceptualise its position on exponential technological growth and fundamental care provision. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The interaction between reflection and practice in the professional development of a secondary education science teachers: Case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez Bernal, Bartolome

The work that we describe here is a case study of two secondary education science teachers about how action-oriented reflection and action itself interact, and their influence on professional development. The study was carried out from two different viewpoints: a study with a qualitative orientation on the one hand, using diverse data collection and analysis instruments, and collaborative action research on the other, to form the backbone of professional development. In our theoretical outline, we stress the concepts of reflection which sustain the theoretical-practical dialectic, and of complexity which is seen to be a progression hypothesis of central importance, and in which we distinguish three dimensions: technique, practice, and criticism. The reflection data collection instruments were the teacher's diaries and memos, transcriptions of the work group meetings, questionnaires, and interviews. For the classroom practice the ethnographic notes and extracts from the videotapes of the class sessions, and other documentary sources such. The fundamental instrument for data analysis, both for reflection and practice, was the System of Categories that includes six analytical frames: ideological, teacher education, psychological, contextual, epistemological, and curricular. We also used third-order instruments for the representation, such as complexity spheres for reflection and practice and the reflection-practice integration horizon, which allowed the evolution of the teachers to be viewed over the course of the two school years that the research lasted, as well as giving an overall representation of the integration of reflection and practice. The results showed the teachers to be in transition from a technical to a practical dimension, with both her reflection and her classroom practice in the process of becoming more complex, and with the two being closely integrated. It was also found that she had a hard core of obstacles impeding her professional development. We believe that the action-research program has had a very positive impact on the professional development of all the participating teachers. The results, however, far from meaning the end of the process, are merely the beginning of a new cycle in the action-research process, now with far solider starting data.

40 CFR 403.13 - Variances from categorical pretreatment standards for fundamentally different factors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... for fundamentally different factors. (a) Definition. The term Requester means an Industrial User or a... a certain Industrial User within an industrial category or subcategory. This will only be done if data specific to that Industrial User indicates it presents factors fundamentally different from those...

Obligations of an academic and clinical oncologist: historical reflections.

PubMed

Johnson, David H

2014-01-01

Obligations are derived from one's core values-those fundamental, enduring, deeply held beliefs that guide one's everyday actions. Gandhi stated it more eloquently than I ever could: "Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny." So what are the obligations of the academic oncologist and clinician? I believe there are a few indubitable and fundamental obligations: professionalism, patient care, stewardship, maintenance of knowledge, productivity, and mentorship). I might add that I do not see these obligations as unique to the academician but rather applicable to all physicians.

Categorical ethnicity and mental health literacy in New Zealand.

PubMed

Marie, Dannette; Forsyth, Darryl K; Miles, Lynden K

2004-08-01

Public social policies in New Zealand assume that there are fundamental differences between Maori views of health phenomena and non-Maori perceptions. The biomedical model and a Maori model known as Te Whare Tapa Wha are commonly employed to characterise these differences. Using the categorical ethnicity demarcation 'Maori/non-Maori' we investigate this claim with respect to mental health literacy about depression. Participants were randomly selected from the General and Maori Electoral Rolls and recruited by post (N=205). A vignette methodology was employed and involved the development of a fictional character as a target stimulus who exhibited the minimum DSM-IV-R criteria for a major depressive disorder. Participants responded to items regarding problem recognition, well-being, causal attributions, treatment preferences, and likely prognosis. The majority of Maori and non-Maori participants correctly identified the problem the vignette character was experiencing and nominated congruent attributions for the causes of the problem. In relation to treatment strategies and likely prognosis, independent of self-assigned ethnicity, participants rated professional treatments above alternative options. Overall the categorical ethnicity distinction 'Maori and non-Maori' produced no systematic variation with regards to individual evaluative responses about a major depressive disorder. Contrary to the embedded assumption within New Zealand's public health strategies that there are essential differences between the way Maori and non-Maori view health problems, and that the categorical ethnicity demarcation reliably reflects these differences, we found no evidence for the veracity of this claim using a major depressive disorder as a target for judgements. Alternative explanations are canvassed as to why this assumption about fundamental differences based on categorical ethnicity has gained ascendancy and prominence within the sphere of New Zealand health.

Fundamental Frequency of Crying in Two-month-old Boys and Girls: Do Sex Hormones During Mini-puberty Mediate Differences?

PubMed

Borysiak, Anja; Hesse, Volker; Wermke, Peter; Hain, Johannes; Robb, Michael; Wermke, Kathleen

2017-01-01

To evaluate whether the puberty-like sex hormone surge during the first months of life (mini-puberty) affects fundamental frequency (fo) in infant crying as one would derive from hormone influences on voice in adults. Populational prospective study. Twenty healthy normal-hearing infants (nine boys) were recruited for participation. Spontaneously uttered cries were collected from each infant at 8 weeks of age. The cries were acoustically analyzed for mean fo and fo range. The fo properties were correlated to the average serum levels of bioavailable estradiol (E2) (mean E2/sex hormone-binding globulin [SHBG]) and testosterone (T) (mean T/SHBG) across the second month of life. Whereas no significant hormone effect was found for mean fo, a significant negative correlation (r = -0.55) was found between fo range and mean E2/SHBG. No indication for a T influence on fo features was found at this age. Although girls showed a slightly higher mean E2 concentration than boys did, the observed differences in cry fo range were judged to be reflective of an infant's serum concentration of E2 rather than a sex-based difference. In the absence of laryngeal size differences between female and male infants, the result was interpreted as indicative of an E2 influence on viscoelastic properties of the vocal folds. In our opinion, the investigation of young infants' vocalizations during the early postnatal surge of sex steroids (mini-puberty) may advance our understanding of the mechanisms mediating average sex differences in vocal development and early communication. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Construction of an adaptable European transnational ecological deprivation index: the French version

PubMed Central

Delpierre, Cyrille; Dejardin, Olivier; Grosclaude, Pascale; Launay, Ludivine; Guittet, Lydia; Lang, Thierry; Launoy, Guy

2012-01-01

Background Studying social disparities in health implies the ability to measure them accurately, to compare them between different areas or countries and to follow trends over time. This study proposes a method for constructing a French European deprivation index, which will be replicable in several European countries and is related to an individual deprivation indicator constructed from a European survey specifically designed to study deprivation. Methods and Results Using individual data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, goods/services indicated by individuals as being fundamental needs, the lack of which reflect deprivation, were selected. From this definition, which is specific to a cultural context, an individual deprivation indicator was constructed by selecting fundamental needs associated both with objective and subjective poverty. Next, the authors selected among variables available both in the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey and French national census those best reflecting individual experience of deprivation using multivariate logistic regression. An ecological measure of deprivation was provided for all the smallest French geographical units. Preliminary validation showed a higher association between the French European Deprivation Index (EDI) score and both income and education than the Townsend index, partly ensuring its ability to measure individual socioeconomic status. Conclusion This index, which is specific to a particular cultural and social policy context, could be replicated in 25 other European countries, thereby allowing European comparisons. EDI could also be reproducible over time. EDI could prove to be a relevant tool in evidence-based policy-making for measuring and reducing social disparities in health issues and even outside the medical domain. PMID:22544918

Elevated depressive symptoms enhance reflexive but not reflective auditory category learning.

PubMed

Maddox, W Todd; Chandrasekaran, Bharath; Smayda, Kirsten; Yi, Han-Gyol; Koslov, Seth; Beevers, Christopher G

2014-09-01

In vision an extensive literature supports the existence of competitive dual-processing systems of category learning that are grounded in neuroscience and are partially-dissociable. The reflective system is prefrontally-mediated and uses working memory and executive attention to develop and test rules for classifying in an explicit fashion. The reflexive system is striatally-mediated and operates by implicitly associating perception with actions that lead to reinforcement. Although categorization is fundamental to auditory processing, little is known about the learning systems that mediate auditory categorization and even less is known about the effects of individual difference in the relative efficiency of the two learning systems. Previous studies have shown that individuals with elevated depressive symptoms show deficits in reflective processing. We exploit this finding to test critical predictions of the dual-learning systems model in audition. Specifically, we examine the extent to which the two systems are dissociable and competitive. We predicted that elevated depressive symptoms would lead to reflective-optimal learning deficits but reflexive-optimal learning advantages. Because natural speech category learning is reflexive in nature, we made the prediction that elevated depressive symptoms would lead to superior speech learning. In support of our predictions, individuals with elevated depressive symptoms showed a deficit in reflective-optimal auditory category learning, but an advantage in reflexive-optimal auditory category learning. In addition, individuals with elevated depressive symptoms showed an advantage in learning a non-native speech category structure. Computational modeling suggested that the elevated depressive symptom advantage was due to faster, more accurate, and more frequent use of reflexive category learning strategies in individuals with elevated depressive symptoms. The implications of this work for dual-process approach to auditory learning and depression are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elevated Depressive Symptoms Enhance Reflexive but not Reflective Auditory Category Learning

PubMed Central

Maddox, W. Todd; Chandrasekaran, Bharath; Smayda, Kirsten; Yi, Han-Gyol; Koslov, Seth; Beevers, Christopher G.

2014-01-01

In vision an extensive literature supports the existence of competitive dual-processing systems of category learning that are grounded in neuroscience and are partially-dissociable. The reflective system is prefrontally-mediated and uses working memory and executive attention to develop and test rules for classifying in an explicit fashion. The reflexive system is striatally-mediated and operates by implicitly associating perception with actions that lead to reinforcement. Although categorization is fundamental to auditory processing, little is known about the learning systems that mediate auditory categorization and even less is known about the effects of individual difference in the relative efficiency of the two learning systems. Previous studies have shown that individuals with elevated depressive symptoms show deficits in reflective processing. We exploit this finding to test critical predictions of the dual-learning systems model in audition. Specifically, we examine the extent to which the two systems are dissociable and competitive. We predicted that elevated depressive symptoms would lead to reflective-optimal learning deficits but reflexive-optimal learning advantages. Because natural speech category learning is reflexive in nature, we made the prediction that elevated depressive symptoms would lead to superior speech learning. In support of our predictions, individuals with elevated depressive symptoms showed a deficit in reflective-optimal auditory category learning, but an advantage in reflexive-optimal auditory category learning. In addition, individuals with elevated depressive symptoms showed an advantage in learning a non-native speech category structure. Computational modeling suggested that the elevated depressive symptom advantage was due to faster, more accurate, and more frequent use of reflexive category learning strategies in individuals with elevated depressive symptoms. The implications of this work for dual-process approach to auditory learning and depression are discussed. PMID:25041936

Reflections of ions in electrostatic analyzers: a case study with New Horizons/Solar Wind Around Pluto.

PubMed

Randol, B M; Ebert, R W; Allegrini, F; McComas, D J; Schwadron, N A

2010-11-01

Electrostatic analyzers (ESAs), in various forms, are used to measure plasma in a range of applications. In this article, we describe how ions reflect from the interior surfaces of an ESA, the detection of which constitutes a fundamentally nonideal response of ESAs. We demonstrate this effect by comparing laboratory data from a real ESA-based space instrument, the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument, aboard the NASA New Horizons spacecraft, to results from a model based on quantum mechanical simulations of particles reflected from the instrument's surfaces combined with simulations of particle trajectories through the instrument's applied electrostatic fields. Thus, we show, for the first time, how reflected ions in ESAs lead to nonideal effects that have important implications for understanding the data returned by these instruments, as well as for designing new low-background ESA-based instruments. Specifically, we show that the response of SWAP widens considerably below a level of 10(-3) of the peak response. Thus, a direct measurement of a plasma distribution with SWAP will have an energy-dependent background on the order of ≤10(-3) of the peak of the signal due to that distribution. We predict that this order of magnitude estimate for the background applies to a large number of ESA-based instruments because ESAs operate using a common principle. However, the exact shape of the energy-dependent response will be different for different instruments. The principle of operation is that ions outside the ideal range of energy-per-charge are deflected into the walls of the ESA. Therefore, we propose that a new design paradigm is necessary to mitigate the effect of ion reflections and thus accurately and directly measure the energy spectrum of a plasma using ESAs. In this article, we build a framework for minimizing the effect of ion reflections in the design of new ESAs. Through the use of existing computer simulation software, a design team can use our method to quantify the amount of reflections in their instrument and iteratively change design parameters before fabrication, conserving resources. A possible direction for the new design paradigm is having nonsolid walls of the ESA, already used in some applications.

Reflections of ions in electrostatic analyzers: A case study with New Horizons/Solar Wind Around Pluto

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

Randol, B. M.; Ebert, R. W.; Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228

Electrostatic analyzers (ESAs), in various forms, are used to measure plasma in a range of applications. In this article, we describe how ions reflect from the interior surfaces of an ESA, the detection of which constitutes a fundamentally nonideal response of ESAs. We demonstrate this effect by comparing laboratory data from a real ESA-based space instrument, the Solar Wind Around Pluto (SWAP) instrument, aboard the NASA New Horizons spacecraft, to results from a model based on quantum mechanical simulations of particles reflected from the instrument's surfaces combined with simulations of particle trajectories through the instrument's applied electrostatic fields. Thus, wemore » show, for the first time, how reflected ions in ESAs lead to nonideal effects that have important implications for understanding the data returned by these instruments, as well as for designing new low-background ESA-based instruments. Specifically, we show that the response of SWAP widens considerably below a level of 10{sup -3} of the peak response. Thus, a direct measurement of a plasma distribution with SWAP will have an energy-dependent background on the order of {<=}10{sup -3} of the peak of the signal due to that distribution. We predict that this order of magnitude estimate for the background applies to a large number of ESA-based instruments because ESAs operate using a common principle. However, the exact shape of the energy-dependent response will be different for different instruments. The principle of operation is that ions outside the ideal range of energy-per-charge are deflected into the walls of the ESA. Therefore, we propose that a new design paradigm is necessary to mitigate the effect of ion reflections and thus accurately and directly measure the energy spectrum of a plasma using ESAs. In this article, we build a framework for minimizing the effect of ion reflections in the design of new ESAs. Through the use of existing computer simulation software, a design team can use our method to quantify the amount of reflections in their instrument and iteratively change design parameters before fabrication, conserving resources. A possible direction for the new design paradigm is having nonsolid walls of the ESA, already used in some applications.« less

Enhanced laser-energy coupling to dense plasmas driven by recirculating electron currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, R. J.; Wilson, R.; King, M.; Williamson, S. D. R.; Dance, R. J.; Armstrong, C.; Brabetz, C.; Wagner, F.; Zielbauer, B.; Bagnoud, V.; Neely, D.; McKenna, P.

2018-03-01

The absorption of laser energy and dynamics of energetic electrons in dense plasma is fundamental to a range of intense laser-driven particle and radiation generation mechanisms. We measure the total reflected and scattered laser energy as a function of intensity, distinguishing between the influence of pulse energy and focal spot size on total energy absorption, in the interaction with thin foils. We confirm a previously published scaling of absorption with intensity by variation of laser pulse energy, but find a slower scaling when changing the focal spot size. 2D particle-in-cell simulations show that the measured differences arise due to energetic electrons recirculating within the target and undergoing multiple interactions with the laser pulse, which enhances absorption in the case of large focal spots. This effect is also shown to be dependent on the laser pulse duration, the target thickness and the electron beam divergence. The parameter space over which this absorption enhancement occurs is explored via an analytical model. The results impact our understanding of the fundamental physics of laser energy absorption in solids and thus the development of particle and radiation sources driven by intense laser–solid interactions.

The quest for universality: reflections on the Universal Draft Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.

PubMed

Rawlinson, Mary C; Donchin, Anne

2005-09-01

This essay focuses on two underlying presumptions that impinge on the effort of UNESCO to engender universal agreement on a set of bioethical norms: the conception of universality that pervades much of the document, and its disregard of structural inequalities that significantly impact health. Drawing on other UN system documents and recent feminist bioethics scholarship, we argue that the formulation of universal principles should not rely solely on shared ethical values, as the draft document affirms, but also on differences in ethical values that obtain across cultures. UNESCO's earlier work on gender mainstreaming illustrates the necessity of thinking from multiple perspectives in generating universal norms. The declaration asserts the 'fundamental equality of all human beings in dignity and rights'(1) and insists that 'the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition'(2) yet it does not explicitly recognize disparities of power and wealth that deny equal dignity and rights to many. Without attention to structural (as opposed to merely accidental) inequities, UNESCO's invocation of rights is so abstract as to be incompatible with its avowed intention.

Further thoughts on the utility of risk matrices.

PubMed

Ball, David J; Watt, John

2013-11-01

Risk matrices are commonly encountered devices for rating hazards in numerous areas of risk management. Part of their popularity is predicated on their apparent simplicity and transparency. Recent research, however, has identified serious mathematical defects and inconsistencies. This article further examines the reliability and utility of risk matrices for ranking hazards, specifically in the context of public leisure activities including travel. We find that (1) different risk assessors may assign vastly different ratings to the same hazard, (2) even following lengthy reflection and learning scatter remains high, and (3) the underlying drivers of disparate ratings relate to fundamentally different worldviews, beliefs, and a panoply of psychosocial factors that are seldom explicitly acknowledged. It appears that risk matrices when used in this context may be creating no more than an artificial and even untrustworthy picture of the relative importance of hazards, which may be of little or no benefit to those trying to manage risk effectively and rationally. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Sox genes in the coral Acropora millepora: divergent expression patterns reflect differences in developmental mechanisms within the Anthozoa

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Background Sox genes encode transcription factors that function in a wide range of developmental processes across the animal kingdom. To better understand both the evolution of the Sox family and the roles of these genes in cnidarians, we are studying the Sox gene complement of the coral, Acropora millepora (Class Anthozoa). Results Based on overall domain structures and HMG box sequences, the Acropora Sox genes considered here clearly fall into four of the five major Sox classes. AmSoxC is expressed in the ectoderm during development, in cells whose morphology is consistent with their assignment as sensory neurons. The expression pattern of the Nematostella ortholog of this gene is broadly similar to that of AmSoxC, but there are subtle differences – for example, expression begins significantly earlier in Acropora than in Nematostella. During gastrulation, AmSoxBb and AmSoxB1 transcripts are detected only in the presumptive ectoderm while AmSoxE1 transcription is restricted to the presumptive endoderm, suggesting that these Sox genes might play roles in germ layer specification. A third type B Sox gene, AmSoxBa, and a Sox F gene AmSoxF also have complex and specific expression patterns during early development. Each of these genes has a clear Nematostella ortholog, but in several cases the expression pattern observed in Acropora differs significantly from that reported in Nematostella. Conclusion These differences in expression patterns between Acropora and Nematostella largely reflect fundamental differences in developmental processes, underscoring the diversity of mechanisms within the anthozoan Sub-Class Hexacorallia (Zoantharia). PMID:19014479

Introductory physics in biological context: An approach to improve introductory physics for life science students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crouch, Catherine H.; Heller, Kenneth

2014-05-01

We describe restructuring the introductory physics for life science students (IPLS) course to better support these students in using physics to understand their chosen fields. Our courses teach physics using biologically rich contexts. Specifically, we use examples in which fundamental physics contributes significantly to understanding a biological system to make explicit the value of physics to the life sciences. This requires selecting the course content to reflect the topics most relevant to biology while maintaining the fundamental disciplinary structure of physics. In addition to stressing the importance of the fundamental principles of physics, an important goal is developing students' quantitative and problem solving skills. Our guiding pedagogical framework is the cognitive apprenticeship model, in which learning occurs most effectively when students can articulate why what they are learning matters to them. In this article, we describe our courses, summarize initial assessment data, and identify needs for future research.

The Problem of Absolute Knowledge. Metaphysics as Intellectual Intuition in Classic Modern European Philosophy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torubarova, Tatyana V.

2016-01-01

Classic modern European philosophy explicate, reflect; leaving own history in fundamental metaphysical position, where the existence is understood as conscience. This position is representative in the process of historic development, transition of philosophical thought from R. Dekart to G. Hegel. It appears exactly the field of key metaphysical…

The Fundamentals and Fun of Electronic Teamwork for Students and Their Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

This paper reviews and integrates best practices for online teamwork for students and instructors from current and classical literature as well as the author's own six years of online teaching experience (over 40 online courses). A qualitative reflection of six graduate and six undergraduate courses in management, human resource management and…

Transforming Self-Control through Peer Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakkula, Michael J.

2009-01-01

As people consider the critical importance of inner control in the development of human functioning, it might be wise to reexamine a fundamental insight from cultural psychology: from the very beginnings of life the growth of the individual mind is a reflection of and response to the minds around people, including the stimuli to which those…

Sports and Physical Education in American High Schools: Some Historical Reflections.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Hanlon, Timothy P.

Public schooling was restructured and reoriented in fundamental ways during the decades immediately preceding the First World War. Schools were engaged in the process of preparing people for specialized work roles, but reformers were also concerned that the schools inculcate common social values. A wide range of extracurricular activities was…

The Contradictions of Public Sociology: A View from a Graduate Student at Berkeley

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noy, Darren

2009-01-01

Reflecting on my experiences as a graduate student, I argue that the terminology of public sociology should be dropped. The public sociology rhetoric is at odds with the fundamental professional reality in the discipline. Sociology, as a "hyper-professionalized" endeavor, primarily values abstract, explanatory theories, even if those theories make…

How Do We Communicate Environmental Ethics? Reflections on Environmental Education from a Kuwaiti Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

al-Naki, Khadija

2004-01-01

This paper arises from a PhD research project originally designed to search for innovative ways to stimulate environmental education (EE) in Kuwaiti middle schools. The research has shown that Islam shares similar fundamental principles to those underpinning "ecocentric" perspectives emerging in the West and increasingly thought…

Business Students Should Learn More about Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laprise, Shari L.; Winrich, Charles; Sharpe, Norean Radke

2008-01-01

Educators have been giving much-needed attention recently to innovations in the standard M.B.A. and the undergraduate business curriculum. Most notable has been the integration of fundamental courses in the core curriculum--finance, marketing, accounting--to emphasize a more-realistic team approach to learning, and to reflect that managers do not…

Student-Centered Learning: Functional Requirements for Integrated Systems to Optimize Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glowa, Liz; Goodell, Jim

2016-01-01

The realities of the 21st-century learner require that schools and educators fundamentally change their practice. "Educators must produce college- and career-ready graduates that reflect the future these students will face. And, they must facilitate learning through means that align with the defining attributes of this generation of…

Looking Back, Moving On: 2008 Best Notable Government Documents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Church, Jim

2009-01-01

If nothing else, 2008 was an eventful year for government information. People witnessed one of the most dramatic Presidential elections in U.S. history, the largest global economic meltdown since the Great Depression, and fundamental changes in the role of the federal government. As always, government information reflects the times people live in.…

Fundamentals of Composite Materials for Undergraduate Engineering--A Filmed Presentation. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busching, Herbert W.

Curricula in undergraduate engineering have not adequately reflected present usage and knowledge of composite materials (types of rock and organic matter in which structurally dissimilar materials are combined). Wide usage of composites is expected to increase the importance of this class of materials and the need for more substantive exposure to…

The Human Experience of Death or, What Can We Learn from Near-Death Experiences?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noyes, Russell Jr.

1982-01-01

As a result of serious accidents and illness many persons undergo death-rebirth experiences. The changes in attitudes, personality, and beliefs that sometimes follow these experiences reflect rebirth and reveal a fundamental human strategy for coping with the threat of death. These experiences have great therapeutic potential. (Author)

Do Pre-Service Science Teachers Have Understanding of the Nature of Science?: Explicit-Reflective Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Örnek, Funda; Turkey, Kocaeli

2014-01-01

Current approaches in Science Education attempt to enable students to develop an understanding of the nature of science, develop fundamental scientific concepts, and develop the ability to structure, analyze, reason, and communicate effectively. Students pose, solve, and interpret scientific problems, and eventually set goals and regulate their…

Lost Forever or Temporarily Misplaced? The Long Debate about the Nature of Memory Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Squire, Larry R.

2006-01-01

Studies of memory impairment in humans and experimental animals have been fundamental to learning about the organization of memory and its cellular and molecular substrates. When memory impairment occurs, especially after perturbations of the nervous system, the question inevitably arises whether the impairment reflects impaired information…

Sports Coaches as "Dangerous Individuals"--Practice as Governmentality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, William George; Piper, Heather; Garratt, Dean

2016-01-01

Recent concern surrounding sports coaches' interaction with young people has reflected a fundamental change in the way coaches and others regard the role of sports. In this paper, we consider the identification and definition of the contemporary sports coach (whether acting in a professional or volunteer capacity) as, in Foucault's term, a…

Measuring the Level of Complexity of Scientific Inquiries: The LCSI Index

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eilam, Efrat

2015-01-01

The study developed and applied an index for measuring the level of complexity of full authentic scientific inquiry. Complexity is a fundamental attribute of real life scientific research. The level of complexity is an overall reflection of complex cognitive and metacognitive processes which are required for navigating the authentic inquiry…

Career Development of Women in Academia: Traversing the Leaky Pipeline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gasser, Courtney E.; Shaffer, Katharine S.

2014-01-01

Women's experiences in academia are laden with a fundamental set of issues pertaining to gender inequalities. A model reflecting women's career development and experiences around their academic pipeline (or career in academia) is presented. This model further conveys a new perspective on the experiences of women academicians before, during and…

The Familiar Observer: Seeing beyond the Expected in Educational Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollenbeck, Amy Feiker

2015-01-01

Reflection on subjectivity in the qualitative research process is fundamental to the methodology. Although much attention is paid to what to do (identify subjectivities), there is much less emphasis on how one should do this. Furthermore, a researcher engaged in an intimately familiar setting, such as a typical American classroom, faces the unique…

A Time for Silence? Its Possibilities for Dialogue and for Reflective Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmermann, Ana Cristina; Morgan, W. John

2016-01-01

From the beginning of history sounds have played a fundamentally important role in humanity's development as ways of expression and of communication. However in contemporary western society, and indeed globally, we are experiencing an excess of speech and a relentless encouragement to expression. Such excess indicates a misunderstanding about what…

The Radio Amateur's Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blakeslee, Douglas, Ed.

The objectives of this basic reference work for the radio amateur are to present radio theory and practice in terms of application and to reflect both the fundamentals and the rapidly-advancing technology of radio communications so that the radio amateur will have a guide to what is practical, meaningful, proven, and useful. Twenty-three chapters…

Guide to Education: Senior High School Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

Noting that Alberta's education system must focus on what all students need to learn in order for them to participate in an economy and a society undergoing fundamental changes, this handbook reflects the initiatives and directions outlined in the business plan for the future of education in Alberta. All changes to Alberta Education requirements…

Educational Reflections on the "Ecological Crisis": EcoJustice, Environmentalism, and Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mueller, Michael P.

2009-01-01

There is a tendency by scholars arguing for a more just and sustainable future to position the "ecological crisis" as a fundamental reason for major educational reforms. Relying on crisis-talk to fuel social and environmental justice and environmentalism reinforces the thinking of the past, which inadvertently perpetuates the acceptance of present…

A Workplan for Distance Education Policy: Planning for the California Community Colleges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California Community Colleges, Sacramento. Office of the Chancellor.

Distance education offers the potential to further the missions of the community colleges in significant ways. However, the practice of education will not change without corresponding changes in our fundamental views of teaching and learning as they are reflected in state, federal, and institutional policies. This document identifies some of the…

Unifying dynamical and structural stability of equilibria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnoldi, Jean-François; Haegeman, Bart

2016-09-01

We exhibit a fundamental relationship between measures of dynamical and structural stability of linear dynamical systems-e.g. linearized models in the vicinity of equilibria. We show that dynamical stability, quantified via the response to external perturbations (i.e. perturbation of dynamical variables), coincides with the minimal internal perturbation (i.e. perturbations of interactions between variables) able to render the system unstable. First, by reformulating a result of control theory, we explain that harmonic external perturbations reflect the spectral sensitivity of the Jacobian matrix at the equilibrium, with respect to constant changes of its coefficients. However, for this equivalence to hold, imaginary changes of the Jacobian's coefficients have to be allowed. The connection with dynamical stability is thus lost for real dynamical systems. We show that this issue can be avoided, thus recovering the fundamental link between dynamical and structural stability, by considering stochastic noise as external and internal perturbations. More precisely, we demonstrate that a linear system's response to white-noise perturbations directly reflects the intensity of internal white-noise disturbance that it can accommodate before becoming stochastically unstable.

Unifying dynamical and structural stability of equilibria.

PubMed

Arnoldi, Jean-François; Haegeman, Bart

2016-09-01

We exhibit a fundamental relationship between measures of dynamical and structural stability of linear dynamical systems-e.g. linearized models in the vicinity of equilibria. We show that dynamical stability, quantified via the response to external perturbations (i.e. perturbation of dynamical variables), coincides with the minimal internal perturbation (i.e. perturbations of interactions between variables) able to render the system unstable. First, by reformulating a result of control theory, we explain that harmonic external perturbations reflect the spectral sensitivity of the Jacobian matrix at the equilibrium, with respect to constant changes of its coefficients. However, for this equivalence to hold, imaginary changes of the Jacobian's coefficients have to be allowed. The connection with dynamical stability is thus lost for real dynamical systems. We show that this issue can be avoided, thus recovering the fundamental link between dynamical and structural stability, by considering stochastic noise as external and internal perturbations. More precisely, we demonstrate that a linear system's response to white-noise perturbations directly reflects the intensity of internal white-noise disturbance that it can accommodate before becoming stochastically unstable.

Observation of an optical event horizon in a silicon-on-insulator photonic wire waveguide.

PubMed

Ciret, Charles; Leo, François; Kuyken, Bart; Roelkens, Gunther; Gorza, Simon-Pierre

2016-01-11

We report on the first experimental observation of an optical analogue of an event horizon in integrated nanophotonic waveguides, through the reflection of a continuous wave on an intense pulse. The experiment is performed in a dispersion-engineered silicon-on-insulator waveguide. In this medium, solitons do not suffer from Raman induced self-frequency shift as in silica fibers, a feature that is interesting for potential applications of optical event horizons. As shown by simulations, this also allows the observation of multiple reflections at the same time on fundamental solitons ejected by soliton fission.

Differences in Motivations between Fundamental Christians and Atheists on the Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivational Sensitivities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beasley, Amy; Rowell, Kevin

A study examined differences in motivations between fundamental Christians and atheists on the Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivational Sensitivities. Only five of the 15 areas measured by the Reiss Profile were used in the study. The hypothesis was that (within these areas: (1) independence, (2) power, (3) vengeance, (4) status, and…

Specular Reflection from Rough Surfaces Revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasuda, Kensei; Kim, Alvin; Cho, Hayley; Timofejev, Timofej; Walecki, Wojciech J.; Klep, James; Edelson, Amy S.; Walecki, Abigail S.; Walecki, Eve S.; Walecki, Peter S.

2016-10-01

In his beautiful paper, Hasan Fakhruddin reported observations of mirror-like reflections in the rough surface of a ground glass plate. Similar effects have been recently employed for metrology of the roughness of optical diffusers used in modern light emitting device illumination systems. We report the observations of specular reflection in nontransparent rough surfaces at oblique angles, where roughness was treated as a variable. We present a simple trigonometry-based model explaining the observed phenomenon, which we experimentally validated using aluminum surfaces that have controlled roughness. The reported demonstration requires no special equipment, other than cellphone cameras, dielectric or metal plate, and sandpaper, and serves as an introduction to wave optics. This activity can be used to get further insight into everyday applications of wave optics for students already familiar with wave optics fundamentals.

From what might have been to what must have been: counterfactual thinking creates meaning.

PubMed

Kray, Laura J; George, Linda G; Liljenquist, Katie A; Galinsky, Adam D; Tetlock, Philip E; Roese, Neal J

2010-01-01

Four experiments explored whether 2 uniquely human characteristics-counterfactual thinking (imagining alternatives to the past) and the fundamental drive to create meaning in life-are causally related. Rather than implying a random quality to life, the authors hypothesized and found that counterfactual thinking heightens the meaningfulness of key life experiences. Reflecting on alternative pathways to pivotal turning points even produced greater meaning than directly reflecting on the meaning of the event itself. Fate perceptions ("it was meant to be") and benefit-finding (recognition of positive consequences) were identified as independent causal links between counterfactual thinking and the construction of meaning. Through counterfactual reflection, the upsides to reality are identified, a belief in fate emerges, and ultimately more meaning is derived from important life events.

Optical differential reflectance spectroscopy for photochromic molecules on solid surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nickel, Fabian; Bernien, Matthias; Lipowski, Uwe; Kuch, Wolfgang

2018-03-01

Optical reflectance of thin adsorbates on solid surfaces is able to reveal fundamental changes of molecular properties compared to bulk systems. The detection of very small changes in the optical reflectance required several technical improvements in the past decades. We present an experimental setup that is capable of high-quality measurements of submonolayers and ultrathin layers of photochromic molecules on surfaces as well as quantifying their isomerization kinetics. By using photomultipliers as detectors, an enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of three with a total reduction of light exposure on the sample by at least four orders of magnitude is achieved. The potential of the experimental setup is demonstrated by a characterization of the photoswitching and thermal switching of a spirooxazine derivate on a bismuth surface.

When everything is not everywhere but species evolve: an alternative method to model adaptive properties of marine ecosystems

PubMed Central

Sauterey, Boris; Ward, Ben A.; Follows, Michael J.; Bowler, Chris; Claessen, David

2015-01-01

The functional and taxonomic biogeography of marine microbial systems reflects the current state of an evolving system. Current models of marine microbial systems and biogeochemical cycles do not reflect this fundamental organizing principle. Here, we investigate the evolutionary adaptive potential of marine microbial systems under environmental change and introduce explicit Darwinian adaptation into an ocean modelling framework, simulating evolving phytoplankton communities in space and time. To this end, we adopt tools from adaptive dynamics theory, evaluating the fitness of invading mutants over annual timescales, replacing the resident if a fitter mutant arises. Using the evolutionary framework, we examine how community assembly, specifically the emergence of phytoplankton cell size diversity, reflects the combined effects of bottom-up and top-down controls. When compared with a species-selection approach, based on the paradigm that “Everything is everywhere, but the environment selects”, we show that (i) the selected optimal trait values are similar; (ii) the patterns emerging from the adaptive model are more robust, but (iii) the two methods lead to different predictions in terms of emergent diversity. We demonstrate that explicitly evolutionary approaches to modelling marine microbial populations and functionality are feasible and practical in time-varying, space-resolving settings and provide a new tool for exploring evolutionary interactions on a range of timescales in the ocean. PMID:25852217

When everything is not everywhere but species evolve: an alternative method to model adaptive properties of marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Sauterey, Boris; Ward, Ben A; Follows, Michael J; Bowler, Chris; Claessen, David

2015-01-01

The functional and taxonomic biogeography of marine microbial systems reflects the current state of an evolving system. Current models of marine microbial systems and biogeochemical cycles do not reflect this fundamental organizing principle. Here, we investigate the evolutionary adaptive potential of marine microbial systems under environmental change and introduce explicit Darwinian adaptation into an ocean modelling framework, simulating evolving phytoplankton communities in space and time. To this end, we adopt tools from adaptive dynamics theory, evaluating the fitness of invading mutants over annual timescales, replacing the resident if a fitter mutant arises. Using the evolutionary framework, we examine how community assembly, specifically the emergence of phytoplankton cell size diversity, reflects the combined effects of bottom-up and top-down controls. When compared with a species-selection approach, based on the paradigm that "Everything is everywhere, but the environment selects", we show that (i) the selected optimal trait values are similar; (ii) the patterns emerging from the adaptive model are more robust, but (iii) the two methods lead to different predictions in terms of emergent diversity. We demonstrate that explicitly evolutionary approaches to modelling marine microbial populations and functionality are feasible and practical in time-varying, space-resolving settings and provide a new tool for exploring evolutionary interactions on a range of timescales in the ocean.

The semiconductor waveguide facet reflectivity problem

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

Herzinger, C.M.; Lu, C.C.; DeTemple, T.A.

1993-08-01

The problem of the facet reflectivity of a semiconductor slab waveguide is reexamined as an extension of Ikegami's original approach but which includes radiation-like modes. The latter are included, using a guide-within-a-guide geometry, as modes bound to a thick air-cladding guide which contains the core profile of interest. In this model with a relatively simple analysis, the coupling from the fundamental mode to radiation modes can be analyzed. The cross-coupling to the radiation modes is considered in detail for the simple double heterostructure waveguide and is shown to be important only for large core-cladding index differences and for strong modalmore » confinement wherein it results in a true facet loss. The conditions for this are the same as for low threshold lasers so that the loss sets a maximum limit on the equivalent internal quantum efficiency. A separate one-dimensional finite element, numerical mode matching program, which treats evanescent and propagating radiation modes, is used as a comparison. The two methods of accounting for radiation modes are shown to be in good agreement: both predict reduced extremes in reflectivity when compared with the original Ikegami model. Modern graded core cases are treated as general examples along with the specific quantum well laser structures taken from the literature. These include II-VI and III-V structures spanning wavelengths from 0.5 [mu]m to 10.0 [mu]m.« less

Reflections on the fundamentals of Geoethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinti, Stefano; Armigliato, Alberto

2017-04-01

Geoethics is a relatively new entry in the world of geosciences and in the last years has found a receptive forum in scientific congresses and publications, since there is an increasing recognition that it raises important and crucial issues. In spite of this growth of interest, there is a lack of foundational concepts defining its role and scope. This work presents thoughts ad reflections on the foundation of Geoethics, and proposes answers to basic issues such as: Has it to be viewed as an independent science, at the border between geosciences and ethics? Is it one of the many branches of geosciences, or rather a branch of ethics? Is it a social science? What are the main themes of Geoethics? There is a need for a systematization of Geoethics, avoiding that different experts speak different languages or use the same words with different meanings. To answer the above questions, it is useful to consider the development of Bioethics, that is a discipline that had its foundation well before Geoethics and that at the beginning of its history was affected by analogous problems of disordered growth. While waiting for a definition of the status of Geoethics, here it is stressed, that Geoethics has to mark a cultural progress in the way geoscientists see their role and their responsibilities, at a scale from local to global, to ensure that today's and future societies are built and grow with the knowledge and awareness of opportunities and constraints provided by the basic processes of Nature.

Individual differences in circadian waveform of Siberian hamsters under multiple lighting conditions

PubMed Central

Evans, Jennifer A.; Elliott, Jeffrey A.; Gorman, Michael R.

2013-01-01

Because the circadian clock in the mammalian brain derives from a network of interacting cellular oscillators, characterizing the nature and bases of circadian coupling is fundamental to understanding how the pacemaker operates. Various phenomena involving plasticity in circadian waveform have been theorized to reflect changes in oscillator coupling; however, it remains unclear whether these different behavioral paradigms reference a unitary underlying process. To test if disparate coupling assays index a common mechanism, we examined whether there is co-variation among behavioral responses to various lighting conditions that produce changes in circadian waveform. Siberian hamsters, Phodopus sungorus, were transferred from long to short photoperiods to distinguish short photoperiod responders (SP-R) from non-responders (SP-NR). Short photoperiod chronotyped hamsters were subsequently transferred, along with unselected controls, to 24 h light:dark:light:dark cycles (LDLD) with dim nighttime illumination, a procedure that induces bifurcated entrainment. Under LDLD, SP-R hamsters were more likely to bifurcate their rhythms than SP-NR hamsters or unselected controls. After transfer from LDLD to constant dim light, SP-R hamsters were also more likely to become arrhythmic compared to SP-NR hamsters and unselected controls. In contrast, short photoperiod chronotype did not influence more transient changes in circadian waveform. The present data reveal a clear relationship in the plasticity of circadian waveform across three distinct lighting conditions, suggesting a common mechanism wherein individual differences reflect variation in circadian coupling. PMID:23010663

Turbidite systems: State of the art and future directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Normark, W.R.; Posamentier, H.; Mutti, E.

1993-01-01

The study of turbidite systems covering a wide range of physical scales has led to confus ion regarding the use of certain key terms and hence a breakdown in communication between workers involved in turbidite research. There are three fundamentally different scales and types of observations derived from the study of outcrop data (ancient systems), high-resolution seismic reflection and side scan sonar data (modern systems), and multichannel seismic reflection data (modern and older buried systems). Despite the variability of scale the same terms are used to describe features that may have little in common. Consequently, turbidite system terminology has become imprecise and even misleading in some cases, thus providing impediments to developing useful predictive models for processes, depositional environments, and lateral and vertical distribution of sand bodies within turbidite systems. To address this concern, we review the principal elements critical to deepwater systems: slump scars, submarine canyons, channels, channel fill deposits, overbank deposits, and lobes and discuss some of their recognition criteria with each different type of data base. Local and regional tectonic setting, relative sea level variations, and bottom current activity are probably the main factors that control size, external geometry, internal stratal configuration, and facies characteristics of both modern and ancient turbidite systems. These factors ultimately control the timing and bounding characteristics between stages of growth of deepwater systems. If comparison of elements from different turbidite deposits using various data types is carried out at similar physical and temporal scales, predictive models eventually may be improved.

Hospital and Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Which Competences Are Important for Their Practice

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Jeffrey; Sánchez Pozo, Antonio; Rekkas, Dimitrios; Volmer, Daisy; Hirvonen, Jouni; Bozic, Borut; Skowron, Agnieska; Mircioiu, Constantin; Sandulovici, Roxana; Marcincal, Annie; Koster, Andries; Wilson, Keith A.; van Schravendijk, Chris; Frontini, Roberto; Price, Richard; Bates, Ian; De Paepe, Kristien

2016-01-01

The objective of the PHAR-QA (Quality assurance in European pharmacy education and training) project was to investigate how competence-based learning could be applied to a healthcare, sectoral profession such as pharmacy. This is the first study on evaluation of competences from the pharmacists’ perspective using an improved Delphi method with a large number of respondents from all over Europe. This paper looks at the way in which hospital pharmacists rank the fundamental competences for pharmacy practice. European hospital pharmacists (n = 152) ranked 68 competences for pharmacy practice of two types (personal and patient care), arranged into 13 clusters. Results were compared to those obtained from community pharmacists (n = 258). Generally, hospital and community pharmacists rank competences in a similar way. Nevertheless, differences can be detected. The higher focus of hospital pharmacists on knowledge of the different areas of science as well as on laboratory tests reflects the idea of a hospital pharmacy specialisation. The difference is also visible in the field of drug production. This is a necessary competence in hospitals with requests for drugs for rare diseases, as well as paediatric and oncologic drugs. Hospital pharmacists give entrepreneurship a lower score, but cost-effectiveness a higher one than community pharmacists. This reflects the reality of pharmacy practice where community pharmacists have to act as entrepreneurs, and hospital pharmacists are managers staying within drug budgets. The results are discussed in the light of a “hospital pharmacy” specialisation. PMID:28970394

A bioenergetic basis for membrane divergence in archaea and bacteria.

PubMed

Sojo, Víctor; Pomiankowski, Andrew; Lane, Nick

2014-08-01

Membrane bioenergetics are universal, yet the phospholipid membranes of archaea and bacteria-the deepest branches in the tree of life-are fundamentally different. This deep divergence in membrane chemistry is reflected in other stark differences between the two domains, including ion pumping and DNA replication. We resolve this paradox by considering the energy requirements of the last universal common ancestor (LUCA). We develop a mathematical model based on the premise that LUCA depended on natural proton gradients. Our analysis shows that such gradients can power carbon and energy metabolism, but only in leaky cells with a proton permeability equivalent to fatty acid vesicles. Membranes with lower permeability (equivalent to modern phospholipids) collapse free-energy availability, precluding exploitation of natural gradients. Pumping protons across leaky membranes offers no advantage, even when permeability is decreased 1,000-fold. We hypothesize that a sodium-proton antiporter (SPAP) provided the first step towards modern membranes. SPAP increases the free energy available from natural proton gradients by ∼60%, enabling survival in 50-fold lower gradients, thereby facilitating ecological spread and divergence. Critically, SPAP also provides a steadily amplifying advantage to proton pumping as membrane permeability falls, for the first time favoring the evolution of ion-tight phospholipid membranes. The phospholipids of archaea and bacteria incorporate different stereoisomers of glycerol phosphate. We conclude that the enzymes involved took these alternatives by chance in independent populations that had already evolved distinct ion pumps. Our model offers a quantitatively robust explanation for why membrane bioenergetics are universal, yet ion pumps and phospholipid membranes arose later and independently in separate populations. Our findings elucidate the paradox that archaea and bacteria share DNA transcription, ribosomal translation, and ATP synthase, yet differ in equally fundamental traits that depend on the membrane, including DNA replication.

Patients with acute abdominal pain describe their experiences of fundamental care across the acute care episode: a multi-stage qualitative case study.

PubMed

Jangland, Eva; Kitson, Alison; Muntlin Athlin, Åsa

2016-04-01

To explore how patients with acute abdominal pain describe their experiences of fundamental care across the acute care episode. Acute abdominal pain is one of the most common conditions to present in the acute care setting. Little is known about how patients' fundamental care needs are managed from presentation to post discharge. A multi-stage qualitative case study using the Fundamentals of Care framework as the overarching theoretical and explanatory mechanism. Repeated reflective interviews were conducted with five adult patients over a 6-month period in 2013 at a university hospital in Sweden. The interviews (n = 14) were analysed using directed content analysis. Patients' experiences across the acute care episode are presented as five patient narratives and synthesized into five descriptions of the entire hospital journey. The patients talked about the fundamentals of care and had vivid accounts of what they meant to them. The experiences of each of the patients were influenced by the extent to which they felt engaged with the health professionals. The ability to engage or build a rapport was identified as a central component across the fundamental care elements, but it varied in visibility. Consistent pain management, comfort, timely and accurate information, choice and dignity and relationships were identified as essential fundamental care needs of patients experiencing acute abdominal pain regardless of setting, diagnosis, or demographic variables. These were variously achieved and the patients' narratives raised areas for improvement in several areas. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bed load transport in gravel-bed rivers

Treesearch

Jeffrey J. Barry

2007-01-01

Bed load transport is a fundamental physical process in alluvial rivers, building and maintaining a channel geometry that reflects both the quantity and timing of water and the volume and caliber of sediment delivered from the watershed. A variety of formulae have been developed to predict bed load transport in gravel-bed rivers, but testing of the equations in natural...

Point of View: Teaching Chemistry for the Twenty-Second Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Steven M.

2013-01-01

In this article, the author reflects on chemistry teaching in the next century. He questions--Was anything he taught in his fundamental chemistry course of value? And, how will our current understanding of the molecular world change during his students' lifetimes? It reminded him of a pseudo-quote he remembered from his own university…

Mirrors of the Mind: Introduction to Mindful Ways of Thinking Education. Educational Psychology: Critical Pedagogical Perspectives. Volume 19

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inoue, Noriyuki

2012-01-01

"Mirrors of the Mind" uses East Asian epistemology and cultural concepts as new conceptual tools to address fundamental questions that educators encounter. The book invites readers to critically reflect on commonly held assumptions about learning, cognition, motivation, development, and other essential areas of educational psychology and learning…

Reflections on a Decade of Global Rankings: What We've Learned and Outstanding Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazelkorn, Ellen

2014-01-01

Ten years after the first global rankings appeared, it is clear that they have had an extraordinary impact on higher education. While there are fundamental questions about whether rankings measure either quality or what's meaningful, they have succeeded in exposing higher education to international comparison. More so, because of the…

Formation and Assessment of a Tool to Evaluate STEM Literacy in Service-Learning Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayford, Barbara; Blomstrom, Sally; Mumpower, Lori

2015-01-01

The purpose of the authors' research was to create a tool to evaluate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) literacy in service-learning projects. The researchers posited that components of service-learning, which in this case included the deliverable and reflections, are examples of fundamental STEM literacy and thus can be…

Los fundamentos de la seguridad escolar (The Fundamentals of School Security). ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaustad, Joan

This digest in Spanish presents ways that school administrators can realistically assess their schools' security needs. It opens by reporting that some types of school violence are declining, such as self-reported weapon carrying and fighting on school property, which reflects an overall decline in youth violence. However, schools still must…

Reflections on Leadership Preparation Programs and Social Justice: Are the Power and the Responsibility of the Faculty All in the Design?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkovich, Izhak

2017-01-01

Purpose: Fundamental aspects of educational leadership preparation programs regarding social justice are embodied in program design elements, yet the scholarly community did not adequately address these issues. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The essay suggests that organizational theories dealing with…

The Emergent Coordination of Cognitive Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kello, Christopher T.; Beltz, Brandon C.; Holden, John G.; Van Orden, Guy C.

2007-01-01

1/f scaling has been observed throughout human physiology and behavior, but its origins and meaning remain a matter of debate. Some argue that it is a byproduct of ongoing processes in the brain or body and therefore of limited relevance to psychological theory. Others argue that 1/f scaling reflects a fundamental aspect of all physiological and…

Standards for space automation and robotics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kader, Jac B.; Loftin, R. B.

1992-01-01

The AIAA's Committee on Standards for Space Automation and Robotics (COS/SAR) is charged with the identification of key functions and critical technologies applicable to multiple missions that reflect fundamental consideration of environmental factors. COS/SAR's standards/practices/guidelines implementation methods will be based on reliability, performance, and operations, as well as economic viability and life-cycle costs, simplicity, and modularity.

Formative versus Reflective Measurement in Executive Functions: A Critique of Willoughby et al.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Eric; Welsh, Marilyn C.

2014-01-01

Research into executive functioning (EF) has indeed grown exponentially across the past few decades, but as the Willoughby et al. critique makes clear, there remain fundamental questions to be resolved. The crux of their argument is built upon an examination of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach to understanding executive processes.…

Reflections on Enhancing the Understanding of Law through Ethical Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Murray S.

2010-01-01

There are varied approaches to incorporating the subject of ethics in the business school curriculum. The evolving process has included a debate over fundamental matters such as whether all students should be required to take a discrete course in ethics, who should be teaching ethics, and whether ethics can even be taught. The ethics subject…

Sticking to Fundamentals while Navigating on a Changing Sea: The Editor Reflects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erb, Tom

1995-01-01

Describes the difficulty in determining what core values should govern how middle level students are educated. Argues that doing what is best has to be grounded in something profound despite the difficulty in defining educational philosophy; concludes this is critical as educational agendas change and middle level education comes under fire. (SD)

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

Martinez-Ballarin, Roberto

The aim of this document is to study the effect of radiation damage on the silicon sensors. The reflection of the effect of radiation can be observed in two fundamental parameters of the detector: the bias current and the bias voltage. The leakage current directly affects the noise, while the bias voltage is required to collect the maximum signal deposited by the charged particle.

Reflections on the surface energy imbalance problem

Treesearch

Ray Leuning; Eva van Gorsela; William J. Massman; Peter R. Isaac

2012-01-01

The 'energy imbalance problem' in micrometeorology arises because at most flux measurement sites the sum of eddy fluxes of sensible and latent heat (H + λE) is less than the available energy (A). Either eddy fluxes are underestimated or A is overestimated. Reasons for the imbalance are: (1) a failure to satisfy the fundamental assumption of one-...

Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Academies Press, 2011

2011-01-01

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are cultural achievements that reflect our humanity, power our economy, and constitute fundamental aspects of our lives as citizens, consumers, parents, and members of the workforce. Providing all students with access to quality education in the STEM disciplines is important to our nation's…

A Personal Relevance Approach to Teaching Theories and History of Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waller, James E.

It may be suggested that one's reflection on psychology's past and present state is an important part of finding one's identity within psychology. The facilitation of each individual student's quest for identity within psychology may be taken as a fundamental goal of the theories and history of a psychology course. This quest may be stifled if…

Circadian light

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

The present paper reflects a work in progress toward a definition of circadian light, one that should be informed by the thoughtful, century-old evolution of our present definition of light as a stimulus for the human visual system. This work in progress is based upon the functional relationship between optical radiation and its effects on nocturnal melatonin suppression, in large part because the basic data are available in the literature. Discussed here are the fundamental differences between responses by the visual and circadian systems to optical radiation. Brief reviews of photometry, colorimetry, and brightness perception are presented as a foundation for the discussion of circadian light. Finally, circadian light (CLA) and circadian stimulus (CS) calculation procedures based on a published mathematical model of human circadian phototransduction are presented with an example. PMID:20377841

The Born approximation, multiple scattering, and the butterfly algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, Alejandro F.

Radar works by focusing a beam of light and seeing how long it takes to reflect. To see a large region the beam is pointed in different directions. The focus of the beam depends on the size of the antenna (called an aperture). Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) works by moving the antenna through some region of space. A fundamental assumption in SAR is that waves only bounce once. Several imaging algorithms have been designed using that assumption. The scattering process can be described by iterations of a badly behaving integral. Recently a method for efficiently evaluating these types of integrals has been developed. We will give a detailed implementation of this algorithm and apply it to study the multiple scattering effects in SAR using target estimates from single scattering algorithms.

Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

LaManna, Joseph A.; Mangan, Scott A.; Alonso, Alfonso; Bourg, Norman; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Chang, Li-Wan; Chiang, Jyh-Min; Chuyong, George B.; Clay, Keith; Condit, Richard; Cordell, Susan; Davies, Stuart J.; Furniss, Tucker J.; Giardina, Christian P.; Gunatilleke, I.A.U. Nimal; Gunatilleke, C.V. Savitri; He, Fangliang; Howe, Robert W.; Hubbell, Stephen P.; Hsieh, Chang-Fu; Inman-Narahari, Faith M.; Janik, David; Johnson, Daniel J.; Kenfack, David; Korte, Lisa; Kral, Kamil; Larson, Andrew J.; Lutz, James A.; McMahon, Sean M.; McShea, William J.; Memiaghe, Herve R.; Nathalang, Anuttara; Novotny, Vojtech; Ong, Perry S.; Orwig, David A.; Ostertag, Rebecca; Parker, Geoffrey G.; Phillips, Richard P.; Sack, Lawren; Sun, I-Fang; Tello, J. Sebastian; Thomas, Duncan W.; Turner, Benjamin L.; Vela Diaz, Dilys M.; Vrska, Tomas; Weiblen, George D.; Wolf, Amy; Yap, Sandra; Myers, Jonathan A.

2017-01-01

Theory predicts that higher biodiversity in the tropics is maintained by specialized interactions among plants and their natural enemies that result in conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). By using more than 3000 species and nearly 2.4 million trees across 24 forest plots worldwide, we show that global patterns in tree species diversity reflect not only stronger CNDD at tropical versus temperate latitudes but also a latitudinal shift in the relationship between CNDD and species abundance. CNDD was stronger for rare species at tropical versus temperate latitudes, potentially causing the persistence of greater numbers of rare species in the tropics. Our study reveals fundamental differences in the nature of local-scale biotic interactions that contribute to the maintenance of species diversity across temperate and tropical communities.

Beamed microwave power transmitting and receiving subsystems radiation characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dickinson, R. M.

1980-01-01

Measured characteristics of the spectrum of typical converters and the distribution of radiated Radio Frequency (RF) energy from the terminals (transmitting antenna and rectenna) of a beamed microwave power subsystem are presented for small transmitting and receiving S-band (2.45 GHz) subarrays. Noise and harmonic levels of tube and solid-state RF power amplifiers are shown. The RF patterns and envelope of a 64 element slotted waveguide antenna are given for the fundamental frequency and harmonics through the fifth. Reflected fundamental and harmonic patterns through the fourth for a 42 element rectenna subarray are presented for various dc load and illumination conditions. Bandwidth measurements for the waveguide antenna and rectenna are shown.

Updated mapping and seismic reflection data processing along the Queen Charlotte fault system, southeast Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walton, M. A. L.; Gulick, S. P. S.; Haeussler, P. J.; Rohr, K.; Roland, E. C.; Trehu, A. M.

2014-12-01

The Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) is an obliquely convergent strike-slip system that accommodates offset between the Pacific and North America plates in southeast Alaska and western Canada. Two recent earthquakes, including a M7.8 thrust event near Haida Gwaii on 28 October 2012, have sparked renewed interest in the margin and led to further study of how convergent stress is accommodated along the fault. Recent studies have looked in detail at offshore structure, concluding that a change in strike of the QCF at ~53.2 degrees north has led to significant differences in stress and the style of strain accommodation along-strike. We provide updated fault mapping and seismic images to supplement and support these results. One of the highest-quality seismic reflection surveys along the Queen Charlotte system to date, EW9412, was shot aboard the R/V Maurice Ewing in 1994. The survey was last processed to post-stack time migration for a 1999 publication. Due to heightened interest in high-quality imaging along the fault, we have completed updated processing of the EW9412 seismic reflection data and provide prestack migrations with water-bottom multiple reduction. Our new imaging better resolves fault and basement surfaces at depth, as well as the highly deformed sediments within the Queen Charlotte Terrace. In addition to re-processing the EW9412 seismic reflection data, we have compiled and re-analyzed a series of publicly available USGS seismic reflection data that obliquely cross the QCF. Using these data, we are able to provide updated maps of the Queen Charlotte fault system, adding considerable detail along the northernmost QCF where it links up with the Chatham Strait and Transition fault systems. Our results support conclusions that the changing geometry of the QCF leads to fundamentally different convergent stress accommodation north and south of ~53.2 degrees; namely, reactivated splay faults to the north vs. thickening of sediments and the upper crust to the south. We also highlight areas where additional data are needed and would be ideal targets for future study.

Characterization of Mid-Infrared Single Mode Fibers as Modal Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ksendzov, A.; Lay, O.; Martin, S.; Sanghera, J. S.; Busse, L. E.; Kim, W. H.; Pureza, P. C.; Nguyen, V. Q.; Aggarwal, I. D.

2007-01-01

We present a technique for measuring the modal filtering ability of single mode fibers. The ideal modal filter rejects all input field components that have no overlap with the fundamental mode of the filter and does not attenuate the fundamental mode. We define the quality of a nonideal modal filter Q(sub f) as the ratio of transmittance for the fundamental mode to the transmittance for an input field that has no overlap with the fundamental mode. We demonstrate the technique on a 20 cm long mid-infrared fiber that was produced by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The filter quality Q(sub f) for this fiber at 10.5 micron wavelength is 1000 +/- 300. The absorption and scattering losses in the fundamental mode are approximately 8 dB/m. The total transmittance for the fundamental mode, including Fresnel reflections, is 0.428 +/- 0.002. The application of interest is the search for extrasolar Earthlike planets using nulling interferometry. It requires high rejection ratios to suppress the light of a bright star, so that the faint planet becomes visible. The use of modal filters increases the rejection ratio (or, equivalently, relaxes requirements on the wavefront quality) by reducing the sensitivity to small wavefront errors. We show theoretically that, exclusive of coupling losses, the use of a modal filter leads to the improvement of the rejection ratio in a two-beam interferometer by a factor of Q(sub f).

Building the foundation to generate a fundamental care standardised data set.

PubMed

Jeffs, Lianne; Muntlin Athlin, Asa; Needleman, Jack; Jackson, Debra; Kitson, Alison

2018-06-01

This paper provides an overview of the current state of performance measurement, key trends and a methodological approach to leverage in efforts to generate a standardised data set for fundamental care. Considerable transformation is occurring in health care globally with organisations focusing on achieving the quadruple aim of improving the experience of care, the health of populations, and the experience of providing care while reducing per capita costs of health care. In response, healthcare organisations are employing performance measurement and quality improvement methods to achieve the quadruple aim. Despite the plethora of measures available to health managers, there is no standardised data set and virtually no indicators reflecting how patients actually experience the delivery of fundamental care, such as nutrition, hydration, mobility, respect, education and psychosocial support. Given the linkages of fundamental care to safety and quality metrics, efforts to build the evidence base and knowledge that captures the impact of enacting fundamental care across the healthcare continuum and lifespan should include generating a routinely collected data set of relevant measures. This paper provides an overview of the current state of performance measurement, key trends and a methodological approach to leverage in efforts to generate a standardised data set for fundamental care. Standardised data sets enable comparability of data across clinical populations, healthcare sectors, geographic locations and time and provide data about care to support clinical, administrative and health policy decision-making. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Leaf aging of Amazonian canopy trees as revealed by spectral and physiochemical measurements.

PubMed

Chavana-Bryant, Cecilia; Malhi, Yadvinder; Wu, Jin; Asner, Gregory P; Anastasiou, Athanasios; Enquist, Brian J; Cosio Caravasi, Eric G; Doughty, Christopher E; Saleska, Scott R; Martin, Roberta E; Gerard, France F

2017-05-01

Leaf aging is a fundamental driver of changes in leaf traits, thereby regulating ecosystem processes and remotely sensed canopy dynamics. We explore leaf reflectance as a tool to monitor leaf age and develop a spectra-based partial least squares regression (PLSR) model to predict age using data from a phenological study of 1099 leaves from 12 lowland Amazonian canopy trees in southern Peru. Results demonstrated monotonic decreases in leaf water (LWC) and phosphorus (P mass ) contents and an increase in leaf mass per unit area (LMA) with age across trees; leaf nitrogen (N mass ) and carbon (C mass ) contents showed monotonic but tree-specific age responses. We observed large age-related variation in leaf spectra across trees. A spectra-based model was more accurate in predicting leaf age (R 2  = 0.86; percent root mean square error (%RMSE) = 33) compared with trait-based models using single (R 2  = 0.07-0.73; %RMSE = 7-38) and multiple (R 2  = 0.76; %RMSE = 28) predictors. Spectra- and trait-based models established a physiochemical basis for the spectral age model. Vegetation indices (VIs) including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2), normalized difference water index (NDWI) and photosynthetic reflectance index (PRI) were all age-dependent. This study highlights the importance of leaf age as a mediator of leaf traits, provides evidence of age-related leaf reflectance changes that have important impacts on VIs used to monitor canopy dynamics and productivity and proposes a new approach to predicting and monitoring leaf age with important implications for remote sensing. © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.

The subjective experience of object recognition: comparing metacognition for object detection and object categorization.

PubMed

Meuwese, Julia D I; van Loon, Anouk M; Lamme, Victor A F; Fahrenfort, Johannes J

2014-05-01

Perceptual decisions seem to be made automatically and almost instantly. Constructing a unitary subjective conscious experience takes more time. For example, when trying to avoid a collision with a car on a foggy road you brake or steer away in a reflex, before realizing you were in a near accident. This subjective aspect of object recognition has been given little attention. We used metacognition (assessed with confidence ratings) to measure subjective experience during object detection and object categorization for degraded and masked objects, while objective performance was matched. Metacognition was equal for degraded and masked objects, but categorization led to higher metacognition than did detection. This effect turned out to be driven by a difference in metacognition for correct rejection trials, which seemed to be caused by an asymmetry of the distractor stimulus: It does not contain object-related information in the detection task, whereas it does contain such information in the categorization task. Strikingly, this asymmetry selectively impacted metacognitive ability when objective performance was matched. This finding reveals a fundamental difference in how humans reflect versus act on information: When matching the amount of information required to perform two tasks at some objective level of accuracy (acting), metacognitive ability (reflecting) is still better in tasks that rely on positive evidence (categorization) than in tasks that rely more strongly on an absence of evidence (detection).

Reflectance spectroscopy (0.35-8 μm) of ammonium-bearing minerals and qualitative comparison to Ceres-like asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berg, Breanne L.; Cloutis, Edward A.; Beck, Pierre; Vernazza, Pierre; Bishop, Janice L.; Takir, Driss; Reddy, Vishnu; Applin, Daniel; Mann, Paul

2016-02-01

Ammonium-bearing minerals have been suggested to be present on Mars, Ceres, and various asteroids and comets. We undertook a systematic study of the spectral reflectance properties of ammonium-bearing minerals and compounds that have possible planetary relevance (i.e., ammonium carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, oxalates, phosphates, silicates, and sulfates). Various synthetic and natural NH4+-bearing minerals were analyzed using reflectance spectroscopy in the long-wave ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared regions (0.35-8 μm) in order to identify spectral features characteristic of the NH4+ molecule, and to evaluate if and how these features vary among different species. Mineral phases were confirmed through structural and compositional analyses using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and elemental combustion analysis. Characteristic absorption features associated with NH4 can be seen in the reflectance spectra at wavelengths as short as ∼1 μm. In the near-infrared region, the most prominent absorption bands are located near 1.6, 2.0, and 2.2 μm. Absorption features characteristic of NH4+ occurred at slightly longer wavelengths in the mineral-bound NH4+ spectra than for free NH4+ for most of the samples. Differences in wavelength position are attributable to various factors, including differences in the type and polarizability of the anion(s) attached to the NH4+, degree and type of hydrogen bonding, molecule symmetry, and cation substitutions. Multiple absorption features, usually three absorption bands, in the mid-infrared region between ∼2.8 and 3.8 μm were seen in all but the most NH4-poor sample spectra, and are attributed to fundamentals, combinations, and overtones of stretching and bending vibrations of the NH4+ molecule. These features appear even in reflectance spectra of water-rich samples which exhibit a strong 3 μm region water absorption feature. While many of the samples examined in this study have NH4 absorption bands at unique wavelength positions, in order to discriminate between different NH4+-bearing phases, absorption features corresponding to molecules other than NH4+ should be included in spectral analysis. A qualitative comparison of the laboratory results to telescopic spectra of Asteroids 1 Ceres, 10 Hygiea, and 324 Bamberga for the 3 μm region demonstrates that a number of NH4-bearing phases are consistent with the observational data in terms of exhibiting an absorption band in the 3.07 μm region.

Reflectance spectroscopy (0.35–8 μm) of ammonium-bearing minerals and qualitative comparison to Ceres-like asteroids

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berg, Breanne L.; Cloutis, Edward A.; Beck, P.; Vernazza, P.; Bishop, Janice L; Takir, Driss; Reddy, V.; Applin, D.; Mann, Paul

2016-01-01

Ammonium-bearing minerals have been suggested to be present on Mars, Ceres, and various asteroids and comets. We undertook a systematic study of the spectral reflectance properties of ammonium-bearing minerals and compounds that have possible planetary relevance (i.e., ammonium carbonates, chlorides, nitrates, oxalates, phosphates, silicates, and sulfates). Various synthetic and natural NH4+-bearing minerals were analyzed using reflectance spectroscopy in the long-wave ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared regions (0.35–8 μm) in order to identify spectral features characteristic of the NH4+ molecule, and to evaluate if and how these features vary among different species. Mineral phases were confirmed through structural and compositional analyses using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and elemental combustion analysis. Characteristic absorption features associated with NH4 can be seen in the reflectance spectra at wavelengths as short as ∼1 μm. In the near-infrared region, the most prominent absorption bands are located near 1.6, 2.0, and 2.2 μm. Absorption features characteristic of NH4+ occurred at slightly longer wavelengths in the mineral-bound NH4+ spectra than for free NH4+ for most of the samples. Differences in wavelength position are attributable to various factors, including differences in the type and polarizability of the anion(s) attached to the NH4+, degree and type of hydrogen bonding, molecule symmetry, and cation substitutions. Multiple absorption features, usually three absorption bands, in the mid-infrared region between ∼2.8 and 3.8 μm were seen in all but the most NH4-poor sample spectra, and are attributed to fundamentals, combinations, and overtones of stretching and bending vibrations of the NH4+ molecule. These features appear even in reflectance spectra of water-rich samples which exhibit a strong 3 μm region water absorption feature. While many of the samples examined in this study have NH4 absorption bands at unique wavelength positions, in order to discriminate between different NH4+-bearing phases, absorption features corresponding to molecules other than NH4+ should be included in spectral analysis. A qualitative comparison of the laboratory results to telescopic spectra of Asteroids 1 Ceres, 10 Hygiea, and 324 Bamberga for the 3 μm region demonstrates that a number of NH4-bearing phases are consistent with the observational data in terms of exhibiting an absorption band in the 3.07 μm region.

Photovoltaics module interface: General purpose primers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boerio, J.

1985-01-01

The interfacial chemistry established between ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and the aluminized back surface of commercial solar cells was observed experimentally. The technique employed is called Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, with the infrared signal being reflected back from the aluminum surface through the EVA film. Reflection infrared (IR) spectra are given and attention is drawn to the specific IR peak at 1080/cm which forms on hydrolytic aging of the EVA/aluminum system. With this fundamental finding, and the workable experimental techniques, candidate silane coupling agents are employed at the interface, and their effects on eliminating or slowing hydrolytic aging of the EVA/aluminum interface are monitored.

Minimum Surface-Effect Microgripper Design for Force-Reflective Telemanipulation of a Microscopic Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldfarb, Michael; Celanovic, Nikola

1996-01-01

This paper describes the fundamental physical motivations for minimum surface effect design, and presents a microgripper that incorporates a piezoelectric ceramic actuator and a flexure-based structure and transmission. The microgripper serves effectively as a one degree-of-freedom prototype of minimum surface effect micromanipulator design. Data is presented that characterizes the microgripper performance under both pure position and pure force control, followed by a discussion of the attributes and limitations of flexure-based design. The microgripper is interfaced with a force-reflective macrogripper, and the pair controlled with a hybrid position/force scheme. Data is presented that illustrates the effective operation of the telerobotic pair.

INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF INVESTIGATION: Spectral and spectral-frequency methods of investigating atmosphereless bodies of the Solar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busarev, Vladimir V.; Prokof'eva-Mikhailovskaya, Valentina V.; Bochkov, Valerii V.

2007-06-01

A method of reflectance spectrophotometry of atmosphereless bodies of the Solar system, its specificity, and the means of eliminating basic spectral noise are considered. As a development, joining the method of reflectance spectrophotometry with the frequency analysis of observational data series is proposed. The combined spectral-frequency method allows identification of formations with distinctive spectral features, and estimations of their sizes and distribution on the surface of atmospherelss celestial bodies. As applied to investigations of asteroids 21 Lutetia and 4 Vesta, the spectral frequency method has given us the possibility of obtaining fundamentally new information about minor planets.

Sensitivity of Cirrus Bidirectional Reflectance at MODIS Bands to Vertical Inhomogeneity of Ice Crystal Habits and Size Distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, P.; Gao, B.-C.; Baum, B. A.; Wiscombe, W.; Hu, Y.; Nasiri, S. L.; Soulen, P. F.; Heymsfield, A. J.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Miloshevich, L. M.

2000-01-01

A common assumption in satellite imager-based cirrus retrieval algorithms is that the radiative properties of a cirrus cloud may be represented by those associated with a specific ice crystal shape (or habit) and a single particle size distribution. However, observations of cirrus clouds have shown that the shapes and sizes of ice crystals may vary substantially with height within the clouds. In this study we investigate the sensitivity of the top-of-atmosphere bidirectional reflectances at two MODIS bands centered at 0.65 micron and 2.11 micron to the cirrus models assumed to be either a single homogeneous layer or three distinct but contiguous, layers. First, we define the single- and three-layer cirrus cloud models with respect to ice crystal habit and size distribution on the basis of in situ replicator data acquired during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE-II), held in Kansas during the fall of 1991. Subsequently, fundamental light scattering and radiative transfer theory is employed to determine the single scattering and the bulk radiative properties of the cirrus cloud. Regarding the radiative transfer computations, we present a discrete form of the adding/doubling principle by introducing a direct transmission function, which is computationally straightforward and efficient an improvement over previous methods. For the 0.65 micron band, at which absorption by ice is negligible, there is little difference between the bidirectional reflectances calculated for the one- and three-layer cirrus models, suggesting that the vertical inhomogeneity effect is relatively unimportant. At the 2.11 micron band, the bidirectional reflectances computed for both optically thin (tau = 1) and thick (tau = 10) cirrus clouds show significant differences between the results for the one- and three-layer models. The reflectances computed for the three-layer cirrus model are substantially larger than those computed for the single-layer cirrus. Finally, we find that cloud reflectance is very sensitive to the optical properties of the small crystals that predominate in the top layer of the three-layer cirrus model. It is critical to define the most realistic geometric shape for the small "quasi-spherical" ice crystals in the top layer for obtaining reliable single-scattering parameters and bulk radiative properties of cirrus.

The effects of mineral aerosol deposits on the BRDF (bidirectional reflectance distribution function) of sea ice for the calibration of satellite remote sensing products: an experimental and modelling study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamare, Maxim; Hedley, John; King, Martin

2016-04-01

Knowledge of the albedo in the cryosphere is essential to monitor a range of climatic processes that have an impact on a global scale. Optical Earth Observation satellites are ideal for the synoptic observation of expansive and inaccessible areas, providing large datasets used to derive essential products, such as albedo. The application of remote sensing to investigate climate processes requires the combination of data from different sensors. However, although there is significant value in the analysis of data from individual sensors, global observing systems require accurate knowledge of sensor-to-sensor biases. Therefore, the inter-calibration of sensors used for climate studies is essential to avoid inconsistencies, which may mask climate effects. CEOS (Committee on Earth Observing Satellites) has established a number of natural Earth targets to serve as international reference standards, amongst which sea ice has great potential. The reflectance of natural surfaces is not isotropic and reflectance varies with the illumination and viewing geometries, consequently impacting satellite observations. Furthermore, variations in the physical properties (sea ice type, thickness) and the light absorbing impurities deposited in the sea ice have a strong impact on reflectance. Thus, the characterisation of the bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of sea ice is a fundamental step toward the inter-calibration of optical satellite sensors. This study provides a characterisation of the effects of mineral aerosol and black carbon deposits on the BRDF of three different sea ice types. BRDF measurements were performed on bare sea ice grown in an experimental ice tank, using a state-of-the-art laboratory goniometer. The sea ice was "poisoned" with concentrations of mineral dust and black carbon varying between 100 and 5 000 ng g-1 deposited uniformly in a 5 cm surface layer. Using measurements from the experimental facility, novel information about sea ice BRDF as a function of sea ice type, thickness and light-absorbing impurities was derived using a radiative-transfer model (PlanarRad). This extensive characterisation of the multi angular reflectance of sea ice reveals the importance of BRDF for the validation and calibration of Earth Observation satellite sensor data.

Insights from comparative analyses of aging in birds and mammals.

PubMed

Ricklefs, Robert E

2010-04-01

Many laboratory models used in aging research are inappropriate for understanding senescence in mammals, including humans, because of fundamental differences in life history, maintenance in artificial environments, and selection for early aging and high reproductive rate. Comparative studies of senescence in birds and mammals reveal a broad range in rates of aging among a variety of taxa with similar physiology and patterns of development. These comparisons suggest that senescence is a shared property of all vertebrates with determinate growth, that the rate of senescence has been modified by evolution in response to the potential life span allowed by extrinsic mortality factors, and that most variation among species in the rate of senescence is independent of commonly ascribed causes of aging, such as oxidative damage. Individuals of potentially long-lived species, particularly birds, appear to maintain high condition to near the end of life. Because most individuals in natural populations of such species die of aging-related causes, these populations likely harbor little genetic variation for mechanisms that could extend life further, or these mechanisms are very costly. This, and the apparent evolutionary conservatism in the rate of increase in mortality with age, suggests that variation in the rate of senescence reflects fundamental changes in organism structure, likely associated with the rate of development, rather than physiological or biochemical processes influenced by a few genes. Understanding these evolved differences between long-lived and short-lived organisms would seem to be an essential foundation for designing therapeutic interventions with respect to human aging and longevity.

Gap plasmon-based metasurfaces: fundamentals and applications (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pors, Anders

2016-04-01

Plasmonic metasurfaces, which can be considered as the two-dimensional analog of metal-based metamaterials, have recently attracted considerable attention due to the possibility to fully control the reflected or transmitted light, while featuring relatively low losses even at optical wavelengths and being suitable for planar fabrication techniques. Among all the different design approaches, one particular configuration, consisting of a subwavelength thin dielectric spacer sandwiched between an optically thick metal film and an array of metal nanobricks (also known as nanopatches), has gained awareness from researchers working in practical any frequency regime as its realization only requires on step of lithography, yet with the possibility to fully control the amplitude and phase of the reflected light. At optical wavelengths, the full control of the reflected light is closely associated with gap surface plasmon (GSP) resonances and, hence, the configuration is also known as GSP-based metasurface. In this work, we highlight the connection between the properties of GSP modes and the optical response of GSP-based metasurfaces, particularly discussing the possibility to independently control either the reflection phases for two orthogonal polarizations or both the amplitude and phase of the reflected light for one polarization by proper choice of geometrical and material parameters [1]. Having obtained thorough insight into the optical response of GSP-based metasurfaces, we design and realize at optical and near-infrared wavelengths a broad range of inhomogeneous metasurfaces targeting different applications. For example, we exemplify the control of reflection amplitude by performing plasmonic color printing on a subwavelength scale [2], while full control of reflection phases for orthogonal polarizations are illustrated by the realization of unidirectional polarization-controlled surface plasmon polariton couplers [3] and compact polarimeters [4]. Finally, the simultaneous control of the amplitude and phase of reflected light allow us to perform calculus operations, such as differentiation and integration, on the incident light [5], which signifies the possibility to do optical signal processing using GSP-based metasurfaces. References: 1. A. Pors and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, "Gap plasmon-based phase-amplitude metasurfaces: material constraints", Opt. Mater. Express 5, 2448-2458 (2015). 2. A. S. Roberts, A. Pors, O. Albrektsen, and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, "Subwavelength plasmonic color printing for ambient use", Nano Lett. 14, 783-787 (2014). 3. A. Pors, M. G. Nielsen, T. Bernardin, J.-C. Weeber, and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, "Efficient unidirectional polarization-controlled excitation of surface plasmon polaritons", Light: Sci. Applications 3, e197 (2014). 4. A. Pors, M. G. Nielsen, and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, "Plasmonic metagratings for simultaneous determination of Stokes parameters", Optica 2, 716-723 (2015). 5. A. Pors, M. G. Nielsen, and S. I. Bozhevolnyi, "Analog computing using reflective plasmonic metasurfaces", Nano Lett. 15, 791-797 (2015).

Enhanced laser absorption from radiation pressure in intense laser plasma interactions

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

Dollar, F.; Zulick, C.; Raymond, A.

The reflectivity of a short-pulse laser at intensities of 2 x 10 21Wcm -2 with ultra-high contrast (10 -15) on sub-micrometer silicon nitride foilswas studied experimentally using varying polarizations and target thicknesses. Furthermore, the reflected intensity and beam quality were found to be relatively constant with respect to intensity for bulk targets. For submicron targets, the measured reflectivity drops substantially without a corresponding increase in transmission, indicating increased conversion of fundamental to other wavelengths and particle heating. The experimental results and trends we observed in 3D particle-in-cell simulations emphasize the critical role of ion motion due to radiation pressure onmore » the absorption process. Ion motion during ultra-short pulses enhances the electron heating, which subsequently transfers more energy to the ions.« less

Prepreg cure monitoring using diffuse reflectance-FTIR. [Fourier Transform Infrared Technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, P. R.; Chang, A. C.

1984-01-01

An in situ diffuse reflectance-Fourier transform infrared technique was developed to determine infrared spectra of graphite fiber prepregs as they were being cured. A bismaleimide, an epoxy, and addition polyimide matrix resin prepregs were studied. An experimental polyimide adhesive was also examined. Samples were positioned on a small heater at the focal point of diffuse reflectance optics and programmed at 15 F/min while FTIR spectra were being scanned, averaged, and stored. An analysis of the resulting spectra provided basic insights into changes in matrix resin molecular structure which accompanied reactions such as imidization and crosslinking. An endo-exothermal isomerization involving reactive end-caps was confirmed for the addition polyimide prepregs. The results of this study contribute to a fundamental understanding of the processing of composites and adhesives. Such understanding will promote the development of more efficient cure cycles.

Enhanced laser absorption from radiation pressure in intense laser plasma interactions

DOE PAGES

Dollar, F.; Zulick, C.; Raymond, A.; ...

2017-06-06

The reflectivity of a short-pulse laser at intensities of 2 x 10 21Wcm -2 with ultra-high contrast (10 -15) on sub-micrometer silicon nitride foilswas studied experimentally using varying polarizations and target thicknesses. Furthermore, the reflected intensity and beam quality were found to be relatively constant with respect to intensity for bulk targets. For submicron targets, the measured reflectivity drops substantially without a corresponding increase in transmission, indicating increased conversion of fundamental to other wavelengths and particle heating. The experimental results and trends we observed in 3D particle-in-cell simulations emphasize the critical role of ion motion due to radiation pressure onmore » the absorption process. Ion motion during ultra-short pulses enhances the electron heating, which subsequently transfers more energy to the ions.« less

Comprehensive Understanding for Vegetated Scene Radiance Relationships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kimes, D. S.; Deering, D. W.

1984-01-01

The improvement of our fundamental understanding of the dynamics of directional scattering properties of vegetation canopies through analysis of field data and model simulation data is discussed. Directional reflectance distributions spanning the entire existance hemisphere were measured in two field studies; one using a Mark III 3-band radiometer and one using rapid scanning bidirectional field instrument called PARABOLA. Surfaces measured included corn, soybeans, bare soils, grass lawn, orchard grass, alfalfa, cotton row crops, plowed field, annual grassland, stipa grass, hard wheat, salt plain shrubland, and irrigated wheat. Some structural and optical measurements were taken. Field data show unique reflectance distributions ranging from bare soil to complete vegetation canopies. Physical mechanisms causing these trends are proposed based on scattering properties of soil and vegetation. Soil exhibited a strong backscattering peak toward the Sun. Complete vegetation exhibited a bowl distribution with the minimum reflectance near nadir. Incomplete vegetation canopies show shifting of the minimum reflectance off of nadir in the forward scattering direction because both the scattering properties or the vegetation and soil are observed.

Highly anisotropic metasurface: a polarized beam splitter and hologram.

PubMed

Zheng, Jun; Ye, Zhi-Cheng; Sun, Nan-Ling; Zhang, Rui; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Shieh, Han-Ping D; Zhang, Jie

2014-09-29

Two-dimensional metasurface structures have recently been proposed to reduce the challenges of fabrication of traditional plasmonic metamaterials. However, complex designs and sophisticated fabrication procedures are still required. Here, we present a unique one-dimensional (1-D) metasurface based on bilayered metallic nanowire gratings, which behaves as an ideal polarized beam splitter, producing strong negative reflection for transverse-magnetic (TM) light and efficient reflection for transverse-electric (TE) light. The large anisotropy resulting from this TE-metal-like/TM-dielectric-like feature can be explained by the dispersion curve based on the Bloch theory of periodic metal-insulator-metal waveguides. The results indicate that this photon manipulation mechanism is fundamentally different from those previously proposed for 2-D or 3-D metastructures. Based on this new material platform, a novel form of metasurface holography is proposed and demonstrated, in which an image can only be reconstructed by using a TM light beam. By reducing the metamaterial structures to 1-D, our metasurface beam splitter exhibits the qualities of cost-efficient fabrication, robust performance, and high tunability, in addition to its applicability over a wide range of working wavelengths and incident angles. This development paves a foundation for metasurface structure designs towards practical metamaterial applications.

The continuity of Rumoh Aceh spaces on the development of houses in Gampong Lambheu, Aceh Besar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizky, S. F.; Loebis, M. N.; Pane, I. F.

2018-03-01

The objective of this research was to find out the continuity of seuramoe keu, tungai/rambat, and seuramoe likeut (three fundamental spaces in rumoh Aceh) in three development stages of houses since 1980 until present time. The development starts from the stilt house (santeut), non-stilt house, up to the contemporary house. In the period in which modern life has an impact in changing people lifestyles and then affects the mindset of the need for spaces, the study of the continuity of the three spaces mentioned reflects how far the culture of the people of Aceh in the past persist today, considering architecture, including spaces, is the reflection of the socio-cultural of inhabitants/community. The study was conducted by observing the spaces on seven sample houses and by interviewing the house owners to find out the factors that affect the existence/non-existence of spaces. The results showed that the three spaces (seuramoe keu, tungai, and seuramoe likeut) undergone the continuity despite the differences occurred in the interior compared to rumoh Aceh, meanwhile the continuity factor was based on the culture of life that is still firmly held by Acehnese.

A Clockwork Wikipedia: From a Broad Perspective to a Case Study.

PubMed

Benjakob, Omer; Aviram, Rona

2018-06-01

While research has shown that scientists use Wikipedia and that scientific content on Wikipedia ramifies back into scientific literature, many questions remain on how the two sides interact and through what paradigm this dynamic may be best understood. Using the circadian clock field as a case study, we discuss this scientific field's representation on Wikipedia. We traced the changes made to the articles for "Circadian clock" and "Circadian rhythm" and reviewed the debates that informed them over a span of a decade, using Wikipedia's native and third-party tools. Specifically, we focused on how groundbreaking research pertaining to the function of biological oscillators was integrated into the articles to reflect a wider paradigmatic shift within the field. We also identified the articles' main editors to detail the dynamic collective editorial process that took place during a time that saw the field undergo a fundamental change. We discuss the different concerns the academic community has with Wikipedia-specifically regarding its content and its contributors-to ask whether the online encyclopedia's open model is inherently at odds with scientific culture or whether the model could reflect science or even expand on its core values and practices such as peer review and the idea of communicating science.

Highly anisotropic metasurface: a polarized beam splitter and hologram

PubMed Central

Zheng, Jun; Ye, Zhi-Cheng; Sun, Nan-Ling; Zhang, Rui; Sheng, Zheng-Ming; Shieh, Han-Ping D.; Zhang, Jie

2014-01-01

Two-dimensional metasurface structures have recently been proposed to reduce the challenges of fabrication of traditional plasmonic metamaterials. However, complex designs and sophisticated fabrication procedures are still required. Here, we present a unique one-dimensional (1-D) metasurface based on bilayered metallic nanowire gratings, which behaves as an ideal polarized beam splitter, producing strong negative reflection for transverse-magnetic (TM) light and efficient reflection for transverse-electric (TE) light. The large anisotropy resulting from this TE-metal-like/TM-dielectric-like feature can be explained by the dispersion curve based on the Bloch theory of periodic metal-insulator-metal waveguides. The results indicate that this photon manipulation mechanism is fundamentally different from those previously proposed for 2-D or 3-D metastructures. Based on this new material platform, a novel form of metasurface holography is proposed and demonstrated, in which an image can only be reconstructed by using a TM light beam. By reducing the metamaterial structures to 1-D, our metasurface beam splitter exhibits the qualities of cost-efficient fabrication, robust performance, and high tunability, in addition to its applicability over a wide range of working wavelengths and incident angles. This development paves a foundation for metasurface structure designs towards practical metamaterial applications. PMID:25262791

Pleasure attainment or self-realization: the balance between two forms of well-beings are encoded in default mode network.

PubMed

Luo, Yangmei; Qi, Senqing; Chen, Xuhai; You, Xuqun; Huang, Xiting; Yang, Zhen

2017-10-01

What is a good life and how it can be achieved is one of the fundamental issues. When considering a good life, there is a division between hedonic (pleasure attainment) and eudaimonic well-being (meaning pursuing and self-realization). However, an integrated approach that can compare the brain functional and structural differences of these two forms of well-being is lacking. Here, we investigated how the individual tendency to eudaimonic well-being relative to hedonic well-being, measured using eudaimonic and hedonic balance (EHB) index, is reflected in the functional and structural features of a key network of well-being-the default mode network (DMN). We found that EHB was positively correlated with functional connectivity of bilateral ventral medial prefrontal cortex within anterior DMN and bilateral precuneus within posterior DMN. Brain morphometric analysis showed that EHB was also positively correlated with gray matter volume in left precuneus. These results demonstrated that the relative dominance of one form of well-being to the other is reflected in the morphometric characteristics and intrinsic functions of DMN. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press.

Compressible Vortex Ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elavarasan, Ramasamy; Arakeri, Jayawant; Krothapalli, Anjaneyulu

1999-11-01

The interaction of a high-speed vortex ring with a shock wave is one of the fundamental issues as it is a source of sound in supersonic jets. The complex flow field induced by the vortex alters the propagation of the shock wave greatly. In order to understand the process, a compressible vortex ring is studied in detail using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and shadowgraphic techniques. The high-speed vortex ring is generated from a shock tube and the shock wave, which precedes the vortex, is reflected back by a plate and made to interact with the vortex. The shadowgraph images indicate that the reflected shock front is influenced by the non-uniform flow induced by the vortex and is decelerated while passing through the vortex. It appears that after the interaction the shock is "split" into two. The PIV measurements provided clear picture about the evolution of the vortex at different time interval. The centerline velocity traces show the maximum velocity to be around 350 m/s. The velocity field, unlike in incompressible rings, contains contributions from both the shock and the vortex ring. The velocity distribution across the vortex core, core diameter and circulation are also calculated from the PIV data.

Quantifying historical carbon and climate debts among nations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, H. Damon

2016-01-01

Contributions to historical climate change have varied substantially among nations. These differences reflect underlying inequalities in wealth and development, and pose a fundamental challenge to the implementation of a globally equitable climate mitigation strategy. This Letter presents a new way to quantify historical inequalities among nations using carbon and climate debts, defined as the amount by which national climate contributions have exceeded a hypothetical equal per-capita share over time. Considering only national CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, accumulated carbon debts across all nations from 1990 to 2013 total 250 billion tonnes of CO2, representing 40% of cumulative world emissions since 1990. Expanding this to reflect the temperature response to a range of emissions, historical climate debts accrued between 1990 and 2010 total 0.11 °C, close to a third of observed warming over that period. Large fractions of this debt are carried by industrialized countries, but also by countries with high levels of deforestation and agriculture. These calculations could contribute to discussions of climate responsibility by providing a tangible way to quantify historical inequalities, which could then inform the funding of mitigation, adaptation and the costs of loss and damages in those countries that have contributed less to historical warming.

The intermediate-age pre-cataclysmic variables SDSS J172406+562003 and RE J2013+4002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimansky, V. V.; Borisov, N. V.; Nurtdinova, D. N.; Mitrofanova, A. A.; Vlasyuk, V. V.; Spiridonova, O. I.

2012-06-01

We have analyzed the physical status of the pre-cataclysmic variables SDSSJ172406+562003 and RE J2013+4002, which have evolved after their common-envelope stage a time t = 106-107 years. Spectroscopy and photometry of these systems were performed with the 6-m and 1-m telescopes of the Special Astrophysical Observatory. We demonstrate that emission lines in the spectra were formed solely by the reflection of radiation emitted by the white dwarfs on the surfaces of their cool companions, under conditions close to local thermodynamic equilibrium. These effects are also responsible for most of the objects' photometric variability amplitude. However, comparing the light curves of SDSS 172406 from different epochs, we find aperiodic brightness variations, probably due to spottedness of the surface of the secondary. Jointly analyzing the spectra, radial-velocity curves, and light curves of the pre-cataclysmic variables and modeling the reflection effects, we have derived their fundamental parameters. We demonstrate that the secondaries in these systems are consistent with evolutionary models for main-sequence stars and do not have the luminosity excesses characteristic of cool stars in young pre-cataclysmic variables.

Multifrequency synthesis and extraction using square wave projection patterns for quantitative tissue imaging.

PubMed

Nadeau, Kyle P; Rice, Tyler B; Durkin, Anthony J; Tromberg, Bruce J

2015-11-01

We present a method for spatial frequency domain data acquisition utilizing a multifrequency synthesis and extraction (MSE) method and binary square wave projection patterns. By illuminating a sample with square wave patterns, multiple spatial frequency components are simultaneously attenuated and can be extracted to determine optical property and depth information. Additionally, binary patterns are projected faster than sinusoids typically used in spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI), allowing for short (millisecond or less) camera exposure times, and data acquisition speeds an order of magnitude or more greater than conventional SFDI. In cases where sensitivity to superficial layers or scattering is important, the fundamental component from higher frequency square wave patterns can be used. When probing deeper layers, the fundamental and harmonic components from lower frequency square wave patterns can be used. We compared optical property and depth penetration results extracted using square waves to those obtained using sinusoidal patterns on an in vivo human forearm and absorbing tube phantom, respectively. Absorption and reduced scattering coefficient values agree with conventional SFDI to within 1% using both high frequency (fundamental) and low frequency (fundamental and harmonic) spatial frequencies. Depth penetration reflectance values also agree to within 1% of conventional SFDI.

Multifrequency synthesis and extraction using square wave projection patterns for quantitative tissue imaging

PubMed Central

Nadeau, Kyle P.; Rice, Tyler B.; Durkin, Anthony J.; Tromberg, Bruce J.

2015-01-01

Abstract. We present a method for spatial frequency domain data acquisition utilizing a multifrequency synthesis and extraction (MSE) method and binary square wave projection patterns. By illuminating a sample with square wave patterns, multiple spatial frequency components are simultaneously attenuated and can be extracted to determine optical property and depth information. Additionally, binary patterns are projected faster than sinusoids typically used in spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI), allowing for short (millisecond or less) camera exposure times, and data acquisition speeds an order of magnitude or more greater than conventional SFDI. In cases where sensitivity to superficial layers or scattering is important, the fundamental component from higher frequency square wave patterns can be used. When probing deeper layers, the fundamental and harmonic components from lower frequency square wave patterns can be used. We compared optical property and depth penetration results extracted using square waves to those obtained using sinusoidal patterns on an in vivo human forearm and absorbing tube phantom, respectively. Absorption and reduced scattering coefficient values agree with conventional SFDI to within 1% using both high frequency (fundamental) and low frequency (fundamental and harmonic) spatial frequencies. Depth penetration reflectance values also agree to within 1% of conventional SFDI. PMID:26524682

Studies of Venus from Orbit - Microwave Remote Sensing after Magellan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, B. A.

2005-12-01

The Magellan dataset provided the first opportunity for detailed analysis of the geology and geophysics of Venus, revealing that the surface is characterized by three major landform types: upland tessera plateaus, large shield volcanoes, and vast lowland plains assumed to reflect volcanic flooding. Plate tectonics does not appear to be currently active, so heat is released by some combination of conduction through the crust and effusive volcanism. The relative importance of these mechanisms is not well understood. The dense atmosphere filters the small impactors that form the basis of relative age dating among regions on the Moon, Mercury, and Mars. The remaining impactor population is reflected in ~1000 craters larger than ~5 km in diameter, which suggest that the surface is younger than ~1 b.y. Beyond this, the low spatial density of craters precludes definitive relative dating of even regional-scale features. It is also likely that the high surface temperature precludes the use of radioisotope age dating, either in situ or on returned samples. Unlike any other terrestrial planet, Venus therefore offers no simple evidence for differences in relative age or rates of formation between major regions and landforms. This has led to widely varying interpretations of geologic history and atmospheric evolution. For example, it is possible that Venus has undergone an essentially linear progression of geologic processes now recorded at the surface by the tesserae, plains, and volcanic constructs. It has also been suggested that large, episodic releases of heat by effusive volcanism would inject atmospheric volatiles, leading to transient heating of the atmosphere to perhaps 1000 K. The contrasting view is that Venus' surface reflects a progression of processes generally linked to lithospheric thickness, but that this progression may occur at very different times in different places. The choice between these interpretations is crucial to understanding the geologic and climate history of Venus, and the potential range of terrestrial planet evolutionary styles. More than ten years after Magellan, these questions appear to be impossible to answer without a fundamentally new view of the planet. The key to solving the mystery may lie below the Venus plains. Are there buried impact craters or basins, and do these indicate age differences between the major plains regions? Do the tesserae comprise a regional or global basement? Are the plains formed in great lava floods, or by a sequence of thinner flow units? How thick are the plains, and what does this indicate about release of heat by resurfacing? Are the great shield volcanoes always younger than the plains, or do their earlier deposits lie buried by interleaved plains-forming lavas? We present the science rationale for VISTA, a Discovery-class orbital mission to Venus, carrying ground-penetrating radar sounder and high-resolution radar altimeter instruments, to answer these fundamental questions and place the Magellan data in an entirely new context.

Does School Reform have Legs? The Flourishing of Janusz Korczak's Pedagogy in Modern Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engel, Liba H.

2004-01-01

With the arrival of the 21st century, a serious reappraisal of the school reforms from the previous century emerged. For the most part, these reappraisals reflected skepticism about many of the reforms that were characteristic of the "progressive era," and, here and there, pessimism about the extent to which fundamental change can be…

Systems Approach as a Handcuff to Curb the Democratization of Curriculums: Systems Approach for What and for Whom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, Abdurrahman

2007-01-01

This study reinvestigates the systems approach, which is, among educators, a well-recognized approach reflecting the fundamental discourses of the industrial order. The pervasive discourses of the industrial order that failed to invite a holistic view for students have led to a conceptual division. This systemic thinking has thus started viewing…

The Children of Immigrants' Academic Self-Efficacy: The Significance of Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Segmented Assimilation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bondy, Jennifer M.; Peguero, Anthony A.; Johnson, Brent E.

2017-01-01

Academic self-efficacy reflects an adolescent's level of confidence or belief that she or he can successfully accomplish educational assignments and tasks, which are also argued to be a fundamental factor in educational progress and success. Little is known, however, about the academic self-efficacy that the children of immigrants have, which is…

"My Colleagues Wear Blinkers. . . If They Were Trained, They Would Understand Better". Reflections on Teacher Education on Inclusion in Cyprus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Symeonidou, Simoni; Phtiaka, Helen

2014-01-01

This paper discusses fundamental theoretical issues in relation to education on inclusion. These issues inform core decisions about initial teacher education courses and in-service teacher-training programmes on inclusion. International and local discussions and research in this area formed the background for the design and implementation of a…

Enriching Students' Scientific Thinking through Relational Reasoning: Seeking Evidence in Texts, Tasks, and Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, P. Karen; Firetto, Carla M.; Greene, Jeffrey A.

2017-01-01

As reflected in the Next Generation Science Standards, concerns about the adequacy of education and career preparation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have led to fundamental shifts in the focus of K-12 science education. Such shifts are also highlighted in many of the articles within this special issue, and the…

How old is streamwater? Open questions in catchment transit time conceptualization, modeling and analysis

Treesearch

J.J. McDonnell; K. McGuire; P. Aggarwal; K.J. Beven; D. Biondi; G. Destouni; S. Dunn; A. James; J. Kirchner; P. Kraft; S. Lyon; P. Maloszewski; B. Newman; L. Pfister; A. Rinaldo; A. Rodhe; T. Sayama; J. Seibert; K. Solomon; C. Soulsby; M. Stewart; D. Tetzlaff; C. Tobin; P. Troch; M. Weiler; A. Western; A. Wörman; S. Wrede

2010-01-01

The time water spends travelling subsurface through a catchment to the stream network (i.e. the catchment water transit time) fundamentally describes the storage, flow pathway heterogeneity and sources of water in a catchment. The distribution of transit times reflects how catchments retain and release water and solutes that in turn set biogeochemical conditions and...

Growth and longevity in freshwater mussels: evolutionary and conservation implications

Treesearch

Wendell R. Haag; Andrew L. Rypel

2010-01-01

The amount of energy allocated to growth versus other functions is a fundamental feature of an organism’s life history. Constraints on energy availability result in characteristic trade-offs among life-history traits and reflect strategies by which organisms adapt to their environments. Freshwater mussels are a diverse and imperiled component of aquatic ecosystems but...

Fundamental remote sensing science research program. Part 1: Scene radiation and atmospheric effects characterization project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, R. E.; Deering, D. W.

1984-01-01

Brief articles summarizing the status of research in the scene radiation and atmospheric effect characterization (SRAEC) project are presented. Research conducted within the SRAEC program is focused on the development of empirical characterizations and mathematical process models which relate the electromagnetic energy reflected or emitted from a scene to the biophysical parameters of interest.

The Regulation of Private Schools in America: A State-by-State Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, L. Particia, Comp.

Today, a parent's right to choose a private education for his or her children is reflected in the statutes of all 50 states. State regulation of private schools, however, is not without limitations. The challenge to state legislators in regulating private schools is to draft legislation that: (1) respects the fundamental right of parents to direct…

Making Sense of Safety: Cooperative Learning Activities Allow Students Time to Reflect on the Implications of Lab Safety Rules

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrier, Regina

2005-01-01

An important part of the science classroom involves teaching students how to safely use tools, techniques, and procedures. As emphasized in the National Science Education Standards, "safety is a fundamental concern in all experiential science" and teachers must "teach students how to engage safely in investigations inside and outside the…

Conceptualising Lifelong Learning: A Reflection on Lifelong Learning at Lund University (Sweden) and Middlesex University (UK)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abukari, Abdulai

2005-01-01

Lifelong Learning has in recent years become a fundamental element of many educational policy strategies aimed at achieving the goal of socio-economic development. The role of universities in this is viewed by some as crucial and requires some attention. This article examines the concept of lifelong learning and suggests another way in which it…

How to Create Nonreaders: Reflections on Motivation, Learning, and Sharing Power

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohn, Alfie

2010-01-01

The author suggests that it is impossible to motivate students. He said that in fact, it's not really possible to motivate anyone, except perhaps oneself. What a teacher "can" do--"all" a teacher can do--is work with students to create a classroom culture, a climate, a curriculum that will nourish and sustain the fundamental inclinations that…

Actitudes de Estudiantes Universitarios que Tomaron Cursos Introductorios de Estadistica y su Relacion con el Exito Academico en La Disciplina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colon-Rosa, Hector Wm.

2012-01-01

Considering the range of changes in the instruction and learning of statistics, several questions emerge regarding how those changes influence students' attitudes. Equally, other questions emerge to reflect that statistics is a fundamental course in the university academic programs because of its relevance to the professional development of the…

Putting the Dog Back in the Park: Animal and Human Mind-in-Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laurier, Eric; Maze, Ramia; Lundin, Johan

2006-01-01

In this article we use actual instances of human conduct with animals to reflect on the debates about animal agency in human activities. Where much of psychology, philosophy, and sociology begin with a fundamental scepticism over animal mind as the grounds for its inquiries, we join with a growing body of work that examines the continuities…

Positrons in surface physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugenschmidt, Christoph

2016-12-01

Within the last decade powerful methods have been developed to study surfaces using bright low-energy positron beams. These novel analysis tools exploit the unique properties of positron interaction with surfaces, which comprise the absence of exchange interaction, repulsive crystal potential and positron trapping in delocalized surface states at low energies. By applying reflection high-energy positron diffraction (RHEPD) one can benefit from the phenomenon of total reflection below a critical angle that is not present in electron surface diffraction. Therefore, RHEPD allows the determination of the atom positions of (reconstructed) surfaces with outstanding accuracy. The main advantages of positron annihilation induced Auger-electron spectroscopy (PAES) are the missing secondary electron background in the energy region of Auger-transitions and its topmost layer sensitivity for elemental analysis. In order to enable the investigation of the electron polarization at surfaces low-energy spin-polarized positrons are used to probe the outermost electrons of the surface. Furthermore, in fundamental research the preparation of well defined surfaces tailored for the production of bound leptonic systems plays an outstanding role. In this report, it is envisaged to cover both the fundamental aspects of positron surface interaction and the present status of surface studies using modern positron beam techniques.

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry SIMS XI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillen, G.; Lareau, R.; Bennett, J.; Stevie, F.

2003-05-01

This volume contains 252 contributions presented as plenary, invited and contributed poster and oral presentations at the 11th International Conference on Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS XI) held at the Hilton Hotel, Walt Disney World Village, Orlando, Florida, 7 12 September, 1997. The book covers a diverse range of research, reflecting the rapid growth in advanced semiconductor characterization, ultra shallow depth profiling, TOF-SIMS and the new areas in which SIMS techniques are being used, for example in biological sciences and organic surface characterization. Papers are presented under the following categories: Isotopic SIMS Biological SIMS Semiconductor Characterization Techniques and Applications Ultra Shallow Depth Profiling Depth Profiling Fundamental/Modelling and Diffusion Sputter-Induced Topography Fundamentals of Molecular Desorption Organic Materials Practical TOF-SIMS Polyatomic Primary Ions Materials/Surface Analysis Postionization Instrumentation Geological SIMS Imaging Fundamentals of Sputtering Ion Formation and Cluster Formation Quantitative Analysis Environmental/Particle Characterization Related Techniques These proceedings provide an invaluable source of reference for both newcomers to the field and experienced SIMS users.

Motivated social categorization: fundamental motives enhance people's sensitivity to basic social categories.

PubMed

Maner, Jon K; Miller, Saul L; Moss, Justin H; Leo, Jennifer L; Plant, E Ashby

2012-07-01

This article presents an evolutionary framework for identifying the characteristics people use to categorize members of their social world. Findings suggest that fundamental social motives lead people to implicitly categorize social targets based on whether those targets display goal-relevant phenotypic traits. A mate-search prime caused participants to categorize opposite-sex targets (but not same-sex targets) based on their level of physical attractiveness (Experiment 1). A mate-guarding prime interacted with relationship investment, causing participants to categorize same-sex targets (but not opposite-sex targets) based on their physical attractiveness (Experiment 2). A self-protection prime interacted with chronic beliefs about danger, increasing participants' tendency to categorize targets based on their racial group membership (Black or White; Experiment 3). This work demonstrates that people categorize others based on whether they display goal-relevant characteristics reflecting high levels of perceived desirability or threat. Social categorization is guided by fundamental evolved motives designed to enhance adaptive social outcomes. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Integration of LCoS-SLM and LabVIEW based software to simulate fundamental optics, wave optics, and Fourier optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyu, Bo-Han; Wang, Chen; Tsai, Chun-Wei

2017-08-01

Jasper Display Corp. (JDC) offer high reflectivity, high resolution Liquid Crystal on Silicon - Spatial Light Modulator (LCoS-SLM) which include an associated controller ASIC and LabVIEW based modulation software. Based on this LCoS-SLM, also called Education Kit (EDK), we provide a training platform which includes a series of optical theory and experiments to university students. This EDK not only provides a LabVIEW based operation software to produce Computer Generated Holograms (CGH) to generate some basic diffraction image or holographic image, but also provides simulation software to verity the experiment results simultaneously. However, we believe that a robust LCoSSLM, operation software, simulation software, training system, and training course can help students to study the fundamental optics, wave optics, and Fourier optics more easily. Based on these fundamental knowledges, they could develop their unique skills and create their new innovations on the optoelectronic application in the future.

RF Conditioning and Testing of Fundamental Power Couplers for SNS Superconducting Cavity Production

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

M. Stirbet; G.K. Davis; M. A. Drury

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) makes use of 33 medium beta (0.61) and 48 high beta (0.81) superconducting cavities. Each cavity is equipped with a fundamental power coupler, which should withstand the full klystron power of 550 kW in full reflection for the duration of an RF pulse of 1.3 msec at 60 Hz repetition rate. Before assembly to a superconducting cavity, the vacuum components of the coupler are submitted to acceptance procedures consisting of preliminary quality assessments, cleaning and clean room assembly, vacuum leak checks and baking under vacuum, followed by conditioning and RF high power testing. Similar acceptancemore » procedures (except clean room assembly and baking) were applied for the airside components of the coupler. All 81 fundamental power couplers for SNS superconducting cavity production have been RF power tested at JLAB Newport News and, beginning in April 2004 at SNS Oak Ridge. This paper gives details of coupler processing and RF high power-assessed performances.« less

Diode end pumped laser and harmonic generator using same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, Robert L. (Inventor); Dixon, George J. (Inventor); Kane, Thomas J. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

A second harmonic, optical generator is disclosed in which a laser diode produces an output pumping beam which is focused by means of a graded, refractive index rod lens into a rod of lasant material, such as Nd:YAG, disposed within an optical resonator to pump the lasant material and to excite the optical resonator at a fundamental wavelength. A non-linear electro-optic material such as MgO:LiNbO.sub.3 is coupled to the excited, fundamental mode of the optical resonator to produce a non-linear interaction with the fundamental wavelength producing a harmonic. In one embodiment, the gain medium and the non-linear material are disposed within an optical resonator defined by a pair of reflectors, one of which is formed on a face of the gain medium and the second of which is formed on a face of the non-linear medium. In another embodiment, the non-linear, electro-optic material is doped with the lasant ion such that the gain medium and the non-linear doubling material are co-extensive in volume. In another embodiment, a non-linear, doubling material is disposed in an optical resonator external of the laser gai medium for improved stability of the second harmonic generation process. In another embodiment, the laser gain medium andthe non-linear material are bonded together by means of an optically transparent cement to form a mechanically stable, monolithic structure. In another embodiment, the non-linear material has reflective faces formed thereon to define a ring resonator to decouple reflections from the non-linear medium back to the gain medium for improved stability.

Reliability of Different Mark-Recapture Methods for Population Size Estimation Tested against Reference Population Sizes Constructed from Field Data

PubMed Central

Grimm, Annegret; Gruber, Bernd; Henle, Klaus

2014-01-01

Reliable estimates of population size are fundamental in many ecological studies and biodiversity conservation. Selecting appropriate methods to estimate abundance is often very difficult, especially if data are scarce. Most studies concerning the reliability of different estimators used simulation data based on assumptions about capture variability that do not necessarily reflect conditions in natural populations. Here, we used data from an intensively studied closed population of the arboreal gecko Gehyra variegata to construct reference population sizes for assessing twelve different population size estimators in terms of bias, precision, accuracy, and their 95%-confidence intervals. Two of the reference populations reflect natural biological entities, whereas the other reference populations reflect artificial subsets of the population. Since individual heterogeneity was assumed, we tested modifications of the Lincoln-Petersen estimator, a set of models in programs MARK and CARE-2, and a truncated geometric distribution. Ranking of methods was similar across criteria. Models accounting for individual heterogeneity performed best in all assessment criteria. For populations from heterogeneous habitats without obvious covariates explaining individual heterogeneity, we recommend using the moment estimator or the interpolated jackknife estimator (both implemented in CAPTURE/MARK). If data for capture frequencies are substantial, we recommend the sample coverage or the estimating equation (both models implemented in CARE-2). Depending on the distribution of catchabilities, our proposed multiple Lincoln-Petersen and a truncated geometric distribution obtained comparably good results. The former usually resulted in a minimum population size and the latter can be recommended when there is a long tail of low capture probabilities. Models with covariates and mixture models performed poorly. Our approach identified suitable methods and extended options to evaluate the performance of mark-recapture population size estimators under field conditions, which is essential for selecting an appropriate method and obtaining reliable results in ecology and conservation biology, and thus for sound management. PMID:24896260

Realized niche shift during a global biological invasion

PubMed Central

Tingley, Reid; Vallinoto, Marcelo; Sequeira, Fernando; Kearney, Michael R.

2014-01-01

Accurate forecasts of biological invasions are crucial for managing invasion risk but are hampered by niche shifts resulting from evolved environmental tolerances (fundamental niche shifts) or the presence of novel biotic and abiotic conditions in the invaded range (realized niche shifts). Distinguishing between these kinds of niche shifts is impossible with traditional, correlative approaches to invasion forecasts, which exclusively consider the realized niche. Here we overcome this challenge by combining a physiologically mechanistic model of the fundamental niche with correlative models based on the realized niche to study the global invasion of the cane toad Rhinella marina. We find strong evidence that the success of R. marina in Australia reflects a shift in the species’ realized niche, as opposed to evolutionary shifts in range-limiting traits. Our results demonstrate that R. marina does not fill its fundamental niche in its native South American range and that areas of niche unfilling coincide with the presence of a closely related species with which R. marina hybridizes. Conversely, in Australia, where coevolved taxa are absent, R. marina largely fills its fundamental niche in areas behind the invasion front. The general approach taken here of contrasting fundamental and realized niche models provides key insights into the role of biotic interactions in shaping range limits and can inform effective management strategies not only for invasive species but also for assisted colonization under climate change. PMID:24982155

[Some notes on the history of the experimental surgery laboratory. Reflections on its relevance in education and surgical research].

PubMed

de la Garza-Rodea, Anabel Sofía; Padilla-Sánchez, Luis; de la Garza-Aguilar, Javier; Neri-Vela, Rolando

2007-01-01

The progress of medicine has largely been due to research, and for surgery, in particular, the experimental surgical laboratory has been considered fundamental to the surgeon's education. In this study, a general view of experimental surgery is given in animal models based on bioethical norms as well as to design, create and apply different surgical procedures before performing in humans. Experimental surgery also facilitates surgical teaching and promotes the surgeon's scientific reasoning. Methods. This is a retrospective and descriptive study. Data were collected from direct and indirect sources of available publications on the historical, bioethical and educational aspects of medicine, focusing on surgery. The important facts corresponding to the field of experimental surgery and applicable in Mexico were selected. Concepts of experimental surgical models and of the experimental surgery laboratory were described. Bioethical considerations are emphasized for care of experimental animals. Finally, this work focuses on the importance of surgical experimentation in current and future development of the surgical researcher. Conclusions. Experimentation with animal models in a surgical laboratory is essential for surgical teaching and promotes development of the scientific thought in the surgeon. It is necessary for surgical research and is fundamental for making progress in surgery, treatment and medicine as science.

[The Marketing of Healthcare Services in ENT-Clinics].

PubMed

Teschner, M; Lenarz, T

2016-07-01

The provision of healthcare services in Germany is based on fundamental principles of solidarity and is highly regulated. The question arises which conditions exist for marketing for healthcare services in ENT-clinics in Germany. The marketing options will be elicited using environmentally analytical considerations. The objectives can be achieved using measures derived from external instruments (service policy, pricing policy, distribution policy or communications policy) or from an internal instrument (human resources policy). The policy environment is particularly influenced by the regulatory framework, which particularly restricts the scope for both the pricing and communications policies. All measures must, however, reflect ethical frameworks, which are regarded as the fundamental premise underlying healthcare services and may be at odds with economic factors. Scope for flexibility in pricing exists only within the secondary healthcare market, and even there only to a limited extent. The significance of price in the marketing of healthcare services is thus very low. If marketing activities are to succeed, a market analysis must be carried out exploring the relevant factors for each individual provider. However, the essential precondition for the marketing of healthcare services is trust. The marketing of healthcare services differs from that of business management-oriented enterprises in other branches of economy. In the future the importance of marketing activities will increase. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Universal and idiosyncratic characteristic lengths in bacterial genomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junier, Ivan; Frémont, Paul; Rivoire, Olivier

2018-05-01

In condensed matter physics, simplified descriptions are obtained by coarse-graining the features of a system at a certain characteristic length, defined as the typical length beyond which some properties are no longer correlated. From a physics standpoint, in vitro DNA has thus a characteristic length of 300 base pairs (bp), the Kuhn length of the molecule beyond which correlations in its orientations are typically lost. From a biology standpoint, in vivo DNA has a characteristic length of 1000 bp, the typical length of genes. Since bacteria live in very different physico-chemical conditions and since their genomes lack translational invariance, whether larger, universal characteristic lengths exist is a non-trivial question. Here, we examine this problem by leveraging the large number of fully sequenced genomes available in public databases. By analyzing GC content correlations and the evolutionary conservation of gene contexts (synteny) in hundreds of bacterial chromosomes, we conclude that a fundamental characteristic length around 10–20 kb can be defined. This characteristic length reflects elementary structures involved in the coordination of gene expression, which are present all along the genome of nearly all bacteria. Technically, reaching this conclusion required us to implement methods that are insensitive to the presence of large idiosyncratic genomic features, which may co-exist along these fundamental universal structures.

The face, the future, and dental practice: how research in craniofacial biology will influence patient care.

PubMed

Townsend, G C; Brook, A H

2014-06-01

It has been a privilege to assemble a group of Australian and international researchers to produce a special issue of the Australian Dental Journal that reflects the cutting edge of research in different aspects of craniofacial biology, and also considers how these advances will influence future education and practice within dentistry. The aim of this special issue is to provide a collection of concept papers and critical reviews on key topics that cover both fundamental and applied research in craniofacial biology and to consider the clinical implications. To do this, four questions have been addressed that lead to the four sections of this issue. These are: How have we come to the present exciting position in craniofacial biology with breakthroughs over the past 50 years? What are current fundamental research topics that are helping us to understand more about craniofacial and general development, possibly leading to future clinical developments? What are the current applied research topics that will influence future clinical practice? Looking forward, what new developments in craniofacial biology may come about that will change the face of dental education and practice? The refereed papers in this special issue are grouped into the four sections that seek to respond to these demanding questions. © 2014 Australian Dental Association.

Differences in arithmetic performance between Chinese and German adults are accompanied by differences in processing of non-symbolic numerical magnitude

PubMed Central

Lonnemann, Jan; Li, Su; Zhao, Pei; Li, Peng; Linkersdörfer, Janosch; Lindberg, Sven; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Yan, Song

2017-01-01

Human beings are assumed to possess an approximate number system (ANS) dedicated to extracting and representing approximate numerical magnitude information. The ANS is assumed to be fundamental to arithmetic learning and has been shown to be associated with arithmetic performance. It is, however, still a matter of debate whether better arithmetic skills are reflected in the ANS. To address this issue, Chinese and German adults were compared regarding their performance in simple arithmetic tasks and in a non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task. Chinese participants showed a better performance in solving simple arithmetic tasks and faster reaction times in the non-symbolic numerical magnitude comparison task without making more errors than their German peers. These differences in performance could not be ascribed to differences in general cognitive abilities. Better arithmetic skills were thus found to be accompanied by a higher speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge but not by a higher precision of non-symbolic numerical magnitude representations. The group difference in the speed of retrieving non-symbolic numerical magnitude knowledge was fully mediated by the performance in arithmetic tasks, suggesting that arithmetic skills shape non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing skills. PMID:28384191

Precision measurement of the mass difference between light nuclei and anti-nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alice Collaboration; Adam, J.; Adamová, D.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Agnello, M.; Agrawal, N.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmed, I.; Ahn, S. U.; Aimo, I.; Aiola, S.; Ajaz, M.; Akindinov, A.; Alam, S. N.; Aleksandrov, D.; Alessandro, B.; Alexandre, D.; Alfaro Molina, R.; Alici, A.; Alkin, A.; Alme, J.; Alt, T.; Altinpinar, S.; Altsybeev, I.; Alves Garcia Prado, C.; Andrei, C.; Andronic, A.; Anguelov, V.; Anielski, J.; Antičić, T.; Antinori, F.; Antonioli, P.; Aphecetche, L.; Appelshäuser, H.; Arcelli, S.; Armesto, N.; Arnaldi, R.; Aronsson, T.; Arsene, I. C.; Arslandok, M.; Augustinus, A.; Averbeck, R.; Azmi, M. D.; Bach, M.; Badalà, A.; Baek, Y. W.; Bagnasco, S.; Bailhache, R.; Bala, R.; Baldisseri, A.; Ball, M.; Baltasar Dos Santos Pedrosa, F.; Baral, R. C.; Barbano, A. M.; Barbera, R.; Barile, F.; Barnaföldi, G. G.; Barnby, L. S.; Barret, V.; Bartalini, P.; Bartke, J.; Bartsch, E.; Basile, M.; Bastid, N.; Basu, S.; Bathen, B.; Batigne, G.; Batista Camejo, A.; Batyunya, B.; Batzing, P. C.; Bearden, I. G.; Beck, H.; Bedda, C.; Behera, N. K.; Belikov, I.; Bellini, F.; Bello Martinez, H.; Bellwied, R.; Belmont, R.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; Belyaev, V.; Bencedi, G.; Beole, S.; Berceanu, I.; Bercuci, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Berenyi, D.; Bertens, R. A.; Berzano, D.; Betev, L.; Bhasin, A.; Bhat, I. R.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Bhom, J.; Bianchi, L.; Bianchi, N.; Bianchin, C.; Bielčík, J.; Bielčíková, J.; Bilandzic, A.; Biswas, S.; Bjelogrlic, S.; Blanco, F.; Blau, D.; Blume, C.; Bock, F.; Bogdanov, A.; Bøggild, H.; Boldizsár, L.; Bombara, M.; Book, J.; Borel, H.; Borissov, A.; Borri, M.; Bossú, F.; Botje, M.; Botta, E.; Böttger, S.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Bregant, M.; Breitner, T.; Broker, T. A.; Browning, T. A.; Broz, M.; Brucken, E. J.; Bruna, E.; Bruno, G. E.; Budnikov, D.; Buesching, H.; Bufalino, S.; Buncic, P.; Busch, O.; Buthelezi, Z.; Buxton, J. T.; Caffarri, D.; Cai, X.; Caines, H.; Calero Diaz, L.; Caliva, A.; Calvo Villar, E.; Camerini, P.; Carena, F.; Carena, W.; Castillo Castellanos, J.; Castro, A. J.; Casula, E. A. R.; Cavicchioli, C.; Ceballos Sanchez, C.; Cepila, J.; Cerello, P.; Chang, B.; Chapeland, S.; Chartier, M.; Charvet, J. L.; Chattopadhyay, Subhasis; Chattopadhyay, Sukalyan; Chelnokov, V.; Cherney, M.; Cheshkov, C.; Cheynis, B.; Chibante Barroso, V.; Chinellato, D. D.; Chochula, P.; Choi, K.; Chojnacki, M.; Choudhury, S.; Christakoglou, P.; Christensen, C. H.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chung, S. U.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Cleymans, J.; Colamaria, F.; Colella, D.; Collu, A.; Colocci, M.; Conesa Balbastre, G.; Conesa Del Valle, Z.; Connors, M. E.; Contreras, J. G.; Cormier, T. M.; Corrales Morales, Y.; Cortés Maldonado, I.; Cortese, P.; Cosentino, M. R.; Costa, F.; Crochet, P.; Cruz Albino, R.; Cuautle, E.; Cunqueiro, L.; Dahms, T.; Dainese, A.; Danu, A.; Das, D.; Das, I.; Das, S.; Dash, A.; Dash, S.; de, S.; de Caro, A.; de Cataldo, G.; de Cuveland, J.; de Falco, A.; de Gruttola, D.; De Marco, N.; de Pasquale, S.; Deisting, A.; Deloff, A.; Dénes, E.; D'Erasmo, G.; di Bari, D.; di Mauro, A.; di Nezza, P.; Diaz Corchero, M. A.; Dietel, T.; Dillenseger, P.; Divià, R.; Djuvsland, Ø.; Dobrin, A.; Dobrowolski, T.; Domenicis Gimenez, D.; Dönigus, B.; Dordic, O.; Dubey, A. K.; Dubla, A.; Ducroux, L.; Dupieux, P.; Ehlers, R. J.; Elia, D.; Engel, H.; Erazmus, B.; Erhardt, F.; Eschweiler, D.; Espagnon, B.; Estienne, M.; Esumi, S.; Evans, D.; Evdokimov, S.; Eyyubova, G.; Fabbietti, L.; Fabris, D.; Faivre, J.; Fantoni, A.; Fasel, M.; Feldkamp, L.; Felea, D.; Feliciello, A.; Feofilov, G.; Ferencei, J.; Fernández Téllez, A.; Ferreiro, E. G.; Ferretti, A.; Festanti, A.; Figiel, J.; Figueredo, M. A. S.; Filchagin, S.; Finogeev, D.; Fionda, F. M.; Fiore, E. M.; Fleck, M. G.; Floris, M.; Foertsch, S.; Foka, P.; Fokin, S.; Fragiacomo, E.; Francescon, A.; Frankenfeld, U.; Fuchs, U.; Furget, C.; Furs, A.; Fusco Girard, M.; Gaardhøje, J. J.; Gagliardi, M.; Gago, A. M.; Gallio, M.; Gangadharan, D. R.; Ganoti, P.; Gao, C.; Garabatos, C.; Garcia-Solis, E.; Gargiulo, C.; Gasik, P.; Germain, M.; Gheata, A.; Gheata, M.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S. K.; Gianotti, P.; Giubellino, P.; Giubilato, P.; Gladysz-Dziadus, E.; Glässel, P.; Goméz Coral, D. M.; Gomez Ramirez, A.; González-Zamora, P.; Gorbunov, S.; Görlich, L.; Gotovac, S.; Grabski, V.; Graczykowski, L. K.; Grelli, A.; Grigoras, A.; Grigoras, C.; Grigoriev, V.; Grigoryan, A.; Grigoryan, S.; Grinyov, B.; Grion, N.; Grosse-Oetringhaus, J. F.; Grossiord, J.-Y.; Grosso, R.; Guber, F.; Guernane, R.; Guerzoni, B.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gulkanyan, H.; Gunji, T.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, R.; Haake, R.; Haaland, Ø.; Hadjidakis, C.; Haiduc, M.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamar, G.; Hanratty, L. D.; Hansen, A.; Harris, J. W.; Hartmann, H.; Harton, A.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hayashi, S.; Heckel, S. T.; Heide, M.; Helstrup, H.; Herghelegiu, A.; Herrera Corral, G.; Hess, B. A.; Hetland, K. F.; Hilden, T. E.; Hillemanns, H.; Hippolyte, B.; Hristov, P.; Huang, M.; Humanic, T. J.; Hussain, N.; Hussain, T.; Hutter, D.; Hwang, D. S.; Ilkaev, R.; Ilkiv, I.; Inaba, M.; Ionita, C.; Ippolitov, M.; Irfan, M.; Ivanov, M.; Ivanov, V.; Izucheev, V.; Jacobs, P. M.; Jahnke, C.; Jang, H. J.; Janik, M. A.; Jayarathna, P. H. S. Y.; Jena, C.; Jena, S.; Jimenez Bustamante, R. T.; Jones, P. G.; Jung, H.; Jusko, A.; Kalinak, P.; Kalweit, A.; Kamin, J.; Kang, J. H.; Kaplin, V.; Kar, S.; Karasu Uysal, A.; Karavichev, O.; Karavicheva, T.; Karpechev, E.; Kebschull, U.; Keidel, R.; Keijdener, D. L. D.; Keil, M.; Khan, K. H.; Khan, M. Mohisin; Khan, P.; Khan, S. A.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kharlov, Y.; Kileng, B.; Kim, B.; Kim, D. W.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, Mimae.; Kim, Minwoo; Kim, S.; Kim, T.; Kirsch, S.; Kisel, I.; Kiselev, S.; Kisiel, A.; Kiss, G.; Klay, J. L.; Klein, C.; Klein, J.; Klein-Bösing, C.; Kluge, A.; Knichel, M. L.; Knospe, A. G.; Kobayashi, T.; Kobdaj, C.; Kofarago, M.; Köhler, M. K.; Kollegger, T.; Kolojvari, A.; Kondratiev, V.; Kondratyeva, N.; Kondratyuk, E.; Konevskikh, A.; Kour, M.; Kouzinopoulos, C.; Kovalenko, V.; Kowalski, M.; Kox, S.; Koyithatta Meethaleveedu, G.; Kral, J.; Králik, I.; Kravčáková, A.; Krelina, M.; Kretz, M.; Krivda, M.; Krizek, F.; Kryshen, E.; Krzewicki, M.; Kubera, A. M.; Kučera, V.; Kucheriaev, Y.; Kugathasan, T.; Kuhn, C.; Kuijer, P. G.; Kulakov, I.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, J.; Kumar, L.; Kurashvili, P.; Kurepin, A.; Kurepin, A. B.; Kuryakin, A.; Kushpil, S.; Kweon, M. J.; Kwon, Y.; La Pointe, S. L.; La Rocca, P.; Lagana Fernandes, C.; Lakomov, I.; Langoy, R.; Lara, C.; Lardeux, A.; Lattuca, A.; Laudi, E.; Lea, R.; Leardini, L.; Lee, G. R.; Lee, S.; Legrand, I.; Lehnert, J.; Lemmon, R. C.; Lenti, V.; Leogrande, E.; León Monzón, I.; Leoncino, M.; Lévai, P.; Li, S.; Li, X.; Lien, J.; Lietava, R.; Lindal, S.; Lindenstruth, V.; Lippmann, C.; Lisa, M. A.; Ljunggren, H. M.; Lodato, D. F.; Loenne, P. I.; Loggins, V. R.; Loginov, V.; Loizides, C.; Lopez, X.; López Torres, E.; Lowe, A.; Lu, X.-G.; Luettig, P.; Lunardon, M.; Luparello, G.; Maevskaya, A.; Mager, M.; Mahajan, S.; Mahmood, S. M.; Maire, A.; Majka, R. D.; Malaev, M.; Maldonado Cervantes, I.; Malinina, L.; Mal'Kevich, D.; Malzacher, P.; Mamonov, A.; Manceau, L.; Manko, V.; Manso, F.; Manzari, V.; Marchisone, M.; Mareš, J.; Margagliotti, G. V.; Margotti, A.; Margutti, J.; Marín, A.; Markert, C.; Marquard, M.; Martashvili, I.; Martin, N. A.; Martin Blanco, J.; Martinengo, P.; Martínez, M. I.; Martínez García, G.; Martinez Pedreira, M.; Martynov, Y.; Mas, A.; Masciocchi, S.; Masera, M.; Masoni, A.; Massacrier, L.; Mastroserio, A.; Matyja, A.; Mayer, C.; Mazer, J.; Mazzoni, M. A.; McDonald, D.; Meddi, F.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meninno, E.; Mercado Pérez, J.; Meres, M.; Miake, Y.; Mieskolainen, M. M.; Mikhaylov, K.; Milano, L.; Milosevic, J.; Minervini, L. M.; Mischke, A.; Mishra, A. N.; Miśkowiec, D.; Mitra, J.; Mitu, C. M.; Mohammadi, N.; Mohanty, B.; Molnar, L.; Montaño Zetina, L.; Montes, E.; Morando, M.; Moreira de Godoy, D. A.; Moreno, L. A. P.; Moretto, S.; Morreale, A.; Morsch, A.; Muccifora, V.; Mudnic, E.; Mühlheim, D.; Muhuri, S.; Mukherjee, M.; Müller, H.; Mulligan, J. D.; Munhoz, M. G.; Murray, S.; Musa, L.; Musinsky, J.; Nandi, B. K.; Nania, R.; Nappi, E.; Naru, M. U.; Nattrass, C.; Nayak, K.; Nayak, T. K.; Nazarenko, S.; Nedosekin, A.; Nellen, L.; Ng, F.; Nicassio, M.; Niculescu, M.; Niedziela, J.; Nielsen, B. S.; Nikolaev, S.; Nikulin, S.; Nikulin, V.; Noferini, F.; Nomokonov, P.; Nooren, G.; Norman, J.; Nyanin, A.; Nystrand, J.; Oeschler, H.; Oh, S.; Oh, S. K.; Ohlson, A.; Okatan, A.; Okubo, T.; Olah, L.; Oleniacz, J.; Oliveira da Silva, A. C.; Oliver, M. H.; Onderwaater, J.; Oppedisano, C.; Ortiz Velasquez, A.; Oskarsson, A.; Otwinowski, J.; Oyama, K.; Ozdemir, M.; Pachmayer, Y.; Pagano, P.; Paić, G.; Pajares, C.; Pal, S. K.; Pan, J.; Pandey, A. K.; Pant, D.; Papikyan, V.; Pappalardo, G. S.; Pareek, P.; Park, W. J.; Parmar, S.; Passfeld, A.; Paticchio, V.; Paul, B.; Pawlak, T.; Peitzmann, T.; Pereira da Costa, H.; Pereira de Oliveira Filho, E.; Peresunko, D.; Pérez Lara, C. E.; Peskov, V.; Pestov, Y.; Petráček, V.; Petrov, V.; Petrovici, M.; Petta, C.; Piano, S.; Pikna, M.; Pillot, P.; Pinazza, O.; Pinsky, L.; Piyarathna, D. B.; Płoskoń, M.; Planinic, M.; Pluta, J.; Pochybova, S.; Podesta-Lerma, P. L. M.; Poghosyan, M. G.; Polichtchouk, B.; Poljak, N.; Poonsawat, W.; Pop, A.; Porteboeuf-Houssais, S.; Porter, J.; Pospisil, J.; Prasad, S. K.; Preghenella, R.; Prino, F.; Pruneau, C. A.; Pshenichnov, I.; Puccio, M.; Puddu, G.; Pujahari, P.; Punin, V.; Putschke, J.; Qvigstad, H.; Rachevski, A.; Raha, S.; Rajput, S.; Rak, J.; Rakotozafindrabe, A.; Ramello, L.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Räsänen, S. S.; Rascanu, B. T.; Rathee, D.; Razazi, V.; Read, K. F.; Real, J. S.; Redlich, K.; Reed, R. J.; Rehman, A.; Reichelt, P.; Reicher, M.; Reidt, F.; Ren, X.; Renfordt, R.; Reolon, A. R.; Reshetin, A.; Rettig, F.; Revol, J.-P.; Reygers, K.; Riabov, V.; Ricci, R. A.; Richert, T.; Richter, M.; Riedler, P.; Riegler, W.; Riggi, F.; Ristea, C.; Rivetti, A.; Rocco, E.; Rodríguez Cahuantzi, M.; Rodriguez Manso, A.; Røed, K.; Rogochaya, E.; Rohr, D.; Röhrich, D.; Romita, R.; Ronchetti, F.; Ronflette, L.; Rosnet, P.; Rossi, A.; Roukoutakis, F.; Roy, A.; Roy, C.; Roy, P.; Rubio Montero, A. J.; Rui, R.; Russo, R.; Ryabinkin, E.; Ryabov, Y.; Rybicki, A.; Sadovsky, S.; Šafařík, K.; Sahlmuller, B.; Sahoo, P.; Sahoo, R.; Sahoo, S.; Sahu, P. K.; Saini, J.; Sakai, S.; Saleh, M. A.; Salgado, C. A.; Salzwedel, J.; Sambyal, S.; Samsonov, V.; Sanchez Castro, X.; Šándor, L.; Sandoval, A.; Sano, M.; Santagati, G.; Sarkar, D.; Scapparone, E.; Scarlassara, F.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Schiaua, C.; Schicker, R.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, H. R.; Schuchmann, S.; Schukraft, J.; Schulc, M.; Schuster, T.; Schutz, Y.; Schwarz, K.; Schweda, K.; Scioli, G.; Scomparin, E.; Scott, R.; Seeder, K. S.; Seger, J. E.; Sekiguchi, Y.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Senosi, K.; Seo, J.; Serradilla, E.; Sevcenco, A.; Shabanov, A.; Shabetai, A.; Shadura, O.; Shahoyan, R.; Shangaraev, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, N.; Shigaki, K.; Shtejer, K.; Sibiriak, Y.; Siddhanta, S.; Sielewicz, K. M.; Siemiarczuk, T.; Silvermyr, D.; Silvestre, C.; Simatovic, G.; Simonetti, G.; Singaraju, R.; Singh, R.; Singha, S.; Singhal, V.; Sinha, B. C.; Sinha, T.; Sitar, B.; Sitta, M.; Skaali, T. B.; Slupecki, M.; Smirnov, N.; Snellings, R. J. M.; Snellman, T. W.; Søgaard, C.; Soltz, R.; Song, J.; Song, M.; Song, Z.; Soramel, F.; Sorensen, S.; Spacek, M.; Spiriti, E.; Sputowska, I.; Spyropoulou-Stassinaki, M.; Srivastava, B. K.; Stachel, J.; Stan, I.; Stefanek, G.; Steinpreis, M.; Stenlund, E.; Steyn, G.; Stiller, J. H.; Stocco, D.; Strmen, P.; Suaide, A. A. P.; Sugitate, T.; Suire, C.; Suleymanov, M.; Sultanov, R.; Šumbera, M.; Symons, T. J. M.; Szabo, A.; Szanto de Toledo, A.; Szarka, I.; Szczepankiewicz, A.; Szymanski, M.; Takahashi, J.; Tanaka, N.; Tangaro, M. A.; Tapia Takaki, J. D.; Tarantola Peloni, A.; Tariq, M.; Tarzila, M. G.; Tauro, A.; Tejeda Muñoz, G.; Telesca, A.; Terasaki, K.; Terrevoli, C.; Teyssier, B.; Thäder, J.; Thomas, D.; Tieulent, R.; Timmins, A. R.; Toia, A.; Trogolo, S.; Trubnikov, V.; Trzaska, W. H.; Tsuji, T.; Tumkin, A.; Turrisi, R.; Tveter, T. S.; Ullaland, K.; Uras, A.; Usai, G. L.; Utrobicic, A.; Vajzer, M.; Vala, M.; Valencia Palomo, L.; Vallero, S.; van der Maarel, J.; van Hoorne, J. W.; van Leeuwen, M.; Vanat, T.; Vande Vyvre, P.; Varga, D.; Vargas, A.; Vargyas, M.; Varma, R.; Vasileiou, M.; Vasiliev, A.; Vauthier, A.; Vechernin, V.; Veen, A. M.; Veldhoen, M.; Velure, A.; Venaruzzo, M.; Vercellin, E.; Vergara Limón, S.; Vernet, R.; Verweij, M.; Vickovic, L.; Viesti, G.; Viinikainen, J.; Vilakazi, Z.; Villalobos Baillie, O.; Villatoro Tello, A.; Vinogradov, A.; Vinogradov, L.; Vinogradov, Y.; Virgili, T.; Vislavicius, V.; Viyogi, Y. P.; Vodopyanov, A.; Völkl, M. A.; Voloshin, K.; Voloshin, S. A.; Volpe, G.; von Haller, B.; Vorobyev, I.; Vranic, D.; Vrláková, J.; Vulpescu, B.; Vyushin, A.; Wagner, B.; Wagner, J.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Wang, Y.; Watanabe, D.; Weber, M.; Weber, S. G.; Wessels, J. P.; Westerhoff, U.; Wiechula, J.; Wikne, J.; Wilde, M.; Wilk, G.; Wilkinson, J.; Williams, M. C. S.; Windelband, B.; Winn, M.; Yaldo, C. G.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yang, H.; Yang, P.; Yano, S.; Yasnopolskiy, S.; Yin, Z.; Yokoyama, H.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yurchenko, V.; Yushmanov, I.; Zaborowska, A.; Zaccolo, V.; Zaman, A.; Zampolli, C.; Zanoli, H. J. C.; Zaporozhets, S.; Zarochentsev, A.; Závada, P.; Zaviyalov, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zgura, I. S.; Zhalov, M.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, C.; Zhigareva, N.; Zhou, D.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, X.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, A.; Zimmermann, M. B.; Zinovjev, G.; Zyzak, M.

2015-10-01

The measurement of the mass differences for systems bound by the strong force has reached a very high precision with protons and anti-protons. The extension of such measurement from (anti-)baryons to (anti-)nuclei allows one to probe any difference in the interactions between nucleons and anti-nucleons encoded in the (anti-)nuclei masses. This force is a remnant of the underlying strong interaction among quarks and gluons and can be described by effective theories, but cannot yet be directly derived from quantum chromodynamics. Here we report a measurement of the difference between the ratios of the mass and charge of deuterons (d) and anti-deuterons (), and 3He and nuclei carried out with the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector in Pb-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. Our direct measurement of the mass-over-charge differences confirms CPT invariance to an unprecedented precision in the sector of light nuclei. This fundamental symmetry of nature, which exchanges particles with anti-particles, implies that all physics laws are the same under the simultaneous reversal of charge(s) (charge conjugation C), reflection of spatial coordinates (parity transformation P) and time inversion (T).

Decoupled form and function in disparate herbivorous dinosaur clades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lautenschlager, Stephan; Brassey, Charlotte A.; Button, David J.; Barrett, Paul M.

2016-05-01

Convergent evolution, the acquisition of morphologically similar traits in unrelated taxa due to similar functional demands or environmental factors, is a common phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Consequently, the occurrence of similar form is used routinely to address fundamental questions in morphofunctional research and to infer function in fossils. However, such qualitative assessments can be misleading and it is essential to test form/function relationships quantitatively. The parallel occurrence of a suite of morphologically convergent craniodental characteristics in three herbivorous, phylogenetically disparate dinosaur clades (Sauropodomorpha, Ornithischia, Theropoda) provides an ideal test case. A combination of computational biomechanical models (Finite Element Analysis, Multibody Dynamics Analysis) demonstrate that despite a high degree of morphological similarity between representative taxa (Plateosaurus engelhardti, Stegosaurus stenops, Erlikosaurus andrewsi) from these clades, their biomechanical behaviours are notably different and difficult to predict on the basis of form alone. These functional differences likely reflect dietary specialisations, demonstrating the value of quantitative biomechanical approaches when evaluating form/function relationships in extinct taxa.

Autonomy, explanation, and theoretical values: physicists and chemists on molecular quantum mechanics.

PubMed

Hendry, Robin Findlay

2003-05-01

The emergence of quantum chemistry in the early twentieth century was an international as well as an interdisciplinary affair, involving dialogue between physicists and chemists in Germany, the United States, and Britain. Historians of science have recently documented both the causes and effects of this internationalism and interdisciplinarity. Chemists and physicists involved in the development of quantum chemistry in its first few decades tended to argue for opposing views on acceptable standards of explanation in their field, although the debate did not divide along disciplinary lines. The purpose of this paper is to investigate these different positions, through the methodological reflections of John Clarke Slater, Linus Pauling, and Charles Coulson. Slater tended to argue for quantum-mechanical rigor and the application of fundamental principles as the values guiding models of molecular bonding. Although they were on different sides of the debate between the valence-bond and molecular-orbital approaches, Pauling and Coulson both emphasized the recovery of traditional chemical explanations and systematic explanatory power within chemistry.

The scaling features of the 3D organization of chromosomes are highlighted by a transformation à la Kadanoff of Hi-C data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiariello, Andrea M.; Bianco, Simona; Annunziatella, Carlo; Esposito, Andrea; Nicodemi, Mario

2017-11-01

Technologies such as Hi-C and GAM have revealed that chromosomes are not randomly folded into the nucleus of cells, but are composed by a sequence of contact domains (TADs), each typically 0.5 Mb long. However, the larger scale organization of the genome remains still not well understood. To investigate the scaling behaviour of chromosome folding, here we apply an approach à la Kadanoff, inspired by the Renormalization Group theory, to Hi-C interaction data, across different cell types and chromosomes. We find that the genome is characterized by complex scaling features, where the average size of contact domains exhibits a power-law behaviour with the rescaling level. That is compatible with the existence of contact domains extending across length scales up to chromosomal sizes. The scaling exponent is statistically indistinguishable among the different murine cell types analysed. These results point toward a scenario of a universal higher-order spatial architecture of the genome, which could reflect fundamental, organizational principles.

Decoupled form and function in disparate herbivorous dinosaur clades.

PubMed

Lautenschlager, Stephan; Brassey, Charlotte A; Button, David J; Barrett, Paul M

2016-05-20

Convergent evolution, the acquisition of morphologically similar traits in unrelated taxa due to similar functional demands or environmental factors, is a common phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Consequently, the occurrence of similar form is used routinely to address fundamental questions in morphofunctional research and to infer function in fossils. However, such qualitative assessments can be misleading and it is essential to test form/function relationships quantitatively. The parallel occurrence of a suite of morphologically convergent craniodental characteristics in three herbivorous, phylogenetically disparate dinosaur clades (Sauropodomorpha, Ornithischia, Theropoda) provides an ideal test case. A combination of computational biomechanical models (Finite Element Analysis, Multibody Dynamics Analysis) demonstrate that despite a high degree of morphological similarity between representative taxa (Plateosaurus engelhardti, Stegosaurus stenops, Erlikosaurus andrewsi) from these clades, their biomechanical behaviours are notably different and difficult to predict on the basis of form alone. These functional differences likely reflect dietary specialisations, demonstrating the value of quantitative biomechanical approaches when evaluating form/function relationships in extinct taxa.

Low-latitude variability of ice cloud properties and cloud thermodynamic phase observed by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kahn, B. H.; Yue, Q.; Davis, S. M.; Fetzer, E. J.; Schreier, M. M.; Tian, B.; Wong, S.

2016-12-01

We will quantify the time and space dependence of ice cloud effective radius (CER), optical thickness (COT), cloud top temperature (CTT), effective cloud fraction (ECF), and cloud thermodynamic phase (ice, liquid, or unknown) with the Version 6 Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) satellite observational data set from September 2002 until present. We show that cloud frequency, CTT, COT, and ECF have substantially different responses to ENSO variations. Large-scale changes in ice CER are also observed with a several micron tropics-wide increase during the 2015-2016 El Niño and similar decreases during the La Niña phase. We show that the ice CER variations reflect fundamental changes in the spatial distributions and relative frequencies of different ice cloud types. Lastly, the high spatial and temporal resolution variability of the cloud fields are explored and we show that these data capture a multitude of convectively coupled tropical waves such as Kelvin, westward and eastward intertio-gravity, equatorial Rossby, and mixed Rossby-gravity waves.

SkyServer Voyages Website - Using Big Data to Explore Astronomy Concepts in Formal Education Settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meredith, Kate K.; Masters, Karen; Raddick, Jordan; Lundgren, Britt

2015-08-01

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) web interface “SkyServer” has long included online educational materials designed to help students and the public discover the fundamentals of modern astronomy using real observations from the SDSS database. The newly launched SDSS Voyages website updates and expands these activities to reflect new data from subsequent generations of the survey, advances in web technology, and evolving practices in science education. Voyages provides access to quality astronomy, astrophysics, and engineering materials to educators seeking an inquiry approach to fundamental concepts. During this session we will provide an overview of the design and development of Skyserver Voyages and discuss ways to apply this resource at K-12 and university levels.

Fundamental movement skills and autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Staples, Kerri L; Reid, Greg

2010-02-01

Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.

Uncovering racial bias in nursing fundamentals textbooks.

PubMed

Byrne, M M

2001-01-01

This article describes research that sought to identify and critique selected content areas from three nursing fundamentals textbooks for the presence or absence of racial bias embedded in the portrayal of African Americans. The analyzed content areas were the history of nursing, cultural content, and physical assessment/hygiene parameters. A researcher-developed guide was used for data collection and analysis of textual language, illustrations, linguistics, and references. A thematic analysis resulted in I I themes reflecting the portrayal of African Americans in these sampled textbooks. An interpretive analysis with a lens of Sadker and Sadker's categories of bias, along with other literary and theoretical contexts, were used to explore for the presence or absence of racial bias. Recommendations for nursing education are provided.

Understanding the power reflection and transmission coefficients of a plane wave at a planar interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Qian; Jiang, Yikun; Lin, Haoze

2017-03-01

In most textbooks, after discussing the partial transmission and reflection of a plane wave at a planar interface, the power (energy) reflection and transmission coefficients are introduced by calculating the normal-to-interface components of the Poynting vectors for the incident, reflected and transmitted waves, separately. Ambiguity arises among students since, for the Poynting vector to be interpreted as the energy flux density, on the incident (reflected) side, the electric and magnetic fields involved must be the total fields, namely, the sum of incident and reflected fields, instead of the partial fields which are just the incident (reflected) fields. The interpretation of the cross product of partial fields as energy flux has not been obviously justified in most textbooks. Besides, the plane wave is actually an idealisation that is only ever found in textbooks, then what do the reflection and transmission coefficients evaluated for a plane wave really mean for a real beam of limited extent? To provide a clearer physical picture, we exemplify a light beam of finite transverse extent by a fundamental Gaussian beam and simulate its reflection and transmission at a planar interface. Due to its finite transverse extent, we can then insert the incident fields or reflected fields as total fields into the expression of the Poynting vector to evaluate the energy flux and then power reflection and transmission coefficients. We demonstrate that the power reflection and transmission coefficients of a beam of finite extent turn out to be the weighted sum of the corresponding coefficients for all constituent plane wave components that form the beam. The power reflection and transmission coefficients of a single plane wave serve, in turn, as the asymptotes for the corresponding coefficients of a light beam as its width expands infinitely.

Comparing Teaching Approaches About Maxwell's Displacement Current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karam, Ricardo; Coimbra, Debora; Pietrocola, Maurício

2014-08-01

Due to its fundamental role for the consolidation of Maxwell's equations, the displacement current is one of the most important topics of any introductory course on electromagnetism. Moreover, this episode is widely used by historians and philosophers of science as a case study to investigate several issues (e.g. the theory-experiment relationship). Despite the consensus among physics educators concerning the relevance of the topic, there are many possible ways to interpret and justify the need for the displacement current term. With the goal of understanding the didactical transposition of this topic more deeply, we investigate three of its domains: (1) The historical development of Maxwell's reasoning; (2) Different approaches to justify the term insertion in physics textbooks; and (3) Four lectures devoted to introduce the topic in undergraduate level given by four different professors. By reflecting on the differences between these three domains, significant evidence for the knowledge transformation caused by the didactization of this episode is provided. The main purpose of this comparative analysis is to assist physics educators in developing an epistemological surveillance regarding the teaching and learning of the displacement current.

Breathing mechanics during exercise with added dead space reflect mechanisms of ventilatory control.

PubMed

Wood, Helen E; Mitchell, Gordon S; Babb, Tony G

2009-09-30

Small increases in external dead space (V(D)) augment the exercise ventilatory response via a neural mechanism known as short-term modulation (STM). We hypothesized that breathing mechanics would differ during exercise, increased V(D) and STM. Men were studied at rest and during cycle exercise (10-50W) without (Control) and with added V(D) (200-600ml). With added V(D), V(T) increased via increased end-inspiratory lung volume (EILV), with no change in end-expiratory lung volume (EELV), indicating recruitment of inspiratory muscles only. With exercise, V(T) increased via both decreased EELV and increased EILV, indicating recruitment of both expiratory and inspiratory muscles. A significant interaction between the effects of exercise and V(D) on mean inspiratory flow indicated that the augmented exercise ventilatory response with added V(D) (i.e. STM) resulted from increased drive to the inspiratory muscles. These results reveal different patterns of respiratory muscle recruitment among experimental conditions. Hence, we conclude that fundamental differences exist in the neural control of ventilatory responses during exercise, increased V(D) and STM.

Functional anatomy of listening and reading comprehension during development.

PubMed

Berl, Madison M; Duke, Elizabeth S; Mayo, Jessica; Rosenberger, Lisa R; Moore, Erin N; VanMeter, John; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Vaidya, Chandan J; Gaillard, William Davis

2010-08-01

Listening and reading comprehension of paragraph-length material are considered higher-order language skills fundamental to social and academic functioning. Using ecologically relevant language stimuli that were matched for difficulty according to developmental level, we analyze the effects of task, age, neuropsychological skills, and post-task performance on fMRI activation and hemispheric laterality. Areas of supramodal language processing are identified, with the most robust region being left-lateralized activation along the superior temporal sulcus. Functionally, this conjunction has a role in semantic and syntactic processing, leading us to refer to this conjunction as "comprehension cortex." Different from adults, supramodal areas for children include less extensive inferior frontal gyrus but more extensive right cerebellum and right temporal pole. Broader neuroanatomical pathways are recruited for reading, reflecting the more active processing and larger set of cognitive demands needed for reading compared to listening to stories. ROI analyses reveal that reading is a less lateralized language task than listening in inferior frontal and superior temporal areas, which likely reflects the difficulty of the task as children in this study are still developing their reading skills. For listening to stories, temporal activation is stable by age four with no correlations with age, neuropsychological skills or post-task performance. In contrast, frontal activation during listening to stories occurs more often in older children, and frontal activation is positively correlated with better performance on comprehension questions, suggesting that the activation of frontal networks may reflect greater integration and depth of story processing. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of the dimeric birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 impacts its immunological properties.

PubMed

Kofler, Stefan; Ackaert, Chloé; Samonig, Martin; Asam, Claudia; Briza, Peter; Horejs-Hoeck, Jutta; Cabrele, Chiara; Ferreira, Fatima; Duschl, Albert; Huber, Christian; Brandstetter, Hans

2014-01-03

Many allergens share several biophysical characteristics, including the capability to undergo oligomerization. The dimerization mechanism in Bet v 1 and its allergenic properties are so far poorly understood. Here, we report crystal structures of dimeric Bet v 1, revealing a noncanonical incorporation of cysteine at position 5 instead of genetically encoded tyrosine. Cysteine polysulfide bridging stabilized different dimeric assemblies, depending on the polysulfide linker length. These dimers represent quaternary arrangements that are frequently observed in related proteins, reflecting their prevalence in unmodified Bet v 1. These conclusions were corroborated by characteristic immunologic properties of monomeric and dimeric allergen variants. Hereby, residue 5 could be identified as an allergenic hot spot in Bet v 1. The presented results refine fundamental principles in protein chemistry and emphasize the importance of protein modifications in understanding the molecular basis of allergenicity.

Reflectivity retrieval in a networked radar environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Sanghun

Monitoring of precipitation using a high-frequency radar system such as X-band is becoming increasingly popular due to its lower cost compared to its counterpart at S-band. Networks of meteorological radar systems at higher frequencies are being pursued for targeted applications such as coverage over a city or a small basin. However, at higher frequencies, the impact of attenuation due to precipitation needs to be resolved for successful implementation. In this research, new attenuation correction algorithms are introduced to compensate the attenuation impact due to rain medium. In order to design X-band radar systems as well as evaluate algorithm development, it is useful to have simultaneous X-band observation with and without the impact of path attenuation. One way to obtain that data set is through theoretical models. Methodologies for generating realistic range profiles of radar variables at attenuating frequencies such as X-band for rain medium are presented here. Fundamental microphysical properties of precipitation, namely size and shape distribution information, are used to generate realistic profiles of X-band starting with S-band observations. Conditioning the simulation from S-band radar measurements maintains the natural distribution of microphysical parameters associated with rainfall. In this research, data taken by the CSU-CHILL radar and the National Center for Atmospheric Research S-POL radar are used to simulate X-band radar variables. Three procedures to simulate the radar variables at X-band and sample applications are presented. A new attenuation correction algorithm based on profiles of reflectivity, differential reflectivity, and differential propagation phase shift is presented. A solution for specific attenuation retrieval in rain medium is proposed that solves the integral equations for reflectivity and differential reflectivity with cumulative differential propagation phase shift constraint. The conventional rain profiling algorithms that connect reflectivity and specific attenuation can retrieve specific attenuation values along the radar path assuming a constant intercept parameter of the normalized drop size distribution. However, in convective storms, the drop size distribution parameters can have significant variation along the path. In this research, a dual-polarization rain profiling algorithm for horizontal-looking radars incorporating reflectivity as well as differential reflectivity profiles is developed. The dual-polarization rain profiling algorithm has been evaluated with X-band radar observations simulated from drop size distribution derived from high-resolution S-band measurements collected by the CSU-CHILL radar. The analysis shows that the dual-polarization rain profiling algorithm provides significant improvement over the current algorithms. A methodology for reflectivity and attenuation retrieval for rain medium in a networked radar environment is described. Electromagnetic waves backscattered from a common volume in networked radar systems are attenuated differently along the different paths. A solution for the specific attenuation distribution is proposed by solving the integral equation for reflectivity. The set of governing integral equations describing the backscatter and propagation of common resolution volume are solved simultaneously with constraints on total path attenuation. The proposed algorithm is evaluated based on simulated X-band radar observations synthesized from S-band measurements collected by the CSU-CHILL radar. Retrieved reflectivity and specific attenuation using the proposed method show good agreement with simulated reflectivity and specific attenuation.

Characterizing the roles of changing population size and selection on the evolution of flux control in metabolic pathways.

PubMed

Orlenko, Alena; Chi, Peter B; Liberles, David A

2017-05-25

Understanding the genotype-phenotype map is fundamental to our understanding of genomes. Genes do not function independently, but rather as part of networks or pathways. In the case of metabolic pathways, flux through the pathway is an important next layer of biological organization up from the individual gene or protein. Flux control in metabolic pathways, reflecting the importance of mutation to individual enzyme genes, may be evolutionarily variable due to the role of mutation-selection-drift balance. The evolutionary stability of rate limiting steps and the patterns of inter-molecular co-evolution were evaluated in a simulated pathway with a system out of equilibrium due to fluctuating selection, population size, or positive directional selection, to contrast with those under stabilizing selection. Depending upon the underlying population genetic regime, fluctuating population size was found to increase the evolutionary stability of rate limiting steps in some scenarios. This result was linked to patterns of local adaptation of the population. Further, during positive directional selection, as with more complex mutational scenarios, an increase in the observation of inter-molecular co-evolution was observed. Differences in patterns of evolution when systems are in and out of equilibrium, including during positive directional selection may lead to predictable differences in observed patterns for divergent evolutionary scenarios. In particular, this result might be harnessed to detect differences between compensatory processes and directional processes at the pathway level based upon evolutionary observations in individual proteins. Detecting functional shifts in pathways reflects an important milestone in predicting when changes in genotypes result in changes in phenotypes.

Large-area imaging reveals biologically driven non-random spatial patterns of corals at a remote reef

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Clinton B.; Eynaud, Yoan; Williams, Gareth J.; Pedersen, Nicole E.; Zgliczynski, Brian J.; Gleason, Arthur C. R.; Smith, Jennifer E.; Sandin, Stuart A.

2017-12-01

For sessile organisms such as reef-building corals, differences in the degree of dispersion of individuals across a landscape may result from important differences in life-history strategies or may reflect patterns of habitat availability. Descriptions of spatial patterns can thus be useful not only for the identification of key biological and physical mechanisms structuring an ecosystem, but also by providing the data necessary to generate and test ecological theory. Here, we used an in situ imaging technique to create large-area photomosaics of 16 plots at Palmyra Atoll, central Pacific, each covering 100 m2 of benthic habitat. We mapped the location of 44,008 coral colonies and identified each to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Using metrics of spatial dispersion, we tested for departures from spatial randomness. We also used targeted model fitting to explore candidate processes leading to differences in spatial patterns among taxa. Most taxa were clustered and the degree of clustering varied by taxon. A small number of taxa did not significantly depart from randomness and none revealed evidence of spatial uniformity. Importantly, taxa that readily fragment or tolerate stress through partial mortality were more clustered. With little exception, clustering patterns were consistent with models of fragmentation and dispersal limitation. In some taxa, dispersion was linearly related to abundance, suggesting density dependence of spatial patterning. The spatial patterns of stony corals are non-random and reflect fundamental life-history characteristics of the taxa, suggesting that the reef landscape may, in many cases, have important elements of spatial predictability.

Human rights and the practice of medicine.

PubMed

Pūras, Dainius

2017-01-01

There exists a profound disconnect and misunderstanding of the utility of human rights in the practice of medicine that demands urgent attention. The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Dainius Pūras, reflects on his career as a medical professional and why human rights in the day to day care of his patients became a powerful tool to strengthen his practice and ensure the dignity and well-being of those he served. This preface reflects on some of the troubling paradoxes encountered in the practice of medicine, identifying the disconnect between human rights and the provision of patient care as a fundamental struggle that urgently requires a framework for action, much like what is offered by the authors of this special edition. A historical reflection of the power relations between the medical profession and those it serves concludes with a message of hope and a galvanizing call for leadership from within the medical community to lead rights-based reform in patient care.

Fundamental limits of ultrathin metasurfaces

PubMed Central

Arbabi, Amir; Faraon, Andrei

2017-01-01

We present a set of universal relations which relate the local transmission, reflection, and polarization conversion coefficients of a general class of non-magnetic passive ultrathin metasurfaces. We show that these relations are a result of equal forward and backward scattering by single layer ultrathin metasurfaces, and they lead to confinement of the transmission, reflection, and polarization conversion coefficients to limited regions of the complex plane. Using these relations, we investigate the effect of the presence of a substrate, and show that the maximum polarization conversion efficiency for a transmissive metasurface decreases as the refractive index contrast between the substrate and cladding layer increases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a single layer reflective metasurface can achieve full 2π phase shift coverage without altering the polarization if it is illuminated from the higher refractive index material. We also discuss two approaches for achieving asymmetric scattering from metasurfaces, and realizing metasurfaces which overcome the performance limitations of single layer ultrathin metasurfaces. PMID:28262739

Methods and limitations in radar target imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertrand, P.

An analytical examination of the reflectivity of radar targets is presented for the two-dimensional case of flat targets. A complex backscattering coefficient is defined for the amplitude and phase of the received field in comparison with the emitted field. The coefficient is dependent on the frequency of the emitted signal and the orientation of the target with respect to the transmitter. The target reflection is modeled in terms of the density of illumined, colored points independent from one another. The target therefore is represented as an infinite family of densities indexed by the observational angle. Attention is given to the reflectivity parameters and their distribution function, and to the conjunct distribution function for the color, position, and the directivity of bright points. It is shown that a fundamental ambiguity exists between the localization of the illumined points and the determination of their directivity and color.

Elimination of the asymmetric modes in a Ka-band super overmoded coaxial Cerenkov oscillator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Zhen; Zhang, Jun; Zhong, Huihuang; Zhao, Xuelong; Yang, Fuxiang

2017-12-01

The issue of asymmetric modes output of a Ka-band super overmoded coaxial Cerenkov oscillator is analyzed in this paper. Due to serious passband overlapping in a super overmoded coaxial slow wave structure (SWS), the asymmetric competition mode EH11 can hardly be suppressed thoroughly by the methods adopted in moderately overmoded devices, especially in the startup of oscillation. If the output structures reflect the asymmetric modes, the asymmetric mode competition in SWS will be aggravated and the normal operation state will be destroyed. In order to solve this problem, a taper waveguide is inserted at a specific position to achieve the destructive interference of the reflected TM11, and a special support structure is designed to avoid reflection of TE11. With these methods, asymmetric mode competition can be successfully eliminated, and the oscillator is capable of achieving a steady fundamental mode operation performance.

Comparing and contrasting knowledge of pressure ulcer assessment, prevention and management in people with spinal cord injury among nursing staff working in two metropolitan spinal units and rehabilitation medicine training specialists in a three-way comparison.

PubMed

Gupta, N; Loong, B; Leong, G

2012-02-01

To assess for differences in knowledge of pressure ulcer (PU) prevention and management among nurses working in two metropolitan spinal cord injury (SCI) units, and between nurses and rehabilitation registrars (doctors). There is anecdotal evidence of wide variation in PU management. An understanding of current knowledge is fundamental to evidence-based practice implementation. This was a prospective survey, using a multiple choice question format developed with nurse wound specialists. A total of 10 questions assessed PU prevention and 10 assessed management. It was distributed to nurses working at the spinal units and rehabilitation registrars. The results from the groups were analysed for similarities and differences using one- and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests and tests for significance of specific linear combinations of group means. The response rate was 79% (19/24) and 71% (20/ 28) from the two SCI units, and 46% (13/28) from doctors. Doctors performed better than nurses on prevention questions (P<0.005) but worse on management (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in management knowledge (P<0.001) between nurses working in the two units but not in prevention knowledge (P<0.5) and interestingly years of experience did not correlate with performance (P<0.2 for prevention and P<0.5 for management questions). Rehabilitation registrars score better in prevention questions, but poorer in management questions, which reflects academic rather than experiential knowledge. There are also differences in management knowledge among nurses, based on work area rather than years of experience. Although knowledge does not necessarily reflect practice, this calls for better standardisation and implementation of wound management pathways.

Contrasting Levels of Molecular Evolution on the Mouse X Chromosome

PubMed Central

Larson, Erica L.; Vanderpool, Dan; Keeble, Sara; Zhou, Meng; Sarver, Brice A. J.; Smith, Andrew D.; Dean, Matthew D.; Good, Jeffrey M.

2016-01-01

The mammalian X chromosome has unusual evolutionary dynamics compared to autosomes. Faster-X evolution of spermatogenic protein-coding genes is known to be most pronounced for genes expressed late in spermatogenesis, but it is unclear if these patterns extend to other forms of molecular divergence. We tested for faster-X evolution in mice spanning three different forms of molecular evolution—divergence in protein sequence, gene expression, and DNA methylation—across different developmental stages of spermatogenesis. We used FACS to isolate individual cell populations and then generated cell-specific transcriptome profiles across different stages of spermatogenesis in two subspecies of house mice (Mus musculus), thereby overcoming a fundamental limitation of previous studies on whole tissues. We found faster-X protein evolution at all stages of spermatogenesis and faster-late protein evolution for both X-linked and autosomal genes. In contrast, there was less expression divergence late in spermatogenesis (slower late) on the X chromosome and for autosomal genes expressed primarily in testis (testis-biased). We argue that slower-late expression divergence reflects strong regulatory constraints imposed during this critical stage of sperm development and that these constraints are particularly acute on the tightly regulated sex chromosomes. We also found slower-X DNA methylation divergence based on genome-wide bisulfite sequencing of sperm from two species of mice (M. musculus and M. spretus), although it is unclear whether slower-X DNA methylation reflects development constraints in sperm or other X-linked phenomena. Our study clarifies key differences in patterns of regulatory and protein evolution across spermatogenesis that are likely to have important consequences for mammalian sex chromosome evolution, male fertility, and speciation. PMID:27317678

Spectroscopic ellipsometry and polarimetry for materials and systems analysis at the nanometer scale: state-of-the-art, potential, and perspectives

PubMed Central

Bergmair, Michael; Bruno, Giovanni; Cattelan, Denis; Cobet, Christoph; de Martino, Antonello; Fleischer, Karsten; Dohcevic-Mitrovic, Zorana; Esser, Norbert; Galliet, Melanie; Gajic, Rados; Hemzal, Dušan; Hingerl, Kurt; Humlicek, Josef; Ossikovski, Razvigor; Popovic, Zoran V.; Saxl, Ottilia

2009-01-01

This paper discusses the fundamentals, applications, potential, limitations, and future perspectives of polarized light reflection techniques for the characterization of materials and related systems and devices at the nanoscale. These techniques include spectroscopic ellipsometry, polarimetry, and reflectance anisotropy. We give an overview of the various ellipsometry strategies for the measurement and analysis of nanometric films, metal nanoparticles and nanowires, semiconductor nanocrystals, and submicron periodic structures. We show that ellipsometry is capable of more than the determination of thickness and optical properties, and it can be exploited to gain information about process control, geometry factors, anisotropy, defects, and quantum confinement effects of nanostructures. PMID:21170135

Ultra-sparse dielectric nanowire grids as wideband reflectors and polarizers.

PubMed

Yoon, Jae Woong; Lee, Kyu Jin; Magnusson, Robert

2015-11-02

Engaging both theory and experiment, we investigate resonant photonic lattices in which the duty cycle tends to zero. Corresponding dielectric nanowire grids are mostly empty space if operated as membranes in vacuum or air. These grids are shown to be effective wideband reflectors with impressive polarizing properties. We provide computed results predicting nearly complete reflection and attendant polarization extinction in multiple spectral regions. Experimental results with Si nanowire arrays with 10% duty cycle show ~200-nm-wide band of high reflection for one polarization state and free transmission for the orthogonal state. These results agree quantitatively with theoretical predictions. It is fundamentally extremely significant that the wideband spectral expressions presented can be generated in these minimal systems.

Minimum surface-effect microgripper design for force-reflective telemanipulation of a microscopic environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldfarb, Michael; Celanovic, Nikola

1996-01-01

This paper describes the fundamental physical motivations for a minimum surface effect design, and presents a microgripper that incorporates a piezoelectric ceramic actuator and a flexure-based structure and transmission. The microgripper serves effectively as a one degree-of-freedom prototype of a minimum surface effect micromanipulator design. Data is presented that characterizes the microgripper performance under both pure position and pure force control, followed by a discussion of the attributes and limitations of flexure-based design. The microgripper is interfaced with a force reflective macrogripper, and the pair is controlled with a hybrid position/force scheme. Data is presented that illustrates the effective operation of the telerobotic pair.

Fundamental studies of black chrome for solar collector use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdonald, G.; Buzek, B.; Curtis, H.

1976-01-01

The thicknesses of black chrome plated for various times have been measured from electron photomicrographs and correlated with the solar spectrum absorptance and infrared emittance as calculated from spectral reflectance measurements. The maximum absorptance is reached at an average thickness of 0.5 micrometer. The emittance increases only slightly up to 1.0 micrometer but increases rapidly at thickness above 1.0 micrometer.

Globally Convergent Numerical Methods for Coefficient Inverse Problems

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-23

backgrounds. Probing radiations are usually thought as electric and acoustic waves for the first two applications and light originated by lasers in...fundamental laws of physics. Electric , acoustic or light scattering properties of both unknown targets and the backgrounds are described by coefficients of...with the back-reflected data here, Army applications are quite feasible. The 2-D inverse problem of the determination of the unknown electric

On the Compressive Sensing Systems (Part 1)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

resolution between targets of classical radar is limited by the radar uncertainty principle. B. Fundamentals on CS and CS-Based Radar ( CSR ) Under...appropriate conditions, CSR can beat the traditional radar. We now consider K targets with unknown range-velocities and corresponding reflection...sparse target scene. A CSR has the following features: 1) Eliminating the need of matched filter at the receiver; 2) Requiring low sampling bandwidth

Is a Universal Science of Complexity Conceivable?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, Geoffrey B.

Over the past quarter of a century, terms like complex adaptive system, the science of complexity, emergent behavior, self-organization, and adaptive dynamics have entered the literature, reflecting the rapid growth in collaborative, trans-disciplinary research on fundamental problems in complex systems ranging across the entire spectrum of science from the origin and dynamics of organisms and ecosystems to financial markets, corporate dynamics, urbanization and the human brain...

Fundamental Investigation of Jet Fuel Spray and Ignition Process in an Optically Accessible Piston Engine

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-16

beamsplitters. A longpass dichroic beamsplitter ( Semrock , FF347-Di01-50.4x71.2) reflects the ultravio- let hydroxyl radical (OH) chemiluminescence, an...and a 80 nm FWHM band- pass filter centered at 300 nm ( Semrock , FF01-300/80-25) fitted to a UV F/4.5 105 mm focal length Nikkor lens. The camera is

Where Have the Disruptions Gone? Educational Administration's Theoretical Capacity for Analysing or Fomenting Disruption

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samier, Eugenie A.

2013-01-01

Within this essay and the author's reflections on the articles in this special issue, the question considered is: where have all the disruptions gone? On a fundamental level, educational leadership should have something to contribute, since it holds in trust the very educational systems that go a long way to producing the human condition, and…

Norway's New Culture Policy and the Arts: Values in Conflict.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klausen, Arne Martin

The basis for the New Norwegian Culture policy (NCC) is discussed in terms of the political attempt to extend the fundamental values of equality and social security into art and cultural life. The NCC is a result of a series of reports presented in the early 1970s which reflected a desire to see a broader welfare policy in Norway. The old form of…

Electronic circuits for communications systems: A compilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The compilation of electronic circuits for communications systems is divided into thirteen basic categories, each representing an area of circuit design and application. The compilation items are moderately complex and, as such, would appeal to the applications engineer. However, the rationale for the selection criteria was tailored so that the circuits would reflect fundamental design principles and applications, with an additional requirement for simplicity whenever possible.

Amplitude and frequency modulation control of sound production in a mechanical model of the avian syrinx.

PubMed

Elemans, Coen P H; Muller, Mees; Larsen, Ole Naesbye; van Leeuwen, Johan L

2009-04-01

Birdsong has developed into one of the important models for motor control of learned behaviour and shows many parallels with speech acquisition in humans. However, there are several experimental limitations to studying the vocal organ - the syrinx - in vivo. The multidisciplinary approach of combining experimental data and mathematical modelling has greatly improved the understanding of neural control and peripheral motor dynamics of sound generation in birds. Here, we present a simple mechanical model of the syrinx that facilitates detailed study of vibrations and sound production. Our model resembles the 'starling resistor', a collapsible tube model, and consists of a tube with a single membrane in its casing, suspended in an external pressure chamber and driven by various pressure patterns. With this design, we can separately control 'bronchial' pressure and tension in the oscillating membrane and generate a wide variety of 'syllables' with simple sweeps of the control parameters. We show that the membrane exhibits high frequency, self-sustained oscillations in the audio range (>600 Hz fundamental frequency) using laser Doppler vibrometry, and systematically explore the conditions for sound production of the model in its control space. The fundamental frequency of the sound increases with tension in three membranes with different stiffness and mass. The lower-bound fundamental frequency increases with membrane mass. The membrane vibrations are strongly coupled to the resonance properties of the distal tube, most likely because of its reflective properties to sound waves. Our model is a gross simplification of the complex morphology found in birds, and more closely resembles mathematical models of the syrinx. Our results confirm several assumptions underlying existing mathematical models in a complex geometry.

Study of acoustic correlates associate with emotional speech

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yildirim, Serdar; Lee, Sungbok; Lee, Chul Min; Bulut, Murtaza; Busso, Carlos; Kazemzadeh, Ebrahim; Narayanan, Shrikanth

2004-10-01

This study investigates the acoustic characteristics of four different emotions expressed in speech. The aim is to obtain detailed acoustic knowledge on how a speech signal is modulated by changes from neutral to a certain emotional state. Such knowledge is necessary for automatic emotion recognition and classification and emotional speech synthesis. Speech data obtained from two semi-professional actresses are analyzed and compared. Each subject produces 211 sentences with four different emotions; neutral, sad, angry, happy. We analyze changes in temporal and acoustic parameters such as magnitude and variability of segmental duration, fundamental frequency and the first three formant frequencies as a function of emotion. Acoustic differences among the emotions are also explored with mutual information computation, multidimensional scaling and acoustic likelihood comparison with normal speech. Results indicate that speech associated with anger and happiness is characterized by longer duration, shorter interword silence, higher pitch and rms energy with wider ranges. Sadness is distinguished from other emotions by lower rms energy and longer interword silence. Interestingly, the difference in formant pattern between [happiness/anger] and [neutral/sadness] are better reflected in back vowels such as /a/(/father/) than in front vowels. Detailed results on intra- and interspeaker variability will be reported.

Untangling the neurobiology of coping styles in rodents: Towards neural mechanisms underlying individual differences in disease susceptibility.

PubMed

de Boer, Sietse F; Buwalda, Bauke; Koolhaas, Jaap M

2017-03-01

Considerable individual differences exist in trait-like patterns of behavioral and physiological responses to salient environmental challenges. This individual variation in stress coping styles has an important functional role in terms of health and fitness. Hence, understanding the neural embedding of coping style variation is fundamental for biobehavioral neurosciences in probing individual disease susceptibility. This review outlines individual differences in trait-aggressiveness as an adaptive component of the natural sociobiology of rats and mice, and highlights that these reflect the general style of coping that varies from proactive (aggressive) to reactive (docile). We propose that this qualitative coping style can be disentangled into multiple quantitative behavioral domains, e.g., flexibility/impulse control, emotional reactivity and harm avoidance/reward processing, that each are encoded into selective neural circuitries. Since functioning of all these brain circuitries rely on fine-tuned serotonin signaling, autoinhibitory control mechanisms of serotonergic neuron (re)activity are crucial in orchestrating general coping style. Untangling the precise neuromolecular mechanisms of different coping styles will provide a roadmap for developing better therapeutic strategies of stress-related diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[A complexity analysis of Chinese herbal property theory: the multiple formations of herbal property].

PubMed

Jin, Rui; Zhang, Bing

2012-11-01

Chinese herbal property theory (CHPT) is the fundamental characteristic of Chinese materia medica different from modern medicines. It reflects the herbal properties associated with efficacy and formed the early framework of four properties and five flavors in Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica. After the supplement and improvement of CHPT in the past thousands of years, it has developed a theory system including four properties, five flavors, meridian entry, direction of medicinal actions (ascending, descending, floating and sinking) and toxicity. However, because of the influence of philosophy about yin-yang theory and five-phase theory and the difference of cognitive approach and historical background at different times, CHPT became complex. One of the complexity features was the multiple methods for determining herbal property, which might include the inference from herbal efficacy, the thought of Chinese Taoist School and witchcraft, the classification thinking according to manifestations, etc. Another complexity feature was the multiselection associations between herbal property and efficacy, which indicated that the same property could be inferred from different kinds of efficacy. This paper analyzed these complexity features and provided the importance of cognitive approaches and efficacy attributes corresponding to certain herbal property in the study of CHPT.

DIFFUSION-WEIGHTED IMAGING TRACTOGRAPHY-BASED PARCELLATION OF THE HUMAN PARIETAL CORTEX AND COMPARISON WITH HUMAN AND MACAQUE RESTING STATE FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY

PubMed Central

Mars, Rogier B.; Jbabdi, Saad; Sallet, Jérôme; O’Reilly, Jill X.; Croxson, Paula L.; Olivier, Etienne; Noonan, MaryAnn P.; Bergmann, Caroline; Mitchell, Anna S.; Baxter, Mark G.; Behrens, Timothy E.J.; Johansen-Berg, Heidi; Tomassini, Valentina; Miller, Karla L.; Rushworth, Matthew F.S.

2011-01-01

Despite the prominence of parietal activity in human neuromaging investigations of sensorimotor and cognitive processes there remains uncertainty about basic aspects of parietal cortical anatomical organization. Descriptions of human parietal cortex draw heavily on anatomical schemes developed in other primate species but the validity of such comparisons has been questioned by claims that there are fundamental differences between the parietal cortex in humans and other primates. A scheme is presented for parcellation of human lateral parietal cortex into component regions on the basis of anatomical connectivity and the functional interactions of the resulting clusters with other brain regions. Anatomical connectivity was estimated using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance image (MRI) based tractography and functional interactions were assessed by correlations in activity measured with functional MRI (fMRI) at rest. Resting state functional connectivity was also assessed directly in the rhesus macaque lateral parietal cortex in an additional experiment and the patterns found reflected known neuroanatomical connections. Cross-correlation in the tractography-based connectivity patterns of parietal voxels reliably parcellated human lateral parietal cortex into ten component clusters. The resting state functional connectivity of human superior parietal and intraparietal clusters with frontal and extrastriate cortex suggested correspondences with areas in macaque superior and intraparietal sulcus. Functional connectivity patterns with parahippocampal cortex and premotor cortex again suggested fundamental correspondences between inferior parietal cortex in humans and macaques. In contrast, the human parietal cortex differs in the strength of its interactions between the central inferior parietal lobule region and the anterior prefrontal cortex. PMID:21411650

Discontinuity of cortical gradients reflects sensory impairment

PubMed Central

Saadon-Grosman, Noam; Tal, Zohar; Itshayek, Eyal; Amedi, Amir; Arzy, Shahar

2015-01-01

Topographic maps and their continuity constitute a fundamental principle of brain organization. In the somatosensory system, whole-body sensory impairment may be reflected either in cortical signal reduction or disorganization of the somatotopic map, such as disturbed continuity. Here we investigated the role of continuity in pathological states. We studied whole-body cortical representations in response to continuous sensory stimulation under functional MRI (fMRI) in two unique patient populations—patients with cervical sensory Brown-Séquard syndrome (injury to one side of the spinal cord) and patients before and after surgical repair of cervical disk protrusion—enabling us to compare whole-body representations in the same study subjects. We quantified the spatial gradient of cortical activation and evaluated the divergence from a continuous pattern. Gradient continuity was found to be disturbed at the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the supplementary motor area (SMA), in both patient populations: contralateral to the disturbed body side in the Brown-Séquard group and before repair in the surgical group, which was further improved after intervention. Results corresponding to the nondisturbed body side and after surgical repair were comparable with control subjects. No difference was found in the fMRI signal power between the different conditions in the two groups, as well as with respect to control subjects. These results suggest that decreased sensation in our patients is related to gradient discontinuity rather than signal reduction. Gradient continuity may be crucial for somatotopic and other topographical organization, and its disruption may characterize pathological processing. PMID:26655739

Design and analysis issues for economic analysis alongside clinical trials.

PubMed

Marshall, Deborah A; Hux, Margaret

2009-07-01

Clinical trials can offer a valuable and efficient opportunity to collect the health resource use and outcomes data for economic evaluation. However, economic and clinical studies differ fundamentally in the question they seek to answer. The design and analysis of trial-based cost-effectiveness studies require special consideration, which are reviewed in this article. Traditional randomized controlled trials, using an experimental design with a controlled protocol, are designed to measure safety and efficacy for product registration. Cost-effectiveness analysis seeks to measure effectiveness in the context of routine clinical practice, and requires collection of health care resources to allow estimation of cost over an equal timeframe for each treatment alternative. In assessing suitability of a trial for economic data collection, the comparator treatment and other protocol factors need to reflect current clinical practice and the trial follow-up must be sufficiently long to capture important costs and effects. The broadest available population and a measure of effectiveness reflecting important benefits for patients are preferred for economic analyses. Special analytical issues include dealing with missing and censored cost data, assessing uncertainty of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, and accounting for the underlying heterogeneity in patient subgroups. Careful consideration also needs to be given to data from multinational studies since practice patterns can differ across countries. Although clinical trials can be an efficient opportunity to collect data for economic evaluation, careful consideration of the suitability of the study design, and appropriate analytical methods must be applied to obtain rigorous results.

Reflections on the Jungian nature of psychology as the discipline of interiority: a response to Saban's 'Misunderstandings'.

PubMed

Hoedl, John

2015-11-01

Psychology as the discipline of interiority is the name of the psychology that has developed from Wolfgang Giegerich's work in the field of analytical psychology. This article offers a counterview to that of Mark Saban's claim that Giegerich's psychology is 'irrelevant' to Jungians today and is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of Jungian psychology. It will be shown that, in fact, it is a fundamental misunderstanding of Giegerich's work that has led Saban to form erroneous conclusions. Links between Jung's and Giegerich's conceptions of the 'objective psyche' will be highlighted, along with other examples of how, contrary to Saban's conclusions, psychology as the discipline of interiority has obvious connections to, and grounding in, Jungian psychology. © 2015, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Skill-Based and Planned Active Play Versus Free-Play Effects on Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschoolers.

PubMed

Roach, Lindsay; Keats, Melanie

2018-01-01

Fundamental movement skill interventions are important for promoting physical activity, but the optimal intervention model for preschool children remains unclear. We compared two 8-week interventions, a structured skill-station and a planned active play approach, to a free-play control condition on pre- and postintervention fundamental movement skills. We also collected data regarding program attendance and perceived enjoyment. We found a significant interaction effect between intervention type and time. A Tukey honest significant difference analysis supported a positive intervention effect showing a significant difference between both interventions and the free-play control condition. There was a significant between-group difference in group attendance such that mean attendance was higher for both the free-play and planned active play groups relative to the structured skill-based approach. There were no differences in attendance between free-play and planned active play groups, and there were no differences in enjoyment ratings between the two intervention groups. In sum, while both interventions led to improved fundamental movement skills, the active play approach offered several logistical advantages. Although these findings should be replicated, they can guide feasible and sustainable fundamental movement skill programs within day care settings.

Development of Junior High School Students' Fundamental Movement Skills and Physical Activity in a Naturalistic Physical Education Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalaja, Sami Pekka; Jaakkola, Timo Tapio; Liukkonen, Jarmo Olavi; Digelidis, Nikolaos

2012-01-01

Background: There is evidence showing that fundamental movement skills and physical activity are related with each other. The ability to perform a variety of fundamental movement skills increases the likelihood of children participating in different physical activities throughout their lives. However, no fundamental movement skill interventions…

The Role for an Evaluator: A Fundamental Issue for Evaluation of Education and Social Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luo, Heng

2010-01-01

This paper discusses one of the fundamental issues in education and social program evaluation: the proper role for an evaluator. Based on respective and comparative analysis of five theorists' positions on this fundamental issue, this paper reveals how different perspectives on other fundamental issues in evaluation such as value, methods, use and…

Surface Spectroscopy Center Of Excellence Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wooden, Diane

2014-01-01

We propose to develop a national center of excellence in Regolith Radiative Transfer (RRT), i.e., in modeling spectral reflectivity and emissivity of grainy or structured surfaces. The focus is the regime where the structural elements of grainy surfaces have grain sizes and separations of tens of microns, comparable to the wavelengths carrying diagnostic compositional information. This regime is of fundamental interest to remote sensing of planetary and terrestrial surfaces.

Airmanship on the Ground: How the Aviation Industry Can Fundamentally Change the Way First Responders Manage Complex Emergencies

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

a pre- shift briefmg. By building relationships with a police or fire counterpa1i during briefings and showing discipline on an emergency scene, the...reflect the benefit of instituting a pre-shift briefing. By building relationships with a police or fire counterpart during briefings and showing...ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I must acknowledge my loving and profoundly supportive wife

Energy Conservation Strategies for Windows and Glazed Surfaces

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-07-01

When activated, photochromies reduce only the visual transmittance, not the infrared, so much of the solar heat gain is unaffected. • Thermochromic ...Strategies Windows and Glazed Surfaces by Brian M. Deal, Robert J. Nemeth, and Lee P. DeBaille for Solar Radiation Reflected Transmitted Absorbed...10 Fenestration Design 12 3 Heat Transfer Fundamentals 14 Mechanisms of Heat Transfer 14 Heat Transfer Process Through Glass 16 Solar Heat Gain

Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Mapping of Polychromatic Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafayelyan, Mushegh; Brasselet, Etienne

2018-05-01

Reflective geometric phase flat optics made from chiral anisotropic media recently unveiled a promising route towards polychromatic beam shaping. However, these broadband benefits are strongly mitigated by the fact that flipping the incident helicity does not ensure geometric phase reversal. Here we overcome this fundamental limitation by a simple and robust add-on whose advantages are emphasized in the context of spin-to-orbital angular momentum mapping.

Exploratory Development of Transparent Conductor Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-03-01

silicon c,:ll) or b&%ckwa.U (CdS cells ) electrodes. ’Nn oxide and indium oxide are currently the best known transparent condudwtor materials and they are...From an investigation of its fundamental physical properties it was concluded that cadmium stannate is a viable candidate for transparent solar cell ...transparent backwall electrodes in CdS solar cells . A further objective has been the utilization of the high infrared reflectivity of cadmium

Structure functions in decomposing Au-Pt systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glas, R.; Blaschko, O.; Rosta, L.

1992-09-01

The evolution of Au-Pt alloys quenched within the miscibility gap is investigated by small-angle neutron-scattering techniques. Moreover, in the vicinity of fundamental Bragg reflections the evolution of ``sideband'' satellites induced by a lattice-parameter modulation connected with the precipitation pattern is investigated by diffuse scattering methods. Structure functions are evaluated for a series of concentrations within the miscibility gap and compared to recent results of the literature.

A Black Who Wore White--A Look Back: Reflections of a Segregated Nursing Education Program at General Hospital No. 2 in Kansas City, Missouri

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCarther, Shirley

2010-01-01

At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Senator Edward M. Kennedy said, "We will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American--north, south, east, west, young, old--will have decent, quality healthcare as a fundamental right and not a privilege. We can meet these challenges ..." These now historic words from Kennedy are…

Airborne Laser Systems Testing and Analysis (essals et analyse des systemes laser embarques)

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

of Surface/ Paints Reflection Properties (PILASTER targets); • PILASTER Sensors Testing and Calibration; • LOAS Laser System Testing; and • Test...PILASTER targets candidate paints and materials), a Laser Scatter-meter (LSM) was built. To briefly summarise the fundamental concepts involved...Green Painted Target. 7.6.3 Laser Beam Misalignment with Respect to the Beam-Expander Support For measuring the beam misalignment, the beam expander

Islamic Fundamentalism in South Asia

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-20

Dhaka in March 1948, that Urdu would be the country’s official language . Nearly 99% of the population of East Bengal spoke Bengali, a language that...In 1955 East Bengal’s name was changed to East Pakistan. On April 19, 1954, Bengali was finally made an official state language , and 1956 it...word of God. Dhaka newspapers, reflecting the conflicts in Bengali culture, list three dates: in the Bengali ( Bangla ), Muslim, and Gregorian

Application of 1D Array FBG Configuration for Impact Localization on Composite Wing under Simulated Noise

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-30

Grating Sensor Fundamentals FBG sensors consists of grating with periodic variation in the refractive index which reflects certain wavelengths of...is the grating’s effective refractive index and  is the grating period. Bragg wavelength is sensitive to any changes in strain or temperature...Conference on Composite Materials. 2007: Kyoto, Japan. 2. Cartz, L., Nondestructive Testing: Radiography, Ultrasonics, Liquid Penetrant, Magnetic Particle

Common and distinct neural mechanisms of the fundamental dimensions of social cognition.

PubMed

Han, Mengfei; Bi, Chongzeng; Ybarra, Oscar

2016-01-01

In the present study, we used a valence classification task to investigate the common and distinct neural basis of the two fundamental dimensions of social cognition (agency and communion) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed that several brain areas associated with mentalizing, along with the inferior parietal gyrus in the mirror system, showed overlap in response to both agentic and communal words. These findings suggest that both content categories are related to the neural basis of social cognition; further, several areas in the default mode network (DMN) showed similar deactivations between agency and communion, reflecting task-induced deactivation (TID). In terms of distinct activations, the findings indicated greater deactivations for communal than agentic content in the ventral anterior cingulate (vACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). Communion also showed greater activation in some visual areas compared to agentic content, including occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, and fusiform gyrus. These activations may reflect greater allocation of attentional resources to visual areas when processing communal content, or inhibition of cognitive activity irrelevant to task performance. If so, this suggests greater attention and engagement with communion-related content. The present research thus suggests common and differential activations for agency- versus communion-related content.

Inadequate environment, resources and values lead to missed nursing care: A focused ethnographic study on the surgical ward using the Fundamentals of Care framework.

PubMed

Jangland, Eva; Teodorsson, Therese; Molander, Karin; Muntlin Athlin, Åsa

2018-06-01

To explore the delivery of care from the perspective of patients with acute abdominal pain focusing on the contextual factors at system level using the Fundamentals of Care framework. The Fundamentals of Care framework describes several contextual and systemic factors that can impact the delivery of care. To deliver high-quality, person-centred care, it is important to understand how these factors affect patients' experiences and care needs. A focused ethnographic approach. A total of 20 observations were performed on two surgical wards at a Swedish university hospital. Data were collected using participant observation and informal interviews and analysed using deductive content analysis. The findings, presented in four categories, reflect the value patients place on the caring relationship and a friendly atmosphere on the ward. Patients had concerns about the environment, particularly the high-tempo culture on the ward and its impact on their integrity, rest and sleep, access to information and planning, and need for support in addressing their existential thoughts. The observers also noted that missed nursing care had serious consequences for patient safety. Patients with acute abdominal pain were cared for in the high-tempo culture of a surgical ward with limited resources, unclear leadership and challenges to patients' safety. The findings highlight the crucial importance of prioritising and valuing the patients' fundamental care needs for recovery. Nursing leaders and nurses need to take the lead to reconceptualise the value of fundamental care in the acute care setting. To improve clinical practice, the value of fundamentals of care must be addressed regardless of patient's clinical condition. Providing a caring relationship is paramount to ensure a positive impact on patient's well-being and recovery. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Accurate Determination of the Values of Fundamental Physical Constants: The Basis of the New "Quantum" SI Units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karshenboim, S. G.

2018-03-01

The metric system appeared as the system of units designed for macroscopic (laboratory scale) measurements. The progress in accurate determination of the values of quantum constants (such as the Planck constant) in SI units shows that the capabilities in high-precision measurement of microscopic and macroscopic quantities in terms of the same units have increased substantially recently. At the same time, relative microscopic measurements (for example, the comparison of atomic transition frequencies or atomic masses) are often much more accurate than relative measurements of macroscopic quantities. This is the basis for the strategy to define units in microscopic phenomena and then use them on the laboratory scale, which plays a crucial role in practical methodological applications determined by everyday life and technologies. The international CODATA task group on fundamental constants regularly performs an overall analysis of the precision world data (the so-called Adjustment of the Fundamental Constants) and publishes their recommended values. The most recent evaluation was based on the data published by the end of 2014; here, we review the corresponding data and results. The accuracy in determination of the Boltzmann constant has increased, the consistency of the data on determination of the Planck constant has improved; it is these two dimensional constants that will be used in near future as the basis for the new definition of the kelvin and kilogram, respectively. The contradictions in determination of the Rydberg constant and the proton charge radius remain. The accuracy of determination of the fine structure constant and relative atomic weight of the electron has improved. Overall, we give a detailed review of the state of the art in precision determination of the values of fundamental constants. The mathematical procedure of the Adjustment, the new data and results are considered in detail. The limitations due to macroscopic properties of material standards (such as the International prototype of the kilogram) and the isotopic composition of substances involved in precision studies in general (as standard measures for the triple point of water) and, in particular, in the determination of the fundamental constants are discussed. The perspectives of the introduction of the new quantum units, which will be free from the mentioned problems, are considered. Many physicists feel no sympathy for the International system of units (SI), believing that it does not properly reflect the character of physical laws. In fact, there are three parallel systems, namely the systems of quantities, system of their units and the related standards. The definition of the units, in particular, the SI units, above all, reflects our ability to perform precision measurements of physical values under certain conditions, in particular, to create appropriate standards. This requirement is not related to the beauty of fundamental laws of nature. More accurate determination of the fundamental constants is one of the areas where we accumulate such experience.

Integrating fundamental movement skills in late childhood.

PubMed

Gimenez, Roberto; Manoel, Edison de J; de Oliveira, Dalton Lustosa; Dantas, Luiz; Marques, Inara

2012-04-01

The study examined how children of different ages integrate fundamental movement skills, such as running and throwing, and whether their developmental status was related to the combination of these skills. Thirty children were divided into three groups (G1 = 6-year-olds, G2 = 9-year-olds, and G3 = 12-year-olds) and filmed performing three tasks: running, overarm throwing, and the combined task. Patterns were identified and described, and the efficiency of integration was calculated (distance differences of the ball thrown in two tasks, overarm throwing and combined task). Differences in integration were related to age: the 6-year-olds were less efficient in combining the two skills than the 9- and 12-year-olds. These differences may be indicative of a phase of integrating fundamental movement skills in the developmental sequence. This developmental status, particularly throwing, seems to be related to the competence to integrate skills, which suggests that fundamental movement skills may be developmental modules.

Personality Is Reflected in the Brain's Intrinsic Functional Architecture

PubMed Central

Adelstein, Jonathan S.; Shehzad, Zarrar; Mennes, Maarten; DeYoung, Colin G.; Zuo, Xi-Nian; Kelly, Clare; Margulies, Daniel S.; Bloomfield, Aaron; Gray, Jeremy R.; Castellanos, F. Xavier; Milham, Michael P.

2011-01-01

Personality describes persistent human behavioral responses to broad classes of environmental stimuli. Investigating how personality traits are reflected in the brain's functional architecture is challenging, in part due to the difficulty of designing appropriate task probes. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) can detect intrinsic activation patterns without relying on any specific task. Here we use RSFC to investigate the neural correlates of the five-factor personality domains. Based on seed regions placed within two cognitive and affective ‘hubs’ in the brain—the anterior cingulate and precuneus—each domain of personality predicted RSFC with a unique pattern of brain regions. These patterns corresponded with functional subdivisions responsible for cognitive and affective processing such as motivation, empathy and future-oriented thinking. Neuroticism and Extraversion, the two most widely studied of the five constructs, predicted connectivity between seed regions and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and lateral paralimbic regions, respectively. These areas are associated with emotional regulation, self-evaluation and reward, consistent with the trait qualities. Personality traits were mostly associated with functional connections that were inconsistently present across participants. This suggests that although a fundamental, core functional architecture is preserved across individuals, variable connections outside of that core encompass the inter-individual differences in personality that motivate diverse responses. PMID:22140453

Serum iron parameters in liver cirrhosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siregar, G. A.; Maail, W.

2018-03-01

The liver plays a fundamental role in iron homeostasis. Iron parameters change, especially ferritin, need to be evaluated in patients with liver cirrhosis. Serum ferritin could predict the prognosis of patients with decompensated cirrhosis since it reflects immunemediated and infectious stimuli. Ferritin could express the severity of liver disease and possible subsequent complications. Finally, it might reflect an iron overload condition resulting in significant morbidity and early mortality. 70 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis divided into three Child-Pugh subgroups. Serum iron parameters include serum iron (SI), total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and ferritin was measured in these groups. From these 70 patients, 30 (42.9%) with HbsAg positive, 26 (37.1%) with anti-HCV positive and 14 (20%) with both HbsAg and anti-HCV positive. Of the 70 patients, 14 (20%) had CTP Class A cirrhosis, 17 (24.3%) had CTP Class B cirrhosis, and 39 (55.7%) had CTP C cirrhosis. The median (range) value of serum iron was 36 (10-345) μg/dl, TIBC was 160 (59-520) μg/dl, Ferritin was 253.5 (8-6078) ng/ml and the transferrin saturation was 22.9 (3.65-216.98) %.We found a significant difference in serum ferritin level with CTP score. Ferritin levels increased as Child-Pugh class progressed (p<0.001).

Simultaneous chromatic and luminance human electroretinogram responses.

PubMed

Parry, Neil R A; Murray, Ian J; Panorgias, Athanasios; McKeefry, Declan J; Lee, Barry B; Kremers, Jan

2012-07-01

The parallel processing of information forms an important organisational principle of the primate visual system. Here we describe experiments which use a novel chromatic–achromatic temporal compound stimulus to simultaneously identify colour and luminance specific signals in the human electroretinogram (ERG). Luminance and chromatic components are separated in the stimulus; the luminance modulation has twice the temporal frequency of the chromatic modulation. ERGs were recorded from four trichromatic and two dichromatic subjects (1 deuteranope and 1 protanope). At isoluminance, the fundamental (first harmonic) response was elicited by the chromatic component in the stimulus. The trichromatic ERGs possessed low-pass temporal tuning characteristics, reflecting the activity of parvocellular post-receptoral mechanisms. There was very little first harmonic response in the dichromats' ERGs. The second harmonic response was elicited by the luminance modulation in the compound stimulus and showed, in all subjects, band-pass temporal tuning characteristic of magnocellular activity. Thus it is possible to concurrently elicit ERG responses from the human retina which reflect processing in both chromatic and luminance pathways. As well as providing a clear demonstration of the parallel nature of chromatic and luminance processing in the human retina, the differences that exist between ERGs from trichromatic and dichromatic subjects point to the existence of interactions between afferent post-receptoral pathways that are in operation from the earliest stages of visual processing.

Developmental mechanisms of macroevolutionary change in the tetrapod axis: A case study of Sauropterygia

PubMed Central

Soul, Laura C.; Benson, Roger B. J.

2017-01-01

Understanding how developmental processes change on macroevolutionary timescales to generate body plan disparity is fundamental to the study of vertebrate evolution. Adult morphology of the vertebral column directly reflects the mechanisms that generate vertebral counts (somitogenesis) and their regionalisation (homeotic effects) during embryonic development. Sauropterygians were a group of Mesozoic marine reptiles that exhibited an extremely high disparity of presacral vertebral/somite counts. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we demonstrate that somitogenesis and homeotic effects evolved in a co‐ordinated way among sauropterygians, contrasting with the wider pattern in tetrapods, in which somitogenetic and homeotic shifts are uncorrelated. Changes in sauropterygian body proportions were primarily enabled by homeotic shifts, with a lesser, but important, contribution from differences in postpatterning growth among somites. High body plan plasticity was present in Triassic sauropterygians and was maintained among their Jurassic and Cretaceous descendants. The extreme disparity in the body plan of plesiosaurian sauropterygians did not result from accelerated rates of evolutionary change in neck length, but instead reflect this ancestral versatility of sauropterygian axial development. Our results highlight variation in modes of axial development among tetrapods, and show that heterogeneous statistical models can uncover novel macroevolutionary patterns for animal body plans and the developmental mechanisms that control them. PMID:28240769

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence as a tool for food screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borgese, Laura; Bilo, Fabjola; Dalipi, Rogerta; Bontempi, Elza; Depero, Laura E.

2015-11-01

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the applications of total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) in the field of food analysis. Elemental composition of food is of great importance, since food is the main source of essential, major and trace elements for animals and humans. Some potentially toxic elements, dangerous for human health may contaminate food, entering the food chain from the environment, processing, and storage. For this reason the elemental analysis of food is fundamental for safety assessment. Fast and sensitive analytical techniques, able to detect major and trace elements, are required as a result of the increasing demand on multi-elemental information and product screening. TXRF is suitable for elemental analysis of food, since it provides simultaneous multi-elemental identification in a wide dynamic range of concentrations. Several different matrices may be analyzed obtaining results with a good precision and accuracy. In this review, the most recent literature about the use of TXRF for the analysis of food is reported. The focus is placed on the applications within food quality monitoring of drinks, beverages, vegetables, fruits, cereals, animal derivatives and dietary supplements. Furthermore, this paper provides a critical outlook on the developments required to transfer these methods from research to the industrial and analytical laboratories contexts.

From memory to prospection: what are the overlapping and the distinct components between remembering and imagining?

PubMed Central

Zheng, Huimin; Luo, Jiayi; Yu, Rongjun

2014-01-01

Reflecting on past events and reflecting on future events are two fundamentally different processes, each traveling in the opposite direction of the other through conceptual time. But what we are able to imagine seems to be constrained by what we have previously experienced, suggesting a close link between memory and prospection. Recent theories suggest that recalling the past lies at the core of imagining and planning for the future. The existence of this link is supported by evidence gathered from neuroimaging, lesion, and developmental studies. Yet it is not clear exactly how the novel episodes people construct in their sense of the future develop out of their historical memories. There must be intermediary processes that utilize memory as a basis on which to generate future oriented thinking. Here, we review studies on goal-directed processing, associative learning, cognitive control, and creativity and link them with research on prospection. We suggest that memory cooperates with additional functions like goal-directed learning to construct and simulate novel events, especially self-referential events. The coupling between memory-related hippocampus and other brain regions may underlie such memory-based prospection. Abnormalities in this constructive process may contribute to mental disorders such as schizophrenia. PMID:25147532

Excitations in opal photonic crystals infiltrated with polarizable media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eradat, Nayer; Sivachenko, A. Y.; Raikh, Mikhail E.; Vardeny, Z. Valy; Zakhidov, Anvar A.; Li, S.; Baughman, Ray H.

2002-12-01

Photonic crystals (PC) are a class of artificial structures with a periodic dielectric function. PCs can be a laboratory for testing fundamental processes involving interactions of radiation with matter in novel conditions. We have studied the optical properties of opal PCs that are infiltrated with highly polarizable media such as j-aggregates of cyanine dyes. Opals are self-assembled structures of silica spheres. We report our studies on clarifying the relationship between a polaritonic gap and a photonic stop band (Bragg gap) when they resonantly coexist in the same structure. Infiltration of opal with polarizable molecules combines the polaritonic and Bragg diffractive effects. Both effects exist independently when the Bragg (at ω = ωB) and polaritonic (ω = ωT) resonances are well separated in frequency. A completely different situation occurs when ωT ~ωB. Such a condition was achieved in opals that were infiltrated with J-aggregates of cyanine dyes that have large Rabi frequency. Our measurements show some dramatic changes in the shape of the reflectivity plateaus, which are due to the interplay between the photonic band gap and the polaritonic gap. The experimental results on reflectivity and its dependence on the light propagation angle and concentration of the cyanie dyes are in agreement with the theoretical calculations.

Cortical Correlates of Fitts’ Law

PubMed Central

Ifft, Peter J.; Lebedev, Mikhail A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L.

2011-01-01

Fitts’ law describes the fundamental trade-off between movement accuracy and speed: it states that the duration of reaching movements is a function of target size (TS) and distance. While Fitts’ law has been extensively studied in ergonomics and has guided the design of human–computer interfaces, there have been few studies on its neuronal correlates. To elucidate sensorimotor cortical activity underlying Fitts’ law, we implanted two monkeys with multielectrode arrays in the primary motor (M1) and primary somatosensory (S1) cortices. The monkeys performed reaches with a joystick-controlled cursor toward targets of different size. The reaction time (RT), movement time, and movement velocity changed with TS, and M1 and S1 activity reflected these changes. Moreover, modifications of cortical activity could not be explained by changes of movement parameters alone, but required TS as an additional parameter. Neuronal representation of TS was especially prominent during the early RT period where it influenced the slope of the firing rate rise preceding movement initiation. During the movement period, cortical activity was correlated with movement velocity. Neural decoders were applied to simultaneously decode TS and motor parameters from cortical modulations. We suggest that sensorimotor cortex activity reflects the characteristics of both the movement and the target. Classifiers that extract these parameters from cortical ensembles could improve neuroprosthetic control. PMID:22275888

Integrating cell on chip—Novel waveguide platform employing ultra-long optical paths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fohrmann, Lena Simone; Sommer, Gerrit; Pitruzzello, Giampaolo; Krauss, Thomas F.; Petrov, Alexander Yu.; Eich, Manfred

2017-09-01

Optical waveguides are the most fundamental building blocks of integrated optical circuits. They are extremely well understood, yet there is still room for surprises. Here, we introduce a novel 2D waveguide platform which affords a strong interaction of the evanescent tail of a guided optical wave with an external medium while only employing a very small geometrical footprint. The key feature of the platform is its ability to integrate the ultra-long path lengths by combining low propagation losses in a silicon slab with multiple reflections of the guided wave from photonic crystal (PhC) mirrors. With a reflectivity of 99.1% of our tailored PhC-mirrors, we achieve interaction paths of 25 cm within an area of less than 10 mm2. This corresponds to 0.17 dB/cm effective propagation which is much lower than the state-of-the-art loss of approximately 1 dB/cm of single mode silicon channel waveguides. In contrast to conventional waveguides, our 2D-approach leads to a decay of the guided wave power only inversely proportional to the optical path length. This entirely different characteristic is the major advantage of the 2D integrating cell waveguide platform over the conventional channel waveguide concepts that obey the Beer-Lambert law.

Amygdala-cingulate intrinsic connectivity is associated with degree of social inhibition

PubMed Central

Blackford, Jennifer Urbano; Clauss, Jacqueline A.; Avery, Suzanne N.; Cowan, Ronald L.; Benningfield, Margaret M.; VanDerKlok, Ross M.

2014-01-01

The tendency to approach or avoid novel people is a fundamental human behavior and is a core dimension of social anxiety. Resting state fMRI was used to test for an association between social inhibition and intrinsic connectivity in 40 young adults ranging from low to high in social inhibition. Higher levels of social inhibition were associated with specific patterns of reduced amygdala-cingulate cortex connectivity. Connectivity was reduced between the superficial amygdala and the rostral cingulate cortex and between the centromedial amygdala and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. Social inhibition also modulated connectivity in several well-established intrinsic networks; higher social inhibition correlated with reduced connectivity with default mode and dorsal attention networks and enhanced connectivity in salience and executive control networks. These findings provide important preliminary evidence that social inhibition reflects differences in the underlying intrinsic connectivity of the brain in the absence of social stimuli or stressors. PMID:24534162

Feature-binding errors after eye movements and shifts of attention.

PubMed

Golomb, Julie D; L'heureux, Zara E; Kanwisher, Nancy

2014-05-01

When people move their eyes, the eye-centered (retinotopic) locations of objects must be updated to maintain world-centered (spatiotopic) stability. Here, we demonstrated that the attentional-updating process temporarily distorts the fundamental ability to bind object locations with their features. Subjects were simultaneously presented with four colors after a saccade-one in a precued spatiotopic target location-and were instructed to report the target's color using a color wheel. Subjects' reports were systematically shifted in color space toward the color of the distractor in the retinotopic location of the cue. Probabilistic modeling exposed both crude swapping errors and subtler feature mixing (as if the retinotopic color had blended into the spatiotopic percept). Additional experiments conducted without saccades revealed that the two types of errors stemmed from different attentional mechanisms (attention shifting vs. splitting). Feature mixing not only reflects a new perceptual phenomenon, but also provides novel insight into how attention is remapped across saccades.

Beyond triglyceride synthesis: the dynamic functional roles of MGAT and DGAT enzymes in energy metabolism.

PubMed

Shi, Yuguang; Cheng, Dong

2009-07-01

Monoacyglycerol acyltransferases (MGATs) and diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) catalyze two consecutive steps of enzyme reactions in the synthesis of triacylglycerols (TAGs). The metabolic complexity of TAG synthesis is reflected by the presence of multiple isoforms of MGAT and DGAT enzymes that differ in catalytic properties, subcellular localization, tissue distribution, and physiological functions. MGAT and DGAT enzymes play fundamental roles in the metabolism of monoacylglycerol (MAG), diacylglycerol (DAG), and triacylglycerol (TAG) that are involved in many aspects of physiological functions, such as intestinal fat absorption, lipoprotein assembly, adipose tissue formation, signal transduction, satiety, and lactation. The recent progress in the phenotypic characterization of mice deficient in MGAT and DGAT enzymes and the development of chemical inhibitors have revealed important roles of these enzymes in the regulation of energy homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. Consequently, selective inhibition of MGAT or DGAT enzymes by synthetic compounds may provide novel treatment for obesity and its related metabolic complications.

A fundamental study of the sticking of insect residues to aircraft wings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eiss, N. S., Jr.; Wightman, J. P.; Gilliam, D. R.; Siochi, E. J.

1985-01-01

The aircraft industry has long been concerned with the increase of drag on airplanes due to fouling of the wings by insects. The present research studied the effects of surface energy and surface roughness on the phenomenon of insect sticking. Aluminum plates of different roughnesses were coated with thin films of polymers with varying surface energies. The coated plates were attached to a custom jig and mounted on top of an automobile for insect collection. Contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and specular reflectance infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the surface before and after the insect impact experiments. Scanning electron microscopy showed the topography of insect residues on the exposed plates. Moments were calculated in order to find a correlation between the parameters studied and the amount of bugs collected on the plates. An effect of surface energy on the sticking of insect residues was demonstrated.

Culture, attribution and automaticity: a social cognitive neuroscience view

PubMed Central

Morris, Michael W.

2010-01-01

A fundamental challenge facing social perceivers is identifying the cause underlying other people’s behavior. Evidence indicates that East Asian perceivers are more likely than Western perceivers to reference the social context when attributing a cause to a target person’s actions. One outstanding question is whether this reflects a culture’s influence on automatic or on controlled components of causal attribution. After reviewing behavioral evidence that culture can shape automatic mental processes as well as controlled reasoning, we discuss the evidence in favor of cultural differences in automatic and controlled components of causal attribution more specifically. We contend that insights emerging from social cognitive neuroscience research can inform this debate. After introducing an attribution framework popular among social neuroscientists, we consider findings relevant to the automaticity of attribution, before speculating how one could use a social neuroscience approach to clarify whether culture affects automatic, controlled or both types of attribution processes. PMID:20460302

Neural correlates of two different types of extinction learning in the amygdala central nucleus.

PubMed

Iordanova, Mihaela D; Deroche, Mickael L D; Esber, Guillem R; Schoenbaum, Geoffrey

2016-08-17

Extinction is a fundamental form of memory updating in which one learns to stop expecting an event that no longer occurs. This learning ensues when one experiences a change in environmental contingencies, that is, when an expected outcome fails to occur (simple extinction), or when a novel inflated expectation of a double outcome (overexpectation) is in conflict with the real outcome, and is a process that has been linked to amygdala function. Here, we show that in rats, the same neuronal population in the amygdala central nucleus updates reward expectancies and behaviour in both types of extinction, and neural changes in one paradigm are reflected in the other. This work may have implications for the management of addiction and anxiety disorders that require treatments based on the outcome omission, and disorders such as obesity that could use overexpectation, but not omission strategies.

Tertiary and Quaternary Research with Remote Sensing Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conel, J. E.

1985-01-01

Problems encountered in mapping the Quaternary section of the Wind River Region using remote sensing methods are discussed. Analysis of the stratigraphic section is a fundamental aspect of the geologic study of sedimentary basins. Stratigraphic analysis of post-Cretaceous rocks in the Wind River Basin encounters problems of a distinctly different character from those involved in studying the pre-Cretaceous section. The interior of the basin is predominantly covered by Tertiary and Quaternary sediments. These rocks, except on the basin margin to the north, are mostly flat lying or gently dipping. The Tertiary section consists of sandstones, siltstones, and tuffaceous sediments, some variegated, but in general poorly bedded and of great lithologic similarity. The Quaternary sediments consist of terrace, fan, and debris tongue deposits, unconsolidated alluvium occupying the bottoms of modern watercourses, deposits of eolian origin and tufa. Terrace and fan deposits are compositionally diverse and reflect the lithologic diversity of the source terranes.

Snow and Glacier Hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brubaker, Kaye

The study of snow and ice is rich in both fundamental science and practical applications. Snow and Glacier Hydrology offers something for everyone, from resource practitioners in regions where water supply depends on seasonal snow pack or glaciers, to research scientists seeking to understand the role of the solid phase in the water cycle and climate. The book is aimed at the advanced undergraduate or graduate-level student. A perusal of online documentation for snow hydrology classes suggests that there is currently no single text or reference book on this topic in general use. Instructors rely on chapters from general hydrology texts or operational manuals, collections of journal papers, or their own notes. This variety reflects the fact that snow and ice regions differ in climate, topography, language, water law, hazards, and resource use (hydropower, irrigation, recreation). Given this diversity, producing a universally applicable book is a challenge.

Matrix operator theory of radiative transfer. I - Rayleigh scattering.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plass, G. N.; Kattawar, G. W.; Catchings, F. E.

1973-01-01

An entirely rigorous method for the solution of the equations for radiative transfer based on the matrix operator theory is reviewed. The advantages of the present method are: (1) all orders of the reflection and transmission matrices are calculated at once; (2) layers of any thickness may be combined, so that a realistic model of the atmosphere can be developed from any arbitrary number of layers, each with different properties and thicknesses; (3) calculations can readily be made for large optical depths and with highly anisotropic phase functions; (4) results are obtained for any desired value of the surface albedo including the value unity and for a large number of polar and azimuthal angles; (5) all fundamental equations can be interpreted immediately in terms of the physical interactions appropriate to the problem; and (6) both upward and downward radiance can be calculated at interior points from relatively simple expressions.

Crust and upper mantle shear wave structure of Northeast Algeria from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radi, Zohir; Yelles-Chaouche, Abdelkrim; Corchete, Victor; Guettouche, Salim

2017-09-01

We resolve the crust and upper mantle structure beneath Northeast Algeria at depths of 0-400 km, using inversion of fundamental mode Rayleigh wave. Our data set consists of 490 earthquakes recorded between 2007 and 2014 by five permanent broadband seismic stations in the study area. Applying a combination of different filtering technics and inversion method shear wave velocities structure were determined as functions of depth. The resolved changes in Vs at 50 km depth are in perfect agreement with crustal thickness estimates, which reflect the study area's orogenic setting, partly overlying the collision zone between the African and Eurasian plates. The inferred Moho discontinuity depths are close to those estimated for other convergent areas. In addition, there is good agreement between our results and variations in orientations of regional seismic anisotropy. At depths of 80-180 km, negative Vs anomalies at station CBBR suggest the existence of a failed subduction slab.

Do state laws concerning homosexuals reflect the preeminence of conservative-liberal individual differences?

PubMed

McCann, Stewart J H

2011-01-01

The present study was conducted to determine whether individual-level correlates of sexual prejudice (i.e., conservatism-liberalism, religious fundamentalism, educational levels, urbanism, income, and living in the South) are predictive at the state level of laws restricting homosexual behaviors and desires. Criterion 1 was a multifaceted index of state laws concerning gay men and lesbians; Criterion 2 was an index of state laws regarding same-sex partnerships. Multiple regression strategies showed that state conservatism-liberalism, as determined from the responses of 141,798 individuals aggregated at the state level (Erikson, Wright, & McIver, 1993), was the prime state-level predictor of both criteria. For Criterion 1, only Southern state status accounted for additional variance (4.2%) above the 54.8% already accounted for by conservatism-liberalism. For Criterion 2, no other variables accounted for variance beyond the 44.6% accounted for by state conservatism-liberalism.

The Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms Underlying the Tracking of Expertise

PubMed Central

Boorman, Erie D.; O’Doherty, John P.; Adolphs, Ralph; Rangel, Antonio

2013-01-01

Summary Evaluating the abilities of others is fundamental for successful economic and social behavior. We investigated the computational and neurobiological basis of ability tracking by designing an fMRI task that required participants to use and update estimates of both people and algorithms’ expertise through observation of their predictions. Behaviorally, we find a model-based algorithm characterized subject predictions better than several alternative models. Notably, when the agent’s prediction was concordant rather than discordant with the subject’s own likely prediction, participants credited people more than algorithms for correct predictions and penalized them less for incorrect predictions. Neurally, many components of the mentalizing network—medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, temporoparietal junction, and precuneus—represented or updated expertise beliefs about both people and algorithms. Moreover, activity in lateral orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal cortex reflected behavioral differences in learning about people and algorithms. These findings provide basic insights into the neural basis of social learning. PMID:24360551

Non-Equilibrium Water-Glassy Polymer Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Eric; Minelli, Matteo; Baschetti, Marco; Sarti, Giulio; Elabd, Yossef

2012-02-01

For many applications (e.g., medical implants, packaging), an accurate assessment and fundamental understanding of the dynamics of water-glassy polymer interactions is of great interest. In this study, sorption and diffusion of pure water in several glassy polymers films, such as poly(styrene) (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), poly(lactide) (PLA), were measured over a wide range of vapor activities and temperatures using several experimental techniques, including quartz spring microbalance (QSM), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and time-resolved Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Non-Fickian behavior (diffusion-relaxation phenomena) was observed by all three techniques, while FTIR-ATR spectroscopy also provides information about the distribution of the states of water and water transport mechanisms on a molecular-level. Specifically, the states of water are significantly different in PS compared to PMMA and PLA. Additionally, a purely predictive non-equilibrium lattice fluid (NELF) model was applied to predict the sorption isotherms of water in these glassy polymers.

Plant diversity increases with the strength of negative density dependence at the global scale.

PubMed

LaManna, Joseph A; Mangan, Scott A; Alonso, Alfonso; Bourg, Norman A; Brockelman, Warren Y; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Chang, Li-Wan; Chiang, Jyh-Min; Chuyong, George B; Clay, Keith; Condit, Richard; Cordell, Susan; Davies, Stuart J; Furniss, Tucker J; Giardina, Christian P; Gunatilleke, I A U Nimal; Gunatilleke, C V Savitri; He, Fangliang; Howe, Robert W; Hubbell, Stephen P; Hsieh, Chang-Fu; Inman-Narahari, Faith M; Janík, David; Johnson, Daniel J; Kenfack, David; Korte, Lisa; Král, Kamil; Larson, Andrew J; Lutz, James A; McMahon, Sean M; McShea, William J; Memiaghe, Hervé R; Nathalang, Anuttara; Novotny, Vojtech; Ong, Perry S; Orwig, David A; Ostertag, Rebecca; Parker, Geoffrey G; Phillips, Richard P; Sack, Lawren; Sun, I-Fang; Tello, J Sebastián; Thomas, Duncan W; Turner, Benjamin L; Vela Díaz, Dilys M; Vrška, Tomáš; Weiblen, George D; Wolf, Amy; Yap, Sandra; Myers, Jonathan A

2017-06-30

Theory predicts that higher biodiversity in the tropics is maintained by specialized interactions among plants and their natural enemies that result in conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD). By using more than 3000 species and nearly 2.4 million trees across 24 forest plots worldwide, we show that global patterns in tree species diversity reflect not only stronger CNDD at tropical versus temperate latitudes but also a latitudinal shift in the relationship between CNDD and species abundance. CNDD was stronger for rare species at tropical versus temperate latitudes, potentially causing the persistence of greater numbers of rare species in the tropics. Our study reveals fundamental differences in the nature of local-scale biotic interactions that contribute to the maintenance of species diversity across temperate and tropical communities. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Modulation of additive and interactive effects in lexical decision by trial history.

PubMed

Masson, Michael E J; Kliegl, Reinhold

2013-05-01

Additive and interactive effects of word frequency, stimulus quality, and semantic priming have been used to test theoretical claims about the cognitive architecture of word-reading processes. Additive effects among these factors have been taken as evidence for discrete-stage models of word reading. We present evidence from linear mixed-model analyses applied to 2 lexical decision experiments indicating that apparent additive effects can be the product of aggregating over- and underadditive interaction effects that are modulated by recent trial history, particularly the lexical status and stimulus quality of the previous trial's target. Even a simple practice effect expressed as improved response speed across trials was powerfully modulated by the nature of the previous target item. These results suggest that additivity and interaction between factors may reflect trial-to-trial variation in stimulus representations and decision processes rather than fundamental differences in processing architecture.

[School nutrition and autonomy - challenges and opportunities].

PubMed

Barbosa, Najla Veloso Sampaio; Machado, Neila Maria Viçosa; Soares, Maria Cláudia Veiga; Pinto, Anelise Regina Royer

2013-04-01

This study seeks to emphasize school food as an important policy to promote student autonomy by means of food and nutrition education included in the curriculum, integrated with different actors and based on the standpoint of citizenship. It seeks to return to fundamental concepts in the context of school food reflecting on them through theoretical assumptions to identify possible strategies to promote citizenship and autonomy in school. The strategies involved food and nutrition education with the daily presence of quality and suitability in school meals, discussions on the various dimensions of food in the curriculum and integrating food in the pedagogical project extended to various areas of the education system. School food fosters the need for integration of actions, actors and the various social spaces interested in the food issue, such as ministries, education systems, departments and schools, so that they may tackle the demands of contemporary reality in an integrated, systematic, consistent and efficient manner.

Chasing our tails: psychological, institutional and societal paradoxes in natural resource management, sustainability, and climate change in Australia.

PubMed

Browne, A L; Bishop, B J

2011-06-01

Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) have been guiding frameworks in Australia for a number of decades. Recently, NRM and ESD have become central to climate change mitigation. In this paper, we explore the psychological paradoxes that function within climate change settings, with particular attention devoted to the way that research and development reinforces these paradoxes by advocating for participatory forms of inquiry. Paradox emerges in NRM at psychological, institutional, and organisational levels. Paradoxes are also features of different forms of democracy such as neoliberal and participatory democracy. Although NRM, ESD and climate change are often conceptualised as distinct issue domains, these policy areas are fundamentally interconnected in both theory and in practice. This interconnection between these policy and research settings, reflections on paradox, and the experience of incorporating community psychology into the paradoxical settings of NRM and climate change are captured in this paper.

Brain stimulation reveals crucial role of overcoming self-centeredness in self-control

PubMed Central

Soutschek, Alexander; Ruff, Christian C.; Strombach, Tina; Kalenscher, Tobias; Tobler, Philippe N.

2016-01-01

Neurobiological models of self-control predominantly focus on the role of prefrontal brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and impulse control. We provide evidence for an entirely different neural mechanism that promotes self-control by overcoming bias for the present self, a mechanism previously thought to be mainly important for interpersonal decision-making. In two separate studies, we show that disruptive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the temporo-parietal junction—a brain region involved in overcoming one’s self-centered perspective—increases the discounting of delayed and prosocial rewards. This effect of TMS on temporal and social discounting is accompanied by deficits in perspective-taking and does not reflect altered spatial reorienting and number recognition. Our findings substantiate a fundamental commonality between the domains of self-control and social decision-making and highlight a novel aspect of the neurocognitive processes involved in self-control. PMID:27774513

Brain stimulation reveals crucial role of overcoming self-centeredness in self-control.

PubMed

Soutschek, Alexander; Ruff, Christian C; Strombach, Tina; Kalenscher, Tobias; Tobler, Philippe N

2016-10-01

Neurobiological models of self-control predominantly focus on the role of prefrontal brain mechanisms involved in emotion regulation and impulse control. We provide evidence for an entirely different neural mechanism that promotes self-control by overcoming bias for the present self, a mechanism previously thought to be mainly important for interpersonal decision-making. In two separate studies, we show that disruptive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the temporo-parietal junction-a brain region involved in overcoming one's self-centered perspective-increases the discounting of delayed and prosocial rewards. This effect of TMS on temporal and social discounting is accompanied by deficits in perspective-taking and does not reflect altered spatial reorienting and number recognition. Our findings substantiate a fundamental commonality between the domains of self-control and social decision-making and highlight a novel aspect of the neurocognitive processes involved in self-control.

Bridging Cognitive And Neural Aspects Of Classroom Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Posner, Michael I.

2009-11-01

A major achievement of the first twenty years of neuroimaging is to reveal the brain networks that underlie fundamental aspects of attention, memory and expertise. We examine some principles underlying the activation of these networks. These networks represent key constraints for the design of teaching. Individual differences in these networks reflect a combination of genes and experiences. While acquiring expertise is easier for some than others the importance of effort in its acquisition is a basic principle. Networks are strengthened through exercise, but maintaining interest that produces sustained attention is key to making exercises successful. The state of the brain prior to learning may also represent an important constraint on successful learning and some interventions designed to investigate the role of attention state in learning are discussed. Teaching remains a creative act between instructor and student, but an understanding of brain mechanisms might improve opportunity for success for both participants.

Neural Substrate of Body Size: Illusory Feeling of Shrinking of the Waist

PubMed Central

Kito, Tomonori; Sadato, Norihiro; Passingham, Richard E; Naito, Eiichi

2005-01-01

The perception of the size and shape of one's body (body image) is a fundamental aspect of how we experience ourselves. We studied the neural correlates underlying perceived changes in the relative size of body parts by using a perceptual illusion in which participants felt that their waist was shrinking. We scanned the brains of the participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that activity in the cortices lining the left postcentral sulcus and the anterior part of the intraparietal sulcus reflected the illusion of waist shrinking, and that this activity was correlated with the reported degree of shrinking. These results suggest that the perceived changes in the size and shape of body parts are mediated by hierarchically higher-order somatosensory areas in the parietal cortex. Based on this finding we suggest that relative size of body parts is computed by the integration of more elementary somatic signals from different body segments. PMID:16336049

Molecular ecology of aquatic communities: Reflections and future directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zehr, J.P.; Voytek, M.A.

1999-01-01

During the 1980s, many new molecular biology techniques were developed, providing new capabilities for studying the genetics and activities of organisms. Biologists and ecologists saw the promise that these techniques held for studying different aspects of organisms, both in culture and in the natural environment. In less than a decade, these techniques were adopted by a large number of researchers studying many types of organisms in diverse environments. Much of the molecular-level information acquired has been used to address questions of evolution, biogeography, population structure and biodiversity. At this juncture, molecular ecologists are poised to contribute to the study of the fundamental characteristics underlying aquatic community structure. The goal of this overview is to assess where we have been, where we are now and what the future holds for revealing the basis of community structure and function with molecular-level information.

Determination of antennae patterns and radar reflection characteristics of aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bothe, H.; MacDonald, D.; Pool, A.

1986-05-01

The different types of aircraft antennas, their radiation characteristics and their preferred siting on the airframe are described. Emphasis is placed on the various methods for determining aircraft antenna radiation patterns (ARP) and advantages, disadvantages and limitations of each method are indicated. Mathematical modelling, model measurements and in-flight measurements in conjunction with the applied flight test techniques are included. Examples of practical results are given. Methods of determining aircraft radar characteristics are also described, indicating advantages, disadvantages and limitations of each method. Relevant fundamentals of radar theory are included only as necessary to appreciation of the real meaning of radar cross section (RCS) and angular glint. The measuring methods included are dynamic full-scale, static full-scale, sub-scale optical, ultrasonic and radio modelling. References are made to RCS measuring facilities in the USA and Europe and the UK Radio Modelling Facility is used extensively to exemplify the sub scale technique.

Reflections on the present and future of upper limb prostheses.

PubMed

Farina, Dario; Amsüss, Sebastian

2016-01-01

Despite progress in research and media attention on active upper limb prostheses, presently the most common commercial upper limb prosthetic devices are not fundamentally different from solutions offered almost one century ago. Limited information transfer for both control and sensory-motor integration and challenges in socket technology have been major obstacles. By analysing the present state-of-the-art and academic achievements, we provide our opinion on the future of upper limb prostheses. We believe that surgical procedures for muscle reinnervation and osseointegration will become increasingly clinically relevant; muscle electrical signals will remain the main clinical means for prosthetic control; and chronic electrode implants, first in muscles (control), then in nerves (sensory feedback), will become viable clinical solutions. After decades of suspended clinically relevant progress, it is foreseeable that a new generation of upper limb prostheses will enter the market in the near future based on such advances, thereby offering substantial clinical benefit for patients.

Frequency modulation of high-order harmonic generation in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field.

PubMed

Li, Guicun; Zheng, Yinghui; Ge, Xiaochun; Zeng, Zhinan; Li, Ruxin

2016-08-08

We have experimentally investigated the frequency modulation of high-order harmonics in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field consisting of a mid-infrared 1800nm fundamental pulse and its second harmonic pulse. It is demonstrated that the high harmonic spectra can be fine-tuned as we slightly change the relative delay of the two-color laser pulses. By analyzing the relative frequency shift of each harmonic at different two-color delays, the nonadiabatic spectral shift induced by the rapid variation of the intensity-dependent intrinsic dipole phase can be distinguished from the blueshift induced by the change of the refractive index during self-phase modulation (SPM). Our comprehensive analysis shows that the frequency modulation pattern is a reflection of the average emission time of high-order harmonic generation (HHG), thus offering a simple method to fine-tune the spectra of the harmonics on a sub-cycle time scale.