75 FR 35764 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-23

... survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. The SIPP is molded around a central ``core... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE U.S. Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey... supplemented with questions designed to address specific needs. Examples of these types of questions include...

Outcome Evaluation: Student Development Program, Special Studies Division, Cleveland State University.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasch, Marvin

Techniques and procedures used to evaluate the outcomes of the student development program, and to use the evaluation results, are presented. Specific evaluation questions are posed that address overall outcomes, not individual student outcomes, and quantitative measures are suggested to accompany the questions. The measures include statistical…

The Decision Tree: A Tool for Achieving Behavioral Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saren, Dru

1999-01-01

Presents a "Decision Tree" process for structuring team decision making and problem solving about specific student behavioral goals. The Decision Tree involves a sequence of questions/decisions that can be answered in "yes/no" terms. Questions address reasonableness of the goal, time factors, importance of the goal, responsibilities, safety,…

Ethics in School Psychologists Report Writing: Acknowledging Aporia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Attard, Sunaina; Mercieca, Daniela; Mercieca, Duncan P.

2016-01-01

Research in school psychologist report writing has argued for reports that connect to the client's context; have clear links between the referral questions and the answers to these questions; have integrated interpretations; address client strengths and problem areas; have specific, concrete and feasible recommendations; and are adapted to the…

Impact of scaffolding and question structure on the gender gap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawkins, Hillary; Hedgeland, Holly; Jordan, Sally

2017-12-01

We address previous hypotheses about possible factors influencing the gender gap in attainment in physics. Specifically, previous studies claim that scaffolding may preferentially benefit female students, and we present some alternative conclusions surrounding this hypothesis. By taking both student attainment level and the degree of question scaffolding into account, we identify questions that exhibit real bias in favor of male students. We find that both multidimensional context and use of diagrams are common elements of such questions.

Econosense: A Common Sense Approach to the Study of Economics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPheron, Linda

This student activity book and teacher's guide address specific economic terms and concepts correlated to specific student learning objectives. The concepts presented are those essential to any student developing a basic understanding of economics. Each lesson follows a specific format with a basic core of information, comprehension questions,…

On Using Meta-Modeling and Multi-Modeling to Address Complex Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu Jbara, Ahmed

2013-01-01

Models, created using different modeling techniques, usually serve different purposes and provide unique insights. While each modeling technique might be capable of answering specific questions, complex problems require multiple models interoperating to complement/supplement each other; we call this Multi-Modeling. To address the syntactic and…

Productivity, Slack, and Time Theft in the Soviet Economy: Evidence from the Soviet Interview Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

enterprise, changes in personal living standards, tightness of enterprise targets, and so on. The natural question is how these perceptions affect...microeconomic working arrangements, and respondent-specific questions concerning their own personal experiences and impressions. These two types of responses...directly to speak about personal workplace experiences, so there is less dznger of second-hand generalizatIons. The slack questions address

Making Use of a Decade of Widely Varying Historical Data: SARP Project "Full Life-cycle Defect Management"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shull, Forrest; Bechtel, Andre; Feldmann, Raimund L.; Regardie, Myrna; Seaman, Carolyn

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation addresses the question of inspection and verification and validation (V&V) effectiveness of developing computer systems. A specific question is the relation between V&V effectiveness in the early lifecycle of development and the later testing of the developed system.

On Knowing: Art and Visual Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncum, Paul, Ed.; Bracey, Ted, Ed.

The question of whether or not art can be distinguished from all that is called visual culture has become central to art theoretical discussion over recent decades. This collection of essays and responses addresses this question with the specific aim of making sense of an epistemology of art, with the assumption that nothing less than a persuasive…

An evidence-based clinical guideline for the use of antithrombotic therapies in spine surgery.

PubMed

Bono, Christopher M; Watters, William C; Heggeness, Michael H; Resnick, Daniel K; Shaffer, William O; Baisden, Jamie; Ben-Galim, Peleg; Easa, John E; Fernand, Robert; Lamer, Tim; Matz, Paul G; Mendel, Richard C; Patel, Rajeev K; Reitman, Charles A; Toton, John F

2009-12-01

The objective of the North American Spine Society (NASS) Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline on antithrombotic therapies in spine surgery was to provide evidence-based recommendations to address key clinical questions surrounding the use of antithrombotic therapies in spine surgery. The guideline is intended to address these questions based on the highest quality clinical literature available on this subject as of February 2008. The goal of the guideline recommendations was to assist in delivering optimum, efficacious treatment with the goal of preventing thromboembolic events. To provide an evidence-based, educational tool to assist spine surgeons in minimizing the risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Systematic review and evidence-based clinical guideline. This report is from the Antithrombotic Therapies Work Group of the NASS Evidence-Based Guideline Development Committee. The work group was composed of multidisciplinary spine care specialists, all of whom were trained in the principles of evidence-based analysis. Each member of the group was involved in formatting a series of clinical questions to be addressed by the group. The final questions agreed on by the group are the subject of this report. A literature search addressing each question and using a specific search protocol was performed on English language references found in MEDLINE, EMBASE (Drugs and Pharmacology), and four additional, evidence-based databases. The relevant literature was then independently rated by at least three reviewers using the NASS-adopted standardized levels of evidence. An evidentiary table was created for each of the questions. Final grades of recommendation for the answers to each clinical question were arrived at via Web casts among members of the work group using standardized grades of recommendation. When Level I to IV evidence was insufficient to support a recommendation to answer a specific clinical question, expert consensus was arrived at by the work group through the modified nominal group technique and is clearly identified as such in the guideline. Fourteen clinical questions were formulated, addressing issues of incidence of DVT and PE in spine surgery and recommendations regarding utilization of mechanical prophylaxis and chemoprophylaxis in spine surgery. The answers to these 14 clinical questions are summarized in this article. The respective recommendations were graded by the strength of the supporting literature that was stratified by levels of evidence. A clinical guideline addressing the use of antithrombotic therapies in spine surgery has been created using the techniques of evidence-based medicine and using the best available evidence as a tool to assist spine surgeons in minimizing the risk of DVT and PE. The entire guideline document, including the evidentiary tables, suggestions for future research, and all references, is available electronically at the NASS Web site (www.spine.org) and will remain updated on a timely schedule.

The Transition to Diverse Online Teaching and Student Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Melissa L.

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the concern of educating diverse university students in an increasingly digital environment. Specifically, educators question the quality of student online research skills and how to address gaps in research skills in both the virtual and physical classroom. A 2012 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in collaboration…

Raising the Bar: Using Coaching Conversations to Address Issues of Low Expectations for Students in Urban Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramkellawan, Reshma; Bell, Jacobe

2017-01-01

Two instructional coaches explore the effectiveness of targeted coaching conversations to address teachers' perceptions of their students' capacities. In this study, the researchers focus on how specific questions can promote teachers' metacognition of underlying biases held toward their students. Researchers also explore the implications for…

Monte Carlo simulation models of breeding-population advancement.

Treesearch

J.N. King; G.R. Johnson

1993-01-01

Five generations of population improvement were modeled using Monte Carlo simulations. The model was designed to address questions that are important to the development of an advanced generation breeding population. Specifically we addressed the effects on both gain and effective population size of different mating schemes when creating a recombinant population for...

Financial Exigency as Just Cause for Dismissal of Tenured Faculty in Higher Education: What Are the Legal Issues?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karr, Mary Beth

This paper addresses the legal issues surrounding a university or college's action of dismissing tenured faculty members because of the school's troubled financial condition or program discontinuance. It explores various legal principles through an examination of specific questions. These questions are: (1) How do the courts define financial…

Concepts of Self-Rated Health: Specifying the Gender Difference in Mortality Risk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deeg, Dorly J. H.; Kriegsman, Didi M. W.

2003-01-01

Purpose: This study addresses the question of how the relation between self-rated health (SRH) and mortality differs between genders. In addition to the general question, four specific concepts of SRH are distinguished: SRH in comparison with age peers, SRH in comparison with one's own health 10 years ago, and current and future health…

Geometry and the Design of Product Packaging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherico, Cindy M.

2011-01-01

The most common question the author's students ask is, "When will I ever use this in real life?" To address this question in her geometry classes, the author sought to create a project that would incorporate a real-world business situation with their lesson series on the surface area and volume of three-dimensional objects--specifically, prisms,…

Tracing "Ethical Subjectivities" in Science Education: How Biology Textbooks Can Frame Ethico-Political Choices for Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bazzul, Jesse

2015-02-01

This article describes how biology textbooks can work to discursively constitute a particular kind of "ethical subjectivity." Not only do textbooks constrain the possibilities for thought and action regarding ethical issues, they also require a certain kind of "subject" to partake in ethical exercises and questions. This study looks at how ethical questions/exercises found in four Ontario textbooks require students and teachers to think and act along specific lines. These include making ethical decisions within a legal-juridical frame; deciding what kinds of research should be publically funded; optimizing personal and population health; and regulation through policy and legislation. While engaging ethical issues in these ways is useful, educators should also question the kinds of (ethical) subjectivities that are partially constituted by discourses of science education. If science education is going to address twenty-first century problems such as climate change and social inequality, educators need to address how the possibilities for ethical engagement afforded to students work to constitute specific kinds of "ethical actors."

Common reasons why acne patients call the office.

PubMed

Barnes, Lauren E; Al-Dabagh, Amir; Huang, William W; Feldman, Steven R

2014-05-16

Communication between physicians and patients is essential to providing proper medical care. At times, patients leave visits with insufficiently addressed questions. These questions prompt patients to call the clinic for additional information, which disrupts the flow of care, delays proper treatment, and reduces patient satisfaction. We aim to examine acne patients' post-visit questions to develop interventions to improve patient education and reduce call backs. A retrospective electronic medical record chart review was performed involving Wake Forest Baptist Health Dermatology clinic visits between October 1, 2012 and October 31, 2012. We identified acne patients using clinic visit notes and recorded their telephone calls to the clinic between October 1, 2012 and March 29, 2013. Of 315 acne patients, 31 (9.8%) called the clinic. Isotretinoin was the subject of 66.7% of the calls, half of which involved questions about potential side effects. Other calls addressed topical medications, acne symptoms, and pharmacy requests. The study involved one center and email and fax correspondence was not captured. We found gaps in communication sufficient to require patients to call in for support, specifically regarding oral isotretinoin treatment. Interventions to address these questions have the potential to improve quality of care.

`Question Moments': A Rolling Programme of Question Opportunities in Classroom Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pedrosa-de-Jesus, Helena; Leite, Sara; Watts, Mike

2016-06-01

This naturalistic study integrates specific `question moments' into lesson plans to increase pupils' classroom interactions. A range of tools explored students' ideas by providing students with opportunities to ask and write questions. Their oral and written outcomes provide data on individual and group misunderstandings. Changes to the schedule of lessons were introduced to explore these questions and address disparities. Flexible lesson planning over 14 lessons across a 4-week period of high school chemistry accommodated students' contributions and increased student participation, promoted inquiring and individualised teaching, with each teaching strategy feeding forward into the next.

Concise Review: Guidance in Developing Commercializable Autologous/Patient-Specific Cell Therapy Manufacturing

PubMed Central

Armant, Myriam; Brandwein, Harvey; Burger, Scott; Campbell, Andrew; Carpenito, Carmine; Clarke, Dominic; Fong, Timothy; Karnieli, Ohad; Niss, Knut; Van't Hof, Wouter; Wagey, Ravenska

2013-01-01

Cell therapy is poised to play an enormous role in regenerative medicine. However, little guidance is being made available to academic and industrial entities in the start-up phase. In this technical review, members of the International Society for Cell Therapy provide guidance in developing commercializable autologous and patient-specific manufacturing strategies from the perspective of process development. Special emphasis is placed on providing guidance to small academic or biotech researchers as to what simple questions can be addressed or answered at the bench in order to make their cell therapy products more feasible for commercial-scale production. We discuss the processes that are required for scale-out at the manufacturing level, and how many questions can be addressed at the bench level. The goal of this review is to provide guidance in the form of topics that can be addressed early in the process of development to better the chances of the product being successful for future commercialization. PMID:24101671

Architecture of PFC supports analogy, but PFC is not an analogy machine.

PubMed

Speed, Ann

2010-06-01

In the preceding discussion paper, I proposed a theory of prefrontal cortical organization that was fundamentally intended to address the question: How does prefrontal cortex (PFC) support the various functions for which it seems to be selectively recruited? In so doing, I chose to focus on a particular function, analogy, that seems to have been largely ignored in the theoretical treatments of PFC, but that does underlie many other cognitive functions (Hofstadter, 2001 ; Holyoak & Thagard, 1997 ). At its core, this paper was intended to use analogy as a foundation for exploring one possibility for prefrontal function in general, although it is easy to see how the analogy-specific interpretation arises (as in the comment by Ibáñez). In an attempt to address this more foundational question, this response will step away from analogy as a focus, and will address first the various comments from the perspective of the initial motivation for developing this theory, and then specific issues raised by the commentators.

Improving Schools through Evaluation: The Experience of Catholic Schools in South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potterton, Mark; Northmore, Colin

2014-01-01

This article addresses the development of quality assurance approaches in South Africa, with particular reference to Catholic schools. It also addresses questions of why whole school evaluation in general has failed to play any meaningful role in improving the quality of schools in South Africa. Reference is also made to specific school cases. The…

Specific Previous Experience Affects Perception of Harmony and Meter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Creel, Sarah C.

2011-01-01

Prior knowledge shapes our experiences, but which prior knowledge shapes which experiences? This question is addressed in the domain of music perception. Three experiments were used to determine whether listeners activate specific musical memories during music listening. Each experiment provided listeners with one of two musical contexts that was…

Students Choosing Colleges: Understanding the Matriculation Decision at a Highly Selective Private Institution. NBER Working Paper No. 15772

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nurnberg, Peter; Schapiro, Morton; Zimmerman, David

2010-01-01

The college choice process can be reduced to three questions: (1) Where does a student apply?; (2) Which schools accept the students?; and (3) Which offer of admission does the student accept? This paper addresses question three. Specifically, we offer an econometric analysis of the matriculation decisions made by students accepted to Williams…

Working Memory Inefficiency: Minimal Information Is Utilized in Visual Recognition Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Zhijian; Cowan, Nelson

2013-01-01

Can people make perfect use of task-relevant information in working memory (WM)? Specifically, when questioned about an item in an array that does not happen to be in WM, can participants take into account other items that are in WM, eliminating them as response candidates? To address this question, an ideal-responder model that assumes perfect…

How Question Types Reveal Student Thinking: An Experimental Comparison of Multiple-True-False and Free-Response Formats

PubMed Central

Hubbard, Joanna K.; Potts, Macy A.; Couch, Brian A.

2017-01-01

Assessments represent an important component of undergraduate courses because they affect how students interact with course content and gauge student achievement of course objectives. To make decisions on assessment design, instructors must understand the affordances and limitations of available question formats. Here, we use a crossover experimental design to identify differences in how multiple-true-false (MTF) and free-response (FR) exam questions reveal student thinking regarding specific conceptions. We report that correct response rates correlate across the two formats but that a higher percentage of students provide correct responses for MTF questions. We find that MTF questions reveal a high prevalence of students with mixed (correct and incorrect) conceptions, while FR questions reveal a high prevalence of students with partial (correct and unclear) conceptions. These results suggest that MTF question prompts can direct students to address specific conceptions but obscure nuances in student thinking and may overestimate the frequency of particular conceptions. Conversely, FR questions provide a more authentic portrait of student thinking but may face limitations in their ability to diagnose specific, particularly incorrect, conceptions. We further discuss an intrinsic tension between question structure and diagnostic capacity and how instructors might use multiple formats or hybrid formats to overcome these obstacles. PMID:28450446

What's at Stake in the Lives of People with Intellectual Disability? Part II: Recommendations for Naming, Defining, Diagnosing, Classifying, and Planning Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luckasson, Ruth; Schalock, Robert L.

2013-01-01

This article focuses on recommendations for naming, defining, diagnosing, classifying, and planning supports for individuals with intellectual disability (ID). The article provides an overview of the essential questions addressed by the respective functions and provides a series of specific recommendations that address the high stakes involved for…

Psychology and the Rationality of Emotion.

PubMed

Clore, Gerald L

2011-04-01

Questions addressed by recent psychological research on emotion include questions about how thought shapes emotion and how emotion, in turn, shapes thought. Research on emotion and cognition paints a somewhat different picture than that seen in traditional discussions of passion and reason. This article reviews several aspects of this research, concentrating specifically on three views of rationality: Rationality as Process, Rationality as Product, and Rationality as Outcome.

Psychology and the Rationality of Emotion*

PubMed Central

Clore, Gerald L.

2014-01-01

Questions addressed by recent psychological research on emotion include questions about how thought shapes emotion and how emotion, in turn, shapes thought. Research on emotion and cognition paints a somewhat different picture than that seen in traditional discussions of passion and reason. This article reviews several aspects of this research, concentrating specifically on three views of rationality: Rationality as Process, Rationality as Product, and Rationality as Outcome. PMID:25125770

Verb inflection in Monolingual Dutch and Sequential Bilingual Turkish-Dutch Children with and without SLI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blom, Elma; De Jong, Jan; Orgassa, Antje; Baker, Anne; Weerman, Fred

2013-01-01

Both children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children who acquire a second language (L2) make errors with verb inflection. This overlap between SLI and L2 raises the question if verb inflection can discriminate between L2 children with and without SLI. In this study we addressed this question for Dutch. The secondary goal of the study…

Investigating Variation in Teaching with Technology-Rich Intervention: What Matters in Teaching and Teacher Training at Scale?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunn, Margaret Breslin

2009-01-01

A main question this dissertation addresses is: what variation in teaching and teacher training matter? This question is examined within a specific but important context: the scale-up of a technology-rich intervention focused on the algebra strand of 8th grade mathematics. I conducted a multi-level case study by gathering and analyzing data at…

The Role of Facial Expressions in Attention-Orienting in Adults and Infants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rigato, Silvia; Menon, Enrica; Di Gangi, Valentina; George, Nathalie; Farroni, Teresa

2013-01-01

Faces convey many signals (i.e., gaze or expressions) essential for interpersonal interaction. We have previously shown that facial expressions of emotion and gaze direction are processed and integrated in specific combinations early in life. These findings open a number of developmental questions and specifically in this paper we address whether…

Examining the Domain-Specificity of Metacognition Using Academic Domains and Task-Specific Individual Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Brianna M.; Berman, Ashleigh F.

2013-01-01

Metacognition refers to students' knowledge and regulation of cognition, as well as their accuracy in predicting their academic performance. This study addressed two major questions: 1) how do metacognitive knowledge, regulation and accuracy differ across domains?, and 2) how do students' individual differences relate to their reported…

A Latent Class Regression Analysis of Men's Conformity to Masculine Norms and Psychological Distress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Y. Joel; Owen, Jesse; Shea, Munyi

2012-01-01

How are specific dimensions of masculinity related to psychological distress in specific groups of men? To address this question, the authors used latent class regression to assess the optimal number of latent classes that explained differential relationships between conformity to masculine norms and psychological distress in a racially diverse…

Writing Essentials | Center for Cancer Research

Cancer.gov

To effectively communicate research results, the manuscript should be carefully structured to tell a compelling story. As a rule, the introduction should bring the reader from a broad understanding of the topic to the specific question being addressed. In contrast, the discussion should transition the reader from the specific results to their broader implications.

Cyber-Pedocriminality: Characteristics of a Sample of Internet Child Pornography Offenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niveau, Gerard

2010-01-01

Objective: This descriptive study focused on cyber-pedocriminality, a term chosen to describe the phenomenon of child pornography on the internet. Two specific questions were addressed: whether cyber-pedocriminals present with a specific sociodemographic or psychological profile and what type of contents can be found in the criminal material.…

Asking For Help is Helpful: Validation of a Brief Lifestyle and Mood Assessment Tool in Primary Health Care

PubMed Central

Goodyear-Smith, Felicity; Arroll, Bruce; Coupe, Nicole

2009-01-01

PURPOSE The short, validated, self-administered, Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool (CHAT) for lifestyle and mental health assessment of adult patients in primary health care addresses inactivity, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug misuse, problem gambling, depression, anxiety and stress, abuse, and anger problems. For each issue patients are asked whether they would like help, either during the consultation or at a later date. This study aims to assess the value of the help question. METHODS Validation of the CHAT was conducted according to the STAndards for Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies statement for diagnostic tests. The setting was Auckland primary care practices with populations ranging from socioeconomically advantaged to deprived. Participants were 755 consecutive primary care patients who completed the CHAT plus the help question and reference standards. Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios with and without the addition of help the question were calculated. RESULTS Sensitivity ranged from 80% to 98% for the more-common conditions (depression, nicotine dependency, anxiety, problematic drinking). For each condition, specificity increased with the addition of the help question: depression increased from 73% to 98%; anxiety 77% to 99%; drinking 85% to 99%; verbal anger 92% to 99%; verbal abuse 97% to 99%; problematic drinking and gambling 98% to 99%. CONCLUSIONS The help question increased specificity without compromising sensitivity and reduced false positives, thereby increasing the positive predictive value. It allowed patients with comorbidities to prioritize issues they wished to address, indicate their readiness to change, promote self-determination, and give the clinician an indication of which topics to pursue. PMID:19433841

A Nominal Balloon Instrument Payload to Address Questions from the Planetary Decadal Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Eliot; Kremic, Tibor; Dankanich, John

The Planetary Science Decadal Survey (entitled "Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013 - 2022", available online at https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/2013decadal/) serves as a roadmap for activities to be pursued by the Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. This document outlines roughly 200 key research areas and questions in chapters covering different parts of the solar system (e.g., Mars, Small Bodies, etc.). We have reviewed the Decadal Survey to assess whether any of the key questions can be addressed by high altitude balloon-borne payloads. Although some questions can only be answered by in situ experiments, we found that approximately one quarter of the key questions were well suited to balloon payloads. In many of those cases, balloons were competitive or superior to other existing facilities, including HST, SOFIA or Keck telescopes. We will present specific telescope and instrument bench designs that are capable of addressing key questions in the Decadal Survey. The instrument bench takes advantage of two of the main benefits of high-altitude observations: diffraction-limited imaging in visible and UV wavelengths and unobstructed spectroscopy in near-IR (1 - 5 microns) wavelengths. Our optical prescription produces diffraction-limited PSFs in both visible and IR beams. We will discuss pointing and thermal stability, two of the main challenges facing a balloon-borne telescope.

Rendering of dense, point cloud data in a high fidelity driving simulator.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-09-01

Driving Simulators are advanced tools that can address many research questions in transportation. Recently they have been used to advance the practice of transportation engineering, specifically signs, signals, pavement markings, and most powerfully ...

Aviation Safety: FAA Oversight of Repair Stations Needs Improvement

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-10-24

This report by the General Accounting Office examines the Federal Aviation : Administration's (FAA) oversight of the aviation repair station industry. : Specifically, this report addresses the following questions: (1) What is the : nature and scope o...

Flower development: open questions and future directions.

PubMed

Wellmer, Frank; Bowman, John L; Davies, Brendan; Ferrándiz, Cristina; Fletcher, Jennifer C; Franks, Robert G; Graciet, Emmanuelle; Gregis, Veronica; Ito, Toshiro; Jack, Thomas P; Jiao, Yuling; Kater, Martin M; Ma, Hong; Meyerowitz, Elliot M; Prunet, Nathanaël; Riechmann, José Luis

2014-01-01

Almost three decades of genetic and molecular analyses have resulted in detailed insights into many of the processes that take place during flower development and in the identification of a large number of key regulatory genes that control these processes. Despite this impressive progress, many questions about how flower development is controlled in different angiosperm species remain unanswered. In this chapter, we discuss some of these open questions and the experimental strategies with which they could be addressed. Specifically, we focus on the areas of floral meristem development and patterning, floral organ specification and differentiation, as well as on the molecular mechanisms underlying the evolutionary changes that have led to the astounding variations in flower size and architecture among extant and extinct angiosperms.

Analysis of a Multi Disciplinary Approach to Gun Misuse and the Need for a Paradigm Shift in Terminology

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

may pave the way for addressing other issues of common interdisciplinary concern. 14. SUBJECT TERMS interdisciplinary approach integration ...for some degree of integration of these disciplinary approaches. Specifically, this thesis addresses the following five questions: • Do commonly held...for evaluating the integration of the various disciplinary approaches to gun misuse is apparently still lacking within the reviewed literature. The

How do messenger RNA splicing alterations drive myelodysplasia?

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Mutations in RNA splicing factors are the single most common class of genetic alterations in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. Although much has been learned about how these mutations affect splicing at a global- and transcript-specific level, critical questions about the role of these mutations in MDS development and maintenance remain. Here we present the questions to be addressed in order to understand the unique enrichment of these mutations in MDS. PMID:28348147

Understanding Nutritional Epidemiology and Its Role in Policy12

PubMed Central

Satija, Ambika; Yu, Edward; Willett, Walter C; Hu, Frank B

2015-01-01

Nutritional epidemiology has recently been criticized on several fronts, including the inability to measure diet accurately, and for its reliance on observational studies to address etiologic questions. In addition, several recent meta-analyses with serious methodologic flaws have arrived at erroneous or misleading conclusions, reigniting controversy over formerly settled debates. All of this has raised questions regarding the ability of nutritional epidemiologic studies to inform policy. These criticisms, to a large degree, stem from a misunderstanding of the methodologic issues of the field and the inappropriate use of the drug trial paradigm in nutrition research. The exposure of interest in nutritional epidemiology is human diet, which is a complex system of interacting components that cumulatively affect health. Consequently, nutritional epidemiology constantly faces a unique set of challenges and continually develops specific methodologies to address these. Misunderstanding these issues can lead to the nonconstructive and sometimes naive criticisms we see today. This article aims to clarify common misunderstandings of nutritional epidemiology, address challenges to the field, and discuss the utility of nutritional science in guiding policy by focusing on 5 broad questions commonly asked of the field. PMID:25593140

QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR PCR

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a workshop in January 2003 on the detection of viruses in water using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods. Speakers were asked to address a series of specific questions, including whether a single standard method coul...

Marine record of late quaternary glacial-interglacial fluctuations in the Ross Sea and evidence for rapid, episodic sea level change due to marine ice sheet collapse

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, John B.

1991-01-01

Some of the questions to be addressed by SeaRISE include: (1) what was the configuration of the West Antarctic ice sheet during the last glacial maximum; (2) What is its configuration during a glacial minimum; and (3) has it, or any marine ice sheet, undergone episodic rapid mass wasting. These questions are addressed in terms of what is known about the history of the marine ice sheet, specifically in Ross Sea, and what further studies are required to resolve these problems. A second question concerns the extent to which disintegration of marine ice sheets may result in rises in sea level that are episodic in nature and extremely rapid, as suggested by several glaciologists. Evidence that rapid, episodic sea level changes have occurred during the Holocene is also reviewed.

ASIME 2016 White Paper: Answers to Questions from the Asteroid Miners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galache, Jl; Graps, A. L.; Asime 2016 Contributors, 30

2017-09-01

The aim of the Asteroid Science Intersections with In-Space Mine Engineering (ASIME) 2016 conference on September 21-22, 2016 in Luxembourg City was to provide an environment for the detailed discussion of the specific properties of asteroids, with the engineering needs of space missions that utilise asteroids. The ASIME 2016 Conference produced a layered record of discussions from the asteroid scientists and the asteroid miners to understand each other's key concerns and to address key scientific questions from the asteroid mining companies: Planetary Resources, Deep Space Industries and TransAstra. These Questions were the focus of the two-day conference, were addressed by scientists inside and outside of the ASIME 2016 Conference and were the focus of this White Paper. The answers in this White Paper point to the Science Knowledge Gaps (SKGs) for advancing the asteroid in-space resource utilisation domain.

Prediction in Language Comprehension beyond Specific Words: An ERP Study on Sentence Comprehension in Polish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szewczyk, Jakub M.; Schriefers, Herbert

2013-01-01

Recently, several ERP studies have shown that the human language comprehension system anticipates words that are highly likely continuations of a given text. However, it remains an open issue whether the language comprehension system can also make predictions that go beyond a specific word. Here, we address the question of whether readers predict…

Intervention for Improving Comprehension in 4-6 Year Old Children with Specific Language Impairment: Practicing Inferencing Is a Good Thing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desmarais, Chantal; Nadeau, Line; Trudeau, Natacha; Filiatrault-Veilleux, Pamela; Maxes-Fournier, Catherine

2013-01-01

Few studies report on therapy to improve language comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI). We address this gap by measuring the effect of a systematic intervention to improve inferential comprehension using dialogic reading tasks in conjunction with pre-determined questions and cues. Sixteen children with a diagnosis of…

Hands-Only CPR

MedlinePlus

... specific, especially if you’re calling from a mobile phone as that is not associated with a fixed address. Answering the dispatcher’s questions will not delay the arrival of ... save lives with Hands-Only CPR. Check out the Mobile Tour page to see if we're coming ...

Clouds and Water Vapor in the Climate System and Radiative Transfer in Clear Air and Cirrus Clouds in the Tropics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, James G.; DeSouza-Machado, Sergio; Strow, L. Larrabee

2002-01-01

Research supported under this grant was aimed at attacking unanswered scientific questions that lie at the intersection of radiation, dynamics, chemistry, and climate. Considerable emphasis was placed on scientific collaboration and the innovative development of instruments required to address these issues. Specific questions include water vapor distribution in the tropical troposphere, atmospheric radiation, thin cirrus clouds, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and correlative science with satellite observations.

An Assessment of the Issues and Concerns Associated with the Analysis of Ice-bearing Samples by the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaty, D. W.; Miller, S. L.; Bada, J. L.; Bearman, G. H.; Black, P. B.; Bruno, R. J.; Carsey, F. D.; Conrad, P. G.; Daly, M.; Fisher, D.

2003-01-01

In early 2003, the Mars Icy Sample Team (MIST) was formed to address several questions related to the acquisition and analysis of ice-bearing samples on the surface of Mars by a robotic mission. These questions were specifically framed in the context of planning for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) lander, but the answers will also also have value in planning other future landed investigations.

Martian Chronology: Goals for Investigations from a Recent Multidisciplinary Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nyquist, L.; Doran, P. T.; Cerling, T. E.; Clifford, S. M.; Forman, S. L.; Papanastassiou, D. A.; Stewart, B. W.; Sturchio, N. C.; Swindle, T. D.

2000-01-01

The absolute chronology of Martian rocks and events is based mainly on crater statistics and remains highly uncertain. Martian chronology will be critical to building a time scale comparable to Earth's to address questions about the early evolution of the planets and their ecosystems. In order to address issues and strategies specific to Martian chronology, a workshop was held, 4-7 June 2000, with invited participants from the planetary, geochronology, geochemistry, and astrobiology communities. The workshop focused on identifying: a) key scientific questions of Martian chronology; b) chronological techniques applicable to Mars; c) unique processes on Mars that could be exploited to obtain rates, fluxes, ages; and d) sampling issues for these techniques. This is an overview of the workshop findings and recommendations.

Toward Wholesome Nurture: Challenges in the Religious Education of Asian North American Female Christians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Greer Anne Wenh-In

1996-01-01

Considers the special religious needs of Asian North American female Christians. Questions the effectiveness of programs and resources designed for mainstream Christians. Addresses specific areas of cultural images, interreligious self-dialogs and the impact of role models. (MJP)

Exploring Situated Ambiguity in Students' Entrepreneurial Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kubberød, Elin; Pettersen, Inger Beate

2017-01-01

Purpose: Building on entrepreneurial learning research, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the students participating in foreign entrepreneurial education programmes can have realistic entrepreneurial learning experiences. This research addresses two specific questions: how situated ambiguity induced by a foreign culture may contribute to…

Student Motivation and Program Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, Robert C.; Bertoch, Sara Cummings

2010-01-01

The present study investigated the relationship between goal instability and participation in a career planning program (course) using the goal instability scale (GIS) and a completed course performance contract. Specifically, this study addressed the following question: What is the relationship between motivation, as measured by goal instability,…

Counterstereotypic Identity among High-Achieving Black Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harpalani, Vinay

2017-01-01

This article examines how racial stereotypes affect achievement and identity formation among low income, urban Black adolescents. Specifically, the major question addressed is: how do high-achieving Black students succeed academically despite negative stereotypes of their intellectual abilities? Results indicate that high-achieving Black youth,…

Assessing (and Addressing!) Motivation to Read Fiction and Nonfiction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malloy, Jacquelynn A.; Parsons, Allison Ward; Marinak, Barbara A.; Applegate, Anthony J.; Applegate, Mary DeKonty; Reutzel, D. Ray; Parsons, Seth A.; Fawson, Parker C.; Roberts, Leslie D.; Gambrell, Linda B.

2017-01-01

Literacy educators, spurred by curricular standards requiring increased attention to reading nonfiction, are compelled to consider text-specific reading instruction. As research supports the connection between motivation and reading achievement, these mandates beg the question, "Are children equally motivated to read fiction and…

Teacher knowledge, instructional expertise, and the development of reading proficiency.

PubMed

Reid Lyon, G; Weiser, Beverly

2009-01-01

Teacher knowledge and instructional expertise have been found in correlational and pre- and posttest studies to be related to student reading achievement. This article summarizes data presented in this special issue and additional research to address four questions: (a) What do expert reading teachers know? (b) Why do teachers need to acquire this knowledge? (c) Do teachers believe they have this knowledge? and (d) Are teachers being adequately prepared to teach reading? Well-designed studies relevant to this topic have been sparse with a noticeable lack of attention given to identifying specific causal links between teacher knowledge, teaching expertise, and student reading achievement. Until the appropriate research designs and methodologies are applied to address the question of causal effects, conclusions about the specific content that teachers must know and the instructional practices that are most beneficial in presenting this content are preliminary at best. Future studies of the effect of essential reading content knowledge must be extended beyond word-level skills to vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing.

A Consensus-Driven Agenda for Emergency Medicine Firearm Injury Prevention Research

PubMed Central

Ranney, Megan L.; Fletcher, Jonathan; Alter, Harrison; Barsotti, Christopher; Bebarta, Vikhyat S.; Betz, Marian E.; Carter, Patrick M.; Cerdá, Magdalena; Cunningham, Rebecca M.; Crane, Peter; Fahimi, Jahan; Miller, Matthew J.; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Vogel, Jody A.; Wintemute, Garen J.; Shah, Manish N.; Waseem, Muhammad

2016-01-01

Objective To identify critical Emergency Medicine (EM)-focused firearm injury research questions and to develop an evidence-based research agenda. Methods National content experts were recruited to a technical advisory group for the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Committee. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to identify research questions by consensus. The technical advisory group decided to focus on five widely accepted categorizations of firearm injury. Subgroups conducted literature reviews on each topic and developed preliminary lists of EM-relevant research questions. In-person meetings and conference calls were held to iteratively refine the extensive list of research questions, following NGT guidelines. Feedback from external stakeholders was reviewed and integrated. Results Fifty-nine final EM-relevant research questions were identified, including questions that cut across all firearm injury topics and questions specific to self-directed violence (suicide and attempted suicide); intimate partner violence; peer (non-partner) violence; mass violence; and unintentional (“accidental”) injury. Some questions could be addressed through research conducted in emergency departments (EDs); others would require work in other settings. Conclusions The technical advisory group identified key EM-relevant firearm injury research questions. EM-specific data is limited for most of these questions. Funders and researchers should consider increasing their attention to firearm injury prevention and control, particularly to the questions identified here and in other recently developed research agendas. PMID:27998625

A Consensus-Driven Agenda for Emergency Medicine Firearm Injury Prevention Research.

PubMed

Ranney, Megan L; Fletcher, Jonathan; Alter, Harrison; Barsotti, Christopher; Bebarta, Vikhyat S; Betz, Marian E; Carter, Patrick M; Cerdá, Magdalena; Cunningham, Rebecca M; Crane, Peter; Fahimi, Jahan; Miller, Matthew J; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Vogel, Jody A; Wintemute, Garen J; Waseem, Muhammad; Shah, Manish N

2017-02-01

To identify critical emergency medicine-focused firearm injury research questions and develop an evidence-based research agenda. National content experts were recruited to a technical advisory group for the American College of Emergency Physicians Research Committee. Nominal group technique was used to identify research questions by consensus. The technical advisory group decided to focus on 5 widely accepted categorizations of firearm injury. Subgroups conducted literature reviews on each topic and developed preliminary lists of emergency medicine-relevant research questions. In-person meetings and conference calls were held to iteratively refine the extensive list of research questions, following nominal group technique guidelines. Feedback from external stakeholders was reviewed and integrated. Fifty-nine final emergency medicine-relevant research questions were identified, including questions that cut across all firearm injury topics and questions specific to self-directed violence (suicide and attempted suicide), intimate partner violence, peer (nonpartner) violence, mass violence, and unintentional ("accidental") injury. Some questions could be addressed through research conducted in emergency departments; others would require work in other settings. The technical advisory group identified key emergency medicine-relevant firearm injury research questions. Emergency medicine-specific data are limited for most of these questions. Funders and researchers should consider increasing their attention to firearm injury prevention and control, particularly to the questions identified here and in other recently developed research agendas. Copyright © 2016 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effectiveness of the 1996 Wood Magic Science Fair as an experiential field trip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Robert Wayne

In response to the need for evaluating the effectiveness of the 1996 Wood Magic Science Fair (WMSF) at Mississippi State University's Forest and Wildlife Research Center/Forest Products Laboratory, two tests were developed. One test was designed for third-grade students and one for fourth-grade students who would attend the WMSF. Both tests have multiple choice answers and contained thirteen questions each. Five of the questions addressed general issues of the forest products industry that would be mentioned in an opening video but not stressed in the oral presentations of the WMSF. The students would have no active involvement in these presentations. These general issue questions represent passive involvement teaching. The eight remaining questions addressed specific information that would be stressed in the WMSF oral presentations and would allow students to actively participate in the presentations. The participation of the students in these presentations represents participatory teaching. The tests were given to the students (third and fourth grades) both before they attended the fair as a pre-test and after their attendance as a post-test with the only difference being that the multiple choice answers were arranged in a different order. Classroom teachers administered the tests to the students. The test results were evaluated for each class individually. Each question was evaluated and the results recorded in a table. The general information questions were grouped together as were the specific information questions. This grouping allowed a comparison to be made between passive and participatory learning. The results from the tests will help those making the science fair presentations evaluate their materials and methods. Statistical analysis of the results would indicate which questions had a significant change in the number of correct answers between the pre-test and post-test. This information will help the Fair planners and presenters in developing future programs.

Process Acceptance and Adoption by IT Software Project Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guardado, Deana R.

2012-01-01

This study addresses the question of what factors determine acceptance and adoption of processes in the context of Information Technology (IT) software development projects. This specific context was selected because processes required for managing software development projects are less prescriptive than in other, more straightforward, IT…

Identifying agro-ecoregions for the Long Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The LTAR network exists to examine questions of agricultural sustainability in working lands across the continental US. To effectively address agricultural sustainability at this scale, experimental designs must be placed into the context of a regional framework that can extrapolate site-specific re...

Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.

This report addresses questions concerning the extent to which U.S. families depend on income from welfare programs, offering updated data on measures of welfare recipiency, dependency, and predictors of welfare dependence developed for previous reports. Chapter 1, "Introduction," reviews specific summary measures of welfare dependence…

The Music Identity Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talbot, Brent C.

2013-01-01

This article addresses the intrapersonal aims of music education with specific emphasis on musical identity. For the author, the question "Who am I?" is ingrained, shaped, and experienced by the contexts, relationships, and activities in which people are most deeply invested. Thus, he believes that music education should have mechanisms…

Stanley Cavell in Conversation with Paul Standish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2012

2012-01-01

Having acknowledged the recurrent theme of education in Stanley Cavell's work, the discussion addresses the topic of scepticism, especially as this emerges in the interpretation of Wittgenstein. Questions concerning rule-following, language and society are then turned towards political philosophy, specifically with regard to John Rawls. The…

Intraindividual Differences in Executive Functions during Childhood: The Role of Emotions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pnevmatikos, Dimitris; Trikkaliotis, Ioannis

2013-01-01

Intraindividual differences in executive functions (EFs) have been rarely investigated. In this study, we addressed the question of whether the emotional fluctuations that schoolchildren experience in their classroom settings could generate substantial intraindividual differences in their EFs and, more specifically, in the fundamental unifying…

Reflect before you act: providing structure to the evaluation of rehabilitation programmes.

PubMed

Velema, Johan P; Cornielje, Huib

2003-11-18

This paper is concerned with understanding and evaluating potentially diverse rehabilitation programmes. It helps evaluators and programme managers to focus attention on specific aspects of the rehabilitation process and select evaluation questions relevant to each. Distinction is made between the rehabilitation programme itself, the programme environment and the relationships between the two. For each of these areas, evaluation questions have been formulated. For services offered to individual clients, questions address whether the status of clients has improved, what interventions are offered and who benefit from them, the relationships between the service providers and the clients, and who may be involved in the rehabilitation process besides the client. To assess the programme environment, questions address the epidemiology of disability, the resources available to persons with disabilities, the inclusiveness of education and employment and a number of eco-social variables. Relationships between the programme and its environment concern the support of the community for the programme, the way the programme seeks to influence the community, the referral of clients to other services available in the community and the extent to which the programme is a learning organization. Lists of evaluation questions are presented from which the evaluator can select those most relevant to the programme to be evaluated. This provides a framework for the evaluation and for the information to be gathered. Rather than providing a blue print, this framework permits flexibility to adapt to the specific situation of the programme to be evaluated. This paper presents a useful guideline that stimulates the thinking of those preparing for the evaluation of rehabilitation programmes.

Science Objectives and Design of the European Seas Observatory NETwork (ESONET)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruhl, H.; Géli, L.; Karstensen, J.; Colaço, A.; Lampitt, R.; Greinert, J.; Phannkuche, O.; Auffret, Y.

2009-04-01

The needs for a network of ocean observing systems cross many applied and research areas of earth and marine science. Many of the science areas that can be examined using such systems have direct impacts on societal health and well being and our understanding of ocean function in a shifting climate. The European Seas Observatory NETwork (ESONET) Network of Excellence has been evaluating ocean observatory design requirements, data management needs, standardization and interoperability concerns, social implications, outreach and education, as well as financial and legal aspects of developing such a system. ESONET has great potential to address a growing set of Earth science questions that require a broad and integrated network of ocean and seafloor observations. ESONET activities are also importantly integrating researchers in the European Community, as well as internationally. There is now wide recognition that research addressing science questions of international priority, such as understanding the potential impacts of climate change or geohazards like earthquakes and tsunamis should be conducted in a framework that can address questions across adequate temporal and spatial scales. We will present the relevant science priorities in the four interconnected fields of geoscience, physical oceanography, biogeochemistry, and marine ecology, and some of the practical ways in which these questions can be addressed using ESONET. Several key questions persist that will require comprehensive interdisciplinary approaches including: How can monitoring of factors such as seismic activity, fluid pore chemistry and pressure, improve seismic, slope failure, and tsunami warning? To what extent do seabed processes influence ocean physics, biogeochemistry, and marine ecosystems? How are physical and biogeochemical processes that occur at differing scales related? What aspects of physical oceanography and biogeochemical cycling will be most sensitive to climate change? What will the important feedbacks of potential ecological change be on biogeochemical cycles? What are the factors that control the distribution and abundance of marine life and what will the influence of anthropogenic change be? We will outline a set of science objectives and observation parameters to be collected at all ESONET sites, as well as a set of rather specific objectives and thus parameters that might only be measured at some sites. We will also present the preliminary module specifications now being considered by ESONET. In a practical sense the observatory design has been divided into those that will be included in a so called ‘generic' module and those that will be part of science-specific modules. Outlining preliminary module specifications is required to move forward with studies of observatory design and operation. These specifications are importantly provisional and can be updated as science needs and feasibility change. A functional cleavage not only comes between aspects that are considered generic or specific, but also the settings in which those systems will be used. For example, some modules will be on the seabed and some will be moored in the water column. In order to address many of the questions posed above ESONET users will require other supporting data from other programs from local to international levels. Examples of these other data sources include satellite oceanographic data, climatic data, air-sea interface data, and the known distribution and abundances of marine fauna. Thus the connection of ESONET to other programs is integral to its success. The development of ESONET provides a substantial opportunity for ocean science to evolve in Europe. Furthermore, ESONET and several other developing ocean observatory programs are integrating into larger science frameworks including the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and Global Monitoring of Environment and Security (GMES) programs. It is only in a greater integrated framework that the full potential of the component systems will be realized.

Understanding nutritional epidemiology and its role in policy.

PubMed

Satija, Ambika; Yu, Edward; Willett, Walter C; Hu, Frank B

2015-01-01

Nutritional epidemiology has recently been criticized on several fronts, including the inability to measure diet accurately, and for its reliance on observational studies to address etiologic questions. In addition, several recent meta-analyses with serious methodologic flaws have arrived at erroneous or misleading conclusions, reigniting controversy over formerly settled debates. All of this has raised questions regarding the ability of nutritional epidemiologic studies to inform policy. These criticisms, to a large degree, stem from a misunderstanding of the methodologic issues of the field and the inappropriate use of the drug trial paradigm in nutrition research. The exposure of interest in nutritional epidemiology is human diet, which is a complex system of interacting components that cumulatively affect health. Consequently, nutritional epidemiology constantly faces a unique set of challenges and continually develops specific methodologies to address these. Misunderstanding these issues can lead to the nonconstructive and sometimes naive criticisms we see today. This article aims to clarify common misunderstandings of nutritional epidemiology, address challenges to the field, and discuss the utility of nutritional science in guiding policy by focusing on 5 broad questions commonly asked of the field. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Limits of Freedom: The Ward Churchill Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Nell, Robert M.

2006-01-01

The University of Colorado's Ward Churchill is but the latest in a long line of professors whose volatile statements have created controversy for themselves and their universities. Specific personnel matters in the case have been meticulously addressed in Boulder, but several larger questions have been curiously neglected. One might well ask, for…

76 FR 22364 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-21

... of 2012. The SIPP is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. The... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of... with questions designed to address specific needs in complementary subject areas. The 2012 SIPP- EHC...

Adolescent Behavior and Health in Cross-Cultural Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demetrovics, Zsolt

2012-01-01

Specific behavioral problems appear during early adolescence, and they become more pronounced. Although these problems are universal in many aspects, cultural differences are also conspicuous. The author, in addition to analyzing the five studies in the Special Issue, addresses questions concerning the cross-cultural context. The analysis reveals…

Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory and Traumatic Events: An Evaluative Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Sally A.; Zoellner, Lori A.

2007-01-01

Does trauma exposure impair retrieval of autobiographical memories? Many theorists have suggested that the reduced ability to access specific memories of life events, termed overgenerality, is a protective mechanism helping attenuate painful emotions associated with trauma. The authors addressed this question by reviewing 24 studies that assessed…

Institutional Potential for Online Learning: A Hong Kong Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donoghue, Sue L.

2006-01-01

Hong Kong's tertiary education environment has changed dramatically in recent years with universities now facing specific educational challenges in the areas of critical thinking, "life-long learning" and English language. The question exists as to what pedagogic developments will best allow the universities to address these challenges.…

Sheltered and Supported Work Comparison: A Response to Wehman's Comments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lam, Chow S.

1987-01-01

Responds to comments made by Wehman, Hill, Kregel, and Moon (1987) concerning the results of Lam's 1986 study comparing supported and sheltered employment programs for persons with mental retardation. Addresses specific questions raised by Wehman and his colleagues and discusses research issues on sample comparability. (Author/NB)

Academic Intellectual Property in a New Technological and Industrial Context.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spearritt, Peter; Thomas, Julian

1996-01-01

Practical and policy questions concerning intellectual property are considered in the context of advancing information technology and expanding international exchange of ideas, and specifically as they are or need to be addressed by Australian copyright and patent law. A 1995 discussion paper by the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee is…

Explaining Variance in Comprehension for Students in a High-Poverty Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conradi, Kristin; Amendum, Steven J.; Liebfreund, Meghan D.

2016-01-01

This study examined the contributions of decoding, language, spelling, and motivation to the reading comprehension of elementary school readers in a high-poverty setting. Specifically, the research questions addressed whether and how the influences of word reading efficiency, semantic knowledge, reading self-concept, and spelling on reading…

Delineating Personality Traits in Childhood and Adolescence: Associations across Measures, Temperament, and Behavioral Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tackett, Jennifer L.; Kushner, Shauna C.; De Fruyt, Filip; Mervielde, Ivan

2013-01-01

The current investigation addressed several questions in the burgeoning area of child personality assessment. Specifically, the present study examined overlapping and nonoverlapping variance in two prominent measures of child personality assessment, followed by tests of convergent and divergent validity with child temperament and psychopathology.…

The Importance of Family, Race, and Gender for Multiracial Adolescent Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlabach, Sarah

2013-01-01

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study investigates patterns of well-being among multiracial adolescents. Specifically, this article addresses three questions. First, using various categorizations for multiracial background, are there measurable differences in emotional and social well-being…

Hypermedia as a Distinct Medium: Challenges for Designers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Barbara I.; Knupfer, Nancy Nelson

As multimedia development software becomes easier to use and more powerful, instructional designers can establish ways of incorporating the Internet into their lessons. This paper introduces some questions that should be considered prior to stepping into that next level of instructional design. Specifically the paper addresses some of the…

78 FR 19326 - Resale Royalty Right; Public Hearing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-29

... is reviewing: (1) how the current copyright legal system affects and supports visual artists; and (2... interested parties to address the legal and factual questions raised in the comments received by this Office... parties. The comments raised a variety of issues, including purely legal matters as well as specific...

The Effect of Auditory Information on Patterns of Intrusions and Reductions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slis, Anneke; van Lieshout, Pascal

2016-01-01

Purpose: The study investigates whether auditory information affects the nature of intrusion and reduction errors in reiterated speech. These errors are hypothesized to arise as a consequence of autonomous mechanisms to stabilize movement coordination. The specific question addressed is whether this process is affected by auditory information so…

Pocahontas: Comparing the Disney Image with Historical Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golden, Margaret

2006-01-01

Fourth grade students "know about" Pocahontas, but is this knowledge based on historical fact, or on information from the media, specifically the Disney movies "Pocahontas" and "Pocahontas II"? To address this question within the context of the New York State Social Studies curriculum and the New York State English…

77 FR 65363 - New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC); Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-26

... present an overview of the NEFSC draft Strategic Plan. A question and answer period is scheduled to [[Page... to modify accountability measures (AMs) in the Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP). A public... measures, will be addressed during the remainder of the day. Decisions may include: specifications for the...

Interaction and Collaboration via Computer Conferencing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Karen L.; Drabier, Renee; Epps, Mary Lu

This study examined interaction and communication patterns among students (n=9) and with the instructor in a graduate course offered at a distance using the FirstClass computer conferencing (CC) software. Specifically, the following questions were addressed: (1) What are similarities and differences in interaction and collaboration between CC and…

Introductory Graduate Research Courses: An Examination of the Knowledge Base.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mundfrom, Daniel J.; Shaw, Dale G.; Thomas, Ann; Young, Suzanne; Moore, Alan D.

This study addresses the question, "What should graduate students know about research and statistics after completing an initial course?" Individuals who teach such courses at various Carnegie classifications of institutions were surveyed about the specific characteristics of an introductory graduate research course at their own institutions to…

Evidence and the Antisocial Behaviour Policy Cycle

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bannister, Jon; O'Sullivan, Anthony

2014-01-01

Context conditions the nature of policy development. The relationship between evidence and policy is similarly conditioned in terms of the types of evidence deployed to address specific policy matters. This raises a number of interesting questions: how are different types of evidence best classified? Are there systematic linkages between context…

Land use intensification differentially benefits alien over native predators in agricultural landscape mosaics

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Aim: Both anthropogenic habitat disturbance and the breadth of habitat use by alien species have been found to facilitate invasion into novel environments, and these factors have been hypothesized to be important within coccinellid communities specifically. In this study, we address two questions: (...

Conversations, Debates and Affiliation Networks on Twitter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santovena Casal, Sonia

2017-01-01

The question addressed is whether, in connection with education, Twitter can be considered both a communication centre and an affiliation space, where virtual communities with shared interests are formed. The 6654 tweets containing the "#education" or "#educación" hashtag sent on specific days in 2014, 2015 and 2016 defined the…

Impact of Scaffolding and Question Structure on the Gender Gap

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dawkins, Hillary; Hedgeland, Holly; Jordan, Sally

2017-01-01

We address previous hypotheses about possible factors influencing the gender gap in attainment in physics. Specifically, previous studies claim that scaffolding may preferentially benefit female students, and we present some alternative conclusions surrounding this hypothesis. By taking both student attainment level and the degree of question…

How does questioning influence nursing students' clinical reasoning in problem-based learning? A scoping review.

PubMed

Merisier, Sophia; Larue, Caroline; Boyer, Louise

2018-06-01

Problem-based learning is an educational method promoting clinical reasoning that has been implemented in many fields of health education. Questioning is a learning strategy often employed in problem-based learning sessions. To explore what is known about the influence of questioning on the promotion of clinical reasoning of students in health care education, specifically in the field of nursing and using the educational method of problem-based learning. A scoping review following Arksey and O'Malley's five stages was conducted. The CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, Medline, and PubMed databases were searched for articles published between the years of 2000 and 2017. Each article was summarized and analyzed using a data extraction sheet in relation to its purpose, population group, setting, methods, and results. A descriptive explication of the studies based on an inductive analysis of their findings to address the aim of the review was made. Nineteen studies were included in the analysis. The studies explored the influence of questioning on critical thinking rather than on clinical reasoning. The nature of the questions asked and the effect of higher-order questions on critical thinking were the most commonly occurring themes. Few studies addressed the use of questioning in problem-based learning. More empirical evidence is needed to gain a better understanding of the benefit of questioning in problem-based learning to promote students' clinical reasoning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Imaging for lung physiology: What do we wish we could measure?

PubMed Central

Buxton, Richard B.

2012-01-01

The role of imaging as a tool for investigating lung physiology is growing at an accelerating pace. Looking forward, we wished to identify unresolved issues in lung physiology that might realistically be addressed by imaging methods in development or imaging approaches that could be considered. The role of imaging is framed in terms of the importance of good spatial and temporal resolution and the types of questions that could be addressed as these technical capabilities improve. Recognizing that physiology is fundamentally a quantitative science, a recurring emphasis is on the need for imaging methods that provide reliable measurements of specific physiological parameters. The topics included necessarily reflect our perspective on what are interesting questions and are not meant to be a comprehensive review. Nevertheless, we hope that this essay will be a spur to physiologists to think about how imaging could usefully be applied in their research and to physical scientists developing new imaging methods to attack challenging questions imaging could potentially answer. PMID:22582217

Introspection of subjective feelings is sensitive and specific.

PubMed

Questienne, Laurence; van Dijck, Jean-Philippe; Gevers, Wim

2018-02-01

Conversely to behaviorist ideas, recent studies suggest that introspection can be accurate and reliable. However, an unresolved question is whether people are able to report specific aspects of their phenomenal experience, or whether they report more general nonspecific experiences. To address this question, we investigated the sensitivity and validity of our introspection for different types of conflict. Taking advantage of the congruency sequence effect, we dissociated response conflict while keeping visual conflict unchanged in a Stroop and in a priming task. Participants were subsequently asked to report on either their experience of urge to err or on their feeling of visual conflict. Depending on the focus of the introspection, subjective reports specifically followed either the response conflict or the visual conflict. These results demonstrate that our introspective reports can be sensitive and that we are able to dissociate specific aspects of our phenomenal experiences in a valid manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Foreign nationals who receive science or engineering Ph.D.`s from US universities: Stay rates and characteristics of stayers

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

Finn, M.G.; Pennington, L.A.; Anderson, K.H.

1995-04-01

This report studies the behavior of foreign nationals who received Ph.D. degrees in science or engineering from US universities during the period 1984--1990. It addresses two distinct questions: What proportion of foreign students stay to work in the United States after graduation; and do foreign students who leave the United States differ from those who stay? Descriptive statistics are provided to answer the first question. These estimates of stay rates have small margins of error because they were produced from the tax payment records of the Social Security Administration. The estimates of stay rates in also provide a partial answermore » to the second question as well as we are able to provide stay rates for different degree fields and different countries of citizenship, thereby identifying country-specific and field-specific differences in stay rates.« less

Postmortem sperm procurement: a legal perspective.

PubMed

Kahan, S E; Seftel, A D; Resnick, M I

1999-06-01

Postmortem sperm procurement with subsequent artificial insemination has become a technically feasible method for posthumous conception. A variety of legal questions exist involving the rights and relationships of the deceased, his family and his issue. We addressed these questions and designed a workable protocol for postmortem sperm procurement. MEDLINE, WESTLAW and LEXIS medical literature, and case law searches were conducted. United States and international case law, United States (federal and state) statutes, Uniform Law Commissions Acts, and law review commentaries and articles were reviewed. While postmortem sperm procurement is being requested throughout the United States, no standard protocol or procedural guidelines have been established by federal or state statute. Furthermore, the courts have not yet addressed this specific scenario in reported case law. Statutes and case law do address related factual scenarios and issues, including property rights in human bodies, rules governing transplantation of human organs/body parts, rights of parties in in vivo sperm bank donations and responsibilities of parents to the conceptus of artificial insemination. A workable protocol can be established by analyzing case law and statutes addressing factually similar scenarios. Urologists must focus on the express intent of the decedent and limit any postmortem sperm retrieval to the specific requests made by the decedent. Decedent requests should be documented in writing. The decedent must be competent and of majority age. In the absence of decedent expressed affirmative directive calling for sperm retrieval, no other relative or guardian may authorize this retrieval. Issues regarding the legitimacy and inheritance rights of the conceptus will most consistently be addressed when explicitly provided for in the will of the decedent.

Selecting Question-Specific Genes to Reduce Incongruence in Phylogenomics: A Case Study of Jawed Vertebrate Backbone Phylogeny.

PubMed

Chen, Meng-Yun; Liang, Dan; Zhang, Peng

2015-11-01

Incongruence between different phylogenomic analyses is the main challenge faced by phylogeneticists in the genomic era. To reduce incongruence, phylogenomic studies normally adopt some data filtering approaches, such as reducing missing data or using slowly evolving genes, to improve the signal quality of data. Here, we assembled a phylogenomic data set of 58 jawed vertebrate taxa and 4682 genes to investigate the backbone phylogeny of jawed vertebrates under both concatenation and coalescent-based frameworks. To evaluate the efficiency of extracting phylogenetic signals among different data filtering methods, we chose six highly intractable internodes within the backbone phylogeny of jawed vertebrates as our test questions. We found that our phylogenomic data set exhibits substantial conflicting signal among genes for these questions. Our analyses showed that non-specific data sets that are generated without bias toward specific questions are not sufficient to produce consistent results when there are several difficult nodes within a phylogeny. Moreover, phylogenetic accuracy based on non-specific data is considerably influenced by the size of data and the choice of tree inference methods. To address such incongruences, we selected genes that resolve a given internode but not the entire phylogeny. Notably, not only can this strategy yield correct relationships for the question, but it also reduces inconsistency associated with data sizes and inference methods. Our study highlights the importance of gene selection in phylogenomic analyses, suggesting that simply using a large amount of data cannot guarantee correct results. Constructing question-specific data sets may be more powerful for resolving problematic nodes. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Society of Systematic Biologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Neoepitopes as cancer immunotherapy targets: key challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Brennick, Cory A; George, Mariam M; Corwin, William L; Srivastava, Pramod K; Ebrahimi-Nik, Hakimeh

2017-03-01

Over the last half century, it has become well established that cancers can elicit a host immune response that can target them with high specificity. Only within the last decade, with the advances in high-throughput gene sequencing and bioinformatics approaches, are we now on the forefront of harnessing the host's immune system to treat cancer. Recently, some strides have been taken toward understanding effective tumor-specific MHC I restricted epitopes or neoepitopes. However, many fundamental questions still remain to be addressed before this therapy can live up to its full clinical potential. In this review, we discuss the major hurdles that lie ahead and the work being done to address them.

An Integrated Survey System for Addressing Abuse and Misconduct Toward Air Force Trainees During Basic Military Training

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

guidance, lack of time off, long work hours ) and asks MTIs to indicate the extent to which each has caused stress over the past six months (five-point...questions also ask MTIs about their work and sleep habits. Although the section on specific stressors includes items that assess MTI stress related to...single question on the average number of hours worked in a 30 day, as well as a single item on the number of hours of sleep the MTI is able to

Proceedings of the Mars Global Network Mission Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturms, Francis M., Jr. (Editor)

1990-01-01

A workshop on the Mars Global Network Mission held at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on February 6 and 7, 1990, was attended by 68 people from JPL, National Aeronautics and Space Administration centers, universities, national laboratories, and industry. Three working sessions on science and exploration objectives, mission and system design concepts, and subsystem technology readiness each addressed three specific questions on implementation concepts for the mission. The workshop generated conclusions for each of the nine questions and also recommended several important science and engineering issues to be studied subsequent to the workshop.

What lessons can operational planners infer from the NATO Partnership for Peace Program for the execution of contemporary US Regionally Aligned Force and UK Adaptable Force Security Cooperation missions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-26

research questions consist of three groups . The first group addresses an analysis of PfP. The second group determines contemporary US and UK strategy...The second group of research questions focuses upon current US, UK security cooperation initiatives and the specific policy objectives they...Ambition, Austerity and the Case for Rethinking UK Military Spending.” Oxford Research Group . Last modified May 13, 2015. Accessed September 17, 2015

How Question Types Reveal Student Thinking: An Experimental Comparison of Multiple-True-False and Free-Response Formats.

PubMed

Hubbard, Joanna K; Potts, Macy A; Couch, Brian A

2017-01-01

Assessments represent an important component of undergraduate courses because they affect how students interact with course content and gauge student achievement of course objectives. To make decisions on assessment design, instructors must understand the affordances and limitations of available question formats. Here, we use a crossover experimental design to identify differences in how multiple-true-false (MTF) and free-response (FR) exam questions reveal student thinking regarding specific conceptions. We report that correct response rates correlate across the two formats but that a higher percentage of students provide correct responses for MTF questions. We find that MTF questions reveal a high prevalence of students with mixed (correct and incorrect) conceptions, while FR questions reveal a high prevalence of students with partial (correct and unclear) conceptions. These results suggest that MTF question prompts can direct students to address specific conceptions but obscure nuances in student thinking and may overestimate the frequency of particular conceptions. Conversely, FR questions provide a more authentic portrait of student thinking but may face limitations in their ability to diagnose specific, particularly incorrect, conceptions. We further discuss an intrinsic tension between question structure and diagnostic capacity and how instructors might use multiple formats or hybrid formats to overcome these obstacles. © 2017 J. K. Hubbard et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Emergence of Japanese Infants' Prosodic Preferences in Infant-Directed Vocabulary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayashi, Akiko; Mazuka, Reiko

2017-01-01

The article examines the role of infant-directed vocabulary (IDV) in infants language acquisition, specifically addressing the question of whether IDV forms that are not prominent in adult language may nonetheless be useful to the process of acquisition. Japanese IDV offers a good test case, as IDV characteristically takes a bisyllabic…

Exploring Tree Age & Diameter to Illustrate Sample Design & Inference in Observational Ecology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casady, Grant M.

2015-01-01

Undergraduate biology labs often explore the techniques of data collection but neglect the statistical framework necessary to express findings. Students can be confused about how to use their statistical knowledge to address specific biological questions. Growth in the area of observational ecology requires that students gain experience in…

The Effects of a Systematically Designed Online Learning Environment on Preservice Teachers' Professional Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evens, Marie; Larmuseau, Charlotte; Dewaele, Katrien; Van Craesbeek, Leen; Elen, Jan; Depaepe, Fien

2017-01-01

This study examines the effects of an online learning environment on preservice teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), content knowledge (CK) (related to French in primary teacher education), and pedagogical knowledge (PK) in a quasi-experimental design. More specifically, the following research question is addressed: Is a systematically…

76 FR 79650 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-22

... household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels are introduced every... with questions designed to address specific needs, such as obtaining information on household members... economic well-being and permitted changes in these levels to be measured over time. The 2008 panel is...

76 FR 24457 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

... the SIPP, which is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New... the panel. The core is supplemented with questions designed to address specific needs, such as... be measured over time. The 2008 panel is currently scheduled for approximately 6 years and will...

The Preparation of Teacher Candidates for K-12 Online Learning Environments: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Nicole V.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine how teacher education programs may better prepare teacher candidates to teach in K-12 online learning environments. The primary research question addressed was: What specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions should teacher education programs include in their curriculum to better prepare teacher…

Towards Systemic Support of Pupils with Emotional and Behavioural Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mooij, Ton; Smeets, Ed

2009-01-01

Children with emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD) vary in many respects. In school, specific conditions have to be fulfilled in order to deal adequately with EBD. This study addresses the question how mainstream primary schools design different instructional situations to support pupils with EBD in practice, and how this design could be…

Empowering Rural Women through Mobile Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagarajan, P.; Jiji, G. Wiselin

2010-01-01

This paper is intended as a gender issue to the rural finance practitioners. It highlights the questions that need to be asked and addressed to the gender mainstream. It will also be useful to gender experts to wish to increase their understanding on specific gender issues in rural finance through mobile services. It focuses on rural microfinance…

The Administration of Education for the Health Professions: A Time for Reappraisal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogness, John R.

Past and current practices as well as anticipated changes in administrative patterns in the health sciences are reviewed in the general context of the changing patterns of administration in higher education. The changes discussed include those in financial support, priorities, controls, and expectations. Several specific questions are addressed:…

Gravity related features of plant growth behavior studied with rotating machines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, A. H.

1996-01-01

Research in plant physiology consists mostly of studies on plant growth because almost everything a plant does is done by growing. Most aspects of plant growth are strongly influenced by the earth's gravity vector. Research on those phenomena address scientific questions specifically about how plants use gravity to guide their growth processes.

A Study on Situated Cognition: Product Dissection's Effect on Redesign Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grantham, Katie; Okudan Kremer, Gül E.; Simpson, Timothy W.; Ashour, Omar

2013-01-01

Situated cognition theory describes the context of a learning activity's effect on learner's cognition. In this paper, we use situated cognition theory to examine the effect of product dissection on product redesign activities. Two specific research questions are addressed: 1) Does situated cognition, in the form of product dissection, improve…

Ability Grouping, Classroom Instruction, and Students' Mathematics Gains in Charter and Traditional Public Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berends, Mark; Donaldson, Kristi

2011-01-01

In this paper, the authors examine differences between school types in the uses of ability grouping, instructional differences, and relationship of ability grouping to student mathematics achievement. Specifically, they address the following questions with teacher reports of students' mathematics placement in middle school: (1) Does the use of…

Local/State Bilingual Project. 1981-82 Final Technical Report. Appendixes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin Independent School District, TX. Office of Research and Evaluation.

The 1981-82 Local/State Bilingual Program Technical Report addresses the evaluation questions of the Local/State Bilingual Program Evaluation Design. It is organized into six appendixes. Each appendix reports the information collected by a specific measure. Each appendix consists of (1) an instrument description, (2) purpose of the measure, (3)…

A SYNTHESIS OF PROGRESS AND UNCERTAINTIES IN ATTRIBUTING THE SOURCES OF MERCURY IN DEPOSITION

EPA Science Inventory

A panel of international experts was convened in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2005 as part of the 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant. Our charge was to address the state of science pertinent to source attribution; specifically our key question was "For a give...

The Influence of Early Interest Orientations and Time on Kindergartners' Academic Monitoring and Information-Seeking Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neitzel, Carin; Alexander, Joyce; Johnson, Kathy

2017-01-01

This study addressed questions about the influence of children's early childhood interests on their subsequent academic regulation and information pursuit behaviors in kindergarten. Differences in the pattern of academic behaviors employed by four groups of children who had different interest orientations were examined. Specifically, the study…

Wilderness and backcountry site restoration guide

Treesearch

Lisa Therrell; David Cole; Victor Claassen; Chris Ryan; Mary Ann Davies

2006-01-01

This comprehensive guide focuses on restoration of small-scale impact caused by human actions in wilderness and backcountry areas. The guide's goals are to: 1) Help practitioners develop plans that thoroughly address the question of whether site restoration is the best management action and, if so, develop a site-specific restoration plan that incorporates...

Applying Creativity Research to Cooking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beghetto, Ronald A.; Kaufman, James C.; Hatcher, Ryan

2016-01-01

What, if any, benefit might there be to applying creativity research to cooking? The purpose of this paper was to address this question. Specifically, we draw on concepts and theories from creativity research to help clarify what is meant by creative cooking. This includes exploring creative cooking through the lens of the 4-C and Propulsion…

Protean Organizations: Reshaping Work and Careers to Retain Female Talent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cabrera, Elizabeth F.

2009-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to understand women's careers better in order to help organizations make changes to increase female retention. Two specific questions are addressed: Are women adopting a protean career orientation by becoming career self-agents?; and Are women's career decisions guided by the kaleidoscope values of challenge, balance, and…

Body Partonomy: How Children Partition the Human Body.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Carl Nils; Kendrick, Kimberly

1984-01-01

Concepts of body parts and their relationships were assessed in children ages three, four, and five, as well as in adults. Three specific questions were addressed: (1) What do children understand about such "partonomic" relations? (2) Is there an order in the acquisition of partonomic concepts? and (3) Do children exhibit any confusions in their…

Scope on the Skies: The Law of Location

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riddle, Bob

2010-01-01

This article explains how the sky would look from different locations, specifically from other locations within our solar system. Answers to the following questions are addressed: Do the constellation patterns we see from Earth look different from another planet in our solar system? What would the Sun look like from greater distances? (Contains 2…

Response-Specific Effects of Pain Observation on Motor Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, India; Poliakoff, Ellen; Gordon, Lucy; Downing, Paul

2007-01-01

How does seeing a painful event happening to someone else influence the observer's own motor system? To address this question, we measured simple reaction times following videos showing noxious or innocuous implements contacting corporeal or noncorporeal objects. Key releases in a go/nogo task were speeded, and key presses slowed, after subjects…

Critical Issues in Electronic Media: SUNY Series in Film History and Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penny, Simon, Ed.

This interdisciplinary sourcebook offers critical perspectives directly related to, or arising from, the practice of electronic media art. It sketches the changing topology of culture as it enters electronic space and specifically addresses questions of art practice in that space. The volume contains 13 papers: (1) "Suck on This, Planet of…

The Emergence of Quality Assessment in Brazilian Basic Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kauko, Jaakko; Centeno, Vera Gorodski; Candido, Helena; Shiroma, Eneida; Klutas, Anni

2016-01-01

The focus in this article is on Brazilian education policy, specifically quality assurance and evaluation. The starting point is that quality, measured by means of large-scale assessments, is one of the key discursive justifications for educational change. The article addresses the questions of how quality evaluation became a significant feature…

A Framework for Professional Ethics Courses in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warnick, Bryan R.; Silverman, Sarah K.

2011-01-01

Evidence suggests that professional ethics is currently a neglected topic in teacher education programs. In this article, the authors revisit the question of ethics education for teachers. The authors propose an approach to the professional ethics of teaching that employs a case-analysis framework specifically tailored to address the practice of…

Aesthetic Creativity: Insights from Classical Literary Theory on Creative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hellstrom, Tomas Georg

2011-01-01

This paper addresses the subject of textual creativity by drawing on work done in classical literary theory and criticism, specifically new criticism, structuralism and early poststructuralism. The question of how readers and writers engage creatively with the text is closely related to educational concerns, though they are often thought of as…

Latino Bilingual Teachers: Negotiating the Figured World of Masculinity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lara, Gilberto P.; Fránquiz, María E.

2015-01-01

This article focuses on a group of male teachers from Proyecto Bilingüe, a professional development master's degree program for bilingual teachers. The study is guided by one broad research question: How do Latino male bilingual teachers negotiate their identities in a gendered profession? Specifically the study addresses: What spaces for…

Longitudinal Growth on Curriculum-Based Measurements Mathematics Measures for Early Elementary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lembke, Erica; Lee, Young Sun; Park, Yoon Soo; Hampton, David

2016-01-01

This article describes a study addressing how Curriculum-Based Measurement mathematics measures function as screening tools for students in grades Kindergarten through 2 over time, and for students in different demographic groups. Specifically, the research questions were: (1) What growth rates are produced for Curriculum-Based Measurement early…

Graduate Students' Interests in Technology Training: Results of a Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fahy, Patrick J.

A two-part survey of 69 students (35 percent response) enrolled in the Master's of Distance Education (MDE) program at Athabasca University in December 1996 addressed three questions: (1) what specific technologies were of most interest to MDE students; (2) whether students accustomed to studying completely at a distance would accept a proposed…

Contributions to Family and Household Activities by the Husbands of Midlife Professional Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Judith R.; Whelan-Berry, Karen S.

2005-01-01

This article presents an exploratory study that furthers our understanding of the functioning of two-career couples at midlife and, in particular, our understanding of the husband's contributions to family and household activities. More specifically, it addresses the following questions regarding dual-career couples: (a) Whose career has…

One Hen: Teaching Elementary-Level Economics for Civic Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitlock, Annie McMahon

2013-01-01

This dissertation is a qualitative case study focused on describing and analyzing the student and teacher experience with One Hen, a project-based learning unit specifically designed to teach civic engagement. In this study I address three questions: 1) Do fifth-grade students' knowledge and skills in economics change after participating in a…

The Relationship between Teachers' Knowledge and Beliefs about Science and Inquiry and Their Classroom Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saad, Rayana; BouJaoude, Saouma

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between teachers' attitudes toward science, knowledge and beliefs about inquiry, and science classroom teaching practices. Specifically, the study addressed three questions: What are teachers' beliefs and knowledge about inquiry? What are teachers' teaching related classroom practices? Do…

Altered rangeland ecosystems in the interior Columbia basin.

Treesearch

Stephen C. Bunting; James L. Kingery; Miles A. Hemstrom; Michael A. Schroeder; Rebecca A. Gravenmier; Wendel J. Hann

2002-01-01

A workshop was held to address specific questions related to altered rangeland ecosystems within the interior Columbia basin. Focus was primarily on public lands administered by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Altered ecosystems were considered to be those where human induced or natural disturbances are of sufficient magnitude to affect ecosystem...

Exploring Long-Term Behavior Patterns in a Book Recommendation System for Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chien, Tzu-Chao; Chen, Zhi-Hong; Chan, Tak-Wai

2017-01-01

This study explored the behavior of students who used a book recommendation system, specifically the My-Bookstore system, over a five semester period. This study addressed two main research questions, the first being related to "the most frequent behaviors and behavioral patterns." The results showed that "visiting" behavior…

The Influence of Teacher Motivation in the Context of Performance-Based Compensation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glass, Jason E.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher motivation in the context of performance-based compensation systems. The researcher specifically sought to address four research questions: 1. To what extent are teachers motivated for behavioristic/economic reasons and extrinsic rewards? 2. To what extent are teachers motivated for altruistic/PSM…

Relevant Indicators of Relative Expertise in Economic Problem Solving: A Factor Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VanFossen, Phillip J.

This paper reports preliminary research into the nature of relative expertise in economic problem solving. Specifically, this report seeks to address the question of whether the presence of economic knowledge alone accounts for expertise in economic problem solving or whether both economic knowledge and the development and employment of economic…

Current Issues in Day Care: Readings and Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Carol H., Ed.

A collection of 19 articles addressing questions and concerns of child caregivers and parents, this resource book serves as a guide to the selection and evaluation of day care programs, discusses employer-sponsored day care trends, and studies health and environmental concerns. More specifically, section I provides an overview of day care, section…

Knowing Better: Improving Collective Decision Making in Higher Education Shared Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manick, Christopher J. D.

2016-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question: Should higher education governance and decision-making be an elite or collective responsibility? It brings into conversation (i) the debate over the future of shared (i.e. participatory, faculty) governance in higher education, and (ii) research in democratic theory, specifically the epistemic defense of…

Luchando por una educacion: A Qualitative Understanding of Undocumented Latina/o College Student Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Navarro, Elvia Lorena

2013-01-01

The current qualitative study explored the factors and resources that motivate undocumented Latino/a college students to persist in higher education. Through the data obtained from the four qualitative open-ended survey questions, a content analysis revealed specific codes, themes, and subthemes addressing the factors and resources that motivate…

Non-Formal Education in Free Time: Leisure- or Work-Orientated Activity?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thoidis, Ioannis; Pnevmatikos, Dimitrios

2014-01-01

This article deals with the relationship between adults' free time and further education. More specifically, the paper addresses the question of whether there are similarities and analogies between the leisure time that adults dedicate to non-formal educational activities and free time per se. A structured questionnaire was used to examine the…

Young Adult Couples Transitioning to Work: The Intersection of Career and Relationship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domene, Jose F.; Nee, Jessica J.; Cavanaugh, Ashley K.; McLelland, Serita; Stewart, Becky; Stephenson, Michelle; Kauffman, Bradley; Tse, Christopher K.; Young, Richard A.

2012-01-01

Contextual action theory was used to frame an exploratory qualitative study of young adult couples' experiences of transitioning from post-secondary education into the labor force, addressing the specific research question ''What kinds of projects for future work and life together do young adult couples jointly construct and pursue as they…

A Comparison of Student Academic Performance with Traditional, Online, and Flipped Instructional Approaches in a C# Programming Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Jason H.; Sharp, Laurie A.

2017-01-01

Aim/Purpose: Compared student academic performance on specific course requirements in a C# programming course across three instructional approaches: traditional, online, and flipped. Background: Addressed the following research question--When compared to the online and traditional instructional approaches, does the flipped instructional approach…

Use of Language Learning Strategies by Spanish Adults for Business English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judge, Jeffrey Wallace

2012-01-01

The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the language learning strategies (LLSs) of Spanish adults in a business context. The research questions examined the specific LLSs used by Spanish adults in business communication tasks. In addition, this study addressed the cultural influences on LLSs from the Spanish educational system along…

Restoration handbook for sagebrush steppe ecosystems with emphasis on greater sage-grouse habitat—Part 2. Landscape level restoration decisions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pyke, David A.; Knick, Steven T.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Pellant, Mike; Miller, Richard F.; Beck, Jeffrey L.; Doescher, Paul S.; Schupp, Eugene W.; Roundy, Bruce A.; Brunson, Mark; McIver, James D.

2015-12-07

Land managers do not have resources to restore all locations because of the extent of the restoration need and because some land uses are not likely to change, therefore, restoration decisions made at the landscape to regional scale may improve the effectiveness of restoration to achieve landscape and local restoration objectives. We present a landscape restoration decision tool intended to assist decision makers in determining landscape objectives, to identify and prioritize landscape areas where sites for priority restoration projects might be located, and to aid in ultimately selecting restoration sites guided by criteria used to define the landscape objectives. The landscape restoration decision tool is structured in five sections that should be addressed sequentially. Each section has a primary question or statement followed by related questions and statements to assist the user in addressing the primary question or statement. This handbook will guide decision makers through the important process steps of identifying appropriate questions, gathering appropriate data, developing landscape objectives, and prioritizing landscape patches where potential sites for restoration projects may be located. Once potential sites are selected, land managers can move to the site-specific decision tool to guide restoration decisions at the site level.

Holocaust cancer patients: a comparative study.

PubMed

Baider, L; Peretz, T; De-Nour, A K

1993-11-01

There is as yet no consensus on the long-term effects of severe life-threatening stresses. In an earlier study (Baider et al. 1992), we gained some understanding of this issue by addressing a specific question: How do individuals who have undergone severe stress in the past cope with a current stress? We investigated whether severe stress occurring in the past had a long-term effect on present coping capabilities. We addressed the question by studying a group of Holocaust survivors (severe past stress) who were diagnosed as having cancer (current stress) and compared them to a matched group of cancer patients with no past history of trauma. The matching was done on most demographic variables (gender, age, marital status, and education), as well as on disease variables (site and stage of cancer, time since cancer diagnosis, previous and present treatments). The results were unequivocal.

Improving the use of research evidence in guideline development: 12. Incorporating considerations of equity.

PubMed

Oxman, Andrew D; Schünemann, Holger J; Fretheim, Atle

2006-12-05

The World Health Organization (WHO), like many other organisations around the world, has recognised the need to use more rigorous processes to ensure that health care recommendations are informed by the best available research evidence. This is the 12th of a series of 16 reviews that have been prepared as background for advice from the WHO Advisory Committee on Health Research to WHO on how to achieve this. We reviewed the literature on incorporating considerations of equity in guidelines and recommendations. We searched PubMed and three databases of methodological studies for existing systematic reviews and relevant methodological research. We did not conduct systematic reviews ourselves. Our conclusions are based on the available evidence, consideration of what WHO and other organisations are doing and logical arguments. We found few directly relevant empirical methodological studies. These answers are based largely on logical arguments. When and how should inequities be addressed in systematic reviews that are used as background documents for recommendations? The following question should routinely be considered: Are there plausible reasons for anticipating differential relative effects across disadvantaged and advantaged populations? If there are plausible reasons for anticipating differential effects, additional evidence should be included in a review to inform judgments about the likelihood of differential effects. What questions about equity should routinely be addressed by those making recommendations on behalf of WHO? The following additional questions should routinely be considered: How likely is it that the results of available research are applicable to disadvantaged populations and settings? How likely are differences in baseline risk that would result in differential absolute effects across disadvantaged and advantaged populations? How likely is it that there are important differences in trade-offs between the expected benefits and harms across disadvantaged and advantaged populations? Are there different implications for disadvantaged and advantaged populations, or implications for addressing inequities? What context specific information is needed to inform adaptation and decision making in a specific setting with regard to impacts on equity? Those making recommendations on behalf of WHO should routinely consider and offer advice about the importance of the following types of context specific data that might be needed to inform adaptation and decision making in a specific setting: Effect modifiers for disadvantaged populations and for the likelihood of differential effects. Baseline risk in relationship to social and economic status. Utilization and access to care in relationship to social and economic status. Costs in relationship to social and economic status. Ethics and laws that may impact on strategies for addressing inequities. Availability of resources to address inequities. What implementation strategies are likely be needed to ensure that recommendations are implemented equitably? Organisational changes are likely to be important to address inequities. While it may only be possible to consider these in relationship to specific settings, consideration should be given to how best to provide support for identifying and addressing needs for organisational changes. In countries with pervasive inequities institutional, cultural and political changes may first be needed. Appropriate indicators of social and economic status should be used to monitor the effects of implementing recommendations on disadvantaged populations and on changes in social and economic status.

Identifying domestic and international sex-trafficking victims during human service provision.

PubMed

Macy, Rebecca J; Graham, Laurie M

2012-04-01

Children, youth, and adults of both genders are sex trafficked into and throughout the United States every day. Regrettably, little attention has been given to how human service providers might identify the sex-trafficking victims they are likely to encounter. To address this knowledge gap, the authors review 20 documents with the aim of detecting and synthesizing service identification recommendations in the scientific literature, government reports, and documents produced by organizations working with sex-trafficking victims. The review shows consensus regarding identification recommendations, including (a) trafficking indicators, (b) victim interaction strategies, (c) immediate response strategies, and (d) child-specific information. The review also shows consensus regarding screening questions that are important for service providers to use in identifying sex-trafficking victims. These questions relate to the victims' safety, employment, living environment, and travel and immigration status in addition to specific questions used with children and youth. The review results offer human service providers a preliminary set of screening strategies and questions that can be used to identify sex-trafficking victims in the context of human services. Building on the review findings, the authors offer policy and research recommendations.

What Makes Us Smell: The Biochemistry of Body Odour and the Design of New Deodorant Ingredients.

PubMed

Natsch, Andreas

2015-08-19

Today, axilla odours are socially stigmatized and are targeted with deodorants and antiperspirants representing a multi-billion market. Axilla odours aren't simple byproducts of our metabolism but specifically formed by an intricate interplay between i) specific glands, ii) secreted amino acid conjugates of highly specific odorants and iii) selective enzymes present in microorganisms colonizing our skin, providing a natural 'controlled-release' mechanism. Within a multidisciplinary research project, we were able to elucidate the structure of key body odorants, isolate and characterize secreted amino acid conjugates and identify the enzymes responsible for odour release. These enzymes then served as targets for the development of specific active compounds in an almost medicinal chemistry approach, an approach rarely used in the cosmetic field so far. Here we review the key new insights into the biochemistry of human body odour formation, with some remarks on the experimental steps undertaken and hurdles encountered. The development of deodorant actives and the difficult path to market for such specifically acting cosmetic actives is discussed. The basic insights into the biochemistry also opened the way to address some questions in population genetics: Why have large proportions of Asians lost the 'ability' to form body odours? Do twins smell the same? Are our typical body odours indeed influenced by the immune system as often claimed? After addressing these questions, I'll conclude with the key remaining challenges in this field on an ecological niche that is 'anatomically very close to our heart'.

What Makes Us Smell: The Biochemistry of Body Odour and the Design of New Deodorant Ingredients.

PubMed

Natsch, Andreas

2015-01-01

Today, axilla odours are socially stigmatized and are targeted with deodorants and antiperspirants representing a multi-billion market. Axilla odours aren't simple byproducts of our metabolism but specifically formed by an intricate interplay between i) specific glands, ii) secreted amino acid conjugates of highly specific odorants and iii) selective enzymes present in microorganisms colonizing our skin, providing a natural 'controlled-release' mechanism. Within a multidisciplinary research project, we were able to elucidate the structure of key body odorants, isolate and characterize secreted amino acid conjugates and identify the enzymes responsible for odour release. These enzymes then served as targets for the development of specific active compounds in an almost medicinal chemistry approach, an approach rarely used in the cosmetic field so far. Here we review the key new insights into the biochemistry of human body odour formation, with some remarks on the experimental steps undertaken and hurdles encountered. The development of deodorant actives and the difficult path to market for such specifically acting cosmetic actives is discussed. The basic insights into the biochemistry also opened the way to address some questions in population genetics: Why have large proportions of Asians lost the 'ability' to form body odours? Do twins smell the same? Are our typical body odours indeed influenced by the immune system as often claimed? After addressing these questions, I'll conclude with the key remaining challenges in this field on an ecological niche that is 'anatomically very close to our heart'.

The Geospace Mission Definition Team report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kintner, P.; Spann, J.

The Geospace Mission Definition Team (GMDT) is the portion of the Living With a Star (LWS) Program that has been charged by NASA to examine how the Geospace environment responds to solar variability. The goal is to provide science recommendations that guide NASA in the formulation of Geospace missions. The GMDT's first meeting with September 10, 2001 and has met on four subsequent dates. The top level space weather effects were initially defined by the LWS Science Architecture Team (SAT). From these effects the GMDT has distilled general objectives and specific objectives. These objectives have been prioritized and compelling science questions have been identified that are required to address the objectives. A set of candidate missions has been defined with minimum, baseline, and augmentation measurements identified. The priority science questions focus on two broad areas: (1) ionospheric variability, especially at mid-latitudes, that affects navigation and communications and (2) the source, acceleration mechanisms, and sinks of the radiation belts that degrade satellite lifetimes, produce surface charging, and threaten manned space flight. In addition the measurements required for understanding ionospheric variability will also address science issues associated with thermospheric satellite drag and orbital prediction. Candidate missions to address these science focii have been developed and studied. The team concludes that it is possible to address the compelling science questions with a cost effective program that yields major advances in our understanding of space weather science, that inspires and validates better ionospheric and magnetospheric models, and that will enable operational advances mitigating the societal impacts of space weather.

Roots of terrorism: a reassessment after September 11th

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

Pilat, Joseph F.

2002-01-01

The brutal terrorist attacks of September 11th, the anthrax attacks that followed and growing knowledge of al Qaeda's pursuit of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons have not only intensified concerns about terrorism but also created doubts about our understanding of terrorism. These attacks were in many ways unprecedented, and ultimately raise the question of the roots or causes of terrorism. Historically and today, there have been divergent views on this question, which reflect philosophical, religious, political, sociological and other differences. These differences are not merely academic, as they can affect our understanding of both the threat and of responses tomore » terrorism in the aftermath of September 11th, Terrorism is too complex and diverse a phenomenon to speak easily of causes. But we may be able to discern the causes of specific acts. Our response to 9/11 and other acts of terrorism will be affected by our understanding of their causes. If 9/11 was caused by US Middle East policies, the response must involve a review of these policies. If it is a backlash against globalization, the response must address the realities underlying anti-globalization sentiments. Addressing causes will not in any case end terrorism, and addressing the wrong causes will be counterproductive. Actions to reduce those conditions that create support for terrorism and aid its recruitment, which need to be clearly identified, are critical in any counterterrorism strategy. So we must understand the reasons for terrorism and, in particular, for the attacks of September 11th.T his paper will look at the question of the roots of terrorism and then look to the specific case of 911 and its aftermath, with a special view to the impact of globalization.« less

Optimal Diphthongs: An OT Analysis of the Acquisition of Spanish Diphthongs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krause, Alice

2013-01-01

This dissertation investigates the acquisition of Spanish diphthongs by adult native speakers of English. The following research questions will be addressed: 1) How do adult native speakers of English pronounce sequences of two vowels in their L2 Spanish at different levels of acquisition? 2) Can OT learnability models, specifically the GLA,…

Assessment of the Educational Needs in Health Professions Programs, 1992. Item #3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Board of Higher Education, Springfield.

This report presents an overview of the status of programs of health professions education in Illinois and reviews the policies related to these programs that were adopted by the Board of Higher Education in the early 1980s. Specific questions addressed are as follows: (1) Are the number, type, and distribution of health professions programs…

The Design and Evaluation of a Simulation-Based Behavior Change Intervention for Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Bryan Smith

2012-01-01

This dissertation describes a line of research that addresses translational research questions related to the use of computerized simulation to affect the knowledge, beliefs, motivation and self-management behaviors of individuals with chronic disease. The specific research projects focus on type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and physical activity as…

Comparison of Male and Female Performance on the ATP Physics Test.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheeler, Patricia; Harris, Abigail

This exploratory study on the College Board's Admissions Testing Program (ATP) Physics Test can be divided into two main parts, each designed to address a specific set of questions: Part I, Are there any systematic differences in male/female performance on individual items or subgroups of items that can help in interpreting the differences between…

Training in Family Support: Towards a Conceptual Framework. A Report from a Wingspread Conference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogel, Christine

This report presents the results of a conference held by the Family Resource Coalition (FRC) in October 1991, which brought together an interdisciplinary group of academics and family resource practitioners to address questions of quality in family support and, more specifically, in staff development and personnel. The report provides the…

Rock Orchestra Alumni Reflections on the Impact of Participation in "The Lakewood Project"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koops, Lisa Huisman; Hankins, Elizabeth A.; Scalise, David; Schatt, Matthew D.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the phenomenon of participation in a high school rock orchestra from the perspective of alumni. Specific research questions addressed the musicians' reflections on experiences in the rock orchestra and the perceived possible impact on their current musical and professional lives. Survey and…

Revisiting the Complementarity between Education and Training--The Role of Job Tasks and Firm Effects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Görlitz, Katja; Tamm, Marcus

2016-01-01

This paper addresses the question to what extent the strong positive correlation between education and training can be attributed to differences in individual-, job- and firm-specific characteristics. The novelty of this paper is to analyze previously unconsidered characteristics, in particular, job tasks and firm-fixed effects. The results show…

"Every Vietnamese Was A Gook": My Lai, Vietnam, and American Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, David M.

1988-01-01

Using the U.S. experience in Vietnam, this article argues that the U.S. world view is a product of the U.S. educational system. Specifically the article addresses three questions: (1) how the social studies curriculum is organized; (2) how textbooks are written; and (3) how instruction is shaped by these forces. (Author/BSR)

The Persistence of Structural Inequality?: A Network Analysis of International Trade, 1965-2000

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahutga, Matthew C.

2006-01-01

This article reports results from a network analysis of international trade from 1965 through 2000. It addresses the impact of changes associated with globalization and the "new international division of labor" (NIDL) on structural inequality in the world economy. To assess this impact, I ask three specific questions. (1) Do patterns of…

Identifying Culturally Competent Clinical Skills in Speech-Language Pathologists in the Central Valley of California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maul, Christine A.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research was to identify specific clinical skills in speech-language pathologists (SLPs) that may constitute cultural competency, a term which currently lacks operational definition. Through qualitative interview methods, the following research questions were addressed: (1) What dominant themes, if any, can be found in SLPs'…

An Effect of Spatial-Temporal Association of Response Codes: Understanding the Cognitive Representations of Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallesi, Antonino; Binns, Malcolm A.; Shallice, Tim

2008-01-01

The present study addresses the question of how such an abstract concept as time is represented by our cognitive system. Specifically, the aim was to assess whether temporal information is cognitively represented through left-to-right spatial coordinates, as already shown for other ordered sequences (e.g., numbers). In Experiment 1, the…

Teachers and Students Investigating Plants in Space. A Teacher's Guide with Activities for Life Sciences. Grades 6-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Paul H.

The Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE) was a joint mission between the United States and the Ukraine (Russia) whose projects were designed to address specific questions about prior plant science microgravity experiments. The education project that grew out of this, Teachers and Students Investigating Plants in Space (TSIPS), involved…

Conversion of a Large, Urban High School to Small Schools: Leadership Challenges and Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nehring, James; Lohmeier, Jill H.; Colombo, Michaela

2009-01-01

This article reports findings from a study of the experiences of 11 school principals who are leading the conversion of a large, comprehensive, urban high school into six thematic small schools. Specifically, this study addresses the question, What do high school principals identify as the leadership challenges and opportunities embedded in the…

Behaviors of Teachers and Their Students in Schools with and without an Achievement Gap: An Observational Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratcliff, Nancy J.; Carroll, Kimberly L.; Jones, Cathy R.; Costner, Richard H.; Sheehan, Heather C.; Hunt, Gilbert H.

2017-01-01

This research shares findings from a year-long observational study to determine if there were significant differences in the identified behaviors of teachers and students in fourth and seventh grade classrooms in schools with an achievement gap versus those with no achievement gap. Specific research questions addressed types of instructional…

Using Research to Promote Literacy and Reading in Libraries: Guidelines for Librarians. IFLA Professional Report No. 125

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farmer, Lesley; Stricevic, Ivanka

2011-01-01

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Literacy and Reading Section is trying to help librarians address the question: "How can librarians effectively promote literacy and reading?" This guide is IFLA's second publication aimed specifically at librarians and related organizations who want to find ways to…

Assessing the Impact of Student Counseling Service Centres at Tertiary Education Institutions: How Should It Be Approached?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, J. M.; Brand, H. J.; Cilliers, C. D.

2006-01-01

This article conceptually addresses the issue of assessing the impact of student counselling and development services in higher education institutions. It deviates from recent approaches which primarily examine the impact of selected interventions on specific indicators. In this article the question is asked whether the capacity to deliver the…

School District Revenues for Elementary and Secondary Education: 1997-98. Statistical Analysis Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherman, Joel D.; Gregory, Barbra; Poirier, Jeffrey M.

This report is an annual collection of school district financial data. Specifically, this report presents analyses of school district revenues from the 1997-98 school year. The report is designed to address the following questions about the financing of public elementary and secondary education at the state and district levels: How much money per…

Know Me or No Me--Finding Your Best Prospects for Enrollment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wassom, Jullie

2006-01-01

This article presents some questions on how to find, convert and keep the best prospects for enrollment in child care and education. First, what do I need to know? There are two types of profiles to look at to target specific audiences: (1) "demographics", indicates of a typical qualified buyer; and (2) "psychographics", addresses lifestyle…

Meeting the Needs of Students with Disabilities in a STEM School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bargerhuff, Mary Ellen

2013-01-01

This single site case study examines the ways a particular STEM school in its first year of operation meets the unique needs of freshmen students with disabilities (SWD). Specific research questions address primary supports and challenges to the learning of SWD, and the working relationship among general and special educators and administrators. A…

Effects of climate change on natural resources and communities: a compendium of briefing papers

Treesearch

Ralph J. Alig; Evan Mercer

2011-01-01

This report is a compilation of four briefing papers based on literature reviews and syntheses, prepared for USDA Forest Service policy analysts and decisionmakers about specific questions pertaining to climate change. The main topics addressed here are effects of climate change on wildlife habitat, other ecosystem services, and land values; socioeconomic impacts of...

Lesson Unplanning: Toward Transforming Routine Tasks into Non-Routine Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beghetto, Ronald A.

2017-01-01

How might teachers transform routine tasks into non-routine ones? The purpose of this article is to address this question. The article opens with a discussion of why non-routine problems require creative and original thought. Specifically, I discuss how non-routine problems require students to confront uncertainty and how uncertainty can serve as…

Color, Race, and English Language Teaching: Shades of Meaning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtis, Andy, Ed.; Romney, Mary, Ed.

2006-01-01

The unique contribution of this book is to bring together Critical Race Theory and narrative inquiry and apply them specifically to a largely overlooked area of experience within the field of TESOL: What does it mean to be a TESOL professional of color? To address this question, TESOL professionals of color from all over the world, representing a…

76 FR 73652 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-29

... national and regional levels; and b. Implementation of two surveys to collect the information needed to develop HIV-specific input parameters for the forecasting model, as well as to help address other research questions of the study. HRSA is requesting OMB approval to conduct a HIV clinician survey and a HIV practice...

77 FR 1495 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-10

... regional levels; and b. Implementation of two surveys to collect the information needed to develop HIV-specific input parameters for the forecasting model, as well as to help address other research questions of the study. HRSA is requesting OMB approval to conduct a HIV clinician survey and a HIV practice survey...

Infants' Individuation of Rigid and Plastic Objects Based on Shape

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaub, Simone; Bertin, Evelyn; Cacchione, Trix

2013-01-01

Recent research suggests that 12-month-old infants use shape to individuate the number of objects present in a scene. This study addressed the question of whether infants would also rely on shape when shape is only a temporary attribute of an object. Specifically, we investigated whether infants realize that shape changes reliably indicate…

The Frequency and Type of Graphical Representations in Science Trade Books for Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Julianne M.; Dantzler, John A.

2016-01-01

This study sought to examine the frequency and type of graphical representations in science trade books for children from 1972 to 2007. Specifically questions addressed differences in graphical forms in science discipline and for intended audience age for books. The results revealed that there is an increase in the presence and variation of…

An Examination of Leaders' Perceptions and Strategies in Addressing Faculty Recruitment, Retention and Support in Times of Economic Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little-Wiles, Julie M.

2012-01-01

Using the embedded case study method, this investigation described the experiences, relationships, and perspectives of administrative leaders within the higher education environment during the most recent economic crisis, specifically attempting to answer the question of, "How does an economic crisis, like the most current recession, impact a…

Control group design: enhancing rigor in research of mind-body therapies for depression.

PubMed

Kinser, Patricia Anne; Robins, Jo Lynne

2013-01-01

Although a growing body of research suggests that mind-body therapies may be appropriate to integrate into the treatment of depression, studies consistently lack methodological sophistication particularly in the area of control groups. In order to better understand the relationship between control group selection and methodological rigor, we provide a brief review of the literature on control group design in yoga and tai chi studies for depression, and we discuss challenges we have faced in the design of control groups for our recent clinical trials of these mind-body complementary therapies for women with depression. To address the multiple challenges of research about mind-body therapies, we suggest that researchers should consider 4 key questions: whether the study design matches the research question; whether the control group addresses performance, expectation, and detection bias; whether the control group is ethical, feasible, and attractive; and whether the control group is designed to adequately control for nonspecific intervention effects. Based on these questions, we provide specific recommendations about control group design with the goal of minimizing bias and maximizing validity in future research.

Control Group Design: Enhancing Rigor in Research of Mind-Body Therapies for Depression

PubMed Central

Kinser, Patricia Anne; Robins, Jo Lynne

2013-01-01

Although a growing body of research suggests that mind-body therapies may be appropriate to integrate into the treatment of depression, studies consistently lack methodological sophistication particularly in the area of control groups. In order to better understand the relationship between control group selection and methodological rigor, we provide a brief review of the literature on control group design in yoga and tai chi studies for depression, and we discuss challenges we have faced in the design of control groups for our recent clinical trials of these mind-body complementary therapies for women with depression. To address the multiple challenges of research about mind-body therapies, we suggest that researchers should consider 4 key questions: whether the study design matches the research question; whether the control group addresses performance, expectation, and detection bias; whether the control group is ethical, feasible, and attractive; and whether the control group is designed to adequately control for nonspecific intervention effects. Based on these questions, we provide specific recommendations about control group design with the goal of minimizing bias and maximizing validity in future research. PMID:23662111

Introduction to systematic reviews in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine.

PubMed

Sargeant, J M; O'Connor, A M

2014-06-01

This article is the first in a series of six articles related to systematic reviews in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. In this article, we overview the methodology of systematic reviews and provide a discussion of their use. Systematic reviews differ qualitatively from traditional reviews by explicitly defining a specific review question, employing methods to reduce bias in the selection and inclusion of studies that address the review question (including a systematic and specified search strategy, and selection of studies based on explicit eligibility criteria), an assessment of the risk of bias for included studies and objectively summarizing the results qualitatively or quantitatively (i.e. via meta-analysis). Systematic reviews have been widely used to address human healthcare questions and are increasingly being used in veterinary medicine. Systematic reviews can provide veterinarians and other decision-makers with a scientifically defensible summary of the current state of knowledge on a topic without the need for the end-user to read the vast amount of primary research related to that topic. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

The devil is in the detail: children's recollection of details about their prior experiences.

PubMed

Strange, Deryn; Hayne, Harlene

2013-01-01

Adults sometimes report highly specific details of childhood events, including the weather, what they or others were wearing, as well as information about what they or others said or were thinking at the time. When these details are reported in the course of research they shape our theories of memory development; when they are reported in a criminal trial they influence jurors' evaluation of guilt or innocence. The key question is whether these details were encoded at the time the event took place or have been added after the fact. We addressed this question prospectively by examining the memory accounts of children. In Experiment 1 we coded the reports of 5- to 6-year-olds and 9- to 10-year-olds who had experienced a unique event. We found that spontaneous mentions of these specific details were exceedingly rare. In Experiment 2 we questioned additional children about a similar event using specific questions to extract those details. We found that 9- to 10-year-olds were able to accurately answer, while 5- to 6-year-olds had considerable difficulty. Moreover, when the younger children did respond they provided generic, forensically inadequate, information. These data have important implications for the courtroom and for current theories of memory development and childhood amnesia.

Questions for Music Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jorgensen, Estelle R.

2008-01-01

In addressing the question-set "What questions do music education researchers need to address?", an illustrative list of juxtaposed descriptive and normative questions is sketched as follows: What are and should be the dimensions of music education? What are and should be the institutional agencies of music education? What are and should be the…

Origins of task-specific sensory-independent organization in the visual and auditory brain: neuroscience evidence, open questions and clinical implications.

PubMed

Heimler, Benedetta; Striem-Amit, Ella; Amedi, Amir

2015-12-01

Evidence of task-specific sensory-independent (TSSI) plasticity from blind and deaf populations has led to a better understanding of brain organization. However, the principles determining the origins of this plasticity remain unclear. We review recent data suggesting that a combination of the connectivity bias and sensitivity to task-distinctive features might account for TSSI plasticity in the sensory cortices as a whole, from the higher-order occipital/temporal cortices to the primary sensory cortices. We discuss current theories and evidence, open questions and related predictions. Finally, given the rapid progress in visual and auditory restoration techniques, we address the crucial need to develop effective rehabilitation approaches for sensory recovery. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Data mining the EXFOR database

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

Brown, David A.; Hirdt, John; Herman, Michal

2013-12-13

The EXFOR database contains the largest collection of experimental nuclear reaction data available as well as this data's bibliographic information and experimental details. We created an undirected graph from the EXFOR datasets with graph nodes representing single observables and graph links representing the connections of various types between these observables. This graph is an abstract representation of the connections in EXFOR, similar to graphs of social networks, authorship networks, etc. Analysing this abstract graph, we are able to address very specific questions such as 1) what observables are being used as reference measurements by the experimental community? 2) are thesemore » observables given the attention needed by various standards organisations? 3) are there classes of observables that are not connected to these reference measurements? In addressing these questions, we propose several (mostly cross section) observables that should be evaluated and made into reaction reference standards.« less

Gravitropic responses of plants in the absence of a complicating G-force (6-IML-1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Allan H.

1992-01-01

On the Earth it is patently impossible to measure any tropistic, physiologic, or morphogenic reactions to environmental stimuli without taking into account our planet's gravitational influence on the time course of the test subject's response. It follows that all published reports of quantitative measurements of such responses must have been contaminated by an additional gravity dependent component which probably was not trivial. Our research effort has as its principal scientific objective, the acquisition of experimental data from tests in a microgravity environment that will address a number of basic questions about plants' gravitropic responses to the perception of transversely applied g forces in the hypogravity range, from essentially zero to unit g. Comparable tests on Earth but in the same flight hardware, referred to as the Gravitational Plant Physiology Facility (GPPF), will provide 1 g data for various useful comparisons. Four specific scientific questions are addressed.

Environmental Radiation Effects: A Need to Question Old Paradigms

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

Hinton, T.G.; Bedford, J.; Ulsh, B.

2003-03-27

A historical perspective is given of the current paradigm that does not explicitly protect the environment from radiation, but instead, relies on the concept that if dose limits are set to protect humans then the environment is automatically protected as well. We summarize recent international questioning of this paradigm and briefly present three different frameworks for protecting biota that are being considered by the U.S. DOE, the Canadian government and the International Commission on Radiological Protection. We emphasize that an enhanced collaboration is required between what has traditionally been separated disciplines of radiation biology and radiation ecology if we aremore » going to properly address the current environmental radiation problems. We then summarize results generated from an EMSP grant that allowed us to develop a Low Dose Irradiation Facility that specifically addresses effects of low-level, chronic irradiation on multiple levels of biological organization.« less

Microfluidic on-chip biomimicry for 3D cell culture: a fit-for-purpose investigation from the end user standpoint

PubMed Central

Liu, Ye; Gill, Elisabeth; Shery Huang, Yan Yan

2017-01-01

A plethora of 3D and microfluidics-based culture models have been demonstrated in the recent years with the ultimate aim to facilitate predictive in vitro models for pharmaceutical development. This article summarizes to date the progress in the microfluidics-based tissue culture models, including organ-on-a-chip and vasculature-on-a-chip. Specific focus is placed on addressing the question of what kinds of 3D culture and system complexities are deemed desirable by the biological and biomedical community. This question is addressed through analysis of a research survey to evaluate the potential use of microfluidic cell culture models among the end users. Our results showed a willingness to adopt 3D culture technology among biomedical researchers, although a significant gap still exists between the desired systems and existing 3D culture options. With these results, key challenges and future directions are highlighted. PMID:28670465

Microfluidic on-chip biomimicry for 3D cell culture: a fit-for-purpose investigation from the end user standpoint.

PubMed

Liu, Ye; Gill, Elisabeth; Shery Huang, Yan Yan

2017-06-01

A plethora of 3D and microfluidics-based culture models have been demonstrated in the recent years with the ultimate aim to facilitate predictive in vitro models for pharmaceutical development. This article summarizes to date the progress in the microfluidics-based tissue culture models, including organ-on-a-chip and vasculature-on-a-chip. Specific focus is placed on addressing the question of what kinds of 3D culture and system complexities are deemed desirable by the biological and biomedical community. This question is addressed through analysis of a research survey to evaluate the potential use of microfluidic cell culture models among the end users. Our results showed a willingness to adopt 3D culture technology among biomedical researchers, although a significant gap still exists between the desired systems and existing 3D culture options. With these results, key challenges and future directions are highlighted.

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

Jones, G.A.; Purdy, R.B.; Stoker, H.W.

As cancer therapy becomes more successful and cancer survival rates increase, the dentist will be treating more patients who have received radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Occasionally, patients and health professionals have indicated a belief that patients who have received irradiation to the head and neck regions should not be subjected to additional radiation through dental diagnostic X-ray exposures. A literature search failed to find any references that specifically addressed this question. This study reflects the opinions of 278 radiation oncologists (400 surveyed) who responded to questions about contraindications of dental X rays for the patient with headmore » and neck cancer.« less

Dissociative absorption: An empirically unique, clinically relevant, dissociative factor.

PubMed

Soffer-Dudek, Nirit; Lassri, Dana; Soffer-Dudek, Nir; Shahar, Golan

2015-11-01

Research of dissociative absorption has raised two questions: (a) Is absorption a unique dissociative factor within a three-factor structure, or a part of one general dissociative factor? Even when three factors are found, the specificity of the absorption factor is questionable. (b) Is absorption implicated in psychopathology? Although commonly viewed as "non-clinical" dissociation, absorption was recently hypothesized to be specifically associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. To address these questions, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on 679 undergraduates. Analyses supported the three-factor model, and a "purified" absorption scale was extracted from the original inclusive absorption factor. The purified scale predicted several psychopathology scales. As hypothesized, absorption was a stronger predictor of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than of general psychopathology. In addition, absorption was the only dissociative scale that longitudinally predicted obsessive-compulsive symptoms. We conclude that absorption is a unique and clinically relevant dissociative tendency that is particularly meaningful to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying Health Promotion Needs Among Dominican-American Adolescents.

PubMed

Champion, Jane Dimmitt; Roye, Carol F

Immigration from the Dominican Republic to the United States has grown rapidly. Yet, although adolescent pregnancy and obesity are common concerns among Hispanics, little is known specifically about Dominican adolescent health. This study was undertaken to assess Dominican-American adolescents' health concerns and their perceptions about their health promotion needs. Dominican-American adolescents (N=25) were recruited in a pediatric clinic in New York City which primarily serves a Dominican population. Eligibility criteria included age 13-21years, self-identifying as Dominican ethnicity, and able to speak and read English. They completed a questionnaire, with demographic questions and questions about their risk behaviors including sexual and substance use. After completing the questionnaire, they participated in a semi-structured interview addressing their health education experiences and suggestions for such programs. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequencies to provide a demographic and behavioral profile. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Twenty-five adolescents, ages 13-21years, (female N=19, male N=6) participated in the study. Most were in school (92%) and were sexually experienced (68%). Programmatic preferences included in-person programs rather than online. They spontaneously addressed the importance of cultural issues, and the need to address several issues in addition to sexuality, including obesity and substance use. Programming for this population should address a broad conceptualization of health, and incorporate Dominican cultural issues. Nurses working with adolescents of Dominican origin, should provide health education that incorporates the specific needs of this population, including culturally congruent face-to-face interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early integration of the individual student in academic activities: a novel classroom concept for graduate education in molecular biophysics and structural biology

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background A key challenge in interdisciplinary research is choosing the best approach from a large number of techniques derived from different disciplines and their interfaces. Results To address this challenge in the area of Biophysics and Structural Biology, we have designed a graduate level course to teach students insightful use of experimental biophysical approaches in relationship to addressing biological questions related to biomolecular interactions and dynamics. A weekly seminar and data and literature club are used to compliment the training in class. The course contains wet-laboratory experimental demonstration and real-data analysis as well as lectures, grant proposal preparation and assessment, and student presentation components. Active student participation is mandatory in all aspects of the class. Students prepare materials for the class receiving individual and iterative feedback from course directors and local experts generating high quality classroom presentations. Conclusions The ultimate goal of the course is to teach students the skills needed to weigh different experimental approaches against each other in addressing a specific biological question by thinking and executing academic tasks like faculty. PMID:25132964

Early integration of the individual student in academic activities: a novel classroom concept for graduate education in molecular biophysics and structural biology.

PubMed

Leuba, Sanford H; Carney, Sean M; Dahlburg, Elizabeth M; Eells, Rebecca J; Ghodke, Harshad; Yanamala, Naveena; Schauer, Grant; Klein-Seetharaman, Judith

2014-01-01

A key challenge in interdisciplinary research is choosing the best approach from a large number of techniques derived from different disciplines and their interfaces. To address this challenge in the area of Biophysics and Structural Biology, we have designed a graduate level course to teach students insightful use of experimental biophysical approaches in relationship to addressing biological questions related to biomolecular interactions and dynamics. A weekly seminar and data and literature club are used to compliment the training in class. The course contains wet-laboratory experimental demonstration and real-data analysis as well as lectures, grant proposal preparation and assessment, and student presentation components. Active student participation is mandatory in all aspects of the class. Students prepare materials for the class receiving individual and iterative feedback from course directors and local experts generating high quality classroom presentations. The ultimate goal of the course is to teach students the skills needed to weigh different experimental approaches against each other in addressing a specific biological question by thinking and executing academic tasks like faculty.

ASSISTED-DYING AND THE CONTEXT OF DEBATE: ‘MEDICAL LAW’ VERSUS ‘END-OF-LIFE LAW’

PubMed Central

Coggon, John

2012-01-01

This paper provides a reflective analysis of the nature of normative critiques of law generally, and within medical law specifically. It first seeks to establish the context within which critical analysis of law and legal measures takes place, and develops an argument that critiques should focus on political norms. Entailed in this claim is the contention that positions that seek to address controversial social problems can not resort simply to moral philosophy. It then provides a brief account of political liberalism that can contain and expose normative constraints on questions of moral and social contention. The focus then moves to a more direct reflection on medico-legal analysis. Considering both medical law as a discipline, and the study of end-of-life issues, the argument highlights the range of relevant issues that must be accounted for, and addresses the question of whether these are well conceived as ones of medical law. It is argued that a political framing offers a good general analytic context, but that when working in legal sub-disciplines analysts risk allowing ‘locally’ pertinent norms to dominate or unduly constrain wider debate. Thus it is questioned whether ‘medical law’ provides a coherent frame for social questions related to assisted-dying. PMID:21098048

What's so Interesting Outside? A Study of Child-Initiated Interaction with Teachers in the Natural Outdoor Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waters, Jane; Maynard, Trisha

2010-01-01

The research question addressed in this paper is: What specific elements in the outdoor environment draw children's attention? The new approach to Welsh early years education--the "Foundation Phase: Framework for children aged 3-7 years in Wales" (DCELLS 2008)--requires the inclusion of both teacher-led and child-initiated activities and…

Creating Digital Games as Interactive Learning Environments: Factors That Affect Palestinian Teachers' Success in Modifying Video Games for Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Younis, Bilal Khaleel

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that might predict Palestinian teachers' success in modding games for instruction. An instructional game design model named Game Modding for Non-Professionals (GMNP) was created specifically for the training of Palestinian teachers during this study. This study addressed the question: To…

The Dissemination of Teacher Learning: A Study of the Similarities and Differences between Public School Levels and Locations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krohn, Jacqueline M.

2010-01-01

Teacher learning, whether in-service, continued education, or experience based, is a key component of school reform. Specific research on the use of teacher learning to improve student achievement and instructional practices in and across schools is limited. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) the degree to which teacher…

Progress Towards a Uniform U.S. Government Patent Policy for Universities and Non-Profit Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latker, Norman J.

The Constitution of the United States specifically addresses the question of intellectual property rights. This provision is not only noble but also practical, since it recognizes that the whole of society is best served when the creators are singled out and given special treatment. In the process of industrialization of this country, resources…

A Project-Based Biochemistry Laboratory Promoting the Understanding and Uses of Fluorescence Spectroscopy in the Study of Biomolecular Structures and Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briese, Nicholas; Jakubowsk, Henry V.

2007-01-01

A laboratory project for a first semester biochemistry course is described, which integrates the traditional classroom study of the structure and function of biomolecules with the laboratory study of these molecules using fluorescence spectroscopy. Students are assigned a specific question addressing the stability/function of lipids, proteins, or…

Bomb Threats in Schools. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police. Problem-Specific Guides Series. Guide Number 32

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Graeme R.

2005-01-01

This guide addresses the problem of bomb threats in schools, public or private, kindergarten through 12th grade. Colleges and universities are excluded because they generally differ from schools. The guide reviews the factors that increase the risk of bomb threats in schools and then identifies a series of questions that might assist departments…

Fuels planning: science synthesis and integration; economic uses fact sheet 08: prescribed fire costs

Treesearch

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service

2004-01-01

Although the use of prescribed fire as a management tool is widespread, there is great variability and uncertainty in the treatment costs. Given specific site variables and management objectives, how much will it cost to use prescribed fire? This paper describes the FASTRACS database, a tool that has been developed to aid managers in addressing this question.

Exploring Cramming: Student Behaviors, Beliefs, and Learning Retention in the Principles of Marketing Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre, Shelby H.; Munson, J. Michael

2008-01-01

Cramming for finals is common on college campuses, and many students seem to cram for their final in the Principles of Marketing course. This article addresses the question of defining and measuring a "cramming study strategy." Scales are developed to assess (a) cramming for courses in general and (b) cramming specifically in the Principles of…

Incorporating Beliefs, Values and Local Wisdom of Betawi Culture in a Character-Based Education through a Design-Based Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suswandari

2017-01-01

This design-based research is part of three-year national projects examining the incorporation of local wisdom in a character-based education in primary school contexts. Specifically, the present study addresses two research questions: 1) what are local wisdoms of Betawi ethnic feasible to be incorporated in character based curriculum in primary…

Adult Basic Education and Self-Esteem: Practical Strategies for Addressing Self-Esteem Problems among Basic Skills Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirstein, Kurt D.

The strategies used by practicing adult basic education (ABE) teachers to retain students with poor self-esteem were examined through an Internet survey that was sent to 115 ABE instructors at community colleges in Washington. The survey, which contained questions about the prevalence of poor self-esteem among ABE dropouts, specific behaviors…

Gender and Perceived Illness Severity: Differential Indicators of Employment Concerns for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roessler, Richard T.; Turner, Ronna C.; Robertson, Judith L.; Rumrill,Phillip D.

2005-01-01

Although research has indicated a link between gender and perceived illness severity and the employment status of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), it has not addressed questions regarding the relationship between those variables and specific types of employment concerns. In this study, a sample of 1,310 adults with MS replied to a mail survey…

The Nature of Working Memory in Linguistic, Arithmetic and Spatial Integration Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fedorenko, Evelina; Gibson, Edward; Rohde, Douglas

2007-01-01

This paper reports the results of four dual-task experiments that were designed to determine the extent of domain-specificity of the verbal working memory resources used in linguistic integrations. To address this question, syntactic complexity was crossed in a 2x2 design with the complexity of a secondary task, which involved either (1)…

Interrelated Processes toward Quality of Life in Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Grounded Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsonis, Miranda; McDougall, Janette; Mandich, Angela; Irwin, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Past research has not adequately addressed the quality of life (QOL) of survivors of childhood cancer. The purpose of this study was to understand how QOL is experienced for individuals who have survived childhood cancer. Specific research questions included: (a) How do childhood cancer survivors define the concept of QOL and (b) What processes do…

Certificate Structure Study: Do Stackable Certificates Really "Add" up to a Degree? Research Report 17-2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, 2017

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to answer key questions about the structure of certificates and their function in employability and degree attainment in the Washington State Community and Technical College (CTC) System. Specifically, this study addresses the following: (1) Do certificates play a role in helping students progress along career pathways…

Practical Comptrollership Course

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-01

variables that drive selection of "significant" areas. " Multilocation audits investigate specific functions. In 1985, for example, the NAS performed... audits of health care functions, and of supply departments, focusing on spare parts. These two audits were part of DoD-wide multilocation audit ...should have included more practical examples. Evaluator A questioned the inclusion of Chapter IIIE, addressing auditing , in the comptrollership course

Towards Requirements in Systems Engineering for Aerospace IVHM Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saxena, Abhinav; Roychoudhury, Indranil; Lin, Wei; Goebel, Kai

2013-01-01

Health management (HM) technologies have been employed for safety critical system for decades, but a coherent systematic process to integrate HM into the system design is not yet clear. Consequently, in most cases, health management resorts to be an after-thought or 'band-aid' solution. Moreover, limited guidance exists for carrying out systems engineering (SE) on the subject of writing requirements for designs with integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). It is well accepted that requirements are key to developing a successful IVHM system right from the concept stage to development, verification, utilization, and support. However, writing requirements for systems with IVHM capability have unique challenges that require the designers to look beyond their own domains and consider the constraints and specifications of other interlinked systems. In this paper we look at various stages in the SE process and identify activities specific to IVHM design and development. More importantly, several relevant questions are posed that system engineers must address at various design and development stages. Addressing these questions should provide some guidance to systems engineers towards writing IVHM related requirements to ensure that appropriate IVHM functions are built into the system design.

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

Porse, Sean L.; Wade, Sarah; Hovorka, Susan D.

Risk communication literature suggests that for a number of reasons, the public may perceive a risk to be greater than indicated by its statistical probability. Public concern over risk can lead to significant and costly delays in project permitting and operations. Considering these theories, media coverage of CO₂-related well blowouts in 2013 gave rise to the questions: What is the risk of CO₂ well blowouts associated with CCUS through CO₂ EOR? What is the potential public perception of those risks? What information could be used to respond to public concern? To address these questions, this study aims to: 1) providemore » a framework for understanding the nature of onshore well blowouts, 2) quantify the incidence of such events for three specific geographic regions of Texas, 3) relate this data to CCUS and findings from other studies, and 4) explore the potential implications for public perception of this risk associated with CCUS projects. While quantifying answers to these questions proved to be challenging, the results from this study suggest that (1) the perceived risk of CO₂ well blowouts may exceed the statistical risk and (2) information that could be used to address this gap could be made more readily available to the greater benefit of industry and stakeholders who support the development of CCUS as an option for addressing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. The study also suggests approaches to best conduct such data inquiries.« less

Atmospheric Electrical Activity and the Prospects for Improving Short-Term, Weather Forcasting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, Steven J.

2003-01-01

How might lightning measurements be used to improve short-term (0-24 hr) weather forecasting? We examine this question under two different prediction strategies. These include integration of lightning data into short-term forecasts (nowcasts) of convective (including severe) weather hazards and the assimilation of lightning data into cloud-resolving numerical weather prediction models. In each strategy we define specific metrics of forecast improvement and a progress assessment. We also address the conventional observing system deficiencies and potential gap-filling information that can be addressed through the use of the lightning measurement.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth.

PubMed

Cohen, Judith A; Mannarino, Anthony P; Kinnish, Kelly

2017-06-01

Commercially sexually exploited children and adolescents ("commercially exploited youth")present numerous clinical challenges that have led some mental health providers to question whether current evidence-based treatments are adequate to address the needs of this population. This paper 1) addresses commonalities between the trauma experiences, responses and treatment challenges of commercially exploited youth and those of youth with complex trauma; 2) highlights the importance of careful assessment to guide case conceptualization and treatment planning for commercially exploited youth; and 3) describes strategies for implementing Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for complex trauma specific to these youth.

What Good is Raman Water Vapor Lidar?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitman, David

2011-01-01

Raman lidar has been used to quantify water vapor in the atmosphere for various scientific studies including mesoscale meteorology and satellite validation. Now the international networks of NDACC and GRUAN have interest in using Raman water vapor lidar for detecting trends in atmospheric water vapor concentrations. What are the data needs for addressing these very different measurement challenges. We will review briefly the scientific needs for water vapor accuracy for each of these three applications and attempt to translate that into performance specifications for Raman lidar in an effort to address the question in the title of "What good is Raman water vapor Iidar."

A primer on systematic reviews in toxicology.

PubMed

Hoffmann, Sebastian; de Vries, Rob B M; Stephens, Martin L; Beck, Nancy B; Dirven, Hubert A A M; Fowle, John R; Goodman, Julie E; Hartung, Thomas; Kimber, Ian; Lalu, Manoj M; Thayer, Kristina; Whaley, Paul; Wikoff, Daniele; Tsaioun, Katya

2017-07-01

Systematic reviews, pioneered in the clinical field, provide a transparent, methodologically rigorous and reproducible means of summarizing the available evidence on a precisely framed research question. Having matured to a well-established approach in many research fields, systematic reviews are receiving increasing attention as a potential tool for answering toxicological questions. In the larger framework of evidence-based toxicology, the advantages and obstacles of, as well as the approaches for, adapting and adopting systematic reviews to toxicology are still being explored. To provide the toxicology community with a starting point for conducting or understanding systematic reviews, we herein summarized available guidance documents from various fields of application. We have elaborated on the systematic review process by breaking it down into ten steps, starting with planning the project, framing the question, and writing and publishing the protocol, and concluding with interpretation and reporting. In addition, we have identified the specific methodological challenges of toxicological questions and have summarized how these can be addressed. Ultimately, this primer is intended to stimulate scientific discussions of the identified issues to fuel the development of toxicology-specific methodology and to encourage the application of systematic review methodology to toxicological issues.

Practical recommendations for the evaluation of improvement initiatives

PubMed Central

Parry, Gareth; Coly, Astou; Goldmann, Don; Rowe, Alexander K; Chattu, Vijay; Logiudice, Deneil; Rabrenovic, Mihajlo; Nambiar, Bejoy

2018-01-01

Abstract A lack of clear guidance for funders, evaluators and improvers on what to include in evaluation proposals can lead to evaluation designs that do not answer the questions stakeholders want to know. These evaluation designs may not match the iterative nature of improvement and may be imposed onto an initiative in a way that is impractical from the perspective of improvers and the communities with whom they work. Consequently, the results of evaluations are often controversial, and attribution remains poorly understood. Improvement initiatives are iterative, adaptive and context-specific. Evaluation approaches and designs must align with these features, specifically in their ability to consider complexity, to evolve as the initiative adapts over time and to understand the interaction with local context. Improvement initiatives often identify broadly defined change concepts and provide tools for care teams to tailor these in more detail to local conditions. Correspondingly, recommendations for evaluation are best provided as broad guidance, to be tailored to the specifics of the initiative. In this paper, we provide practical guidance and recommendations that funders and evaluators can use when developing an evaluation plan for improvement initiatives that seeks to: identify the questions stakeholders want to address; develop the initial program theory of the initiative; identify high-priority areas to measure progress over time; describe the context the initiative will be applied within; and identify experimental or observational designs that will address attribution. PMID:29447410

Current Status of Research in Teaching and Learning Evolution: II. Pedagogical Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Mike U.

2010-06-01

This is the second of two articles that address recent scholarship about teaching and learning about evolution. This second review seeks to summarize this state of affairs and address the implications of this work for the classroom by addressing four basic questions: (1) What is evolution?/What components of the theory are important at the introductory level? (2) Why do students and members of the public at large need to understand evolution? (3) What makes evolution difficult to teach and learn? and (4) What promising instructional approaches have been developed and tested? The paper will also focus on concerns about both the research designs and the measures used in this work. Based on this review, I will then propose a set of pedagogical implications and recommendations for the classroom instructor and call for studies to address specific gaps identified.

What Do Students Gain by Engaging in Socioscientific Inquiry?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadler, Troy D.; Barab, Sasha A.; Scott, Brianna

2007-10-01

The question of what students gain by engaging in socioscientific inquiry is addressed in two ways. First, relevant literature is surveyed to build the case that socioscientific issues (SSI) can serve as useful contexts for teaching and learning science content. Studies are reviewed which document student gains in discipline specific content knowledge as well as understandings of the nature of science. SSI are also positioned as vehicles for addressing citizenship education within science classrooms. Although the promotion of citizenship goals seems widely advocated, the specifics of how this may be accomplished remain underdeveloped. To address this issue, we introduce socioscientific reasoning as a construct which captures a suite of practices fundamental to the negotiation of SSI. In the second phase of the project, interviews with 24 middle school students from classes engaged in socioscientific inquiry serve as the basis for the development of an emergent rubric for socioscientific reasoning. Variation in practices demonstrated by this sample are explored and implications drawn for advancing socioscientific reasoning as an educationally meaningful and assessable construct.

A Statistical Procedure for Testing Unusually Frequent Exactly Matching Responses and Nearly Matching Responses. Research Report. ETS RR-17-23

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haberman, Shelby J.; Lee, Yi-Hsuan

2017-01-01

In investigations of unusual testing behavior, a common question is whether a specific pattern of responses occurs unusually often within a group of examinees. In many current tests, modern communication techniques can permit quite large numbers of examinees to share keys, or common response patterns, to the entire test. To address this issue,…

La peur de l'evaluation: evaluation de l'enseignement ou du sujet? (Fear of Evaluation: Evaluating the Teacher or the Subject?)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosmidou-Hardy, Chryssoula; Marmarinos, Jean

2001-01-01

Addresses questions related to the evaluation of teachers, with specific attention to why there is such teacher resistance. Theorizes that it is the teachers' fear of evaluation of their personal identity rather than their professional competence that lies behind their resistance to evaluation. Calls for the use of action research as a basic…

Early Heritage-Language Education and the Abrupt Shift to a Dominant-Language Classroom: Impact on the Personal and Collective Esteem of Inuit Children in Arctic Quebec

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bougie, Evelyne; Wright, Stephen C.; Taylor, Donald M.

2003-01-01

This research explored the impact of the abrupt shift from heritage-language to dominant-language education on Inuit children's personal and collective self-esteem. Specifically, the following question was addressed: will early heritage-language education serve as an inoculation against the potential negative impact of being submerged in a…

Less Time to Study, Less Well Prepared for Work, yet Satisfied with Higher Education: A UK Perspective on Links between Higher Education and the Labour Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Brenda; Arthur, Lore

2010-01-01

This paper explores graduates' views on the relationship between higher education and employment. It draws on a major European study involving graduates five years after graduation and highlights similarities and differences between UK graduates' experiences and their European counterparts. Specifically, we address questions raised in the study…

The Relationship of Math Anxiety and Mathematics Comprehension in Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carroll, Shannon Rae

2010-01-01

The high school dropout rate in a southern U.S. state is 22.1% and students who fall behind in reading and math in middle school are more likely to fail 9th grade. This specific failure is one of the strongest predictors that a student will ultimately drop out of school. The research questions of this study addressed the relationship between math…

The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Professional Development on Implementation of Web 2.0 Tools in Elementary Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Stephen

2015-01-01

This study sought to understand the impact of self-efficacy and professional development on the implementation of specific Web 2.0 tools in the elementary classroom. There were three research questions addressed in this QUAN-Qual study. Quantitative data were collected through three surveys with 48 total participants: the Web 2.0 tools Utilization…

Soil vital signs: A new Soil Quality Index (SQI) for assessing forest soil health

Treesearch

Michael C. Amacher; Katherine P. O' Neil; Charles H. Perry

2007-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program measures a number of chemical and physical properties of soils to address specific questions about forest soil quality or health. We developed a new index of forest soil health, the soil quality index (SQI), that integrates 19 measured physical and chemical properties of forest soils into a single number that serves as...

Challenging Representations: Constructing the Adult Literacy Learner over 30 Years of Policy and Practice in the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Mary; Pitt, Kathy

2011-01-01

This article addresses the question, How do changes in policy discourses shape public representations of literacy learners and the goals of adult literacy education? It examines specifically how the agency of adult literacy learners is constructed. We carry out a critical discourse analysis of two key adult literacy policy documents from the U.K.:…

Recognizing the Role of Community in Civic Education: Lessons from Hull House, Highlander Folk School, and the Neighborhood Learning Community. Circle Working Paper 30

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longo, Nicholas V.

2005-01-01

This study unearths and examines rich models of learning in which multiple institutions collaboratively play a role in promoting civic education. Using historical and ethnographic case study analysis, this paper addresses the research question: What is the role of community in civic education? Specifically, the author examines Hull House and the…

Zooming in on Life Events: Is Hedonic Adaptation Sensitive to the Temporal Distance from the Event?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uglanova, Ekaterina A.; Staudinger, Ursula M.

2013-01-01

This paper analyzed the effect of major positive and negative life events (marriage, divorce, birth of child, widowhood, and unemployment) on life satisfaction. For the first time, this study estimated the effects of life events not with a precision of 12 months but of 3 months. Specifically, two questions were addressed: (1) Does the precision of…

The Local "War for Talent"--Recruitment of Recent Tertiary Education Graduates from a Regional Perspective: Some Evidence from the German Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winterhager, Nicolas; Krücken, Georg

2015-01-01

We analyse recruitment of recent tertiary education graduates drawing on a rich set of interviews with human resource managers of 46 large- and medium-sized firms in different regions across Germany. Specifically, we address the question of which higher education institutions' managers choose for campus recruiting and which criteria managers use…

A Commentary on Innovation and Emerging Scientific Careers: Is Social Work Prepared to Compete in Today's Scientific Marketplace?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craddock, Jaih B.

2017-01-01

The aim of this article is to address some of the questions Dr. Paula S. Nurius presents in her article, "Innovation and Emerging Scientific Careers: Is Social Work Prepared to Compete in Today?s Scientific Marketplace?" Specifically, this article will focus on what we can do to better prepare our emerging research scholars to be…

Economic modeling of effects of climate change on the forest sector and mitigation options: a compendium of briefing papers

Treesearch

Ralph J. Alig

2010-01-01

This report is a compilation of six briefing papers based on literature reviews and syntheses, prepared for U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service policy analysts and decisionmakers about specific questions pertaining to climate change. The main topics addressed here are economic effects on the forest sector at the national and global scales, costs of forest...

The environmental outlook for lead in Europe

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

Wilson, D.N.

1993-05-01

The Regulation being developed by the European Commission to comply with the Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of waste and how this will impact on trade with other regions is described. The specific question of lead-acid battery recycling and how this is being pursued in Europe using a very different approach to the BCI model which has proved so successful in the US is addressed.

Women Reaching Women: Change in Action--Using Action Learning to Help Address Seemingly Intractable and Large Scale Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langley, Dawn; Watts, Richard

2010-01-01

In 2008, 28 women from the Women's Institute volunteered to join us in a project exploring the issue of world poverty and gender inequality, specifically highlighting the disproportionate effects of climate change on women. Collectively we were asking a big question about how we as individuals, based in England, make a difference on a global…

Multiloop Integral System Test (MIST): MIST Facility Functional Specification

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

Habib, T F; Koksal, C G; Moskal, T E

1991-04-01

The Multiloop Integral System Test (MIST) is part of a multiphase program started in 1983 to address small-break loss-of-coolant accidents (SBLOCAs) specific to Babcock and Wilcox designed plants. MIST is sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Babcock Wilcox Owners Group, the Electric Power Research Institute, and Babcock and Wilcox. The unique features of the Babcock and Wilcox design, specifically the hot leg U-bends and steam generators, prevented the use of existing integral system data or existing integral facilities to address the thermal-hydraulic SBLOCA questions. MIST was specifically designed and constructed for this program, and an existing facility --more » the Once Through Integral System (OTIS) -- was also used. Data from MIST and OTIS are used to benchmark the adequacy of system codes, such as RELAP5 and TRAC, for predicting abnormal plant transients. The MIST Functional Specification documents as-built design features, dimensions, instrumentation, and test approach. It also presents the scaling basis for the facility and serves to define the scope of work for the facility design and construction. 13 refs., 112 figs., 38 tabs.« less

Organizational context and taxonomy of health care databases.

PubMed

Shatin, D

2001-01-01

An understanding of the organizational context and taxonomy of health care databases is essential to appropriately use these data sources for research purposes. Characteristics of the organizational structure of the specific health care setting, including the model type, financial arrangement, and provider access, have implications for accessing and using this data effectively. Additionally, the benefit coverage environment may affect the utility of health care databases to address specific research questions. Coverage considerations that affect pharmacoepidemiologic research include eligibility, the nature of the pharmacy benefit, and regulatory aspects of the treatment under consideration.

Revisiting the argument from fetal potential

PubMed Central

Manninen, Bertha Alvarez

2007-01-01

One of the most famous, and most derided, arguments against the morality of abortion is the argument from potential, which maintains that the fetus' potential to become a person and enjoy the valuable life common to persons, entails that its destruction is prima facie morally impermissible. In this paper, I will revisit and offer a defense of the argument from potential. First, I will criticize the classical arguments proffered against the importance of fetal potential, specifically the arguments put forth by philosophers Peter Singer and David Boonin, by carefully unpacking the claims made in these arguments and illustrating why they are flawed. Secondly, I will maintain that fetal potential is morally relevant when it comes to the morality of abortion, but that it must be accorded a proper place in the argument. This proper place, however, cannot be found until we first answer a very important and complex question: we must first address the issue of personal identity, and when the fetus becomes the type of being who is relevantly identical to a future person. I will illustrate why the question of fetal potential can only be meaningfully addressed after we have first answered the question of personal identity and how it relates to the human fetus. PMID:17509146

Human Research Program Human Health Countermeasures Element Bone and Muscle Risk Standing Review Panel (SRP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glowacki, Julie; Gregor, Robert

2009-01-01

The Bone and Muscle Risk Standing Review Panel (SRP) met at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) on October 4-6, 2009 to discuss the areas of current and future research targeted by the Human Health Countermeasures (HHC) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). Using evidence-based knowledge as a background for identified risks to astronaut health and performance, NASA had identified gaps in knowledge to address those risks. Ongoing and proposed tasks were presented to address the gaps. The charge to the Bone and Muscle Risk SRP was to review the gaps, evaluate whether the tasks addressed these gaps and to make recommendations to NASA s HRP Science Management Office regarding the Panel's review. The Bone and Muscle Risk SRP consisted of scientists who are experts in muscle, bone, or both and could evaluate the existing evidence with sufficient knowledge of the potential effects of long duration exposure to microgravity. More important, although expertise in basic science is important, the SRP was requested to evaluate the practicality of the proposed efforts in light of the realistic demands placed on the HRP. In short, all tasks presented in the Integrated Research Plan (IRP) should address specific questions related to the challenges faced by the astronauts as a result of prolonged exposure to microgravity. All tasks proposed to fill the gaps in knowledge should provide applied, translational data necessary to answer the specific questions. Several presentations were made to the SRP during the site visit and the SRP spent sufficient time to address the panel charge, either as a group or in separate sessions for the Bone and Muscle Risk subgroups. The SRP made a final debriefing to the HRP Program Scientist, Dr. John B. Charles, on October 6, 2009. Taking the evidence and identified risks as givens, the SRP concluded that 1) integration of information should lead to a more comprehensive approach to identifying the gaps, 2) not all tasks addressed the gaps as stated in the IRP, 3) better access should be given to the SRP to existing data to include in its review, and 4) there were some missing gaps and tasks. As a result the SRP recommended 1) combining certain gaps, which in some cases were addressed with identical tasks, 2) additional gaps and tasks to address some of the gaps, 3) deleting some gaps and tasks to better focus the efforts of NASA s HRP in prioritizing their efforts, and 4) prioritizing gaps to address significant issues needing resolution in the short term while maintaining an awareness of long-term goals. The SRP commended the efforts by the HHC Element to integrate knowledge gaps and design tasks to address the higher order questions. This integration did not apply to the Bone and Muscle Risk alone, but the musculoskeletal system as its functions integrate with issues in

Cirrus clouds and climate feedback: Is the sky falling and should we go tell the king

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, Graeme L.

1990-01-01

It is widely believed that thin cirrus clouds act to enhance the greenhouse effect owing to a particular combination of their optical properties. It is demonstrated how this effect is perhaps based on inadequate resolution of the physics of cirrus clouds and that the more likely impact of cirrus clouds to climate change remains somewhat elusive. These conclusions are developed within the context of a specific feedback mechanism incorporated into a simple mechanistic climate model. A specific scientific question addressed is whether or not the observed relationship between the ice water content and temperature of cirrus provides any significant feedback to the CO2 greenhouse warming. A related question also examined concerns the specific role of cloud microphysics and radiation in this feedback. This raises several pertinent issues about the understanding of cirrus clouds and their likely role in climate change as there presently exists a considerable uncertainty about the microphysics of these clouds (size and shape of ice crystals) and their radiative influences.

The roots of terrorism: A reassessment after September 11th

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

Pilat, Joseph F.

2002-01-01

The brutal terrorist attacks of September 11th, the anthrax attacks that followed and growing knowledge of al Qaeda's pursuit of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons have not only intensified concerns about terrorism but also created doubts about our understanding of terrorism. These attacks were in many ways unprecedented, and ultimately raise the question of the roots or causes of terrorism. Historically and today, there have been divergent views on this question, which reflect philosophical, religious, political and other differences. These differences are not merely academic, as they can affect our understanding of both the threat and of responses to terrorismmore » in the aftermath of September 1 1 th. Terrorism is too complex and diverse a phenomenon to speak easily of causes. But we may be able to discern the causes of specific acts. Our response to 9/11 and other acts of terrorism will be affected by our understanding of their causes, as well as by possible political requirements to address widespread perceptions of causes. If 9/11 was caused by Islamic radicalism, the near-term response must be to ensure the terrorists are defeated and pose no fiuther danger. In the longer term, education is critical. If the attacks were caused by US Middle East policies, the response should involve a review of those policies. This may or may not result in changes to policy, public diplomacy, etc. If the attacks were a backlash against globalization, the response must address the realities underlying anti-globalization sentiments. Addressing causes (real and perceived) will not in any case end terrorism, and addressing the wrong causes can be counterproductive. Actions to reduce those conditions that create support for terrorism and aid its recruitment effort are critical to any counterterrorism strategy. For this reason alone, we must do everything possible to understand the reasons terrorism may be undertaken, including the attacks of September 1 1 th. This paper will look at the question of the roots of terrorism and then look to the specific case of 9/11 and its aftermath, with a special view to the impact of globalization.« less

On the Question of an Identity Status Category Order: Rasch Model Step and Scale Statistics Used to Identify Category Order

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Owidha, Amjed; Green, Kathy E.; Kroger, Jane

2009-01-01

The question of whether or not a developmental continuum underlies James Marcia's identity statuses has been a topic of debate among identity researchers for nearly 20 years. This study addressed the prefatory question of whether the identity statuses can be empirically ordered in a theoretically optimal way. This question was addressed via use of…

Inconclusive evidence of Juniperus virginiana recovery following sulfur pollution reductions

Treesearch

Paul G. Schaberg; Gary J. Hawley; Shelly A. Rayback; Joshua M. Halman; Alexandra M. Kosiba

2014-01-01

Thomas et al. (1) address a question of great scientific interest: have pollution reductions mandated by the Clean Air Act improved forest health and productivity? Although answers to this question are of great importance, various aspects of this work limit its ability to address this question.

Moral accounts and membership categorization in primary care medical interviews.

PubMed

Dillon, Patrick J

2011-01-01

Although the link between health and morality has been well established, few studies have examined how issues of morality emerge and are addressed in primary care medical encounters. This paper addresses the need to examine morality as it is (re) constructed in everyday health care interactions. A Membership Categorization Analysis of 96 medical interviews reveals how patients orient to particular membership categories and distance themselves from others as a means of accounting (Buttny 1993; Scott and Lyman 1968) for morally questionable health behaviours. More specifically, this paper examines how patients use membership categorizations in order to achieve specific social identity(ies) (Schubert et al. 2009) through two primary strategies: defensive detailing and prioritizing alternative membership categories. Thus, this analysis tracks the emergence of cultural and moral knowledge about social life as it takes place in primary care medical encounters.

Food-chain contamination evaluations in ecological risk assessments

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

Linder, G.

Food-chain models have become increasingly important within the ecological risk assessment process. This is the case particularly when acute effects are not readily apparent, or the contaminants of concern are not readily detoxified, have a high likelihood for partitioning into lipids, or have specific target organs or tissues that may increase their significance in evaluating their potential adverse effects. An overview of food-chain models -- conceptual, theoretical, and empirical -- will be considered through a series of papers that will focus on their application within the ecological risk assessment process. Whether a food-chain evaluation is being developed to address relativelymore » simple questions related to chronic effects of toxicants on target populations, or whether a more complex food-web model is being developed to address questions related to multiple-trophic level transfers of toxicants, the elements within the food chain contamination evaluation can be generalized to address the mechanisms of toxicant accumulation in individual organisms. This can then be incorporated into more elaborate models that consider these organismal-level processes within the context of a species life-history or community-level responses that may be associated with long-term exposures.« less

Can we treat CO₂ well blowouts like routine plumbing problems? A study of the incidence, impact, and perception of loss of well control

DOE PAGES

Porse, Sean L.; Wade, Sarah; Hovorka, Susan D.

2014-12-31

Risk communication literature suggests that for a number of reasons, the public may perceive a risk to be greater than indicated by its statistical probability. Public concern over risk can lead to significant and costly delays in project permitting and operations. Considering these theories, media coverage of CO₂-related well blowouts in 2013 gave rise to the questions: What is the risk of CO₂ well blowouts associated with CCUS through CO₂ EOR? What is the potential public perception of those risks? What information could be used to respond to public concern? To address these questions, this study aims to: 1) providemore » a framework for understanding the nature of onshore well blowouts, 2) quantify the incidence of such events for three specific geographic regions of Texas, 3) relate this data to CCUS and findings from other studies, and 4) explore the potential implications for public perception of this risk associated with CCUS projects. While quantifying answers to these questions proved to be challenging, the results from this study suggest that (1) the perceived risk of CO₂ well blowouts may exceed the statistical risk and (2) information that could be used to address this gap could be made more readily available to the greater benefit of industry and stakeholders who support the development of CCUS as an option for addressing anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. The study also suggests approaches to best conduct such data inquiries.« less

A Question of Control? Examining the Role of Control Conditions in Experimental Psychopathology using the Example of Cognitive Bias Modification Research.

PubMed

Blackwell, Simon E; Woud, Marcella L; MacLeod, Colin

2017-10-26

While control conditions are vitally important in research, selecting the optimal control condition can be challenging. Problems are likely to arise when the choice of control condition is not tightly guided by the specific question that a given study aims to address. Such problems have become increasingly apparent in experimental psychopathology research investigating the experimental modification of cognitive biases, particularly as the focus of this research has shifted from theoretical questions concerning mechanistic aspects of the association between cognitive bias and emotional vulnerability, to questions that instead concern the clinical efficacy of 'cognitive bias modification' (CBM) procedures. We discuss the kinds of control conditions that have typically been employed in CBM research, illustrating how difficulties can arise when changes in the types of research questions asked are not accompanied by changes in the control conditions employed. Crucially, claims made on the basis of comparing active and control conditions within CBM studies should be restricted to those conclusions allowed by the specific control condition employed. CBM studies aiming to establish clinical utility are likely to require quite different control conditions from CBM studies aiming to illuminate mechanisms. Further, conclusions concerning the clinical utility of CBM interventions cannot necessarily be drawn from studies in which the control condition has been chosen to answer questions concerning mechanisms. Appreciating the need to appropriately alter control conditions in the transition from basic mechanisms-focussed investigations to applied clinical research could greatly facilitate the translational process.

Creating Lecture Tutorials for the Introductory Geoscience Classroom with Data Found on the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) Website

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kortz, K. M.; Jager, J. M.

2006-05-01

Lecture Tutorials (LTs) are short, interactive materials used during lectures that guide student learning and challenge students to think about their own misconceptions. They are designed to be used by instructors as a simple way to increase the amount of interactive learning in their classroom. We developed several geoscience LTs, using data sets found on the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) website when possible, in order to address the problems of student misconceptions and lack of appreciation of science. After a short lecture, the students were given 3 to 4 multiple choice questions about the material covered. They then worked in groups on an LT, participated in a class discussion and answered a second similar question set to test for additional learning. Based on the results of one author's students, the materials were revised and retested with the other's students. Student interviews were conducted to determine the role data sets played in changing student attitudes toward science. LTs in this study were written with two different purposes. One set focused on data interpretation and scientific methods using real-world data sets found on DLESE. We found little to no increase in pre-LT and post-LT performance on the question sets when these LTs were used. The other set of LTs specifically tackled misconceptions about a single geologic topic. Students showed a significant increase in pre-LT and post-LT learning based on the questions sets when these LTs were used. LTs that successfully decreased student misconceptions did not require the use of real-world data sets. We identified several factors influencing student performance on the pre- and post-LT questions, in addition to whether or not the LT focused on including data sets or tackling misconceptions. The distracters in the questions need to include the student misconceptions to verify the students have changed their understanding. This demonstrates a need for a large database of well-written and tested questions to use for evaluation purposes. If lectures are well-designed, effective, and address the focus of the LT, then the increase in student performance on the questions is reduced. However, students still have difficulties with not changing their previously-held conceptions which shows why the LTs are so effective when they address misconceptions - misconceptions cannot be overcome by simply listening to a lecture.

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

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2013-09-20

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

A Typology of Adult Literacy Instructional Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beder, Hal; Lipnevich, Anastasiya; Robinson-Geller, Perrine

2007-01-01

This study addresses the primary question, "What instructional approaches typify adult literacy education in the United States?" as well as several secondary questions. To address the primary question, a survey was developed and responses were received from 598 adult literacy teachers in 12 states. When the data were subjected to factor analysis,…

"Staying on Task": What Constitutes Classwork in Peter Medway's "Finding a Language"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pangilinan, J. P.

2015-01-01

In "Finding a Language", Peter Medway addresses questions of central importance to English teaching--questions of curriculum and of pedagogy. How he addresses these questions provides a sharp contrast to the current orthodoxies of a rigidly prescriptive national curriculum and a closely monitored regime of objective-led, skills-based…

Use of convalescent plasma in Ebola virus infection.

PubMed

Garraud, Olivier

2017-02-01

The recent Ebola virus epidemics which threatened three West African countries (Dec.2014-Apr.2016) has urged global collaborative health organizations and countries to set up measures to stop the infection and to treat patients, near half of them being at risk of death. Convalescent plasma-recovered from rescued West Africans-was considered a feasible therapeutic option. Efficacy was difficult to evaluate because of numerous unknowns (especially evolution of neutralizing antibodies), prior to the cessation of active transmission. This raises a large body of questions spanning epidemiological, virological, immunological but also ethical, sociological and anthropological aspects, alongside with public health concerns, in order to be better prepared to the next outbreak. This essay summarizes efforts made by a large number of groups worldwide, and attempts to address still unanswered questions on the benefit of specific versus non-specific plasma on altered-leaking-vascular endothelia in Ebola infection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spontaneous Steinbeck: The Influence of Arts Integration, Primarily Spontaneous Painting, on the Reader Response of High School Juniors to "The Grapes of Wrath"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klasek, Catherine Huey

2010-01-01

This paper addresses my experience with a group of 11th grade students and their reading of The Grapes of Wrath (1939, 2002) by John Steinbeck. I questioned how the application of visual arts integration strategies, specifically the use of spontaneously created paintings, might influence the reader responses of my high school junior-level…

Ozone bioindicators and forest health: a guide to the evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of the ozone injury data in the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program

Treesearch

Gretchen C. Smith; John W. Coulston; Barbara M. O' Connell

2008-01-01

In 1994, the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) and Forest Health Monitoring programs of the U.S. Forest Service implemented a national ozone (O3) biomonitoring program designed to address specific questions about the area and percent of forest land subject to levels of O3 pollution that may negatively affect the forest...

Analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey Data to Study Serious Delinquent Behavior. Monograph Four: Juvenile Criminal Behavior and Its Relation to Economic Conditions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danser, Kenneth R.; Laub, John H.

Quarterly offending data from the National Crime Survey 1973-78 (NCS) were used to address the question: what effect do economic conditions have on criminal behavior over time? A total rate of offending in personal crimes as well as crime specific rates for robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault were examined. Analysis focused on three…

Negotiating the Boundaries between the Formal and the Informal: An Experienced Teacher's Refective Adaptations of Informal Learning in a Keyboard Class for At-Risk Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costes-Onishi, Pamela

2016-01-01

The objective of this study is to address the important questions raised in literature on the intersections between formal and informal learning. Specifically, this will be discussed within the concept of "productive dissonance" and the pedagogical tensions that arise in the effort of experienced teachers to transition from the formal to…

Examining Social and Economic Impacts of Educational Investment and Participation in Developing Countries: The Educational Impacts Model (EIM) Approach. BRIDGES Research Report Series No. 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crouch, Luis A.; And Others

From 1960 to 1980, school enrollment and educational expenditures in developing countries experienced significant expansion. By the late 1980s, however, this trend had slowed. This report examines the impact of education upon welfare and productivity. A unified global data set is used to address the question from a macroeconomic, gender-specific,…

Learning Race in a U.S. Context: An Emergent Framework on the Perceptions of Race among Foreign-Born Students of Color

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fries-Britt, Sharon; George Mwangi, Chrystal A.; Peralta, Alicia M.

2014-01-01

Foreign-born students of color arrive in the United States with racial and cultural orientations specific to their country of origin, which are often quite distinct from issues of race and racism within the U.S. context. This qualitative study examines the college experiences of 15 foreign-born students of color to address the research question:…

Metal-free bioconjugation reactions.

PubMed

van Berkel, Sander S; van Delft, Floris L

2013-01-01

The recent strategy to apply chemical reactions to address fundamental biological questions has led to the emergence of entirely new conjugation reactions that are fast and irreversible, yet so mild and selective that they can be performed even in living cells or organisms. These so-called bioorthogonal reactions open novel avenues, not only in chemical biology research, but also in many other life sciences applications, including the modulation of biopharmaceuticals by site-specific modification approaches.

Session: Discussion of Research Needs

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

anon.

This final session at the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats workshop was lead by a facilitator who asked participants for their overall reaction to the research that had been presented during the workshop. Questions addressed by workshop participants included: how do you develop trust and confidence in the research, what are some of the specific gaps in our understanding of wind energy's impact on birds and bats; how do we prioritize and proceed with closing the data/research gaps; how do we connect the dots and bring various research and mapping efforts together; given gaps in the data, what are the criticalmore » questions we need to answer to make project decisions now; and, how do we track/influence the policies that will shape wind energy development. Conclusions reached regarding these questions are included in summary form.« less

US fertility prevention as poverty prevention: an empirical question and social justice issue.

PubMed

Romero, Diana; Agénor, Madina

2009-01-01

This paper examines the impact of the US welfare reform family-cap policy on the childbearing decisions of poor and low-income women by posing two complementary questions, both placed within a broader historical context. Specifically, it raises an empirical question pertaining to the family cap's effectiveness and a social justice question pertaining to the policy's ethical and legal justification in terms of human and reproductive rights. To address the first question, a thorough review of past and current research pertaining to the family cap at both the state and national levels is provided. The second question is addressed with an overview of international human and reproductive rights documents of relevance to the family-cap policy, as well as an analysis of the covenants' numerous components with which the family cap is in conflict. Finally, this paper situates the family cap in its historical context by investigating previous governmental attempts to control and regulate the reproductive health and rights of poor women and women of color in the United States. The majority of empirical analyses of the family cap have found that the policy has not had an impact on poor women's reproductive health behaviors. In addition, the exclusive application of this policy to poor women receiving cash assistance is demonstrated to be in violation of eight international human and reproductive rights documents, several of which the US is a signatory. These two findings make a strong case that policy makers and social and health researchers alike critically reexamine whether a policy that has not achieved its ostensible goal and is applied in a disparate manner-primarily to poor women and families and women of color-should continue to be implemented by the states.

Acoustic telemetry and fisheries management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crossin, Glenn T.; Heupel, Michelle R.; Holbrook, Christopher; Hussey, Nigel E.; Lowerre-Barbieri, Susan K.; Nguyen, Vivian M.; Raby, Graham D.; Cooke, Steven J.

2017-01-01

This paper reviews the use of acoustic telemetry as a tool for addressing issues in fisheries management, and serves as the lead to the special Feature Issue of Ecological Applications titled “Acoustic Telemetry and Fisheries Management”. Specifically, we provide an overview of the ways in which acoustic telemetry can be used to inform issues central to the ecology, conservation, and management of exploited and/or imperiled fish species. Despite great strides in this area in recent years, there are comparatively few examples where data have been applied directly to influence fisheries management and policy. We review the literature on this issue, identify the strengths and weaknesses of work done to date, and highlight knowledge gaps and difficulties in applying empirical fish telemetry studies to fisheries policy and practice. We then highlight the key areas of management and policy addressed, as well as the challenges that needed to be overcome to do this. We conclude with a set of recommendations about how researchers can, in consultation with stock assessment scientists and managers, formulate testable scientific questions to address and design future studies to generate data that can be used in a meaningful way by fisheries management and conservation practitioners. We also urge the involvement of relevant stakeholders (managers, fishers, conservation societies, etc.) early on in the process (i.e. in the co-creation of research projects), so that all priority questions and issues can be addressed effectively.

Cognitive effort is modulated outside of the explicit awareness of conflict frequency: Evidence from pupillometry.

PubMed

Diede, Nathaniel T; Bugg, Julie M

2017-05-01

Classic theories of cognitive control conceptualized controlled processes as slow, strategic, and willful, with automatic processes being fast and effortless. The context-specific proportion compatibility (CSPC) effect, the reduction in the compatibility effect in a context (e.g., location) associated with a high relative to low likelihood of conflict, challenged classic theories by demonstrating fast and flexible control that appears to operate outside of conscious awareness. Two theoretical questions yet to be addressed are whether the CSPC effect is accompanied by context-dependent variation in effort, and whether the exertion of effort depends on explicit awareness of context-specific task demands. To address these questions, pupil diameter was measured during a CSPC paradigm. Stimuli were randomly presented in either a mostly compatible location or a mostly incompatible location. Replicating prior research, the CSPC effect was found. The novel finding was that pupil diameter was greater in the mostly incompatible location compared to the mostly compatible location, despite participants' lack of awareness of context-specific task demands. Additionally, this difference occurred regardless of trial type or a preceding switch in location. These patterns support the view that context (location) dictates selection of optimal attentional settings in the CSPC paradigm, and varying levels of effort and performance accompany these settings. Theoretically, these patterns imply that cognitive control may operate fast, flexibly, and outside of awareness, but not effortlessly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Engineering development studies for integrated evacuated CPC arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winston, R.

1982-04-01

An evacuated tube concentrator which achieves respectable high temperature performance (100 C to 300 C) was developed. The design concept utilizes nonimaging CPC type concentration integrated into each tube by shaping the outer glass vacuum envelope. The detailed design, prototype fabrication and preliminary test measurements are reviewed. In addition the results of this first study specifically devoted to engineering development questions related to practical applications of this collector concept are summarized. Questions having to do with the deployment of medium to large area arrays, optimizations of the manifolding of individual tube panels, selected near term applications (with an emphasis on residential cooling based on Rankine driven chillers) and long term performance projections are addressed.

The effect of social cues on marketing decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hentschel, H. G. E.; Pan, Jiening; Family, Fereydoon; Zhang, Zhenyu; Song, Yiping

2012-02-01

We address the question as to what extent individuals, when given information in marketing polls on the decisions made by the previous Nr individuals questioned, are likely to change their original choices. The processes can be formulated in terms of a Cost function equivalent to a Hamiltonian, which depends on the original likelihood of an individual making a positive decision in the absence of social cues p0; the strength of the social cue J; and memory size Nr. We find both positive and negative herding effects are significant. Specifically, if p0>1/2 social cues enhance positive decisions, while for p0<1/2 social cues reduce the likelihood of a positive decision.

Individual-based models in ecology after four decades

PubMed Central

Grimm, Volker

2014-01-01

Individual-based models simulate populations and communities by following individuals and their properties. They have been used in ecology for more than four decades, with their use and ubiquity in ecology growing rapidly in the last two decades. Individual-based models have been used for many applied or “pragmatic” issues, such as informing the protection and management of particular populations in specific locations, but their use in addressing theoretical questions has also grown rapidly, recently helping us to understand how the sets of traits of individual organisms influence the assembly of communities and food webs. Individual-based models will play an increasingly important role in questions posed by complex ecological systems. PMID:24991416

Heritable Individual-Specific and Allele-Specific Chromatin Signatures in Humans

PubMed Central

McDaniell, Ryan; Lee, Bum-Kyu; Song, Lingyun; Liu, Zheng; Boyle, Alan P.; Erdos, Michael R.; Scott, Laura J.; Morken, Mario A.; Kucera, Katerina S.; Battenhouse, Anna; Keefe, Damian; Collins, Francis S.; Willard, Huntington F.; Lieb, Jason D.; Furey, Terrence S.; Crawford, Gregory E.; Iyer, Vishwanath R.; Birney, Ewan

2010-01-01

The extent to which variation in chromatin structure and transcription factor binding may influence gene expression, and thus underlie or contribute to variation in phenotype, is unknown. To address this question, we cataloged both individual-to-individual variation and differences between homologous chromosomes within the same individual (allele-specific variation) in chromatin structure and transcription factor binding in lymphoblastoid cells derived from individuals of geographically diverse ancestry. Ten percent of active chromatin sites were individual-specific; a similar proportion were allele-specific. Both individual-specific and allele-specific sites were commonly transmitted from parent to child, which suggests that they are heritable features of the human genome. Our study shows that heritable chromatin status and transcription factor binding differ as a result of genetic variation and may underlie phenotypic variation in humans. PMID:20299549

Self-Motion Perception: Assessment by Real-Time Computer Generated Animations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, Donald E.

1999-01-01

Our overall goal is to develop materials and procedures for assessing vestibular contributions to spatial cognition. The specific objective of the research described in this paper is to evaluate computer-generated animations as potential tools for studying self-orientation and self-motion perception. Specific questions addressed in this study included the following. First, does a non- verbal perceptual reporting procedure using real-time animations improve assessment of spatial orientation? Are reports reliable? Second, do reports confirm expectations based on stimuli to vestibular apparatus? Third, can reliable reports be obtained when self-motion description vocabulary training is omitted?

Geomorphic and vegetation processes of the Willamette River floodplain, Oregon: current understanding and unanswered science questions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wallick, J. Rose; Jones, Krista L.; O'Connor, Jim E.; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Hulse, David; Gregory, Stanley V.

2013-01-01

4. How is the succession of native floodplain vegetation shaped by present-day flow and sediment conditions? Answering these questions will produce baseline data on the current distributions of landforms and habitats (question 1), the extent of the functional floodplain (question 2), and the effects of modern flow and sediment regimes on future floodplain landforms, habitats, and vegetation succession (questions 3 and 4). Addressing questions 1 and 2 is a logical next step because they underlie questions 3 and 4. Addressing these four questions would better characterize the modern Willamette Basin and help in implementing and setting realistic targets for ongoing management strategies, demonstrating their effectiveness at the site and basin scales, and anticipating future trends and conditions.

Higher Education and Non-Pecuniary Returns in Germany: Tracing the Mechanisms behind Field of Study Effects at the Start of the Career

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Markus

2011-01-01

This article addresses the question of why fields of study differ in early labour market returns. It is argued that the higher the potential training costs of a field of study the more problematic the labour market integration of graduates. This is due to the fact that employers use the occupational specificity and selectivity of a study programme…

Evaluating the One-in-Five Statistic: Women's Risk of Sexual Assault While in College.

PubMed

Muehlenhard, Charlene L; Peterson, Zoë D; Humphreys, Terry P; Jozkowski, Kristen N

In 2014, U.S. president Barack Obama announced a White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault, noting that "1 in 5 women on college campuses has been sexually assaulted during their time there." Since then, this one-in-five statistic has permeated public discourse. It is frequently reported, but some commentators have criticized it as exaggerated. Here, we address the question, "What percentage of women are sexually assaulted while in college?" After discussing definitions of sexual assault, we systematically review available data, focusing on studies that used large, representative samples of female undergraduates and multiple behaviorally specific questions. We conclude that one in five is a reasonably accurate average across women and campuses. We also review studies that are inappropriately cited as either supporting or debunking the one-in-five statistic; we explain why they do not adequately address this question. We identify and evaluate several assumptions implicit in the public discourse (e.g., the assumption that college students are at greater risk than nonstudents). Given the empirical support for the one-in-five statistic, we suggest that the controversy occurs because of misunderstandings about studies' methods and results and because this topic has implications for gender relations, power, and sexuality; this controversy is ultimately about values.

A Bioinorganic Approach to Fragment-Based Drug Discovery Targeting Metalloenzymes.

PubMed

Cohen, Seth M

2017-08-15

Metal-dependent enzymes (i.e., metalloenzymes) make up a large fraction of all enzymes and are critically important in a wide range of biological processes, including DNA modification, protein homeostasis, antibiotic resistance, and many others. Consequently, metalloenzymes represent a vast and largely untapped space for drug development. The discovery of effective therapeutics that target metalloenzymes lies squarely at the interface of bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry and requires expertise, methods, and strategies from both fields to mount an effective campaign. In this Account, our research program that brings together the principles and methods of bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry are described, in an effort to bridge the gap between these fields and address an important class of medicinal targets. Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is an important drug discovery approach that is particularly well suited for metalloenzyme inhibitor development. FBDD uses relatively small but diverse chemical structures that allow for the assembly of privileged molecular collections that focus on a specific feature of the target enzyme. For metalloenzyme inhibition, the specific feature is rather obvious, namely, a metal-dependent active site. Surprisingly, prior to our work, the exploration of diverse molecular fragments for binding the metal active sites of metalloenzymes was largely unexplored. By assembling a modest library of metal-binding pharmacophores (MBPs), we have been able to find lead hits for many metalloenzymes and, from these hits, develop inhibitors that act via novel mechanisms of action. A specific case study on the use of this strategy to identify a first-in-class inhibitor of zinc-dependent Rpn11 (a component of the proteasome) is highlighted. The application of FBDD for the development of metalloenzyme inhibitors has raised several other compelling questions, such as how the metalloenzyme active site influences the coordination chemistry of bound fragments, how one can identify the best fragments for a given metalloenzyme, and many others. Among the most significant, and concerning, questions for metalloenzyme inhibition are those that reside around issues of specificity and whether metalloenzyme inhibitors can be as selective and specific as other small molecule inhibitors (i.e., compounds that inhibit enzymes that do not utilize a metal at their active site). This also leads to the question of whether metalloenzyme inhibitors might interfere more broadly with the metallome. Efforts to address these and related questions are discussed, with the expectation that our findings will illuminate some of these topics, alleviate some of these concerns, and encourage greater interest in this important, undervalued class of drug targets.

Still Subversive after All These Years: The Relevance of Feminist Therapy in the Age of Evidence-Based Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Laura S.

2006-01-01

In this article, based on my Carolyn Wood Sherif Memorial Award Address, I address questions of the viability of feminist practice in the current zeitgeist. Using the framework of responding to questions raised by doctoral students about feminist therapy, I address how feminist practice aligns with the evidence-based practice movement,…

Establishment and operation of the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) team within the cities of Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beddow, B.; Roberts, C.; Rankin, J.; Bloch, A.; Peizer, J.

1981-01-01

The National Accident Sampling System (NASS) is described. The study area discussed is one of the original ten sites selected for NASS implementation. In addition to collecting data from the field, the original ten sites address questions of feasibility of the plan, projected results of the data collection effort, and specific operational topics, e.g., team size, sampling requirements, training approaches, quality control procedures, and field techniques. Activities and results of the first three years of the project, for both major tasks (establishment and operation) are addressed. Topics include: study area documentation; team description, function and activities; problems and solutions; and recommendations.

Ecosystem oceanography for global change in fisheries.

PubMed

Cury, Philippe Maurice; Shin, Yunne-Jai; Planque, Benjamin; Durant, Joël Marcel; Fromentin, Jean-Marc; Kramer-Schadt, Stephanie; Stenseth, Nils Christian; Travers, Morgane; Grimm, Volker

2008-06-01

Overexploitation and climate change are increasingly causing unanticipated changes in marine ecosystems, such as higher variability in fish recruitment and shifts in species dominance. An ecosystem-based approach to fisheries attempts to address these effects by integrating populations, food webs and fish habitats at different scales. Ecosystem models represent indispensable tools to achieve this objective. However, a balanced research strategy is needed to avoid overly complex models. Ecosystem oceanography represents such a balanced strategy that relates ecosystem components and their interactions to climate change and exploitation. It aims at developing realistic and robust models at different levels of organisation and addressing specific questions in a global change context while systematically exploring the ever-increasing amount of biological and environmental data.

Overcoming barriers to addressing education problems with research design: a panel discussion.

PubMed

Yarris, Lalena M; Gruppen, Larry D; Hamstra, Stanley J; Anders Ericsson, K; Cook, David A

2012-12-01

A plenary panel session at the 2012 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Education Research in Emergency Medicine: Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies for Success" discussed barriers educators face in imagining, designing, and implementing studies to address educational challenges. This proceedings article presents a general approach to getting started in education research. Four examples of studies from the medical education literature that illustrate a distinct way to approach specific research questions are discussed. The study designs used are applicable to a variety of education research problems in emergency medicine (EM). Potential applications of studies are discussed, as well as effects and lessons learned. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Commentary: Writing and Evaluating Qualitative Research Reports

PubMed Central

Thompson, Deborah; Aroian, Karen J.; McQuaid, Elizabeth L.; Deatrick, Janet A.

2016-01-01

Objective To provide an overview of qualitative methods, particularly for reviewers and authors who may be less familiar with qualitative research. Methods A question and answer format is used to address considerations for writing and evaluating qualitative research. Results and Conclusions When producing qualitative research, individuals are encouraged to address the qualitative research considerations raised and to explicitly identify the systematic strategies used to ensure rigor in study design and methods, analysis, and presentation of findings. Increasing capacity for review and publication of qualitative research within pediatric psychology will advance the field’s ability to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of pediatric populations, tailor interventions more effectively, and promote optimal health. PMID:27118271

Water-quality data-collection activities in Colorado and Ohio; Phase III, evaluation of existing data for use in assessing regional water-quality conditions and trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Norris, J. Michael; Hren, Janet; Myers, Donna N.; Chaney, Thomas H.; Childress, Carolyn J. Oblinger

1990-01-01

During the past several years, a growing number of questions have been raised by members of Congress and others about the status of current waterquality conditions in the Nation, trends in water quality, and the major factors that affect water-quality conditions and trends. One area of particular interest and concern has been the suitability of existing water-quality data for addressing these types of questions at regional and national scales. In response to these questions and concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey began a pilot study in Colorado and Ohio to (1) determine the characteristics of current water-quality data-collection activities of Federal, State, regional, and local agencies and universities; and (2) determine how well the data from these activities, collected for various purposes and using different procedures, can be used to improve our ability to address the aforementioned questions.Colorado and Ohio were chosen for the pilot study because they represent regions with different types of water-quality issues and programs. The results of the study are specific to the two States and are not intended to be extrapolated to other States.The study was divided into three phases whose objectives were:Phase I Identify and inventory 1984 water-quality data-collection programs, including costs, in Colorado and Ohio, and identify those programs that meet a set of broad criteria for producing data that potentially are appropriate for water-quality assessments of regional and national scope. Phase II Evaluate the quality assurance of field and laboratory procedures used to produce the data from programs that met the broad criteria of Phase I. Phase III Compile the qualifying data from Phase II and evaluate the extent to which the resulting data base can be used to address selected water-quality questions for the two States.This report presents the results of Phase III, focusing on (1) the number of measurements made at each data-collection site for selected constituents, (2) the areal distribution of those sites that have sufficient data for selected types of analyses, and (3) the availability of key ancillary information such as streamflow to address broad-scope questions such as:What are existing water-quality conditions?Has the water quality changed? andHow do existing water-quality conditions and changes in these conditions relate to natural factors and human-induced activities?

Unmet patient needs in systemic sclerosis.

PubMed

Rubenzik, Tamara T; Derk, Chris T

2009-04-01

Assessment of systemic sclerosis patients has not directly addressed functioning from the patient's perspective. With this study, we aim to gain our patient's point of view by using a questionnaire to describe their unmet needs and understanding what demographic parameters influence these. A computer randomization program selected 50 patients, from 242 systemic sclerosis patients actively followed at our rheumatology clinic, to receive a survey about unmet needs. Twenty-five patients responded to the survey. Of 81 questions, 9 provided demographic data, whereas 72 questions addressed physical, daily living, psychologic, spiritual, existential, health services, health information, social support, and employment issues. A 4-point scale from no need to high need was used to rate all questions. Significant need was considered any issue for which more than 50% of patients reported a high need. The Fisher exact test was used to compare different demographic variables to unmet patient needs. The psychologic/spiritual/existential category had 9 questions reaching significance, the health services category had 5 significant questions, the physical category had 4 significant questions. Patients who had not attended college were more likely to have higher needs than patients who completed a college degree. Unmarried patients reported higher needs in 8 measures as compared with married patients, and patients in rural areas had higher needs in social support needs. The greatest prevalence of unmet needs in scleroderma patients were in the psychologic/spiritual/existential domain, such as being unable to do things they used to do, fear that the disease will worsen, anxiety and stress, feeling down or depressed, fears of physical disability, uncertainty about the future, change in appearance, keeping a positive outlook, and feeling in control. Significant differences were observed in unmet needs based on education, marital status, location, knowledge of disease, and age. Understanding each patient's specific unmet needs either through direct questioning or by the use of a questionnaire such as the one used for this study can help clinicians to give better care to each of our patients.

International Collaborative Research Partnerships: Blending Science with Management and Diplomacy.

PubMed

Lau, Chuen-Yen; Wang, Crystal; Orsega, Susan; Tramont, Edmund C; Koita, Ousmane; Polis, Michael A; Siddiqui, Sophia

2014-12-01

As globalization progressively connects and impacts the health of people across the world, collaborative research partnerships provide mutual advantages by sharing knowledge and resources to address locally and globally relevant scientific and public health questions. Partnerships undertaken for scientific research are similar to business collaborations in that they require attention to partner systems, whether local, international, political, academic, or non-academic. Scientists, like diplomats or entrepreneurs, are representatives of their field, culture, and country and become obligatory agents in health diplomacy. This role significantly influences current and future collaborations with not only the immediate partner but with other in country partners as well. Research partnerships need continuous evaluation of the collaboration's productivity, perspectives of all partners, and desired outcomes for success to avoid engaging in "research tourism", particularly in developing regions. International engagement is a cornerstone in addressing the impact of infectious diseases globally. Global partnerships are strategically aligned with national, partner and global health priorities and may be based on specific requests for assistance from the partnering country governments. Here we share experiences from select research collaborations to highlight principles that we have found key in building long-term relationships with collaborators and in meeting the aim to address scientific questions relevant to the host country and strategic global health initiatives.

International Collaborative Research Partnerships: Blending Science with Management and Diplomacy

PubMed Central

Lau, Chuen-Yen; Wang, Crystal; Orsega, Susan; Tramont, Edmund C; Koita, Ousmane; Polis, Michael A; Siddiqui, Sophia

2015-01-01

As globalization progressively connects and impacts the health of people across the world, collaborative research partnerships provide mutual advantages by sharing knowledge and resources to address locally and globally relevant scientific and public health questions. Partnerships undertaken for scientific research are similar to business collaborations in that they require attention to partner systems, whether local, international, political, academic, or non-academic. Scientists, like diplomats or entrepreneurs, are representatives of their field, culture, and country and become obligatory agents in health diplomacy. This role significantly influences current and future collaborations with not only the immediate partner but with other in country partners as well. Research partnerships need continuous evaluation of the collaboration’s productivity, perspectives of all partners, and desired outcomes for success to avoid engaging in “research tourism”, particularly in developing regions. International engagement is a cornerstone in addressing the impact of infectious diseases globally. Global partnerships are strategically aligned with national, partner and global health priorities and may be based on specific requests for assistance from the partnering country governments. Here we share experiences from select research collaborations to highlight principles that we have found key in building long-term relationships with collaborators and in meeting the aim to address scientific questions relevant to the host country and strategic global health initiatives. PMID:26225217

Detecting, preventing, and responding to "fraudsters" in internet research: ethics and tradeoffs.

PubMed

Teitcher, Jennifer E F; Bockting, Walter O; Bauermeister, José A; Hoefer, Chris J; Miner, Michael H; Klitzman, Robert L

2015-01-01

Internet-based health research is increasing, and often offers financial incentives but fraudulent behavior by participants can result. Specifically, eligible or ineligible individuals may enter the study multiple times and receive undeserved financial compensation. We review past experiences and approaches to this problem and propose several new strategies. Researchers can detect and prevent Internet research fraud in four broad ways: (1) through the questionnaire/instrument (e.g., including certain questions in survey; and software for administering survey); (2) through participants' non-questionnaire data and seeking external validation (e.g., checking data for same email addresses, usernames, passwords, and/or fake addresses or phone numbers; (3) through computer information, (e.g., IP addresses and cookies), and 4) through study design (e.g., avoid lump sum compensation and interviewing participants). These approaches each have pros and cons, and raise ethical, legal, and logistical questions, given that ethical tensions can emerge between preserving the integrity of research vs. protecting the privacy and confidentiality of study respondents. While past discussions concerning the ethics of online research have tended to focus on the participants' ability to trust the researchers, needs now arise to examine researchers' abilities to trust the participants. This analysis has several critical implications for future practice, policy, and research. © 2015 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

A strategy for systemic toxicity assessment based on non-animal approaches: The Cosmetics Europe Long Range Science Strategy programme.

PubMed

Desprez, Bertrand; Dent, Matt; Keller, Detlef; Klaric, Martina; Ouédraogo, Gladys; Cubberley, Richard; Duplan, Hélène; Eilstein, Joan; Ellison, Corie; Grégoire, Sébastien; Hewitt, Nicola J; Jacques-Jamin, Carine; Lange, Daniela; Roe, Amy; Rothe, Helga; Blaauboer, Bas J; Schepky, Andreas; Mahony, Catherine

2018-08-01

When performing safety assessment of chemicals, the evaluation of their systemic toxicity based only on non-animal approaches is a challenging objective. The Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Test programme (SEURAT-1) addressed this question from 2011 to 2015 and showed that further research and development of adequate tools in toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic are required for performing non-animal safety assessments. It also showed how to implement tools like thresholds of toxicological concern (TTCs) and read-across in this context. This paper shows a tiered scientific workflow and how each tier addresses the four steps of the risk assessment paradigm. Cosmetics Europe established its Long Range Science Strategy (LRSS) programme, running from 2016 to 2020, based on the outcomes of SEURAT-1 to implement this workflow. Dedicated specific projects address each step of this workflow, which is introduced here. It tackles the question of evaluating the internal dose when systemic exposure happens. The applicability of the workflow will be shown through a series of case studies, which will be published separately. Even if the LRSS puts the emphasis on safety assessment of cosmetic relevant chemicals, it remains applicable to any type of chemical. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Inverse scattering transform analysis of rogue waves using local periodization procedure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randoux, Stéphane; Suret, Pierre; El, Gennady

2016-07-01

The nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) stands out as the dispersive nonlinear partial differential equation that plays a prominent role in the modeling and understanding of the wave phenomena relevant to many fields of nonlinear physics. The question of random input problems in the one-dimensional and integrable NLSE enters within the framework of integrable turbulence, and the specific question of the formation of rogue waves (RWs) has been recently extensively studied in this context. The determination of exact analytic solutions of the focusing 1D-NLSE prototyping RW events of statistical relevance is now considered as the problem of central importance. Here we address this question from the perspective of the inverse scattering transform (IST) method that relies on the integrable nature of the wave equation. We develop a conceptually new approach to the RW classification in which appropriate, locally coherent structures are specifically isolated from a globally incoherent wave train to be subsequently analyzed by implementing a numerical IST procedure relying on a spatial periodization of the object under consideration. Using this approach we extend the existing classifications of the prototypes of RWs from standard breathers and their collisions to more general nonlinear modes characterized by their nonlinear spectra.

Inverse scattering transform analysis of rogue waves using local periodization procedure

PubMed Central

Randoux, Stéphane; Suret, Pierre; El, Gennady

2016-01-01

The nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) stands out as the dispersive nonlinear partial differential equation that plays a prominent role in the modeling and understanding of the wave phenomena relevant to many fields of nonlinear physics. The question of random input problems in the one-dimensional and integrable NLSE enters within the framework of integrable turbulence, and the specific question of the formation of rogue waves (RWs) has been recently extensively studied in this context. The determination of exact analytic solutions of the focusing 1D-NLSE prototyping RW events of statistical relevance is now considered as the problem of central importance. Here we address this question from the perspective of the inverse scattering transform (IST) method that relies on the integrable nature of the wave equation. We develop a conceptually new approach to the RW classification in which appropriate, locally coherent structures are specifically isolated from a globally incoherent wave train to be subsequently analyzed by implementing a numerical IST procedure relying on a spatial periodization of the object under consideration. Using this approach we extend the existing classifications of the prototypes of RWs from standard breathers and their collisions to more general nonlinear modes characterized by their nonlinear spectra. PMID:27385164

Health information exchanges--Unfulfilled promise as a data source for clinical research.

PubMed

Parker, Carol; Weiner, Michael; Reeves, Mathew

2016-03-01

To determine the use of health information exchange organizations (HIEs) to support and conduct clinical research. This scoping review included US-based studies published between January 2003 and March 2014 that used data from an HIE to address at least one of three categories of research: clinical or epidemiological research, financial evaluation, or utilization of health services. Eligibility was not restricted to research on HIEs. Studies with research questions outside of the evaluation of HIEs themselves were sought. Eighteen articles met final study inclusion criteria from an initial list of 847 hits. Fifteen studies addressed a clinical or epidemiological research question, 6 addressed a financial consideration, and 8 addressed a utilization issue. Considerable overlap was found among the research categories: 13 articles addressed more than one category. Of the eighteen included studies, only two used HIE data to answer a research objective that was NOT specific to HIE use. Research designs were varied and ranged from observational studies, such as cohort and cross-sectional studies, to randomized trials. The 18 articles represent the involvement of a small number of HIEs; 7 of the studies were from a single HIE. This review demonstrates that HIE-provided information is available and used to answer clinical or epidemiological, financial, or utilization-based research questions; however, the majority of the studies using HIE data are done with the primary goal of evaluating the use and impact of HIEs on health care delivery and outcomes. As HIEs mature and become integrated parts of the health care industry, the authors anticipate that fewer studies will be published that describe or validate the role of HIEs, and more will use HIEs as multi-institutional data sources for conducting clinical research and improving health services and clinical outcomes. Articles identified in this review indicate the limited extent that HIE data are being used for clinical research outside of the evaluation of HIEs themselves, as well as the limited number of specific HIEs that are involved in generating published research. Significant barriers exist that prevent HIEs from developing into an invaluable resource for clinical research including technological infrastructure limitations, business processes limiting secondary use of data, and lack of participating provider support. Research to better understand challenges to developing the necessary infrastructure and policies to foster HIE engagement in research would be valuable as HIEs represent an opportunity to engage non-traditional health care provider research partners. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

International Osteoporosis Foundation and European Calcified Tissue Society Working Group. Recommendations for the screening of adherence to oral bisphosphonates.

PubMed

Diez-Perez, A; Naylor, K E; Abrahamsen, B; Agnusdei, D; Brandi, M L; Cooper, C; Dennison, E; Eriksen, E F; Gold, D T; Guañabens, N; Hadji, P; Hiligsmann, M; Horne, R; Josse, R; Kanis, J A; Obermayer-Pietsch, B; Prieto-Alhambra, D; Reginster, J-Y; Rizzoli, R; Silverman, S; Zillikens, M C; Eastell, R

2017-03-01

Adherence to oral bisphosphonates is low. A screening strategy is proposed based on the response of biochemical markers of bone turnover after 3 months of therapy. If no change is observed, the clinician should reassess the adherence to the treatment and also other potential issues with the drug. Low adherence to oral bisphosphonates is a common problem that jeopardizes the efficacy of treatment of osteoporosis. No clear screening strategy for the assessment of compliance is widely accepted in these patients. The International Osteoporosis Foundation and the European Calcified Tissue Society have convened a working group to propose a screening strategy to detect a lack of adherence to these drugs. The question to answer was whether the bone turnover markers (BTMs) PINP and CTX can be used to identify low adherence in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis initiating oral bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. The findings of the TRIO study specifically address this question and were used as the basis for testing the hypothesis. Based on the findings of the TRIO study, specifically addressing this question, the working group recommends measuring PINP and CTX at baseline and 3 months after starting therapy to check for a decrease above the least significant change (decrease of more than 38% for PINP and 56% for CTX). Detection rate for the measurement of PINP is 84%, for CTX 87% and, if variation in at least one is considered when measuring both, the level of detection is 94.5%. If a significant decrease is observed, the treatment can continue, but if no decrease occurs, the clinician should reassess to identify problems with the treatment, mainly low adherence.

Palaeoclimate dynamics : a voyage through scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crucifix, Michel; Mitsui, Takahito

2015-04-01

Our knowledge of climate dynamics depends on indirect observations of past climate evolution, as well as on what can be inferred from theoretical arguments. At the scale of the Cenozoic, it is common to define a framework of nested time scales, the longest time scale of interest being related to the slow tectonic evolution, then variability associated with or controlled by the astronomical forcing, and finally the fastest dynamics associated with the natural modes of variability of the ocean and the atmosphere. For example, in a model, the astronomical modes of variability may be simulated with deterministic equations under fixed boundary conditions representing the tectonic state, and associated with stochastic parameterisations of the ocean-atmosphere (chaotic) modes of motion. Bifurcations or, more generally, qualitative changes in climate dynamics may be scanned by changing slowly the tectonic state, in order to provide explanations to observed changes in regimes such as the appearance of ice ages and their changes in length or amplitude. The above framework, largely theorized by B. Saltzman, may still be partly justified but is in need of a review. We address here specifically three questions: To what extent astronomical variability interacts with natural modes of ocean - atmosphere variability ? Specifically, how does millennial variability (e.g.: Dansgaard-Oeschger events) fit the Saltzman scheme ? The astronomical forcing is quasi-periodic, and we recently showed that it may produce somewhat counter-intuitive dynamics associated with the emergence of strange non-chaotic attractors. What are the consequences on the spectrum of climate variability ? What are the effects of centennial climate variability on the slow variability of climate ? These three questions are addressed by reference to recently published material, with the objective of emphasising research questions to be explored in the near future.

Safety and Environmental Regulation in Industrial Mobilization

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

shrinking industrial base and a reluctance of many firms to seek out de- fense business? When these "how" questions are answered, plans and programs...stantiated. During this phase, Department of Defense (DOD) offi- cials were interviewed for their plans for addressing the specifics of OSHA and EPA...develop and enforce their own job- safety and health programs. If a State’s plan is approved by OSHA, OSHA pays the State up to 50 percent of the

The Effects on Children of the Organization and the Design of the Day Care Physical Environment: Appropriateness of the Federal Inter-Agency Day Care Requirements. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kruvant, Charito; And Others

This paper presents a discussion of the impact of the physical design of day care settings on children and adults. Specifically addressed is the question of how the location and design of the facility, the arrangement of indoor and outdoor space, and the organization of the furniture and materials affect the behavior of the adults and children who…

A Longitudinal Study of Growth and Development and the Incidence of Physical Defects at Ages 9 and 10. A Progress Report to the Bernard van Leer Foundation on the Growth and Development Study of the Mt. Druitt Longitudinal Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Anne; O'Brien, Peter

A longitudinal comparative study was made of the physical growth and development of Australian fourth-grade students from low, medium, and high socioeconomic groups. Specific questions addressed were (1) Do children differing in socioeconomic status differ in anthropometric characteristics and incidence of physical defects? (2) What is the…

ARARS Q's and A's: The fund-balancing waiver. Fact sheet

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

Not Available

1991-01-01

The fact sheet implements the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs) provisions EPA has developed guidance and provided training to Regions and States on the identification of and compliance with ARARs. It is part of a series that provide guidance on a number of questions that arose in developing ARARs policies, in ARARs training sessions, and in identifying and complying with ARARs at specific sites. The fact sheet addresses the Fund-balancing waiver.

Process and representation in graphical displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillan, Douglas J.; Lewis, Robert; Rudisill, Marianne

1993-01-01

Our initial model of graphic comprehension has focused on statistical graphs. Like other models of human-computer interaction, models of graphical comprehension can be used by human-computer interface designers and developers to create interfaces that present information in an efficient and usable manner. Our investigation of graph comprehension addresses two primary questions: how do people represent the information contained in a data graph?; and how do they process information from the graph? The topics of focus for graphic representation concern the features into which people decompose a graph and the representations of the graph in memory. The issue of processing can be further analyzed as two questions: what overall processing strategies do people use?; and what are the specific processing skills required?

Fort Collins Science Center: Policy Analysis and Science Assistance

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lamb, Berton L.

2004-01-01

PASA's mission is to integrate biological, social, and economic research so that resource managers can use the resulting information to make informed decisions and resolve resource management conflicts. PASA scientists pursue and conduct scientific analyses that help agencies and Native American tribes to (1) identify impending policy controversies and areas where social and natural science research is needed to address future policy questions; (2) develop methods and approaches to assist researchers in preparing scientific evidence; (3) assess habitat alteration in a manner consistent with policy needs; and (4) evaluate policy options. Branch scientists also evaluate policy options (e.g., effects of different land treatments, fish and wildlife management practices, or visitor/recreation management practices) in response to specific questions faced by policymakers and managers.

Time will tell: A longitudinal investigation of brain-behavior relationships during reading development

DOE PAGES

Stites, Mallory C.; Laszlo, Sarah

2017-02-23

ERPs are a powerful tool for the study of reading, as they are both temporally precise and functionally specific. These are essential characteristics for studying a process that unfolds rapidly and consists of multiple, interactive subprocesses. In work with adults, clear, specific models exist linking components of the ERP with individual subprocesses of reading including orthographic decoding, phonological processing, and semantic access (e.g., Grainger & Holcomb, 2009). The relationships between ERP components and reading subprocesses are less clear in development; here, we address two questions regarding these relationships. First, we ask whether there are ERP markers that predict future readingmore » behaviors across a longitudinal year. Second, we ask whether any relationships observed between ERP components and reading behavior across time map onto the better-established relationships between ERPs and reading subprocesses in adults. To address these questions, we acquired ERPs from children engaging in a silent reading task and then, a year later, collected behavioral assessments of their reading ability. Finally, we find that ERPs collected in Year 1 do predict reading behaviors a year later. Further, we find that these relationships do conform, at least to some extent, to relationships between ERP components and reading subprocesses observed in adults, with, for example, N250 amplitude in Year 1 predicting phonological awareness in Year 2, and N400 amplitude in Year 1 predicting vocabulary in Year 2.« less

Time will tell: A longitudinal investigation of brain-behavior relationships during reading development

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

Stites, Mallory C.; Laszlo, Sarah

ERPs are a powerful tool for the study of reading, as they are both temporally precise and functionally specific. These are essential characteristics for studying a process that unfolds rapidly and consists of multiple, interactive subprocesses. In work with adults, clear, specific models exist linking components of the ERP with individual subprocesses of reading including orthographic decoding, phonological processing, and semantic access (e.g., Grainger & Holcomb, 2009). The relationships between ERP components and reading subprocesses are less clear in development; here, we address two questions regarding these relationships. First, we ask whether there are ERP markers that predict future readingmore » behaviors across a longitudinal year. Second, we ask whether any relationships observed between ERP components and reading behavior across time map onto the better-established relationships between ERPs and reading subprocesses in adults. To address these questions, we acquired ERPs from children engaging in a silent reading task and then, a year later, collected behavioral assessments of their reading ability. Finally, we find that ERPs collected in Year 1 do predict reading behaviors a year later. Further, we find that these relationships do conform, at least to some extent, to relationships between ERP components and reading subprocesses observed in adults, with, for example, N250 amplitude in Year 1 predicting phonological awareness in Year 2, and N400 amplitude in Year 1 predicting vocabulary in Year 2.« less

US Fertility Prevention as Poverty Prevention

PubMed Central

Romero, Diana; Agénor, Madina

2009-01-01

Purpose This paper examines the impact of the United States (US) welfare reform family-cap policy on the childbearing decisions of poor and low-income women by posing two complementary questions, both placed within a broader historical context. Specifically, it raises an empirical question pertaining to the family cap’s effectiveness and a social justice question pertaining to the policy’s ethical and legal justification in terms of human and reproductive rights. Methods In order to address the first question, a thorough review of past and current research pertaining to the family cap at both the state and national level is provided. The second question is addressed with an overview of international human and reproductive rights documents of relevance to the family-cap policy, as well as an analysis of the covenants’ numerous components with which the family cap is in conflict. Finally, this paper situates the family cap in its historical context by investigating previous governmental attempts to control and regulate the reproductive health and rights of poor women and women of color in the US. Main findings The majority of empirical analyses of the family cap have found that the policy has not had an impact on poor women’s reproductive health behaviors. In addition, the exclusive application of this policy to poor women receiving cash assistance is demonstrated to be in violation of 8 international human and reproductive rights documents, several of which the US is a signatory. Conclusion These two findings make a strong case that policymakers and social and health researchers alike critically re-examine whether a policy that has not achieved its ostensible goal and is applied in a disparate manner—primarily to poor women and families, and women of color—should continue to be implemented by the states. PMID:19879450

Deoxynucleoside salvage enzymes and tissue specific mitochondrial DNA depletion.

PubMed

Wang, L

2010-06-01

Adequate mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copies are required for normal mitochondria function and reductions in mtDNA copy number due to genetic alterations cause tissue-specific mtDNA depletion syndrome (MDS). There are eight nuclear genes, directly or indirectly involved in mtDNA replication and mtDNA precursor synthesis, which have been identified as the cause of MDS. However, the tissue specific pathology of these nuclear gene mutations is not well understood. Here, mtDNA synthesis, mtDNA copy number control, and mtDNA turnover, as well as the synthesis of mtDNA precursors in relation to the levels of salvage enzymes are discussed. The question why MDS caused by TK2 and p53R2 mutations are predominantly muscle specific while dGK deficiency affected mainly liver will be addressed.

Analysis of an Online Match Discussion Board: Improving the Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Match

PubMed Central

Kozin, Elliott D.; Sethi, Rosh; Lehmann, Ashton; Remenschneider, Aaron K.; Golub, Justin S.; Reyes, Samuel A.; Emerick, Kevin; Lee, Daniel J.; Gray, Stacey T.

2015-01-01

Introduction “The Match” has become the accepted selection process for graduate medical education. Otomatch.com has provided an online forum for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) Match-related questions for over a decade. Herein, we aim to 1) delineate the types of posts on Otomatch to better understand the perspective of medical students applying for residency and 2) provide recommendations to potentially improve the Match process. Methods Discussion forum posts on Otomatch between December 2001 and April 2014 were reviewed. The title of each thread and total number of views were recorded for quantitative analysis. Each thread was organized into one of six major categories and one of eighteen subcategories, based on chronology within the application cycle and topic. National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) data were utilized for comparison. Results We identified 1,921 threads corresponding to over 2 million page views. Over 40% of threads related to questions about specific programs, and 27% were discussions about interviews. Views, a surrogate measure for popularity, reflected different trends. The majority of individuals viewed posts on interviews (42%), program specific questions (20%) and how to rank programs (11%). Increase in viewership tracked with a rise in applicant numbers based on NRMP data. Conclusions Our study provides an in depth analysis of a popular discussion forum for medical students interested in the OHNS Match. The most viewed posts are about interview dates and questions regarding specific programs. We provide suggestions to address unmet needs for medical students and potentially improve the Match process. PMID:25550223

Stable Isotope Applications for Understanding Shark Ecology in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

PubMed

Reum, Jonathan C P; Williams, Gregory D; Harvey, Chris J

Stable isotopes are used to address a wide range of ecological questions and can help researchers and managers better understand the movement and trophic ecology of sharks. Here, we review how shark studies from the Northeast Pacific Ocean (NEP) have employed stable isotopes to estimate trophic level and diet composition and infer movement and habitat-use patterns. To date, the number of NEP shark studies that have used stable isotopes is limited, suggesting that the approach is underutilized. To aid shark researchers in understanding the strengths and limitations of the approach, we provide a brief overview of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope trophic discrimination properties (e.g., change in δ 15 N between predator and prey), tissue sample preparation methods specific to elasmobranchs, and methodological considerations for the estimation of trophic level and diet composition. We suggest that stable isotopes are a potentially powerful tool for addressing basic questions about shark ecology and are perhaps most valuable when combined and analysed with other data types (e.g., stomach contents, tagging data, or other intrinsic biogeochemical markers). © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conner, Mary M.; Gross, John E.; Cross, Paul C.; Ebinger, Michael R.; Gillies, Robert; Samuel, Michael D.; Miller, Michael W.

2007-01-01

For each scale, we presented a focal approach that would be useful for understanding the spatial pattern and epidemiology of CWD, as well as being a useful tool for CWD management. The focal approaches include risk analysis and micromaps for the regional scale, cluster analysis for the landscape scale, and individual based modeling for the fine scale of within population. For each of these methods, we used simulated data and walked through the method step by step to fully illustrate the “how to”, with specifics about what is input and output, as well as what questions the method addresses. We also provided a summary table to, at a glance, describe the scale, questions that can be addressed, and general data required for each method described in this e-book. We hope that this review will be helpful to biologists and managers by increasing the utility of their surveillance data, and ultimately be useful for increasing our understanding of CWD and allowing wildlife biologists and managers to move beyond retroactive fire-fighting to proactive preventative action.

Maternal Zinc Intakes and Homeostatic Adjustments during Pregnancy and Lactation

PubMed Central

Donangelo, Carmen Marino; King, Janet C.

2012-01-01

Zinc plays critical roles during embryogenesis, fetal growth, and milk secretion, which increase the zinc need for pregnancy and lactation. Increased needs can be met by increasing the dietary zinc intake, along with making homeostatic adjustments in zinc utilization. Potential homeostatic adjustments include changes in circulating zinc, increased zinc absorption, decreased zinc losses, and changes in whole body zinc kinetics. Although severe zinc deficiency during pregnancy has devastating effects, systematic reviews and meta-analysis of the effect of maternal zinc supplementation on pregnancy outcomes have consistently shown a limited benefit. We hypothesize, therefore, that zinc homeostatic adjustments during pregnancy and lactation improve zinc utilization sufficiently to provide the increased zinc needs in these stages and, therefore, mitigate immediate detrimental effects due to a low zinc intake. The specific questions addressed are the following: How is zinc utilization altered during pregnancy and lactation? Are those homeostatic adjustments influenced by maternal zinc status, dietary zinc, or zinc supplementation? These questions are addressed by critically reviewing results from published human studies on zinc homeostasis during pregnancy and lactation carried out in different populations worldwide. PMID:22852063

Ethical questions must be considered for electronic health records.

PubMed

Spriggs, Merle; Arnold, Michael V; Pearce, Christopher M; Fry, Craig

2012-09-01

National electronic health record initiatives are in progress in many countries around the world but the debate about the ethical issues and how they are to be addressed remains overshadowed by other issues. The discourse to which all others are answerable is a technical discourse, even where matters of privacy and consent are concerned. Yet a focus on technical issues and a failure to think about ethics are cited as factors in the failure of the UK health record system. In this paper, while the prime concern is the Australian Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the discussion is relevant to and informed by the international context. The authors draw attention to ethical and conceptual issues that have implications for the success or failure of electronic health records systems. Important ethical issues to consider as Australia moves towards a PCEHR system include: issues of equity that arise in the context of personal control, who benefits and who should pay, what are the legitimate uses of PCEHRs, and how we should implement privacy. The authors identify specific questions that need addressing.

Study sponsorship and the nutrition research agenda: analysis of randomized controlled trials included in systematic reviews of nutrition interventions to address obesity.

PubMed

Fabbri, Alice; Chartres, Nicholas; Scrinis, Gyorgy; Bero, Lisa A

2017-05-01

To categorize the research topics covered by a sample of randomized controlled trials (RCT) included in systematic reviews of nutrition interventions to address obesity; to describe their funding sources; and to explore the association between funding sources and nutrition research topics. Cross-sectional study. RCT included in Cochrane Reviews of nutrition interventions to address obesity and/or overweight. Two hundred and thirteen RCT from seventeen Cochrane Reviews were included. Funding source and authors' conflicts of interest were disclosed in 82·6 and 29·6 % of the studies, respectively. RCT were more likely to test an intervention to manipulate nutrients in the context of reduced energy intake (44·2 % of studies) than food-level (11·3 %) and dietary pattern-level (0·9 %) interventions. Most of the food industry-sponsored studies focused on interventions involving manipulations of specific nutrients (66·7 %). Only 33·1 % of the industry-funded studies addressed dietary behaviours compared with 66·9 % of the non-industry-funded ones (P=0·002). The level of food processing was poorly considered across all funding sources. The predominance of RCT examining nutrient-specific questions could limit the public health relevance of rigorous evidence available for systematic reviews and dietary guidelines.

Open questions in surface topography measurement: a roadmap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leach, Richard; Evans, Christopher; He, Liangyu; Davies, Angela; Duparré, Angela; Henning, Andrew; Jones, Christopher W.; O'Connor, Daniel

2015-03-01

Control of surface topography has always been of vital importance for manufacturing and many other engineering and scientific disciplines. However, despite over one hundred years of quantitative surface topography measurement, there are still many open questions. At the top of the list of questions is ‘Are we getting the right answer?’ This begs the obvious question ‘How would we know?’ There are many other questions relating to applications, the appropriateness of a technique for a given scenario, or the relationship between a particular analysis and the function of the surface. In this first ‘open questions’ article we have gathered together some experts in surface topography measurement and asked them to address timely, unresolved questions about the subject. We hope that their responses will go some way to answer these questions, address areas where further research is required, and look at the future of the subject. The first section ‘Spatial content characterization for precision surfaces’ addresses the need to characterise the spatial content of precision surfaces. Whilst we have been manufacturing optics for centuries, there still isn’t a consensus on how to specify the surface for manufacture. The most common three methods for spatial characterisation are reviewed and compared, and the need for further work on quantifying measurement uncertainties is highlighted. The article is focussed on optical surfaces, but the ideas are more pervasive. Different communities refer to ‘figure, mid-spatial frequencies, and finish’ and ‘form, waviness, and roughness’, but the mathematics are identical. The second section ‘Light scattering methods’ is focussed on light scattering techniques; an important topic with in-line metrology becoming essential in many manufacturing scenarios. The potential of scattering methods has long been recognized; in the ‘smooth surface limit’ functionally significant relationships can be derived from first principles for statistically stationary, random surfaces. For rougher surfaces, correlations can be found experimentally for specific manufacturing processes. Improvements in computational methods encourage us to revisit light scattering as a powerful and versatile tool to investigate surface and thin film topographies, potentially providing information on both topography and defects over large areas at high speed. Future scattering techniques will be applied for complex film systems and for sub-surface damage measurement, but more research is required to quantify and standardise such measurements. A fundamental limitation of all topography measurement systems is their finite spatial bandwidth, which limits the slopes that they can detect. The third section ‘Optical measurements of surfaces containing high slope angles’ discusses this limitation and potential methods to overcome it. In some cases, a rough surface can allow measurement of slopes outside the classical optics limit, but more research is needed to fully understand this process. The last section ‘What are the challenges for high dynamic range surface measurement?’ presents the challenge facing metrologists by the use of surfaces that need measurement systems with very high spatial and temporal bandwidths, for example, those found in roll-to-roll manufacturing. High resolution, large areas and fast measurement times are needed, and these needs are unlikely to be fulfilled by developing a single all-purpose instrument. A toolbox of techniques needs to be developed which can be applied for any specific manufacturing scenario. The functional significance of surface topography has been known for centuries. Mirrors are smooth. Sliding behaviour depends on roughness. We have been measuring surfaces for centuries, but we still face many challenges. New manufacturing paradigms suggest that we need to make rapid measurements online that relate to the functional performance of the surface. This first ‘open questions’ collection addresses a subset of the challenges facing the surface metrology community. There are many more challenges which we would like to address in future ‘open questions’ articles. We welcome your feedback and your suggestions.

Sex-specific but not sexually explicit: pupillary responses to dressed and naked adults.

PubMed

Attard-Johnson, Janice; Bindemann, Markus

2017-05-01

Dilation of the pupils is an indicator of an observer's sexual interest in other people, but it remains unresolved whether this response is strengthened or diminished by sexually explicit material. To address this question, this study compared pupillary responses of heterosexual men and women to naked and dressed portraits of male and female adult film actors. Pupillary responses corresponded with observers' self-reported sexual orientation, such that dilation occurred during the viewing of opposite-sex people, but were comparable for naked and dressed targets. These findings indicate that pupillary responses provide a sex-specific measure, but are not sensitive to sexually explicit content.

Response to Germann's "Comment on 'theory for source-responsive and free-surface film modeling of unsaturated flow'"

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nimmo, J.R.

2010-01-01

Germann's (2010) comment helpfully presents supporting evidence that I have missed, notes items that need clarification or correction, and stimulates discussion of what is needed for improved theory of unsaturated flow. Several points from this comment relate not only to specific features of the content of my paper (Nimmo, 2010), but also to the broader question of what methodology is appropriate for developing an applied earth science. Accordingly, before addressing specific points that Germann identified, I present here some considerations of purpose and background relevant to evaluation of the unsaturated flow model of Nimmo (2010).

Sex-specific but not sexually explicit: pupillary responses to dressed and naked adults

PubMed Central

Bindemann, Markus

2017-01-01

Dilation of the pupils is an indicator of an observer's sexual interest in other people, but it remains unresolved whether this response is strengthened or diminished by sexually explicit material. To address this question, this study compared pupillary responses of heterosexual men and women to naked and dressed portraits of male and female adult film actors. Pupillary responses corresponded with observers' self-reported sexual orientation, such that dilation occurred during the viewing of opposite-sex people, but were comparable for naked and dressed targets. These findings indicate that pupillary responses provide a sex-specific measure, but are not sensitive to sexually explicit content. PMID:28572991

Definition of rational antiepileptic polypharmacy.

PubMed

Wilder, B J; Homan, R W

1996-01-01

Rational polypharmacy is in its earliest stages of development and will require substantial additional development to realize its full potential. Indeed, despite the powerful appeal of the concept, clinical proof is not yet available that RP is superior to monotherapy. Important questions need to be addressed: 1. Will RP control seizures more effectively than monotherapy? 2. What data are needed to develop RP for a specific patient? 3. Will RP be cost effective? 4. Can RP be developed which will treat or prevent epilepsy while controlling seizures? Possible approaches to these questions could include: 1. The development of a data base for prospective use to monitor patients being treated at Epilepsy Centers using RP principles. 2. Use the data obtained from the above to construct more specific studies to compare identified combination therapies with monotherapy. 3. Prospectively compare in a placebo controlled, blinded study, the effect of the combination of an anti-ictal medication and a laboratory proven antiepileptic drug for prevention of the development of epilepsy in an at risk population such as head trauma or stroke.

Heterologous vaccine effects.

PubMed

Saadatian-Elahi, Mitra; Aaby, Peter; Shann, Frank; Netea, Mihai G; Levy, Ofer; Louis, Jacques; Picot, Valentina; Greenberg, Michael; Warren, William

2016-07-25

The heterologous or non-specific effects (NSEs) of vaccines, at times defined as "off-target effects" suggest that they can affect the immune response to organisms other than their pathogen-specific intended purpose. These NSEs have been the subject of clinical, immunological and epidemiological studies and are increasingly recognized as an important biological process by a growing group of immunologists and epidemiologists. Much remain to be learned about the extent and underlying mechanisms for these effects. The conference "Off-target effects of vaccination" held in Annecy-France (June 8-10 2015) intended to take a holistic approach drawing from the fields of immunology, systems biology, epidemiology, bioinformatics, public health and regulatory science to address fundamental questions of immunological mechanisms, as well as translational questions about vaccines NSEs. NSE observations were examined using case-studies on live attenuated vaccines and non-live vaccines followed by discussion of studies of possible biological mechanisms. Some possible pathways forward in the study of vaccines NSE were identified and discussed by the expert group. Copyright © 2016.

Landauer in the Age of Synthetic Biology: Energy Consumption and Information Processing in Biochemical Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Pankaj; Lang, Alex H.; Schwab, David J.

2016-03-01

A central goal of synthetic biology is to design sophisticated synthetic cellular circuits that can perform complex computations and information processing tasks in response to specific inputs. The tremendous advances in our ability to understand and manipulate cellular information processing networks raises several fundamental physics questions: How do the molecular components of cellular circuits exploit energy consumption to improve information processing? Can one utilize ideas from thermodynamics to improve the design of synthetic cellular circuits and modules? Here, we summarize recent theoretical work addressing these questions. Energy consumption in cellular circuits serves five basic purposes: (1) increasing specificity, (2) manipulating dynamics, (3) reducing variability, (4) amplifying signal, and (5) erasing memory. We demonstrate these ideas using several simple examples and discuss the implications of these theoretical ideas for the emerging field of synthetic biology. We conclude by discussing how it may be possible to overcome these limitations using "post-translational" synthetic biology that exploits reversible protein modification.

Twists and turns--How we stepped into and had fun in the "boring" lipid field.

PubMed

Han, Min

2015-11-01

Compared to proteins and RNAs, functional specificities associated with structural variations in fatty acids and lipids have been greatly underexplored. This review describes how our lab naively started to work on lipids 14 years ago, and how we have gradually overcome obstacles to address some interesting biological questions by combining genetics with biochemical methods on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our studies have revealed lipid variants and their metabolic pathways, in specific tissues, impact development and behaviors by regulating specific signaling events. The review also discusses the general research approach, style of lab management, and funding mechanisms that have facilitated the frequent research direction changes in the lab, including the journey into the lipid field.

Developing a Security Profile.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodcock, Chris

1999-01-01

Examines the questions schools should address when re-evaluating how to protect people, property, and assets. Questions addressed include where and how to begin to improve security in a school, getting the most protection economically, establishing where electronic security should be used, using surveillance cameras and systems, and what the role…

Addressing Phonological Questions with Ultrasound

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, Lisa

2005-01-01

Ultrasound can be used to address unresolved questions in phonological theory. To date, some studies have shown that results from ultrasound imaging can shed light on how differences in phonological elements are implemented. Phenomena that have been investigated include transitional schwa, vowel coalescence, and transparent vowels. A study of…

Problems associated with the utilization of algae in bioregenerative life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Averner, M. M.; Karel, M.; Radmer, R.

1984-01-01

A workshop was conducted to identify the potential problems associated with the use of microalgae in biorregenerative life support systems, and to identify algae rlated research issues that must be addressed through space flight experimentation. Major questions to be resolved relate to the choice of algal species for inclusion in a bioregenerative life support system, their long term behavior in the space environment, and the nature of the techniques required for the continuous growth of algae on the scale required. Consideration was given to the problems associated with the conversion of algal biomass into edible components. Specific concerns were addressed and alternative transformation processes identified and compared. The workshop identified the following major areas to be addressed by space flight experimentation: (1) long term culture stability, (2) optimal design of algal growth reactors, and (3) post growth harvesting and processing in the space environment.

Overview of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) experimental design and organization

DOE PAGES

Eyring, Veronika; Bony, Sandrine; Meehl, Gerald A.; ...

2016-05-26

By coordinating the design and distribution of global climate model simulations of the past, current, and future climate, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) has become one of the foundational elements of climate science. However, the need to address an ever-expanding range of scientific questions arising from more and more research communities has made it necessary to revise the organization of CMIP. After a long and wide community consultation, a new and more federated structure has been put in place. It consists of three major elements: (1) a handful of common experiments, the DECK (Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima) andmore » CMIP historical simulations (1850–near present) that will maintain continuity and help document basic characteristics of models across different phases of CMIP; (2) common standards, coordination, infrastructure, and documentation that will facilitate the distribution of model outputs and the characterization of the model ensemble; and (3) an ensemble of CMIP-Endorsed Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) that will be specific to a particular phase of CMIP (now CMIP6) and that will build on the DECK and CMIP historical simulations to address a large range of specific questions and fill the scientific gaps of the previous CMIP phases. The DECK and CMIP historical simulations, together with the use of CMIP data standards, will be the entry cards for models participating in CMIP. Participation in CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs by individual modelling groups will be at their own discretion and will depend on their scientific interests and priorities. With the Grand Science Challenges of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as its scientific backdrop, CMIP6 will address three broad questions: – How does the Earth system respond to forcing? – What are the origins and consequences of systematic model biases? – How can we assess future climate changes given internal climate variability, predictability, and uncertainties in scenarios? This CMIP6 overview paper presents the background and rationale for the new structure of CMIP, provides a detailed description of the DECK and CMIP6 historical simulations, and includes a brief introduction to the 21 CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs.« less

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

Eyring, Veronika; Bony, Sandrine; Meehl, Gerald A.

By coordinating the design and distribution of global climate model simulations of the past, current, and future climate, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) has become one of the foundational elements of climate science. However, the need to address an ever-expanding range of scientific questions arising from more and more research communities has made it necessary to revise the organization of CMIP. After a long and wide community consultation, a new and more federated structure has been put in place. It consists of three major elements: (1) a handful of common experiments, the DECK (Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima) andmore » CMIP historical simulations (1850–near present) that will maintain continuity and help document basic characteristics of models across different phases of CMIP; (2) common standards, coordination, infrastructure, and documentation that will facilitate the distribution of model outputs and the characterization of the model ensemble; and (3) an ensemble of CMIP-Endorsed Model Intercomparison Projects (MIPs) that will be specific to a particular phase of CMIP (now CMIP6) and that will build on the DECK and CMIP historical simulations to address a large range of specific questions and fill the scientific gaps of the previous CMIP phases. The DECK and CMIP historical simulations, together with the use of CMIP data standards, will be the entry cards for models participating in CMIP. Participation in CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs by individual modelling groups will be at their own discretion and will depend on their scientific interests and priorities. With the Grand Science Challenges of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as its scientific backdrop, CMIP6 will address three broad questions: – How does the Earth system respond to forcing? – What are the origins and consequences of systematic model biases? – How can we assess future climate changes given internal climate variability, predictability, and uncertainties in scenarios? This CMIP6 overview paper presents the background and rationale for the new structure of CMIP, provides a detailed description of the DECK and CMIP6 historical simulations, and includes a brief introduction to the 21 CMIP6-Endorsed MIPs.« less

Creating a cultural analysis tool for the implementation of Ontario's civil mental health laws.

PubMed

Dhand, Ruby

2016-01-01

Ethno-racial people with mental health disabilities experience multiple inequities and differential outcomes when interacting with Ontario's civil mental health laws. Given the increasing multi-racial population in Ontario, there is a need to develop mechanisms to address these intersecting issues. Other countries that have created evaluative tools for mental health legislation include the United Kingdom and Australia. Australia's Rights Analysis Tool, the United Kingdom's Race Equality Impact Assessment, the Scottish Recovery Tool, and the World Health Organization's Mental Health and Human Rights checklist are examples of evaluative tools developed for mental health legislation. Such a tool does not exist in Canada, let alone in Ontario specifically. Thus, this study developed a Cultural Analysis Tool (CAT) consisting of specific and meaningful thematic questions that can be used by practitioners when addressing issues of culture and equity for ethno-racial people with mental health disabilities interacting with Ontario's civil mental health laws. It is hoped that the CAT, and the research underlying its development, will enable practitioners to critically question whether cultural and intersecting concerns are being appropriately addressed within an ethno-racial client's case and, furthermore, how equitable outcomes can be achieved. This article describes and analyzes the methodology, research and qualitative data used to develop the CAT. It then presents and examines the CAT itself. The qualitative data was drawn from thirty-five semi-structured interviews with seven members of each of the following groups: (1) ethno-racial people with mental health disabilities including in-patients and ex-patients, (2) lawyers who practice in the area of mental health law, (3) health care professionals including psychiatrists, nurses and social workers, (4) service providers such as front-line case workers at mental health agencies and (5) adjudicators, government advisors and academics. After an analysis of these data, the CAT's questions were refined through an expert review (involving the qualitative technique of member-checking) using three focus groups comprised of ethno-racial people with mental health disabilities, mental health lawyers and service providers and health care professionals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Landslide modeling and forecasting—recent progress by the u.s. geological survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baum, Rex L.; Kean, Jason W.

2015-01-01

Landslide studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are focused on two main objectives: scientific understanding and forecasting. The first objective is to gain better understanding of the physical processes involved in landslide initiation and movement. This objective is largely in support of the second objective, to develop predictive capabilities to answer the main hazard questions. Answers to the following six questions are needed to characterize the hazard from landslides: (1) Where will landslides occur? (2) What kind(s) of landslides will occur? (3) When will landslides occur? (4) How big will the landslides be? (5) How fast will the landslides travel? (6) How far will the landslides go? Although these questions are sometimes recast in different terms, such as frequency or recurrence rather than timing (when), the questions or their variants address the spatial, physical, and temporal aspects of landslide hazards. Efforts to develop modeling and forecasting capabilities by the USGS are primarily focused on specific landslide types that pose a high degree of hazard and show relatively high potential for predictability.

Peer Instruction Materials for Light and Spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kevin M.; Siedell, C. M.; Prather, E. E.

2008-05-01

This poster will describe a new set of materials from the ClassAction project focusing on light and spectra. We will identify the concepts covered in the Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI) which include the electromagnetic spectrum, Doppler shift, Wien's Law, Stefan-Boltzmann Law, and Kirchhoff's Laws. We will then specifically address how these concepts are targeted by the questions and resources of the ClassAction module. ClassAction is a collection of materials designed to enhance the metacognitive skills of college and high school introductory astronomy students by promoting interactive engagement and providing rapid feedback. The main focus is dynamic peer instruction questions that can be projected in the classroom. Instructors have the capability to recast these questions into alternate permutations based on their own preferences and formative feedback from the class. The questions can be easily selected from a FLASH computer database and are accompanied by outlines, graphics, and simulations which the instructor can utilize to provide feedback. These materials are publicly available at http://astro.unl.edu and are funded by NSF grant #0404988.

Seventy-one important questions for the conservation of marine biodiversity.

PubMed

Parsons, E C M; Favaro, Brett; Aguirre, A Alonso; Bauer, Amy L; Blight, Louise K; Cigliano, John A; Coleman, Melinda A; Côté, Isabelle M; Draheim, Megan; Fletcher, Stephen; Foley, Melissa M; Jefferson, Rebecca; Jones, Miranda C; Kelaher, Brendan P; Lundquist, Carolyn J; McCarthy, Julie-Beth; Nelson, Anne; Patterson, Katheryn; Walsh, Leslie; Wright, Andrew J; Sutherland, William J

2014-10-01

The ocean provides food, economic activity, and cultural value for a large proportion of humanity. Our knowledge of marine ecosystems lags behind that of terrestrial ecosystems, limiting effective protection of marine resources. We describe the outcome of 2 workshops in 2011 and 2012 to establish a list of important questions, which, if answered, would substantially improve our ability to conserve and manage the world's marine resources. Participants included individuals from academia, government, and nongovernment organizations with broad experience across disciplines, marine ecosystems, and countries that vary in levels of development. Contributors from the fields of science, conservation, industry, and government submitted questions to our workshops, which we distilled into a list of priority research questions. Through this process, we identified 71 key questions. We grouped these into 8 subject categories, each pertaining to a broad component of marine conservation: fisheries, climate change, other anthropogenic threats, ecosystems, marine citizenship, policy, societal and cultural considerations, and scientific enterprise. Our questions address many issues that are specific to marine conservation, and will serve as a road map to funders and researchers to develop programs that can greatly benefit marine conservation. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Milky Way's thick and thin disk: Is there a distinct thick disk?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawata, D.; Chiappini, C.

2016-09-01

This article is based on our discussion session on Milky Way models at the 592 WE-Heraeus Seminar, Reconstructing the Milky Way's History: Spectroscopic Surveys, Asteroseismology and Chemodynamical Models. The discussion focused on the following question: "Are there distinct thick and thin disks?". The answer to this question depends on the definition one adopts for thin and thick disks. The participants of this discussion converged to the idea that there are at least two different types of disks in the Milky Way. However, there are still important open questions on how to best define these two types of disks (chemically, kinematically, geometrically or by age?). The question of what is the origin of the distinct disks remains open. The future Galactic surveys which are highlighted in this conference should help us answering these questions. The almost one-hour debate involving researchers in the field representing different modelling approaches (Galactic models such as TRILEGAL, Besançon and Galaxia, chemical evolution models, extended distribution functions method, chemodynamics in the cosmological context, and self-consistent cosmological simulations) illustrated how important is to have all these parallel approaches. All approaches have their advantages and shortcomings (also discussed), and different approaches are useful to address specific points that might help us answering the more general question above.

Addressing Parental Vaccination Questions in the School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luthy, Karlen E.; Burningham, Jana; Eden, Lacey M.; Macintosh, Janelle L. B.; Beckstrand, Renea L.

2016-01-01

School nurses work in a unique environment with key opportunities to address parental concerns and questions regarding their child's health. A common concern for parents during school enrollment is childhood vaccination safety and efficacy. As public health leaders, school nurses are well respected among parents, therefore school nurses are in a…

The Internet, Political Participation, and E-Government in Comparative Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharma, Mukul

2010-01-01

This dissertation addresses three important questions, together with optimistic and pessimistic views, about people's access/use of the Internet, its ability to promote their participation in politics, and its role in government provision of information and public services. Chapter Two addresses the question of the determinants of people's access…

From the Field: Learning Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weigel, Kathleen; Jones, Richard

2015-01-01

Leadership is essential to successful schools. One of the ways to support effective school leadership is to share ideas and best practices to address the common challenges faced by school leaders. This question and response format addresses common challenges and questions from practicing school leaders in the manner that a mentor might respond to…

Secondary Data Analysis: An Important Tool for Addressing Developmental Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenhoot, Andrea Follmer; Dowsett, Chantelle J.

2012-01-01

Existing data sets can be an efficient, powerful, and readily available resource for addressing questions about developmental science. Many of the available databases contain hundreds of variables of interest to developmental psychologists, track participants longitudinally, and have representative samples. In this article, the authors discuss the…

Many Faces of Mexico.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz, Octavio Madigan; And Others

This resource book braids together the cultural, political and economic realities which together shape Mexican history. The guiding question for the book is that of: "What do we need to know about Mexico's past in order to understand its present and future?" To address the question, the interdisciplinary resource book addresses key…

Reframing "The Italian": Questions of Audience Address in Early Cinema.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keil, Charlie

1990-01-01

Analyzes "The Italian" (1915), an early "immigrant" film, examining its problematic relation to questions of working-class and middle-class audience composition. Shows how this film reveals that the creation of narratives suitable for diverse audiences requires continuous readjustment of an adequate mode of address. (MM)

Safety and Environmental Regulation in Industrial Mobilization,

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

a shrinking industrial base and a reluctance of many firms to seek out de- fense business? When these "how" questions are answered, plans and...Defense (DOD) off i- cials were interviewed for their plans for addressing the specifics of OSHA and EPA impact in the event of mobilization. The...health programs. If a State’s plan is approved by OSHA, OSHA pays the State up to 50 percent of the program’s operating cost. As of 1982 21 State

How to Measure Outcomes of Peripheral Nerve Surgery

PubMed Central

Wang, Yirong; Sunitha, Malay; Chung, Kevin C.

2013-01-01

Synopsis Evaluation of outcomes after peripheral nerve surgeries include a number of assessment methods that reflect different aspects of recovery, including reinnervation, tactile gnosis, integrated sensory and motor function, pain and discomfort, neurophysiological and patient- reported outcomes. This review makes a list of measurements addressing these aspects as well as advantage and disadvantage of each tool. Because of complexities of neurophysiology, assessment remains a difficult process, which requires researchers focus on measurements best relevant to specific conditions and research questions. PMID:23895715

The nanny in the schoolhouse: critical reflections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, Jennifer Hauver

2013-06-01

What can narratives do for us? In this response to Grimes' article, I endeavor to answer this question, considering the author's story as both a space for unpacking and the complex intersection of identity, teaching and learning and as an effort to name herself in the midst of such complexity. Specifically, I address the raced, gendered, classed nature of the relationships that Grimes' suggests facilitate science learning in her classroom, asking "What is gained or lost when students' success is attributed to such relationships?"

Europa Science Platforms and Kinetic Energy Probes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, C. C.; Klein, G. A.

2003-01-01

This presentation will outline a proposed mission for the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO). The mission outlined will concentrate on an examination of Europa. Some of the primary science goals for the JIMO mission are: 1) to answer broad science questions, 2) improved knowledge of Jovian system; specifically, lunar geological and geophysical properties, 3) chemical composition of Jovian lunar surfaces and subterranean matter, and 4) the search for life. In order to address these issues, the experiment proposed here will deploy orbiting, surface, and subterranean science platforms.

How to measure outcomes of peripheral nerve surgery.

PubMed

Wang, Yirong; Sunitha, Malay; Chung, Kevin C

2013-08-01

Evaluation of outcomes after peripheral nerve surgeries include several assessment methods that reflect different aspects of recovery, including reinnervation, tactile gnosis, integrated sensory and motor function, pain and discomfort, and neurophysiologic and patient-reported outcomes. This review lists measurements addressing these aspects as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each tool. Because of complexities of neurophysiology, assessment remains a difficult process, which requires researchers to focus on measurements best relevant to specific conditions and research questions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assigning Resources to Health Care Use for Health Services Research: Options and Consequences

PubMed Central

Fishman, Paul A.; Hornbrook, Mark C.

2013-01-01

Aims Our goals are threefold: 1) to review the leading options for assigning resource coefficients to health services utilization; 2) to discuss the relative advantages of each option; and, 3) provide examples where the research question had marked implications for the choice of which resource measure to employ. Methods Three approaches have been used to establish relative resource weights in health services research: a) direct estimation of production costs through micro-costing or step down allocation methods; b) macro-costing/regression analysis; and, c) standardized resource assignment. We describe each of these methods and provide examples of how the study question drove the choice of resource use measure. Findings All empirical resource-intensity weighting systems contain distortions that limit their universal application. Hence, users must select the weighting system that matches the needs of their specific analysis. All systems require significant data resources and data processing. However, inattention to the distortions contained in a complex resource weighting system may undermine the validity and generalizability of an economic evaluation. Conclusions Direct estimation of production costs are useful for empirical analyses, but they contain distortions that undermine optimal resource allocation decisions. Researchers must ensure that the data being used meets both the study design and the question being addressed. They also should ensure that the choice of resource measure is the best fit for the analysis. Implications for Research and Policy Researchers should consider which of the available measures is the most appropriate for the question being addressed rather than take ‘cost’ or utilization as a variable over which they have no control PMID:19536002

Organizational, Cultural, and Psychological Determinants of Smart Infusion Pump Work Arounds: A Study of 3 U.S. Health Systems.

PubMed

Dunford, Benjamin B; Perrigino, Matthew; Tucker, Sharon J; Gaston, Cynthia L; Young, Jim; Vermace, Beverly J; Walroth, Todd A; Buening, Natalie R; Skillman, Katherine L; Berndt, Dawn

2017-09-01

We investigated nurse perceptions of smart infusion medication pumps to provide evidence-based insights on how to help reduce work around and improve compliance with patient safety policies. Specifically, we investigated the following 3 research questions: (1) What are nurses' current attitudes about smart infusion pumps? (2) What do nurses think are the causes of smart infusion pump work arounds? and (3) To whom do nurses turn for smart infusion pump training and troubleshooting? We surveyed a large number of nurses (N = 818) in 3 U.S.-based health care systems to address the research questions above. We assessed nurses' opinions about smart infusion pumps, organizational perceptions, and the reasons for work arounds using a voluntary and anonymous Web-based survey. Using qualitative research methods, we coded open-ended responses to questions about the reasons for work arounds to organize responses into useful categories. The nurses reported widespread satisfaction with smart infusion pumps. However, they reported numerous organizational, cultural, and psychological causes of smart pump work arounds. Of 1029 open-ended responses to the question "why do smart pump work arounds occur?" approximately 44% of the causes were technology related, 47% were organization related, and 9% were related to individual factors. Finally, an overwhelming majority of nurses reported seeking solutions to smart pump problems from coworkers and being trained primarily on the job. Hospitals may significantly improve adherence to smart pump safety features by addressing the nontechnical causes of work arounds and by providing more leadership and formalized training for resolving smart pump-related problems.

Bridging the gap between evidence and policy for infectious diseases: How models can aid public health decision-making.

PubMed

Knight, Gwenan M; Dharan, Nila J; Fox, Gregory J; Stennis, Natalie; Zwerling, Alice; Khurana, Renuka; Dowdy, David W

2016-01-01

The dominant approach to decision-making in public health policy for infectious diseases relies heavily on expert opinion, which often applies empirical evidence to policy questions in a manner that is neither systematic nor transparent. Although systematic reviews are frequently commissioned to inform specific components of policy (such as efficacy), the same process is rarely applied to the full decision-making process. Mathematical models provide a mechanism through which empirical evidence can be methodically and transparently integrated to address such questions. However, such models are often considered difficult to interpret. In addition, models provide estimates that need to be iteratively re-evaluated as new data or considerations arise. Using the case study of a novel diagnostic for tuberculosis, a framework for improved collaboration between public health decision-makers and mathematical modellers that could lead to more transparent and evidence-driven policy decisions for infectious diseases in the future is proposed. The framework proposes that policymakers should establish long-term collaborations with modellers to address key questions, and that modellers should strive to provide clear explanations of the uncertainty of model structure and outputs. Doing so will improve the applicability of models and clarify their limitations when used to inform real-world public health policy decisions. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Evidence of educational inadequacies in region-specific musculoskeletal medicine.

PubMed

Day, Charles S; Yeh, Albert C

2008-10-01

Recent studies suggest US medical schools are not effectively addressing musculoskeletal medicine in their curricula. We examined if there were specific areas of weakness by analyzing students' knowledge of and confidence in examining specific anatomic regions. A cross-sectional survey study of third- and fourth-year students at Harvard Medical School was conducted during the 2005 to 2006 academic year. One hundred sixty-two third-year students (88% response) and 87 fourth-year students (57% response) completed the Freedman and Bernstein cognitive mastery examination in musculoskeletal medicine and a survey eliciting their clinical confidence in examining the shoulder, elbow, hand, back, hip, knee, and foot on a one to five Likert scale. We specifically analyzed examination questions dealing with the upper extremity, lower extremity, back, and others, which included more systemic conditions such as arthritis, metabolic bone diseases, and cancer. Students failed to meet the established passing benchmark of 70% in all subgroups except for the others category. Confidence scores in performing a physical examination and in generating a differential diagnosis indicated students felt below adequate confidence (3.0 of 5) in five of the seven anatomic regions. Our study provides evidence that region-specific musculoskeletal medicine is a potential learning gap that may need to be addressed in the undergraduate musculoskeletal curriculum.

Pedogenic Magnetic Minerals in Soils: Some Tests of Current Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egli, R.

2008-12-01

The magnetic enhancement of soils is increasingly used as a proxy for continental climate, since it is related to the formation of pedogenic iron minerals under warm, humid conditions. Ultrafine magnetite is believed to be the major responsible of the magnetic enhancement, however, very little is known on the detailed formation mechanism, ant its relation to the soil iron cycle. Furthermore, the 'textbook' case of the Chinese Loess Plateau is not well replicated around the World: Loessic soils from the Midwestern US are systematically less enhanced than their Chinese counterpart under similar climatic conditions, and many loessic soils in Argentina are not enhanced at all. In trying to find a rationale behind these differences, I will address three main questions that need to be answered in a bottom-up approach to the problem. The first question is whether susceptibility is indeed controlled by fine magnetite, excluding any significant role of other minerals such as ferrihydrite, goethite, and hematite. This is a rock magnetic problem addressing the interpretation of magnetic measurements: is susceptibility an adequate proxy for the concentration of magnetic minerals in soils? Answering this question allows us to think directly in terms of abundance specific magnetic minerals, which is fundamental for any subsequent interpretation. The second question is directed to understanding the role of magnetic minerals in the soil iron cycle and how they are formed. This brings us to a discussion of the transfer function linking magnetic enhancement with climate. Is indeed rainfall the only parameter controlling pedogenesis? Why is rainfall apparently related with the logarithm of susceptibility in enhanced soils? Can we test current pedogenetic models against this empirical transfer function? The third question points to the role of parent material and later dust inputs. Midwestern US and Argentinian loesses are different from Chinese loess. Is this a reason for the differences observed in the magnetic enhancement of the respective soils? Enough material is now available to test current models and hypotheses with respect to the first two questions.

FRAX(®) Bone Mineral Density Task Force of the 2010 Joint International Society for Clinical Densitometry & International Osteoporosis Foundation Position Development Conference.

PubMed

Lewiecki, E Michael; Compston, Juliet E; Miller, Paul D; Adachi, Jonathan D; Adams, Judith E; Leslie, William D; Kanis, John A

2011-01-01

FRAX(®) is a fracture risk assessment algorithm developed by the World Health Organization in cooperation with other medical organizations and societies. Using easily available clinical information and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), when available, FRAX(®) is used to predict the 10-year probability of hip fracture and major osteoporotic fracture. These values may be included in country specific guidelines to aid clinicians in determining when fracture risk is sufficiently high that the patient is likely to benefit from pharmacological therapy to reduce that risk. Since the introduction of FRAX(®) into clinical practice, many practical clinical questions have arisen regarding its use. To address such questions, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry (ISCD) and International Osteoporosis Foundations (IOF) assigned task forces to review the best available medical evidence and make recommendations for optimal use of FRAX(®) in clinical practice. Questions were identified and divided into three general categories. A task force was assigned to investigating the medical evidence in each category and developing clinically useful recommendations. The BMD Task Force addressed issues that included the potential use of skeletal sites other than the femoral neck, the use of technologies other than DXA, and the deletion or addition of clinical data for FRAX(®) input. The evidence and recommendations were presented to a panel of experts at the ISCD-IOF FRAX(®) Position Development Conference, resulting in the development of ISCD-IOF Official Positions addressing FRAX(®)-related issues. Copyright © 2011 The International Society for Clinical Densitometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Assessment of the Potential Predictability of Drought Over the United States Based on Climate Model Simulations with Specified SST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, Siegfried; Wang, Hailan; Suarez, Max; Koster, Randal

2010-01-01

The USCLIV AR working group on drought recently initiated a series of global climate model simulations forced with idealized SST anomaly patterns, designed to address a number of uncertainties regarding the impact of SST forcing and the role of land-atmosphere feedbacks on regional drought. The runs were done with several global atmospheric models including NASA/NSIPP-l, NCEP/GFS, GFDLlAM2, and NCAR CCM3 and CAM3.5. Specific questions that the runs are designed to address include: What are mechanisms that maintain drought across the seasonal cycle and from one year to the next. To what extent can droughts develop independently of ocean variability due to year-to-year memory that may be inherent to the land. What is the role of the different ocean basins? Here we focus on the potential predictability of drought conditions over the United States. Specific issues addressed include the seasonality and regionality of the signal-to-noise ratios associated with Pacific and Atlantic SST forcing, and the sensitivity of the results to the climatological stationary waves simulated by the different AGCMs.

An uncontrolled trial of multi-component care for first-episode psychosis: Effects on social cognition.

PubMed

Breitborde, Nicholas J K; Moe, Aubrey M; Woolverton, Cindy; Harrison-Monroe, Patricia; Bell, Emily K

2018-06-01

Growing evidence suggests that specialized, multi-component treatment programmes produce improvements in numerous outcomes among individuals with first-episode psychosis. However, these programmes often lack interventions specifically designed to address deficits in social cognition. This raises questions about the effectiveness of such programmes in addressing deficits in social cognition that accompany psychotic disorders. We investigated the effect of participation in a multi-component treatment programme on social cognition among 71 individuals with first-episode psychosis. Participants experienced gains in emotion processing, social knowledge, social perception and theory of mind. However, after controlling for multiple comparisons, these improvements were limited to theory of mind and recognition of social cues in low emotion interactions. Although our findings should be interpreted cautiously, they raise the possibility that individuals participating in multi-component treatment programmes for first-episode psychosis without interventions specifically targeting social cognition may still experience gains in social cognition. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

DNA microarray technology in nutraceutical and food safety.

PubMed

Liu-Stratton, Yiwen; Roy, Sashwati; Sen, Chandan K

2004-04-15

The quality and quantity of diet is a key determinant of health and disease. Molecular diagnostics may play a key role in food safety related to genetically modified foods, food-borne pathogens and novel nutraceuticals. Functional outcomes in biology are determined, for the most part, by net balance between sets of genes related to the specific outcome in question. The DNA microarray technology offers a new dimension of strength in molecular diagnostics by permitting the simultaneous analysis of large sets of genes. Automation of assay and novel bioinformatics tools make DNA microarrays a robust technology for diagnostics. Since its development a few years ago, this technology has been used for the applications of toxicogenomics, pharmacogenomics, cell biology, and clinical investigations addressing the prevention and intervention of diseases. Optimization of this technology to specifically address food safety is a vast resource that remains to be mined. Efforts to develop diagnostic custom arrays and simplified bioinformatics tools for field use are warranted.

Library learning space--empirical research and perspective.

PubMed

Littleton, Dawn; Rethlefsen, Melissa

2008-01-01

Navigate the Net columns offer navigation to Web sites of value to medical librarians. For this issue, the authors recognize that librarians are frequently challenged to justify the need for the physical space occupied by a library in the context of the wide availability of electronic resources, ubiquitous student laptops, and competition for space needed by other institutional priorities. While this trend started years ago, it continues to raise a number of important practical and philosophical questions for libraries and the institutions they serve. What is the library for? What is library space best used for? How does the concept of "Library as Place" support informed decisions for librarians and space planners? In this issue, Web-based resources are surveyed that address these questions for libraries generally and health sciences libraries more specifically.

Projecting biodiversity and wood production in future forest landscapes: 15 key modeling considerations.

PubMed

Felton, Adam; Ranius, Thomas; Roberge, Jean-Michel; Öhman, Karin; Lämås, Tomas; Hynynen, Jari; Juutinen, Artti; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Nilsson, Urban; Lundmark, Tomas; Nordin, Annika

2017-07-15

A variety of modeling approaches can be used to project the future development of forest systems, and help to assess the implications of different management alternatives for biodiversity and ecosystem services. This diversity of approaches does however present both an opportunity and an obstacle for those trying to decide which modeling technique to apply, and interpreting the management implications of model output. Furthermore, the breadth of issues relevant to addressing key questions related to forest ecology, conservation biology, silviculture, economics, requires insights stemming from a number of distinct scientific disciplines. As forest planners, conservation ecologists, ecological economists and silviculturalists, experienced with modeling trade-offs and synergies between biodiversity and wood biomass production, we identified fifteen key considerations relevant to assessing the pros and cons of alternative modeling approaches. Specifically we identified key considerations linked to study question formulation, modeling forest dynamics, forest processes, study landscapes, spatial and temporal aspects, and the key response metrics - biodiversity and wood biomass production, as well as dealing with trade-offs and uncertainties. We also provide illustrative examples from the modeling literature stemming from the key considerations assessed. We use our findings to reiterate the need for explicitly addressing and conveying the limitations and uncertainties of any modeling approach taken, and the need for interdisciplinary research efforts when addressing the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of environmental resources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Questions Addressed to V.V. Putin during an Internet Conference on Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agranovich, M.; Zair-Bek, S.; Seliverstova, I.; Shishmakova, E.

2007-01-01

On instructions from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Institute for the Development of Education prepared an analytical report on the topic "Questions Addressed to Russian President V.V. Putin During an Internet Conference on 6 July 2006 on the Problems of "Career"." That document presents an…

Family Investments in Low-Income Children's Achievement and Socioemotional Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longo, Francesca; McPherran Lombardi, Caitlin; Dearing, Eric

2017-01-01

Family processes and parenting practices help explain developmental differences between children in low- versus higher-income households. There are, however, few studies addressing the question of: what are the key family processes and parenting practices for promoting low-income children's growth? We address this question in the present study,…

Cash transfers for HIV prevention: considering their potential.

PubMed

Heise, Lori; Lutz, Brian; Ranganathan, Meghna; Watts, Charlotte

2013-08-23

Cash payments to vulnerable households and/or individuals have increasingly garnered attention as a means to reduce poverty, improve health and achieve other development-related outcomes. Recent evidence from Malawi and Tanzania suggests that cash transfers can impact HIV-related behaviours and outcomes and, therefore, could serve as an important addition to HIV prevention efforts. This article reviews the current evidence on cash transfers for HIV prevention and suggests unresolved questions for further research. Gaps include (1) understanding more about the mechanisms and pathways through which cash transfers affect HIV-related outcomes; (2) addressing key operational questions, including the potential feasibility and the costs and benefits of different models of transfers and conditionality; and (3) evaluating and enhancing the wider impacts of cash transfers on health and development. Ongoing and future studies should build on current findings to unpack unresolved questions and to collect additional evidence on the multiple impacts of transfers in different settings. Furthermore, in order to address questions on sustainability, cash transfer programmes need to be integrated with other sectors and programmes that address structural factors such as education and programming to promote gender equality and address HIV.

The consequences of chromosomal aneuploidy on the transcriptome of cancer cells☆

PubMed Central

Ried, Thomas; Hu, Yue; Difilippantonio, Michael J.; Ghadimi, B. Michael; Grade, Marian; Camps, Jordi

2016-01-01

Chromosomal aneuploidies are a defining feature of carcinomas, i.e., tumors of epithelial origin. Such aneuploidies result in tumor specific genomic copy number alterations. The patterns of genomic imbalances are tumor specific, and to a certain extent specific for defined stages of tumor development. Genomic imbalances occur already in premalignant precursor lesions, i.e., before the transition to invasive disease, and their distribution is maintained in metastases, and in cell lines derived from primary tumors. These observations are consistent with the interpretation that tumor specific genomic imbalances are drivers of malignant transformation. Naturally, this precipitates the question of how such imbalances influence the expression of resident genes. A number of laboratories have systematically integrated copy number alterations with gene expression changes in primary tumors and metastases, cell lines, and experimental models of aneuploidy to address the question as to whether genomic imbalances deregulate the expression of one or few key genes, or rather affect the cancer transcriptome more globally. The majority of these studies showed that gene expression levels follow genomic copy number. Therefore, gross genomic copy number changes, including aneuploidies of entire chromosome arms and chromosomes, result in a massive deregulation of the transcriptome of cancer cells. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin in time and space. PMID:22426433

Pesticide Labeling Questions & Answers

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Pesticide manufacturers, applicators, state regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders raise questions or issues about pesticide labels. The questions on this page are those that apply to multiple products or address inconsistencies among product labels.

Medication education and consultation at a senior dining program for independently living seniors.

PubMed

Schmiedt, Dean; Ellingson, Jody

2010-08-01

To determine if pharmacist involvement within a senior dining program benefits diners by addressing their medication-related questions, using educational sessions, and providing individual consultations. Catholic Charities Senior Dining sites in central Minnesota. Pharmacists went to three senior dining sites, providing educational sessions and individual consultations to independently living senior diners. Pharmacists developed a program, in a nontraditional setting, that used educational sessions and individual consultations to assist seniors with their medication-related questions. The number of diner questions, significant issues raised, issues addressed, and level of diner satisfaction. Pharmacists made 36 visits from January to December 2009. During those visits they presented educational talks to 3,089 diners, and 12.4% of all diners spoke individually with pharmacists. Pharmacists addressed 581 questions or concerns from 384 diners. Significant issues were noted in 25.8% of individual consultations (144 questions). The most common significant issues included: adverse drug reactions (59), indications without treatment (27), and drug interactions (23). Nonopioid analgesics, antilipemics, and antihypertensive medications were most commonly involved in significant issues. Satisfaction surveys were strongly positive, with 97% indicating pharmacists had addressed their medication-related concern; only 3% did not reply. Almost half (42.7%) of satisfaction surveys indicated the diner would change something as a result of meeting with the pharmacist. Pharmacist availability in a nontraditional setting can assist seniors with addressing potentially significant medication-related issues. Independently living seniors will seek out information from a pharmacist in a convenient setting.

The ergonomics of learning: educational design and learning performance.

PubMed

Smith, T J

2007-10-01

The application of ergonomics/human factors (E/HF) principles and practices, and the implementation of ergonomics programmes, have achieved proven success in improving performance, productivity, competitiveness, and safety and health in most occupational sectors. However, the benefits that the application of E/HF science might bring to promoting student learning have yet to be widely recognized. This paper deals with the fundamental purpose of education - student learning - and with the question of how the ergonomic design of the learning environment influences learning performance. The underlying premise, embodied in the quote below, is that student learning performance to a substantial degree is context specific - influenced and specialized in relation to specific design factors in the learning environment. The basic scientific question confronting learning ergonomics is which design characteristics in the learning environment have the greatest influence on variability in learning performance. Practically, the basic challenge is to apply this scientific understanding to ergonomic interventions directed at design improvements of learning environments to benefit learning. This paper expands upon these themes by addressing the origins and scope of learning ergonomics, differing perspectives on the nature of learning, evidence for context specificity in learning and conclusions and research implications regarding an ergonomics perspective on learning.

Trust and Its Role in the Medical Encounter.

PubMed

Holland, Stephen; Stocks, David

2017-09-01

This paper addresses two research questions. The first is theoretical: What is trust? In the first half of this paper we present a distinctive tripartite analysis. We describe three attitudes, here called reliance, specific trust and general trust, each of which is characterised and illustrated. We argue that these attitudes are related, but not reducible, to one another. We suggest that the current impasse in the analysis of trust is in part due to the fact that some writers allude to these distinctions, but unclearly so, whilst others elide them altogether. The second research question focuses on doctor-patient interaction. Trust is often said to be central in medical encounters but this strikes us as too vague. The success of doctor-patient relations in part depends on adopting the most appropriate of the three attitudes we delineate. We argue that reliance is the appropriate attitude for most medical encounters. When circumstances do require trust, the distinction between specific trust and general trust is crucial. We describe medical encounters requiring specific trust. General trust is less often required in medicine; but it is appropriate in some cases and, when called for, it is called for strongly.

The paternal hidden agenda: Epigenetic inheritance through sperm chromatin.

PubMed

Puri, Deepika; Dhawan, Jyotsna; Mishra, Rakesh K

2010-07-01

Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in developmental gene regulation. These modifications, being reversible, provide a layer of information over and above the DNA sequence, that has plasticity and leads to the generation of cell type-specific epigenomes during cellular differentiation. In almost all higher eukaryotes, the oocyte provides not only its cytoplasm, mitochondria, maternally deposited RNA and proteins but also an epigenetic component in the form of DNA and histone-modifications. During spermeiogenesis however, most of the histones are replaced by protamines, leading to a loss of the epigenetic component. The sperm is, therefore, viewed as a passive carrier of the paternal genome with a disproportionate, lower epigenetic contribution except for DNA methylation, to the next generation. A recent study overturns this view by demonstrating a locus-specific retention of histones, with specific modifications in the sperm chromatin at the promoters of developmentally important genes. This programmed retention of epigenetic marks with a role in embryonic development is suggested to offset, in some measure, the dominant maternal effect. This new finding helps in addressing the question of epigenetic transmission of environmental and 'lifestyle' experiences across generations and raises the question of 'parental conflict' at the loci that may be differentially marked.

Recommended Screening Practices for Launch Collision Aviodance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Brian A.; Hametz, Mark E.; Ollivierre, Jarmaine C.; Newman, Lauri K.; Hejduk, Matthew D.

2015-01-01

The objective of this document is to assess the value of launch collision avoidance (COLA) practices and provide recommendations regarding its implementation for NASA robotic missions. The scope of this effort is limited to launch COLA screens against catalog objects that are either spacecraft or debris. No modifications to manned safety COLA practices are considered in this effort. An assessment of the value of launch COLA can be broken down into two fundamental questions: 1) Does collision during launch represent a significant risk to either the payload being launched or the space environment? 2) Can launch collision mitigation be performed in a manner that provides meaningful risk reduction at an acceptable level of operational impact? While it has been possible to piece together partial answers to these questions for some time, the first attempt to comprehensively address them is documented in reference (a), Launch COLA Operations: an Examination of Data Products, Procedures, and Thresholds, Revision A. This report is the product of an extensive study that addressed fundamental technical questions surrounding launch collision avoidance analysis and practice. The results provided in reference (a) will be cited throughout this document as these two questions are addressed. The premise of this assessment is that in order to conclude that launch COLA is a value-added activity, the answer to both of these questions must be affirmative. A "no" answer to either of these questions points toward the conclusion that launch COLA provides little or no risk mitigation benefit. The remainder of this assessment will focus on addressing these two questions.

The Need for Systematic Reviews of Reasons

PubMed Central

Sofaer, Neema; Strech, Daniel

2012-01-01

There are many ethical decisions in the practice of health research and care, and in the creation of policy and guidelines. We argue that those charged with making such decisions need a new genre of review. The new genre is an application of the systematic review, which was developed over decades to inform medical decision-makers about what the totality of studies that investigate links between smoking and cancer, for example, implies about whether smoking causes cancer. We argue that there is a need for similarly inclusive and rigorous reviews of reason-based bioethics, which uses reasoning to address ethical questions. After presenting a brief history of the systematic review, we reject the only existing model for writing a systematic review of reason-based bioethics, which holds that such a review should address an ethical question. We argue that such a systematic review may mislead decision-makers when a literature is incomplete, or when there are mutually incompatible but individually reasonable answers to the ethical question. Furthermore, such a review can be written without identifying all the reasons given when the ethical questions are discussed, their alleged implications for the ethical question, and the attitudes taken to the reasons. The reviews we propose address instead the empirical question of which reasons have been given when addressing a specified ethical question, and present such detailed information on the reasons. We argue that this information is likely to improve decision-making, both directly and indirectly, and also the academic literature. We explain the limitations of our alternative model for systematic reviews. PMID:21521251

ISS Local Environment Spectrometers (ISLES)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krause, Linda Habash; Gilchrist, Brian E.

2014-01-01

In order to study the complex interactions between the space environment surrounding the ISS and the ISS surface materials, we propose to use lowcost, high-TRL plasma sensors on the ISS robotic arm to probe the ISS space environment. During many years of ISS operation, we have been able to condut effective (but not perfect) extravehicular activities (both human and robotic) within the perturbed local ISS space environment. Because of the complexity of the interaction between the ISS and the LEO space environment, there remain important questions, such as differential charging at solar panel junctions (the so-called "triple point" between conductor, dielectric, and space plasma), increased chemical contamination due to ISS surface charging and/or thruster activation, water dumps, etc, and "bootstrap" charging of insulating surfaces. Some compelling questions could synergistically draw upon a common sensor suite, which also leverages previous and current MSFC investments. Specific questions address ISS surface charging, plasma contactor plume expansion in a magnetized drifting plasma, and possible localized contamination effects across the ISS.

The Effect of Spaceflight on Cartilage Cell Cycle and Differentiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doty, Stephen B.; Stiner, Dalina; Telford, William G.

2000-01-01

In vivo studies have shown that spaceflight results in loss of bone and muscle. In an effort to understand the mechanisms of these changes, cell cultures of cartilage, bone and muscle have been subjected to spaceflight to study the microgravity effects on differentiated cells. However it now seems possible that the cell differentiation process itself may be the event(s) most affected by spaceflight. For example, osteoblast-like cells have been shown to have reduced cellular activity in microgravity due to an underdifferentiated state (Carmeliet, et al, 1997). And reduced human lymphocyte growth in spaceflight was related to increased apoptosis (Lewis, et al, 1998). Which brings us to the question of whether reduced cellular activity in space is due to an effect on the differentiated cell, an effect on the cell cycle and cell proliferation, or an effect on cell death. This question has not been specifically addressed on previous flights and was the question behind die present study.

Critical Review of Technical Questions Facing Low Impact Development and Green Infrastructure: A Perspective from the Great Plains.

PubMed

Vogel, Jason R; Moore, Trisha L; Coffman, Reid R; Rodie, Steven N; Hutchinson, Stacy L; McDonough, Kelsey R; McLemore, Alex J; McMaine, John T

2015-09-01

Since its inception, Low Impact Development (LID) has become part of urban stormwater management across the United States, marking progress in the gradual transition from centralized to distributed runoff management infrastructure. The ultimate goal of LID is full, cost-effective implementation to maximize watershed-scale ecosystem services and enhance resilience. To reach that goal in the Great Plains, the multi-disciplinary author team presents this critical review based on thirteen technical questions within the context of regional climate and socioeconomics across increasing complexities in scale and function. Although some progress has been made, much remains to be done including continued basic and applied research, development of local LID design specifications, local demonstrations, and identifying funding mechanisms for these solutions. Within the Great Plains and beyond, by addressing these technical questions within a local context, the goal of widespread acceptance of LID can be achieved, resulting in more effective and resilient stormwater management.

A new organismal systems biology: how animals walk the tight rope between stability and change.

PubMed

Padilla, Dianna K; Tsukimura, Brian

2014-07-01

The amount of knowledge in the biological sciences is growing at an exponential rate. Simultaneously, the incorporation of new technologies in gathering scientific information has greatly accelerated our capacity to ask, and answer, new questions. How do we, as organismal biologists, meet these challenges, and develop research strategies that will allow us to address the grand challenge question: how do organisms walk the tightrope between stability and change? Organisms and organismal systems are complex, and multi-scale in both space and time. It is clear that addressing major questions about organismal biology will not come from "business as usual" approaches. Rather, we require the collaboration of a wide range of experts and integration of biological information with more quantitative approaches traditionally found in engineering and applied mathematics. Research programs designed to address grand challenge questions will require deep knowledge and expertise within subfields of organismal biology, collaboration and integration among otherwise disparate areas of research, and consideration of organisms as integrated systems. Our ability to predict which features of complex integrated systems provide the capacity to be robust in changing environments is poorly developed. A predictive organismal biology is needed, but will require more quantitative approaches than are typical in biology, including complex systems-modeling approaches common to engineering. This new organismal systems biology will have reciprocal benefits for biologists, engineers, and mathematicians who address similar questions, including those working on control theory and dynamical systems biology, and will develop the tools we need to address the grand challenge questions of the 21st century. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Native Language Experience Shapes Neural Basis of Addressed and Assembled Phonologies

PubMed Central

Mei, Leilei; Xue, Gui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; He, Qinghua; Wei, Miao; Zhang, Mingxia; Dong, Qi; Chen, Chuansheng

2015-01-01

Previous studies have suggested differential engagement of addressed and assembled phonologies in reading Chinese and alphabetic languages (e.g., English) and the modulatory role of native language in learning to read a second language. However, it is not clear whether native language experience shapes the neural mechanisms of addressed and assembled phonologies. To address this question, we trained native Chinese and native English speakers to read the same artificial language (based on Korean Hangul) either through addressed (i.e., whole-word mapping) or assembled (i.e., grapheme-to-phoneme mapping) phonology. We found that, for both native Chinese and native English speakers, addressed phonology relied on the regions in the ventral pathway, whereas assembled phonology depended on the regions in the dorsal pathway. More importantly, we found that the neural mechanisms of addressed and assembled phonologies were shaped by native language experience. Specifically, two key regions for addressed phonology (i.e., the left middle temporal gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus) showed greater activation for addressed phonology in native Chinese speakers, while one key region for assembled phonology (i.e., the left supramarginal gyrus) showed more activation for assembled phonology in native English speakers. These results provide direct neuroimaging evidence for the effect of native language experience on the neural mechanisms of phonological access in a new language and support the assimilation-accommodation hypothesis. PMID:25858447

Tobacco counter-advertising: a review of the literature and a conceptual model for understanding effects.

PubMed

Agostinelli, Gina; Grube, Joel W

2003-01-01

The tobacco counter-advertising literature is reviewed as it relates to basic process questions concerning what makes counter-advertisements effective. Limitations in addressing (a) counter-advertisement content and the psychological mediators targeted, (b) counter-advertisement style and the affective reactions targeted, (c) prior smoking experience, and (d) other audience factors are enumerated. A theoretical model based on alcohol advertising research is presented to address those limitations. The model addresses the practical research question of predicting when tobacco counter-advertising will work by examining the independent influence of each of these enumerated factors, as well as how these factors operate in concert, qualifying each other. The model also addresses the process question of explaining how counter-advertising works by identifying affective and cognitive processes as mediators. By understanding the processes that underlie the qualified findings, one can better advise the designers of tobacco counter-advertisements how to be more effective.

Demography of Genotypes: Failure of the Limited Life-Span Paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curtsinger, James W.; Fukui, Hidenori H.; Townsend, David R.; Vaupel, James W.

1992-10-01

Experimental systems that are amenable to genetic manipulation can be used to address fundamental questions about genetic and nongenetic determinants of longevity. Analysis of large cohorts of ten genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster raised under conditions that favored extended survival has revealed variation between genotypes in both the slope and location of age-specific mortality curves. More detailed examination of a single genotype showed that the mortality trajectory was best fit by a two-stage Gompertz model, with no age-specific increase in mortality rates beyond 30 days after emergence. These results are contrary to the limited life-span paradigm, which postulates well-defined, genotype-specific limits on life-span and brief periods of intense and rapidly accelerating mortality rates at the oldest ages.

Array tomography of physiologically-characterized CNS synapses.

PubMed

Valenzuela, Ricardo A; Micheva, Kristina D; Kiraly, Marianna; Li, Dong; Madison, Daniel V

2016-08-01

The ability to correlate plastic changes in synaptic physiology with changes in synaptic anatomy has been very limited in the central nervous system because of shortcomings in existing methods for recording the activity of specific CNS synapses and then identifying and studying the same individual synapses on an anatomical level. We introduce here a novel approach that combines two existing methods: paired neuron electrophysiological recording and array tomography, allowing for the detailed molecular and anatomical study of synapses with known physiological properties. The complete mapping of a neuronal pair allows determining the exact number of synapses in the pair and their location. We have found that the majority of close appositions between the presynaptic axon and the postsynaptic dendrite in the pair contain synaptic specializations. The average release probability of the synapses between the two neurons in the pair is low, below 0.2, consistent with previous studies of these connections. Other questions, such as receptor distribution within synapses, can be addressed more efficiently by identifying only a subset of synapses using targeted partial reconstructions. In addition, time sensitive events can be captured with fast chemical fixation. Compared to existing methods, the present approach is the only one that can provide detailed molecular and anatomical information of electrophysiologically-characterized individual synapses. This method will allow for addressing specific questions about the properties of identified CNS synapses, even when they are buried within a cloud of millions of other brain circuit elements. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Emergency medicine residency applicant perceptions of unethical recruiting practices and illegal questioning in the match.

PubMed

Thurman, R Jason; Katz, Eric; Carter, Wallace; Han, Jin; Kayala, Eve; McCoin, Nicole; Storrow, Alan B

2009-06-01

The authors hypothesized that unethical recruiting practices and illegal questioning occur during emergency medicine (EM) resident recruitment. The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of specific unethical recruiting practices and illegal questioning by EM programs based on the perceptions of residency applicants and to measure the effect of these perceptions on applicant appraisal of programs. This was a cross-sectional survey of all applicants who matched to U.S. EM programs in 2005 and 2006. The survey questionnaire was developed by the study authors and was validated by pretesting on a small group representative of the study population. The survey addressed specific questions regarding program recruiting behaviors and interview questioning. The hyperlink to the secure anonymous online survey questionnaire was distributed to all EM program directors, asking them in turn to forward the hyperlink to their newly matched incoming residency class. All data were calculated with Score method with continuity correction and reported in proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The authors received 671 survey responses. Among respondents, 56 (8.3%, 95% CI = 6.4% to 10.7%) stated that they were specifically asked to disclose at least one program's position on their rank list by a program representative, and 44 (6.6%, 95% CI = 4.9% to 8.9%) reported that they matched at a program residing lower on their rank list than at least one other program that had informed the applicant they were ranked to match. Furthermore, 201 respondents (30.0%, 95% CI = 26.5% to 33.7%) believed that they were asked at least one illegal question during their interviews, the most common of which was inquiry into their marital status (189 respondents: 28.2%, 95% CI = 24.8% to 31.9%). Respondents were 11 times more likely to move a program to a lower position of preference on their rank order list (12.2%, 95% CI = 9.8% to 15.0%) rather than a higher position (1.1%, 95% CI = 0.5% to 2.3%) as a result of perceiving unethical recruiting behaviors or illegal questioning. These results demonstrate that among survey respondents, some perceived unethical recruiting behaviors and illegal questioning in the 2005 and 2006 Match. Perceptions of such behaviors appeared to have a negative impact on applicant appraisal of EM residency programs.

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: scoping research in broad topic areas.

PubMed

Bragge, Peter; Clavisi, Ornella; Turner, Tari; Tavender, Emma; Collie, Alex; Gruen, Russell L

2011-06-17

Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks:1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. GEM Initiative evidence maps have a broad range of potential end-users including funding agencies, researchers and clinicians. Evidence mapping is at least as resource-intensive as systematic reviewing. The GEM Initiative has made advancements in evidence mapping, most notably in the area of question development and prioritisation. Evidence mapping complements other review methods for describing existing research, informing future research efforts, and addressing evidence gaps.

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks: 1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. Results One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. Conclusions GEM Initiative evidence maps have a broad range of potential end-users including funding agencies, researchers and clinicians. Evidence mapping is at least as resource-intensive as systematic reviewing. The GEM Initiative has made advancements in evidence mapping, most notably in the area of question development and prioritisation. Evidence mapping complements other review methods for describing existing research, informing future research efforts, and addressing evidence gaps. PMID:21682870

Educational Choice: Practical Policy Questions. Occasional Paper Series No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

First, Patricia F.

The consideration of school choice plans raises policy questions for school administrators. This paper addresses pragmatic concerns about definitions and policy questions related to educational finance. Interdistrict choice, emphasizing families' right to choose among existing public schools, raises questions regarding transportation and…

Northwest Forest Plan—the first 10 years (1994–2003): socioeconomic monitoring results.

Treesearch

S. Charnley

2006-01-01

The socioeconomic monitoring report addresses two evaluation questions posed in the Northwest Forest Plan (the Plan) Record of Decision and assesses progress in meeting five Plan socioeconomic goals. Volume I of the report contains key findings. Volume II addresses the question, Are predictable levels of timber and nontimber resources available and being produced? It...

Unfolding the Cosmos or Divining "What's up?"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saxton, Juliana

2010-01-01

This short paper considers the question: what of the future of drama in education? It suggests that perhaps, because we are artists, the future is already in play. If that is so, then we need to address those questions of value, advocacy and marginalisation more rigorously while, at the same time, addressing the impact of technology on empathic…

Analysis of Naval NETWAR FORCEnet Enterprise: Implications for Capabilities Based Budgeting

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

of this background information and projecting how ADNS is likely to succeed in the NNFE framework , two fundamental research questions were addressed...background information and projecting how ADNS is likely to succeed in the NNFE framework , two fundamental research questions were addressed. The...Business Approach ......................................................26 Figure 8. Critical Assumption for Common Analytical Framework

Evaluation of Three Microcomputer Teaching Modules. SUMIT Courseware Development Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soldan, Ted

The purpose of this series of experiments was to examine two questions related to the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Can microcomputer modules teach effectively, and do they enhance learning when used as a supplement to traditional teaching methods? Part 1 of this report addresses the former question and part 2 addresses the…

UAS Integration in the NAS Project: DAA-TCAS Interoperability "mini" HITL Primary Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rorie, Conrad; Fern, Lisa; Shively, Jay; Santiago, Confesor

2016-01-01

At the May 2015 SC-228 meeting, requirements for TCAS II interoperability became elevated in priority. A TCAS interoperability workgroup was formed to identify and address key issues/questions. The TCAS workgroup came up with an initial list of questions and a plan to address those questions. As part of that plan, NASA proposed to run a mini HITL to address display, alerting and guidance issues. A TCAS Interoperability Workshop was held to determine potential display/alerting/guidance issues that could be explored in future NASA mini HITLS. Consensus on main functionality of DAA guidance when TCAS II RA occurs. Prioritized list of independent variables for experimental design. Set of use cases to stress TCAS Interoperability.

Investigations of student understanding of entropy and of mixed second-order partial derivatives in upper-level thermodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bucy, Brandon R.

While much of physics education research (PER) has traditionally been conducted in introductory undergraduate courses, researchers have begun to study student understanding of physics concepts at the upper-level. In this dissertation, we describe investigations conducted in advanced undergraduate thermodynamics courses. We present and discuss results pertaining to student understanding of two topics: entropy and the role of mixed second-order partial derivatives in thermodynamics. Our investigations into student understanding of entropy consisted of an analysis of written student responses to researcher-designed diagnostic questions. Data gathered in clinical interviews is employed to illustrate and extend results gathered from written responses. The question sets provided students with several ideal gas processes, and asked students to determine and compare the entropy changes of these processes. We administered the question sets to students from six distinct populations, including students enrolled in classical thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, thermal physics, physical chemistry, and chemical engineering courses, as well as a sample of physics graduate students. Data was gathered both before and after instruction in several samples. Several noteworthy features of student reasoning are identified and discussed. These features include student ideas about entropy prior to instruction, as well as specific difficulties and other aspects of student reasoning evident after instruction. As an example, students from various populations tended to emphasize either the thermodynamic or the statistical definition of entropy. Both approaches present students with a unique set of benefits as well as challenges. We additionally studied student understanding of partial derivatives in a thermodynamics context. We identified specific difficulties related to the mixed second partial derivatives of a thermodynamic state function, based on an analysis of student responses to homework and exam problems. Students tended to set these partial derivatives identically equal to zero. Students also displayed difficulties in relating the physical description of a material property to a corresponding mathematical statement involving partial derivatives. We describe the development of a guided-inquiry tutorial activity designed to address these specific difficulties. This tutorial focused on the graphical interpretation of partial derivatives. Preliminary results suggest that the tutorial was effective in addressing several student difficulties related to partial derivatives.

Brain aging, Alzheimer's disease, and mitochondria

PubMed Central

Swerdlow, Russell H.

2011-01-01

The relationship between brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is contentious. One view holds AD results when brain aging surpasses a threshold. The other view postulates AD is not a consequence of brain aging. This review discusses this conundrum from the perspective of different investigative lines that have tried to address it, as well as from the perspective of the mitochondrion, an organelle that appears to play a role in both AD and brain aging. Specific issues addressed include the question of whether AD and brain aging should be conceptually lumped or split, the extent to which AD and brain aging potentially share common molecular mechanisms, whether beta amyloid should be primarily considered a marker of AD or simply brain aging, and the definition of AD itself. PMID:21920438

Early Parental Positive Behavior Support and Childhood Adjustment: Addressing Enduring Questions with New Methods

PubMed Central

Waller, Rebecca; Gardner, Frances; Dishion, Thomas; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Winter, Charlotte E.; Wilson, Melvin

2016-01-01

A large literature provides strong empirical support for the influence of parenting on child outcomes. The current study addresses enduring research questions testing the importance of early parenting behavior to children’s adjustment. Specifically, we developed and tested a novel multi-method observational measure of parental positive behavior support at age 2. Next, we tested whether early parental positive behavior support was related to child adjustment at school age, within a multi-agent and multi-method measurement approach and design. Observational and parent-reported data from mother–child dyads (N = 731; 49 percent female) were collected from a high-risk sample at age 2. Follow-up data were collected via teacher report and child assessment at age 7.5. The results supported combining three different observational methods to assess positive behavior support at age 2 within a latent factor. Further, parents’ observed positive behavior support at age 2 predicted multiple types of teacher-reported and child-assessed problem behavior and competencies at 7.5 years old. Results supported the validity and predictive capability of a multi-method observational measure of parenting and the importance of a continued focus on the early years within preventive interventions. PMID:26997757

Early Parental Positive Behavior Support and Childhood Adjustment: Addressing Enduring Questions with New Methods.

PubMed

Waller, Rebecca; Gardner, Frances; Dishion, Thomas; Sitnick, Stephanie L; Shaw, Daniel S; Winter, Charlotte E; Wilson, Melvin

2015-05-01

A large literature provides strong empirical support for the influence of parenting on child outcomes. The current study addresses enduring research questions testing the importance of early parenting behavior to children's adjustment. Specifically, we developed and tested a novel multi-method observational measure of parental positive behavior support at age 2. Next, we tested whether early parental positive behavior support was related to child adjustment at school age, within a multi-agent and multi-method measurement approach and design. Observational and parent-reported data from mother-child dyads (N = 731; 49 percent female) were collected from a high-risk sample at age 2. Follow-up data were collected via teacher report and child assessment at age 7.5. The results supported combining three different observational methods to assess positive behavior support at age 2 within a latent factor. Further, parents' observed positive behavior support at age 2 predicted multiple types of teacher-reported and child-assessed problem behavior and competencies at 7.5 years old. Results supported the validity and predictive capability of a multi-method observational measure of parenting and the importance of a continued focus on the early years within preventive interventions.

Moving beyond the treatment package approach to developing behavioral interventions: addressing questions that arose during an application of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST).

PubMed

Wyrick, David L; Rulison, Kelly L; Fearnow-Kenney, Melodie; Milroy, Jeffrey J; Collins, Linda M

2014-09-01

Given current pressures to increase the public health contributions of behavioral interventions, intervention scientists may wish to consider moving beyond the classical treatment package approach that focuses primarily on achieving statistical significance. They may wish also to focus on goals directly related to optimizing public health impact. The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) is an innovative methodological framework that draws on engineering principles to achieve more potent behavioral interventions. MOST is increasingly being adopted by intervention scientists seeking a systematic framework to engineer an optimized intervention. As with any innovation, there are challenges that arise with early adoption. This article describes the solutions to several critical questions that we addressed during the first-ever iterative application of MOST. Specifically, we describe how we have applied MOST to optimize an online program (myPlaybook) for the prevention of substance use among college student-athletes. Our application of MOST can serve as a blueprint for other intervention scientists who wish to design optimized behavioral interventions. We believe using MOST is feasible and has the potential to dramatically improve program effectiveness thereby advancing the public health impact of behavioral interventions.

Clouds and Water Vapor in the Climate System: Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, James G.

1999-01-01

The objective of this work was to attack unanswered questions that lie at the intersection of radiation, dynamics, chemistry and climate. Considerable emphasis was placed on scientific collaboration and the innovative development of instruments required to address these scientific issues. The specific questions addressed include: Water vapor distribution in the Tropical Troposphere: An understanding of the mechanisms that dictate the distribution of water vapor in the middle-upper troposphere; Atmospheric Radiation: In the spectral region between 200 and 600/cm that encompasses the water vapor rotational and continuum structure, where most of the radiative cooling of the upper troposphere occurs, there is a critical need to test radiative transfer calculations using accurate, spectrally resolved radiance observations of the cold atmosphere obtained simultaneously with in situ species concentrations; Thin Cirrus: Cirrus clouds play a central role in the energy and water budgets of the tropical tropopause region; Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange: Assessment of our ability to predict the behavior of the atmosphere to changes in the boundary conditions defined by thermal, chemical or biological variables; Correlative Science with Satellite Observations: Linking this research to the developing series of EOS observations is critical for scientific progress.

Sustaining health education research programs in Aboriginal communities.

PubMed

Wisener, Katherine; Shapka, Jennifer; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra

2017-09-01

Despite evidence supporting the ongoing provision of health education interventions in First Nations communities, there is a paucity of research that specifically addresses how these programs should be designed to ensure sustainability and long-term effects. Using a Community-Based Research approach, a collective case study was completed with three Canadian First Nations communities to address the following research question: What factors are related to sustainable health education programs, and how do they contribute to and/or inhibit program success in an Aboriginal context? Semi-structured interviews and a sharing circle were completed with 19 participants, including members of community leadership, external partners, and program staff and users. Seven factors were identified to either promote or inhibit program sustainability, including: 1) community uptake; 2) environmental factors; 3) stakeholder awareness and support; 4) presence of a champion; 5) availability of funding; 6) fit and flexibility; and 7) capacity and capacity building. Each factor is provided with a working definition, influential moderators, and key evaluation questions. This study is grounded in, and builds on existing research, and can be used by First Nations communities and universities to support effective sustainability planning for community-based health education interventions.

Official ERS/ATS clinical practice guidelines: noninvasive ventilation for acute respiratory failure

PubMed Central

Brochard, Laurent; Elliott, Mark W.; Hess, Dean; Hill, Nicholas S.; Navalesi, Paolo; Antonelli, Massimo; Brozek, Jan; Conti, Giorgio; Ferrer, Miquel; Guntupalli, Kalpalatha; Jaber, Samir; Keenan, Sean; Mancebo, Jordi; Mehta, Sangeeta; Raoof, Suhail

2017-01-01

Noninvasive mechanical ventilation (NIV) is widely used in the acute care setting for acute respiratory failure (ARF) across a variety of aetiologies. This document provides European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society recommendations for the clinical application of NIV based on the most current literature. The guideline committee was composed of clinicians, methodologists and experts in the field of NIV. The committee developed recommendations based on the GRADE (Grading, Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology for each actionable question. The GRADE Evidence to Decision framework in the guideline development tool was used to generate recommendations. A number of topics were addressed using technical summaries without recommendations and these are discussed in the supplementary material. This guideline committee developed recommendations for 11 actionable questions in a PICO (population–intervention–comparison–outcome) format, all addressing the use of NIV for various aetiologies of ARF. The specific conditions where recommendations were made include exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, de novo hypoxaemic respiratory failure, immunocompromised patients, chest trauma, palliation, post-operative care, weaning and post-extubation. This document summarises the current state of knowledge regarding the role of NIV in ARF. Evidence-based recommendations provide guidance to relevant stakeholders. PMID:28860265

Ecology and geography of transmission of two bat-borne rabies lineages in Chile.

PubMed

Escobar, Luis E; Peterson, A Townsend; Favi, Myriam; Yung, Verónica; Pons, Daniel J; Medina-Vogel, Gonzalo

2013-01-01

Rabies was known to humans as a disease thousands of years ago. In America, insectivorous bats are natural reservoirs of rabies virus. The bat species Tadarida brasiliensis and Lasiurus cinereus, with their respective, host-specific rabies virus variants AgV4 and AgV6, are the principal rabies reservoirs in Chile. However, little is known about the roles of bat species in the ecology and geographic distribution of the virus. This contribution aims to address a series of questions regarding the ecology of rabies transmission in Chile. Analyzing records from 1985-2011 at the Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile (ISP) and using ecological niche modeling, we address these questions to help in understanding rabies-bat ecological dynamics in South America. We found ecological niche identity between both hosts and both viral variants, indicating that niches of all actors in the system are undifferentiated, although the viruses do not necessarily occupy the full geographic distributions of their hosts. Bat species and rabies viruses share similar niches, and our models had significant predictive power even across unsampled regions; results thus suggest that outbreaks may occur under consistent, stable, and predictable circumstances.

Ecology and Geography of Transmission of Two Bat-Borne Rabies Lineages in Chile

PubMed Central

Escobar, Luis E.; Peterson, A. Townsend; Favi, Myriam; Yung, Verónica; Pons, Daniel J.; Medina-Vogel, Gonzalo

2013-01-01

Rabies was known to humans as a disease thousands of years ago. In America, insectivorous bats are natural reservoirs of rabies virus. The bat species Tadarida brasiliensis and Lasiurus cinereus, with their respective, host-specific rabies virus variants AgV4 and AgV6, are the principal rabies reservoirs in Chile. However, little is known about the roles of bat species in the ecology and geographic distribution of the virus. This contribution aims to address a series of questions regarding the ecology of rabies transmission in Chile. Analyzing records from 1985–2011 at the Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile (ISP) and using ecological niche modeling, we address these questions to help in understanding rabies-bat ecological dynamics in South America. We found ecological niche identity between both hosts and both viral variants, indicating that niches of all actors in the system are undifferentiated, although the viruses do not necessarily occupy the full geographic distributions of their hosts. Bat species and rabies viruses share similar niches, and our models had significant predictive power even across unsampled regions; results thus suggest that outbreaks may occur under consistent, stable, and predictable circumstances. PMID:24349592

EPA Workshop on Epigenetics and Cumulative Risk ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Agenda Download the Workshop Agenda (PDF) The workshop included presentations and discussions by scientific experts pertaining to three topics (i.e., epigenetic changes associated with diverse stressors, key science considerations in understanding epigenetic changes, and practical application of epigenetic tools to address cumulative risks from environmental stressors), to address several questions under each topic, and included an opportunity for attendees to participate in break-out groups, provide comments and ask questions. Workshop Goals The workshop seeks to examine the opportunity for use of aggregate epigenetic change as an indicator in cumulative risk assessment for populations exposed to multiple stressors that affect epigenetic status. Epigenetic changes are specific molecular changes around DNA that alter expression of genes. Epigenetic changes include DNA methylation, formation of histone adducts, and changes in micro RNAs. Research today indicates that epigenetic changes are involved in many chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, mental health disorders, and asthma). Research has also linked a wide range of stressors including pollution and social factors with occurrence of epigenetic alterations. Epigenetic changes have the potential to reflect impacts of risk factors across multiple stages of life. Only recently receiving attention is the nexus between the factors of cumulative exposure to environmental

Good Student Questions in Inquiry Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombard, François E.; Schneider, Daniel K.

2013-01-01

Acquisition of scientific reasoning is one of the big challenges in education. A popular educational strategy advocated for acquiring deep knowledge is inquiry-based learning, which is driven by emerging "good questions". This study will address the question: "Which design features allow learners to refine questions while preserving…

Report of the Organic Contamination Science Steering Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mahaffy, P. R.; Beaty, D. W.; Anderson, M. S.; Aveni, G.; Bada, J. L.; Clemett, S. J.; DesMaris, D. J.; Douglas, S.; Dworkin, J. P.; Kern, R. G.

2004-01-01

The exploration of the possible emergence and duration of life on Mars from landed platforms requires attention to the quality of measurements that address these objectives. In particular, the potential impact of terrestrial contamination on the measurement of reduced carbon with sensitive in situ instruments must be addressed in order to reach definitive conclusions regarding the source of organic molecules. Following the recommendation of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) at its September 2003 meeting [MEPAG, 2003], the Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters chartered the Organic Contamination Science Steering Group (OCSSG) to address this issue. The full report of the six week study of the OCSSG can be found on the MEPAG web site [1]. The study was intended to define the contamination problem and to begin to suggest solutions that could provide direction to the engineering teams that design and produce the Mars landed systems. Requirements set by the Planetary Protection Policy in effect for any specific mission do not directly address this question of the potential interference from terrestrial contaminants during in situ measurements.

Pathway index models for construction of patient-specific risk profiles.

PubMed

Eng, Kevin H; Wang, Sijian; Bradley, William H; Rader, Janet S; Kendziorski, Christina

2013-04-30

Statistical methods for variable selection, prediction, and classification have proven extremely useful in moving personalized genomics medicine forward, in particular, leading to a number of genomic-based assays now in clinical use for predicting cancer recurrence. Although invaluable in individual cases, the information provided by these assays is limited. Most often, a patient is classified into one of very few groups (e.g., recur or not), limiting the potential for truly personalized treatment. Furthermore, although these assays provide information on which individuals are at most risk (e.g., those for which recurrence is predicted), they provide no information on the aberrant biological pathways that give rise to the increased risk. We have developed an approach to address these limitations. The approach models a time-to-event outcome as a function of known biological pathways, identifies important genomic aberrations, and provides pathway-based patient-specific assessments of risk. As we demonstrate in a study of ovarian cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas project, the patient-specific risk profiles are powerful and efficient characterizations useful in addressing a number of questions related to identifying informative patient subtypes and predicting survival. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Xenotransplantation-theological-ethical considerations in an interdisciplinary symposium.

PubMed

Sautermeister, Jochen; Mathieu, Richard; Bogner, Veronika

2015-01-01

Unlike allotransplantation, reflections on xenotransplantation are infrequent in theological literature. However, xenotransplantation poses questions specifically concerning ethical and theological aspects that are imperative to address, such as personal identity between the poles of body, soul, and mind, the relationship between humans and animals, as well as challenges regarding specific issues of medical and social ethics. This study summarizes the lectures of the symposium on "Xenotransplantation-a challenge to theological ethics," which took place in Munich from September 30 until October 2, 2013, and analyses the implications of xenotransplantation from the perspectives of Christian theological ethics, biblical theology, and systematic theology. Furthermore, the issue of xenotransplantation is addressed from the perspectives of Judaism and Islam. Beyond these theological deliberations, the metaphorical and religious meaning of the human heart, which may have an impact on the societal acceptability of xenotransplantation, as well as the Christian notion of compassion regarding animals, is analyzed from the perspective of historical sciences. According to the perspectives of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, there are no specifically religious fundamental and generally binding reasons to prohibit xenotransplantation as a means of treating grave and life-threatening organ insufficiencies. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Transcriptional Responses Reveal Similarities Between Preclinical Rat Liver Testing Systems.

PubMed

Liu, Zhichao; Delavan, Brian; Roberts, Ruth; Tong, Weida

2018-01-01

Toxicogenomics (TGx) is an important tool to gain an enhanced understanding of toxicity at the molecular level. Previously, we developed a pair ranking (PRank) method to assess in vitro to in vivo extrapolation (IVIVE) using toxicogenomic datasets from the Open Toxicogenomics Project-Genomics Assisted Toxicity Evaluation System (TG-GATEs) database. With this method, we investiagted three important questions that were not addressed in our previous study: (1) is a 1-day in vivo short-term assay able to replace the 28-day standard and expensive toxicological assay? (2) are some biological processes more conservative across different preclinical testing systems than others? and (3) do these preclinical testing systems have the similar resolution in differentiating drugs by their therapeutic uses? For question 1, a high similarity was noted (PRank score = 0.90), indicating the potential utility of shorter term in vivo studies to predict outcome in longer term and more expensive in vivo model systems. There was a moderate similarity between rat primary hepatocytes and in vivo repeat-dose studies (PRank score = 0.71) but a low similarity (PRank score = 0.56) between rat primary hepatocytes and in vivo single dose studies. To address question 2, we limited the analysis to gene sets relevant to specific toxicogenomic pathways and we found that pathways such as lipid metabolism were consistently over-represented in all three assay systems. For question 3, all three preclinical assay systems could distinguish compounds from different therapeutic categories. This suggests that any noted differences in assay systems was biological process-dependent and furthermore that all three systems have utility in assessing drug responses within a certain drug class. In conclusion, this comparison of three commonly used rat TGx systems provides useful information in utility and application of TGx assays.

How equity is addressed in clinical practice guidelines: a content analysis

PubMed Central

Shi, Chunhu; Tian, Jinhui; Wang, Quan; Petkovic, Jennifer; Ren, Dan; Yang, Kehu; Yang, Yang

2014-01-01

Objectives Considering equity into guidelines presents methodological challenges. This study aims to qualitatively synthesise the methods for incorporating equity in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Setting Content analysis of methodological publications. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Methodological publications were included if they provided checklists/frameworks on when, how and to what extent equity should be incorporated in CPGs. Data sources We electronically searched MEDLINE, retrieved references, and browsed guideline development organisation websites from inception to January 2013. After study selection by two authors, general characteristics and checklists items/framework components from included studies were extracted. Based on the questions or items from checklists/frameworks (unit of analysis), content analysis was conducted to identify themes and questions/items were grouped into these themes. Primary outcomes The primary outcomes were methodological themes and processes on how to address equity issues in guideline development. Results 8 studies with 10 publications were included from 3405 citations. In total, a list of 87 questions/items was generated from 17 checklists/frameworks. After content analysis, questions were grouped into eight themes (‘scoping questions’, ‘searching relevant evidence’, ‘appraising evidence and recommendations’, ‘formulating recommendations’, ‘monitoring implementation’, ‘providing a flow chart to include equity in CPGs’, and ‘others: reporting of guidelines and comments from stakeholders’ for CPG developers and ‘assessing the quality of CPGs’ for CPG users). Four included studies covered more than five of these themes. We also summarised the process of guideline development based on the themes mentioned above. Conclusions For disadvantaged population-specific CPGs, eight important methodological issues identified in this review should be considered when including equity in CPGs under the guidance of a scientific guideline development manual. PMID:25479795

FAQ Question Submission

Science.gov Websites

, fax, or phone. Use this area to send us your question. Your name: Your E-Mail address: Your Phone Number (voice): Please include area code. Your Fax Number: Please include area code. Send Your Question

Secondary Use of Patients’ Electronic Records (SUPER): An Approach for Meeting Specific Data Needs of Clinical and Translational Researchers

PubMed Central

Sholle, Evan T.; Kabariti, Joseph; Johnson, Stephen B.; Leonard, John P.; Pathak, Jyotishman; Varughese, Vinay I.; Cole, Curtis L.; Campion, Thomas R.

2017-01-01

Academic medical centers commonly approach secondary use of electronic health record (EHR) data by implementing centralized clinical data warehouses (CDWs). However, CDWs require extensive resources to model data dimensions and harmonize clinical terminology, which can hinder effective support of the specific and varied data needs of investigators. We hypothesized that an approach that aggregates raw data from source systems, ignores initial modeling typical of CDWs, and transforms raw data for specific research purposes would meet investigator needs. The approach has successfully enabled multiple tools that provide utility to the institutional research enterprise. To our knowledge, this is the first complete description of a methodology for electronic patient data acquisition and provisioning that ignores data harmonization at the time of initial storage in favor of downstream transformation to address specific research questions and applications. PMID:29854228

Key Questions for Reviewing Virtual Charter School Proposals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NJ1), 2011

2011-01-01

This document contains key questions to consider when evaluating virtual charter school proposals.The insert is designed to help authorizers evaluate school quality and capacity in light of the distinctive attributes of virtual schooling. These questions address major functional areas as well essential questions that authorizers should ask of…

Addressing the Evidence Gap in Stroke Rehabilitation for Complex Patients: A Preliminary Research Agenda.

PubMed

Nelson, Michelle L; McKellar, Kaileah A; Munce, Sarah; Kelloway, Linda; Hans, Parminder Kaur; Fortin, Martin; Lyons, Renee; Bayley, Mark

2018-06-01

Evidence suggests that a stroke occurs in isolation (no comorbid conditions) in less than 6% of patients. Multimorbidity, compounded by psychosocial issues, makes treatment and recovery for stroke increasingly complex. Recent research and health policy documents called for a better understanding of the needs of this patient population, and for the development and testing of models of care that meet their needs. A research agenda specific to complexity is required. The primary objective of the think tank was to identify and prioritize research questions that meet the information needs of stakeholders, and to develop a research agenda specific to stroke rehabilitation and patient complexity. A modified Delphi and World Café approach underpinned the think tank meeting, approaches well recognized to foster interaction, dialogue, and collaboration between stakeholders. Forty-three researchers, clinicians, and policymakers attended a 2-day meeting. Initial question-generating activities resulted in 120 potential research questions. Sixteen high-priority research questions were identified, focusing on predetermined complexity characteristics-multimorbidity, social determinants, patient characteristics, social supports, and system factors. The final questions are presented as a prioritized research framework. An emergent result of this activity is the development of a complexity and stroke rehabilitation research network. The research agenda reflects topics of importance to stakeholders working with stroke patients with increasingly complex care needs. This robust process resulted in a preliminary research agenda that could provide policymakers with the evidence needed to make improvements toward better-organized services, better coordination between settings, improved patient outcomes, and lower system costs. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sex/Gender Differences and Autism: Setting the Scene for Future Research

PubMed Central

Lai, Meng-Chuan; Lombardo, Michael V.; Auyeung, Bonnie; Chakrabarti, Bhismadev; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2015-01-01

Objective The relationship between sex/gender differences and autism has attracted a variety of research ranging from clinical and neurobiological to etiological, stimulated by the male bias in autism prevalence. Findings are complex and do not always relate to each other in a straightforward manner. Distinct but interlinked questions on the relationship between sex/gender differences and autism remain underaddressed. To better understand the implications from existing research and to help design future studies, we propose a 4-level conceptual framework to clarify the embedded themes. Method We searched PubMed for publications before September 2014 using search terms “‘sex OR gender OR females’ AND autism.” A total of 1,906 articles were screened for relevance, along with publications identified via additional literature reviews, resulting in 329 articles that were reviewed. Results Level 1, “Nosological and diagnostic challenges,” concerns the question, “How should autism be defined and diagnosed in males and females?” Level 2, “Sex/gender-independent and sex/gender-dependent characteristics,” addresses the question, “What are the similarities and differences between males and females with autism?” Level 3, “General models of etiology: liability and threshold,” asks the question, “How is the liability for developing autism linked to sex/gender?” Level 4, “Specific etiological–developmental mechanisms,” focuses on the question, “What etiological–developmental mechanisms of autism are implicated by sex/gender and/or sexual/gender differentiation?” Conclusions Using this conceptual framework, findings can be more clearly summarized, and the implications of the links between findings from different levels can become clearer. Based on this 4-level framework, we suggest future research directions, methodology, and specific topics in sex/gender differences and autism. PMID:25524786

Nurturing Leadership: Equitable Mentoring for the Superintendency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muñoz, Ava J.; Pankake, Anita M.; Mills, Shirley; Simonsson, Marie

2018-01-01

Why is it that so many women seem to climb the administrative ladder leading to the superintendency frequently and with relative ease, but do not reach that top rung? Data to help address this question is presented here. These data are part of a larger research project completed in the fall of 2006. In addressing this question, an overview of the…

Teaching Writing: Some Perennial Questions and Some Possible Answers. Occasional Paper No. 85.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florio-Ruane, Susan; Dunn, Saundra

Based on the premise that writing research will be useful to educators only to the extent that it offers them conceptual tools to use in framing and solving their own problems, this paper reviews studies that address educators' perennial concerns about writing instruction. Among the questions addressed in the paper are those concerning (1) the…

Student and Early Career Mobility Patterns among Highly Educated People in Germany, Finland, Italy, and the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindberg, Matti E.

2009-01-01

This article addresses the question of how great are higher education students' incentives to change study programs or institutions to improve one's personal employability in the course of the higher education-to-work transition process. The posed question is addressed at a system level. Students' mobility between programs and institutions is…

Engineered phages for electronics.

PubMed

Cui, Yue

2016-11-15

Phages are traditionally widely studied in biology and chemistry. In recent years, engineered phages have attracted significant attentions for functionalization or construction of electronic devices, due to their specific binding, catalytic, nucleating or electronic properties. To apply the engineered phages in electronics, these are a number of interesting questions: how to engineer phages for electronics? How are the engineered phages characterized? How to assemble materials with engineered phages? How are the engineered phages micro or nanopatterned? What are the strategies to construct electronics devices with engineered phages? This review will highlight the early attempts to address these questions and explore the fundamental and practical aspects of engineered phages in electronics, including the approaches for selection or expression of specific peptides on phage coat proteins, characterization of engineered phages in electronics, assembly of electronic materials, patterning of engineered phages, and construction of electronic devices. It provides the methodologies and opens up ex-cit-ing op-por-tu-ni-ties for the development of a variety of new electronic materials and devices based on engineered phages for future applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Charged groups at binding interfaces of the PsbO subunit of photosystem II: A combined bioinformatics and simulation study.

PubMed

Del Val, Coral; Bondar, Ana-Nicoleta

2017-06-01

PsbO is an extrinsic subunit of photosystem II engaged in complex binding interactions within photosystem II. At the interface between PsbO, D1 and D2 subunits of photosystem II, a cluster of charged and polar groups of PsbO is part of an extended hydrogen-bond network thought to participate in proton transfer. The precise role of specific amino acid residues at this complex binding interface remains a key open question. Here, we address this question by carrying out extensive bioinformatics analyses and molecular dynamics simulations of PsbO proteins with mutations at the binding interface. We find that PsbO proteins from cyanobacteria vs. plants have specific preferences for the number and composition of charged amino acid residues that may ensure that PsbO proteins avoid aggregation and expose long unstructured loops for binding to photosystem II. A cluster of conserved charged groups with dynamic hydrogen bonds provides PsbO with structural plasticity at the binding interface with photosystem II. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Ventricular assist devices: a review of psychosocial risk factors and their impact on outcomes.

PubMed

Bruce, Courtenay R; Delgado, Estevan; Kostick, Kristin; Grogan, Sherry; Ashrith, Guha; Trachtenberg, Barry; Estep, Jerry D; Bhimaraj, Arvind; Pham, Linda; Blumenthal-Barby, Jennifer S

2014-12-01

Psychosocial contraindications for ventricular assist devices (VADs) remain particularly nebulous and are driven by institution-specific practices. Our multi-institutional, multidisciplinary workgroup conducted a review with the goal of addressing the following research question: How are preoperative psychosocial domains predictive of or associated with postoperative VAD-related outcomes? Answers to this question could contribute to the development of treatment-specific (contra) indications for patients under consideration for mechanical devices. We identified 5 studies that examined psychosocial factors and their relationship to postoperative VAD-related outcomes. Our results suggest that 3 psychosocial variables are possibly associated with VAD-related outcomes: depression, functional status, and self-care. Of the few studies that exist, the generalizability of findings is constrained by a lack of methodologic rigor, inconsistent terminology, and a lack of conceptual clarity. This review should serve as a call for research. Efforts to minimize psychosocial risk before device placement can only be successful insofar as VAD programs can clearly identify who is at risk for suboptimal outcomes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impacts of Near-Term Climate Change on Irrigation Demands and Crop Yields in the Columbia River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajagopalan, K.; Chinnayakanahalli, K. J.; Stockle, C. O.; Nelson, R. L.; Kruger, C. E.; Brady, M. P.; Malek, K.; Dinesh, S. T.; Barber, M. E.; Hamlet, A. F.; Yorgey, G. G.; Adam, J. C.

2018-03-01

Adaptation to a changing climate is critical to address future global food and water security challenges. While these challenges are global, successful adaptation strategies are often generated at regional scales; therefore, regional-scale studies are critical to inform adaptation decision making. While climate change affects both water supply and demand, water demand is relatively understudied, especially at regional scales. The goal of this work is to address this gap, and characterize the direct impacts of near-term (for the 2030s) climate change and elevated CO2 levels on regional-scale crop yields and irrigation demands for the Columbia River basin (CRB). This question is addressed through a coupled crop-hydrology model that accounts for site-specific and crop-specific characteristics that control regional-scale response to climate change. The overall near-term outlook for agricultural production in the CRB is largely positive, with yield increases for most crops and small overall increases in irrigation demand. However, there are crop-specific and location-specific negative impacts as well, and the aggregate regional response of irrigation demands to climate change is highly sensitive to the spatial crop mix. Low-value pasture/hay varieties of crops—typically not considered in climate change assessments—play a significant role in determining the regional response of irrigation demands to climate change, and thus cannot be overlooked. While, the overall near-term outlook for agriculture in the region is largely positive, there may be potential for a negative outlook further into the future, and it is important to consider this in long-term planning.

How patients understand physicians' solicitations of additional concerns: implications for up-front agenda setting in primary care.

PubMed

Robinson, Jeffrey D; Heritage, John

2016-01-01

In the more than 1 billion primary-care visits each year in the United States, the majority of patients bring more than one distinct concern, yet many leave with "unmet" concerns (i.e., ones not addressed during visits). Unmet concerns have potentially negative consequences for patients' health, and may pose utilization-based financial burdens to health care systems if patients return to deal with such concerns. One solution to the problem of unmet concerns is the communication skill known as up-front agenda setting, where physicians (after soliciting patients' chief concerns) continue to solicit patients' concerns to "exhaustion" with questions such as "Are there some other issues you'd like to address?" Although this skill is trainable and efficacious, it is not yet a panacea. This article uses conversation analysis to demonstrate that patients understand up-front agenda-setting questions in ways that hamper their effectiveness. Specifically, we demonstrate that up-front agenda-setting questions are understood as making relevant "new problems" (i.e., concerns that are either totally new or "new since last visit," and in need of diagnosis), and consequently bias answers away from "non-new problems" (i.e., issues related to previously diagnosed concerns, including much of chronic care). Suggestions are made for why this might be so, and for improving up-front agenda setting. Data are 144 videotapes of community-based, acute, primary-care, outpatient visits collected in the United States between adult patients and 20 family-practice physicians.

The Equivalence of the Radial Return and Mendelson Methods for Integrating the Classical Plasticity Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Aboudi, Jacob; Arnold, Steven M.

2006-01-01

The radial return and Mendelson methods for integrating the equations of classical plasticity, which appear independently in the literature, are shown to be identical. Both methods are presented in detail as are the specifics of their algorithmic implementation. Results illustrate the methods' equivalence across a range of conditions and address the question of when the methods require iteration in order for the plastic state to remain on the yield surface. FORTRAN code implementations of the radial return and Mendelson methods are provided in the appendix.

Statistics and Discoveries at the LHC (1/4)

ScienceCinema

Cowan, Glen

2018-02-09

The lectures will give an introduction to statistics as applied in particle physics and will provide all the necessary basics for data analysis at the LHC. Special emphasis will be placed on the the problems and questions that arise when searching for new phenomena, including p-values, discovery significance, limit setting procedures, treatment of small signals in the presence of large backgrounds. Specific issues that will be addressed include the advantages and drawbacks of different statistical test procedures (cut-based, likelihood-ratio, etc.), the look-elsewhere effect and treatment of systematic uncertainties.

Statistics and Discoveries at the LHC (3/4)

ScienceCinema

Cowan, Glen

2018-02-19

The lectures will give an introduction to statistics as applied in particle physics and will provide all the necessary basics for data analysis at the LHC. Special emphasis will be placed on the the problems and questions that arise when searching for new phenomena, including p-values, discovery significance, limit setting procedures, treatment of small signals in the presence of large backgrounds. Specific issues that will be addressed include the advantages and drawbacks of different statistical test procedures (cut-based, likelihood-ratio, etc.), the look-elsewhere effect and treatment of systematic uncertainties.

Altimetric system: Earth observing system. Volume 2h: Panel report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bindschadler, Robert A.; Born, George; Chase, Robert R. P.; Fu, Lee-Lueng; Mouginis-Mark, Peter; Parsons, Chester; Tapley, Byron

1987-01-01

A rationale and recommendations for planning, implementing, and operating an altimetric system aboard the Earth observing system (Eos) spacecraft is provided. In keeping with the recommendations of the Eos Science and Mission Requirements Working Group, a complete altimetric system is defined that is capable of perpetuating the data set to be derived from TOPEX/Poseidon, enabling key scientific questions to be addressed. Since the scientific utility and technical maturity of spaceborne radar altimeters is well documented, the discussion is limited to highlighting those Eos-specific considerations that materially impact upon radar altimetric measurements.

Talking with patients about spirituality and worldview: practical interviewing techniques and strategies.

PubMed

Josephson, Allan M; Peteet, John R

2007-06-01

Psychiatrists now recognize that religion and spirituality are important to much of the populace and that attending to them probably will improve clinical psychiatric practice. This article presents a practical guide for addressing some of the key interviewing skills needed to explore a patient's framework for meaning-the patient's religion, spirituality, and worldview. It offers guidelines on the process of the interview, including ways to initiate conversation in this area, with suggestions and specific questions for a more thorough exploration of the patient's religious and spiritual life.

75 FR 48743 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

...EPA is proposing to amend specific provisions in the GHG reporting rule to clarify certain provisions, to correct technical and editorial errors, and to address certain questions and issues that have arisen since promulgation. These proposed changes include providing additional information and clarity on existing requirements, allowing greater flexibility or simplified calculation methods for certain sources in a facility, amending data reporting requirements to provide additional clarity on when different types of GHG emissions need to be calculated and reported, clarifying terms and definitions in certain equations, and technical corrections.

75 FR 79091 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-17

...EPA is amending specific provisions in the greenhouse gas reporting rule to clarify certain provisions, to correct technical and editorial errors, and to address certain questions and issues that have arisen since promulgation. These final changes include generally providing additional information and clarity on existing requirements, allowing greater flexibility or simplified calculation methods for certain sources, amending data reporting requirements to provide additional clarity on when different types of greenhouse gas emissions need to be calculated and reported, clarifying terms and definitions in certain equations and other technical corrections and amendments.

Statistics and Discoveries at the LHC (4/4)

ScienceCinema

Cowan, Glen

2018-05-22

The lectures will give an introduction to statistics as applied in particle physics and will provide all the necessary basics for data analysis at the LHC. Special emphasis will be placed on the the problems and questions that arise when searching for new phenomena, including p-values, discovery significance, limit setting procedures, treatment of small signals in the presence of large backgrounds. Specific issues that will be addressed include the advantages and drawbacks of different statistical test procedures (cut-based, likelihood-ratio, etc.), the look-elsewhere effect and treatment of systematic uncertainties.

New discretization and solution techniques for incompressible viscous flow problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gunzburger, M. D.; Nicolaides, R. A.; Liu, C. H.

1983-01-01

Several topics arising in the finite element solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are considered. Specifically, the question of choosing finite element velocity/pressure spaces is addressed, particularly from the viewpoint of achieving stable discretizations leading to convergent pressure approximations. The role of artificial viscosity in viscous flow calculations is studied, emphasizing work by several researchers for the anisotropic case. The last section treats the problem of solving the nonlinear systems of equations which arise from the discretization. Time marching methods and classical iterative techniques, as well as some modifications are mentioned.

Statistics and Discoveries at the LHC (2/4)

ScienceCinema

Cowan, Glen

2018-04-26

The lectures will give an introduction to statistics as applied in particle physics and will provide all the necessary basics for data analysis at the LHC. Special emphasis will be placed on the the problems and questions that arise when searching for new phenomena, including p-values, discovery significance, limit setting procedures, treatment of small signals in the presence of large backgrounds. Specific issues that will be addressed include the advantages and drawbacks of different statistical test procedures (cut-based, likelihood-ratio, etc.), the look-elsewhere effect and treatment of systematic uncertainties.

When superfluids are a drag

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

Roberts, David C

2008-01-01

The article considers the dramatic phenomenon of seemingly frictionless flow of slow-moving superfluids. Specifically the question of whether an object in a superfluid flow experiences any drag force is addressed. A brief account is given of the history of this problem and it is argued that recent advances in ultracold atomic physics can shed much new light on this problem. The article presents the commonly held notion that sufficiently slow-moving superfluids can flow without drag and also discusses research suggesting that scattering quantum fluctuations might cause drag in a superfluid moving at any speed.

Information management for commercial aviation - A research perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricks, Wendell R.; Abbott, Kathy H.; Jonsson, Jon E.; Boucek, George; Rogers, William H.

1991-01-01

The problem of flight deck information management (IM), defined as processing, controlling, and directing information, for commercial flight decks, and a research effort underway to address this problem, are discussed. The premises provided are utilized to lay the groundwork required for such research by providing a framework to describe IM problems and an avenue to follow when investigating solution concepts. The research issues presented serve to identify specific questions necessary to achieve a better understanding of the IM problem, and to provide assessments of the relative merit of various solution concepts.

Femtosecond manipulation of spins, charges, and ions in nanostructures, thin films, and surfaces

PubMed Central

Carbone, F.; Hengsberger, M.; Castiglioni, L.; Osterwalder, J.

2017-01-01

Modern ultrafast techniques provide new insights into the dynamics of ions, charges, and spins in photoexcited nanostructures. In this review, we describe the use of time-resolved electron-based methods to address specific questions such as the ordering properties of self-assembled nanoparticles supracrystals, the interplay between electronic and structural dynamics in surfaces and adsorbate layers, the light-induced control of collective electronic modes in nanowires and thin films, and the real-space/real-time evolution of the skyrmion lattice in topological magnets. PMID:29308416

Health status measurement in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PubMed Central

Jones, P

2001-01-01

Health status measurement is a common feature of studies in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This review assesses recent evidence for the validity of these measurements and their role as measures of the overall impact of the disease on the patient's daily life and wellbeing. It reviews the mostly widely used COPD specific questionnaires and examines the contribution that they make to an assessment of the overall effect of treatment. Finally, it addresses the question of how symptomatic benefit may be assessed in individual patients in routine practice.

 PMID:11641515

Regulatory toxicology in the twenty-first century: challenges, perspectives and possible solutions.

PubMed

Tralau, Tewes; Oelgeschläger, Michael; Gürtler, Rainer; Heinemeyer, Gerhard; Herzler, Matthias; Höfer, Thomas; Itter, Heike; Kuhl, Thomas; Lange, Nikola; Lorenz, Nicole; Müller-Graf, Christine; Pabel, Ulrike; Pirow, Ralph; Ritz, Vera; Schafft, Helmut; Schneider, Heiko; Schulz, Thomas; Schumacher, David; Zellmer, Sebastian; Fleur-Böl, Gaby; Greiner, Matthias; Lahrssen-Wiederholt, Monika; Lampen, Alfonso; Luch, Andreas; Schönfelder, Gilbert; Solecki, Roland; Wittkowski, Reiner; Hensel, Andreas

2015-06-01

The advent of new testing systems and "omics"-technologies has left regulatory toxicology facing one of the biggest challenges for decades. That is the question whether and how these methods can be used for regulatory purposes. The new methods undoubtedly enable regulators to address important open questions of toxicology such as species-specific toxicity, mixture toxicity, low-dose effects, endocrine effects or nanotoxicology, while promising faster and more efficient toxicity testing with the use of less animals. Consequently, the respective assays, methods and testing strategies are subject of several research programs worldwide. On the other hand, the practical application of such tests for regulatory purposes is a matter of ongoing debate. This document summarizes key aspects of this debate in the light of the European "regulatory status quo", while elucidating new perspectives for regulatory toxicity testing.

The patient-centered outcomes research institute should focus on high-impact problems that can be solved quickly.

PubMed

Sox, Harold

2012-10-01

The Affordable Care Act created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to help patients, clinicians, and policy makers make well-informed decisions about health care. Because its funding expires in 2019, the institute has little time in which to produce timely, practice-changing results that will build public support for comparative effectiveness research. PCORI should plan its research agenda strategically, so that it addresses research questions that comparative effectiveness research could answer quickly and decisively. To date, the institute has not chosen this path. In January 2012 PCORI's first research agenda described broad research priorities rather than specific clinical questions. The institute must drive the burgeoning discipline of comparative effectiveness research forward, starting with a research project agenda that conveys a sense of urgency and strategic direction.

Comment on "SU(5) octet scalar at the LHC"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doršner, Ilja

2015-06-01

I address the validity of results presented in [S. Khalil, S. Salem, and M. Allam, Phys. Rev. D 89, 095011 (2014)] with regard to unification of gauge couplings within a particular S U (5 ) framework. The scalar sector of the proposed S U (5 ) model contains one 5-dimensional, one 24-dimensional, and one 45-dimensional representation. The authors discuss one specific unification scenario that supports the case for the LHC accessible color octet scalar. I show that the unification analysis in question is based on (i) an erroneous assumption related to the issue of nucleon stability and (ii) an incorrect input for the applicable set of renormalization group equations. This, in my view, invalidates the aforementioned gauge coupling unification study. I also question a source of the fermion mass relations presented in that work.

A review of CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS™): Planning for the future of injury surveillance✩

PubMed Central

Ballesteros, Michael F.; Webb, Kevin; McClure, Roderick J.

2017-01-01

Introduction The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARSTM) to meet the data needs of injury practitioners. In 2015, CDC completed a Portfolio Review of this system to inform its future development. Methods Evaluation questions addressed utilization, technology and innovation, data sources, and tools and training. Data were collected through environmental scans, a review of peer-reviewed and grey literature, a web search, and stakeholder interviews. Results Review findings led to specific recommendations for each evaluation question. Response CDC reviewed each recommendation and initiated several enhancements that will improve the ability of injury prevention practitioners to leverage these data, better make sense of query results, and incorporate findings and key messages into prevention practices. PMID:28454867

[Three years of vertical networking in the German Network of Competence on Viral Hepatitis: what can we learn from the usage of different information tools?].

PubMed

Meyer, S; Manns, M P; Wedemeyer, H

2006-01-01

Treatment of patients with viral hepatitis is time-consuming and sometimes complicated. Several sources of information have been established as internet sites, however systematic analyses of the need and use of these information platforms are lacking. The Competence Network on Viral Hepatitis (Hep-Net) was established in 2002 and offers a telephone hotline, an e-mail service and a home page with frequently asked questions (FAQs). On the internet pages "FAQs" 38 125 hits have been registered on single "question-answer-units" within three years. In a half of the cases the question are associated with modes of transmission. In contrast, patient's questions in e-mail and the telephone hotline are mainly dealing with the treatment of hepatitis C. More than 46 % of the physician's questions referred to unclearness in indications for treatment. Questions on specific medical problems of individual patients and, in e-mail, also on legal issues played a major part. Many of these questions have not been addressed in the actual guidelines in Germany. In summary, the Hep-Net vertical networking tools represent a fast, quality-assured endorsement to the daily management of patients with viral hepatitis. The combination of internet, e-mail service and telephone hotline gives consideration to individual necessities of patients and physicians. However, the detailed analysis of usage also shows limitations of current guidelines which should be considered during updating.

HOW PEOPLE RESPOND TO CONTINGENT VALUATION QUESTIONS

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of the project is to understand better how individuals interpret and respond to contingent valuation (CV) questions. The research will address three issues: the reliability of the referendum questions format, the importance of reminding respondents about subst...

Girls’ Disruptive Behavior and its Relationship to Family Functioning: A Review

PubMed Central

Kroneman, Leoniek M.; Loeber, Rolf; Hipwell, Alison E.; Koot, Hans M.

2009-01-01

Although a number of reviews of gender differences in disruptive behavior and parental socialization exist, we extend this literature by addressing the question of differential development among girls and by placing both disruptive behavior and parenting behavior in a developmental framework. Clarifying the heterogeneity of development in girls is important for developing and optimizing gender-specific prevention and treatment programs. In the current review, we describe the unique aspects of the development of disruptive behavior in girls and explore how the gender-specific development of disruptive behavior can be explained by family linked risk and protective processes. Based on this review, we formulate a gender-specific reciprocal model of the influence of social factors on the development of disruptive behavior in girls in order to steer further research and better inform prevention and treatment programs. PMID:20161077

Preventing and Addressing Challenging Behavior: Common Questions and Practical Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Ostrosky, Michaelene M.; Corso, Robert M.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to offer preschool teachers strategies for preventing challenging behavior and supporting the development of social skills and emotional competencies. This article is framed in a question and answer format using questions from teachers who the authors have worked with in the past. These questions and strategies are…

Evaluating the Quality of a Chat Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Julie; Kaske, Neal K.

2005-01-01

A quantitative study of a university chat reference service (online synchronous) addresses the following research questions: (1) What types of questions are being asked? (2) Who is asking the questions of the service? and (3) Did the customers get correct answers to their questions? All the transcripts (351) from January through August 2002 were…

Some Tough Questions about Community Colleges. AACJC Pocket Reader, 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parnell, Dale

Using a question-and-answer format, this booklet addresses eleven of the most frequently posed questions about community, technical, and junior colleges and attempts to allay misunderstandings about the nature and role of these institutions. The questions cover the distinctions between the different types of 2-year college; their history and…

Using Notable Children's Literature and Questioning Techniques to Enhance Comprehension.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poole, Gary; Poole, Scott

Intended for language arts teachers of the upper elementary grades, this guide suggests vocabulary and discussion questions for teaching novels. The questions are on an inferential level of interpretation, rather than literal, and address such topics as style, technique, and plot development. Novels for which questions are provided are: (1)…

Implementing Response to Intervention: Practices and Perspectives from Five Schools--Frequently Asked Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tackett, Kathryn Klingler; Roberts, Greg; Baker, Scott; Scammacca, Nancy

2009-01-01

One question frequently arises in the work of the Regional Comprehensive Centers: "What are states, districts, and schools doing about RTI?" This document addresses that question, with particular focus on instruction and the implementation of effective practices. It uses a frequently asked questions (FAQs) format, with answers based on…

Attitudes towards conscientious objection among community pharmacists in Poland.

PubMed

Piecuch, Anna; Gryka, Malwina; Kozłowska-Wojciechowska, Małgorzata

2014-04-01

The European Council Resolution 1763 (2010), ‘‘The right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care’’, provoked a discussion among Polish pharmacists on the necessity for granting them the right to refuse to dispense medicinal products which invoke conscientious objection. To explore attitudes of Polish pharmacists towards the conscience clause. Pharmacies with public e-mail addresses in various parts of Poland (Lower Silesia Province, Mazovia Province, Kuyavia-Pomerania Province, and West Pomeranian Province). An online survey questionnaire addressed to 1,454 pharmacies. The participants were asked 8 questions,including a question addressed only to pharmacy managers and owners. Attitudes towards the right to conscientious objection for pharmacists. Ultimately, responses of 126 pharmacists (83 women, 43 men, average age-39 years of age) were taken into consideration. Most participants (92 %) have never refused to fill a prescription due to their beliefs; however, 15 % of participants state that if the conscience clause were legally sanctioned, they would exercise this right. Most participants(73 %) think that pharmacists should not have the right to conscientious objection. Almost half of participants who support implementation of the conscience clause would grant this right to pharmacists on a conditional basis, if the pharmacists were obliged to present other real options to the patient about obtaining a specific product. Pharmacists are rather reluctant to the idea of implementing the conscience clause, but despite a clear majority of its opponents, there seems to be a necessity for introducing such a regulation.

Urban Evolutionary Ecology and the Potential Benefits of Implementing Genomics.

PubMed

Schell, Christopher J

2018-02-14

Urban habitats are quickly becoming exceptional models to address adaptation under rapid environmental change, given the expansive temporal and spatial scales with which anthropogenic landscape conversion occurs. Urban ecologists in the last 10-15 years have done an extraordinary job of highlighting phenotypic patterns that correspond with urban living, as well as delineating urban population structure using traditional genetic markers. The underpinning genetic mechanisms that govern those phenotypic patterns, however, are less well established. Moreover, the power of traditional molecular studies is constrained by the number of markers being evaluated, which limits the potential to assess fine-scale population structure potentially common in urban areas. With the recent proliferation of low-cost, high-throughput sequencing methods, we can begin to address an emerging question in urban ecology: are species adapted to local optima within cities or are they expressing latent phenotypic plasticity? Here, I provide a comprehensive review of previous urban ecological studies, with special focus on the molecular ecology and phenotypic adjustments documented in urban terrestrial and amphibious fauna. I subsequently pinpoint areas in the literature that could benefit from a genomic investigation and briefly discuss the suitability of specific techniques in addressing eco-evolutionary questions within urban ecology. Though many challenges exist with implementing genomics into urban ecology, such studies provide an exceptional opportunity to advance our understanding of eco-evolutionary processes in metropolitan areas. © The American Genetic Association 2018. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Volcanic rocks and the geologic history of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salpas, P. A.

1988-01-01

A number of questions exist regarding the geology of Mars which can be addressed by the proposed Mars rover-sample return mission. The use of a rover during the proposed mission greatly enhances the ability to investigate multiple aspects of Martian geology and geological history. Attempting to address all of the important questions may dilute the amount of information that can be obtained regarding each question and may result in no satisfactory answers. Prioritization is essential to a successful mission. The task of setting priorities is simplified somewhat when it is considered that answers to some of these questions do not require taking samples, and that for some questions, sample location is not as important as for others. The surface of Mars presents two distinct terrains, both of which have the potential to contain valuable information regarding the composition of Mars.

Question Generation via Overgenerating Transformations and Ranking

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 www.lti.cs.cmu.edu c©2009, Michael Heilman and Noah A...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Carnegie Mellon University ,School of Computer Science,5000 Forbes Ave,Pittsburgh,PA,15213 8...1967), in particular those that view a question as a transformation of a canonical declarative sentence ( Chomsky , 1973). In computational linguistics

The New ADL Registry. ADL Registry Web Portal Changes

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-19

Questions or Comments? Jason Haag Learning Technology Analyst jason.haag.ctr@adlnet.gov +1.850.471.1300 ...PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Advanced Decision Learning (ADL),Joint ADL Co-Lab,13501 Ingenuity Drive Suite 248,Orlando,FL,32826 8... Technologies /adlr/  News and Announcements  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  Documentation  Events and Event Registration 4 ADL Registry Functional

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana.

PubMed

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P; Long, Rachel N

2015-09-17

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally.

An Integrated Assessment Approach to Address Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Ghana

PubMed Central

Basu, Niladri; Renne, Elisha P.; Long, Rachel N.

2015-01-01

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is growing in many regions of the world including Ghana. The problems in these communities are complex and multi-faceted. To help increase understanding of such problems, and to enable consensus-building and effective translation of scientific findings to stakeholders, help inform policies, and ultimately improve decision making, we utilized an Integrated Assessment approach to study artisanal and small-scale gold mining activities in Ghana. Though Integrated Assessments have been used in the fields of environmental science and sustainable development, their use in addressing specific matter in public health, and in particular, environmental and occupational health is quite limited despite their many benefits. The aim of the current paper was to describe specific activities undertaken and how they were organized, and the outputs and outcomes of our activity. In brief, three disciplinary workgroups (Natural Sciences, Human Health, Social Sciences and Economics) were formed, with 26 researchers from a range of Ghanaian institutions plus international experts. The workgroups conducted activities in order to address the following question: What are the causes, consequences and correctives of small-scale gold mining in Ghana? More specifically: What alternatives are available in resource-limited settings in Ghana that allow for gold-mining to occur in a manner that maintains ecological health and human health without hindering near- and long-term economic prosperity? Several response options were identified and evaluated, and are currently being disseminated to various stakeholders within Ghana and internationally. PMID:26393627

Spacecraft Habitable Volume: Results of an Interdisciplinary Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitts, David J.; Connolly, Janis; Howard, Robert

2011-01-01

NASA's Human Exploration Framework Team posed the question: "Is 80 cubic meters per person of habitable volume acceptable for a proposed Deep Space Habitat?" The goal of the workshop was to address the "net habitable volume" necessary for long-duration human spaceflight missions and identify design and psychological issues and mitigations. The objectives were: (1) Identify psychological factors -- i.e., "stressors" -- that impact volume and layout specifications for long duration missions (2) Identify mitigation strategies for stressors, especially those that can be written as volume design specifications (3) Identify a forward research roadmap -- i.e., what future work is needed to define and validate objective design metrics? (4) Provide advisories on the human factors consequences of poor net habitable volume allocation and layout design.

A 'user friendly' geographic information system in a color interactive digital image processing system environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, W. J.; Goldberg, M.

1982-01-01

NASA's Eastern Regional Remote Sensing Applications Center (ERRSAC) has recognized the need to accommodate spatial analysis techniques in its remote sensing technology transfer program. A computerized Geographic Information System to incorporate remotely sensed data, specifically Landsat, with other relevant data was considered a realistic approach to address a given resource problem. Questions arose concerning the selection of a suitable available software system to demonstrate, train, and undertake demonstration projects with ERRSAC's user community. The very specific requirements for such a system are discussed. The solution found involved the addition of geographic information processing functions to the Interactive Digital Image Manipulation System (IDIMS). Details regarding the functions of the new integrated system are examined along with the characteristics of the software.

Why are Formal Methods Not Used More Widely?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, John C.; DeJong, Colleen L.; Gibble, Matthew S.; Nakano, Luis G.

1997-01-01

Despite extensive development over many years and significant demonstrated benefits, formal methods remain poorly accepted by industrial practitioners. Many reasons have been suggested for this situation such as a claim that they extent the development cycle, that they require difficult mathematics, that inadequate tools exist, and that they are incompatible with other software packages. There is little empirical evidence that any of these reasons is valid. The research presented here addresses the question of why formal methods are not used more widely. The approach used was to develop a formal specification for a safety-critical application using several specification notations and assess the results in a comprehensive evaluation framework. The results of the experiment suggests that there remain many impediments to the routine use of formal methods.

Unusual masturbatory practice as an etiological factor in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in young men.

PubMed

Bronner, Gila; Ben-Zion, Itzhak Z

2014-07-01

Masturbation is a common sexual activity among people of all ages throughout life. It has been traditionally prohibited and judged as immoral and sinful by several religions. Although it is no longer perceived as a negative behavior, masturbation is often omitted in the diagnostic inquiry of patients with sexual problems. The aims of this study are to increase the awareness of clinicians to the importance of including questions regarding masturbatory habits in the process of sexual history taking, to analyze cases of male sexual dysfunction (SD) associated with unusual masturbatory practices, and to propose a practical tool for clinicians to diagnose and manage such problems. A clinical study of four cases that include a range of unusual masturbatory practices by young males who applied for sex therapy is described. An intervention plan involving specific questions in case history taking was devised. It was based on detailed understanding of each patient's masturbatory practice and its manifestation in his SD. Effects of identifying and altering masturbatory practices on sexual function. The four men described unusual and awkward masturbatory practices, each of which was associated with different kinds of SD. The unlearning of the masturbatory practices contributed notably to improvement of their sexual function. The four cases in this study indicate that the detailed questioning of masturbatory habits is crucial for a thorough assessment and adequate treatment of sexual problems in men. We propose specific questions on masturbatory behavior as well as a diagnostic and therapeutic flowchart for physicians and sex therapists to address those problems. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

The Difference between Uncertainty and Information, and Why This Matters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nearing, G. S.

2016-12-01

Earth science investigation and arbitration (for decision making) is very often organized around a concept of uncertainty. It seems relatively straightforward that the purpose of our science is to reduce uncertainty about how environmental systems will react and evolve under different conditions. I propose here that approaching a science of complex systems as a process of quantifying and reducing uncertainty is a mistake, and specifically a mistake that is rooted in certain rather hisoric logical errors. Instead I propose that we should be asking questions about information. I argue here that an information-based perspective facilitates almost trivial answers to environmental science questions that are either difficult or theoretically impossible to answer when posed as questions about uncertainty. In particular, I propose that an information-centric perspective leads to: Coherent and non-subjective hypothesis tests for complex system models. Process-level diagnostics for complex systems models. Methods for building complex systems models that allow for inductive inference without the need for a priori specification of likelihood functions or ad hoc error metrics. Asymptotically correct quantification of epistemic uncertainty. To put this in slightly more basic terms, I propose that an information-theoretic philosophy of science has the potential to resolve certain important aspects of the Demarcation Problem and the Duhem-Quine Problem, and that Hydrology and other Earth Systems Sciences can immediately capitalize on this to address some of our most difficult and persistent problems.

The Darwinian revolution: Rethinking its meaning and significance

PubMed Central

Ruse, Michael

2009-01-01

The Darwinian revolution is generally taken to be one of the key events in the history of Western science. In recent years, however, the very notion of a scientific revolution has come under attack, and in the specific case of Charles Darwin and his Origin of Species there are serious questions about the nature of the change (if there was such) and the specifically Darwinian input. This article considers these issues by addressing these questions: Was there a Darwinian revolution? That is, was there a revolution at all? Was there a Darwinian revolution? That is, what was the specific contribution of Charles Darwin? Was there a Darwinian revolution? That is, what was the conceptual nature of what occurred on and around the publication of the Origin? I argue that there was a major change, both scientifically and in a broader metaphysical sense; that Charles Darwin was the major player in the change, although one must qualify the nature and the extent of the change, looking particularly at things in a broader historical context than just as an immediate event; and that the revolution was complex and we need the insights of rather different philosophies of scientific change to capture the whole phenomenon. In some respects, indeed, the process of analysis is still ongoing and unresolved. PMID:19528652

Facing changes and changing faces in adolescence: A new model for investigating adolescent-specific interactions between pubertal, brain and behavioral development

PubMed Central

Scherf, K. Suzanne; Behrmann, Marlene; Dahl, Ronald E.

2015-01-01

Adolescence is a time of dramatic physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes as well as a time for the development of many social-emotional problems. These characteristics raise compelling questions about accompanying neural changes that are unique to this period of development. Here, we propose that studying adolescent-specific changes in face processing and its underlying neural circuitry provides an ideal model for addressing these questions. We also use this model to formulate new hypotheses. Specifically, pubertal hormones are likely to increase motivation to master new peer-oriented developmental tasks, which will in turn, instigate the emergence of new social/affective components of face processing. We also predict that pubertal hormones have a fundamental impact on the reorganization of neural circuitry supporting face processing and propose, in particular, that, the functional connectivity, or temporal synchrony, between regions of the face-processing network will change with the emergence of these new components of face processing in adolescence. Finally, we show how this approach will help reveal why adolescence may be a period of vulnerability in brain development and suggest how it could lead to prevention and intervention strategies that facilitate more adaptive functional interactions between regions within the broader social information processing network. PMID:22483070

Reduced cancer risk in vegetarians: an analysis of recent reports.

PubMed

Lanou, Amy Joy; Svenson, Barbara

2010-12-20

This report reviews current evidence regarding the relationship between vegetarian eating patterns and cancer risk. Although plant-based diets including vegetarian and vegan diets are generally considered to be cancer protective, very few studies have directly addressed this question. Most large prospective observational studies show that vegetarian diets are at least modestly cancer protective (10%-12% reduction in overall cancer risk) although results for specific cancers are less clear. No long-term randomized clinical trials have been conducted to address this relationship. However, a broad body of evidence links specific plant foods such as fruits and vegetables, plant constituents such as fiber, antioxidants and other phytochemicals, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight to reduced risk of cancer diagnosis and recurrence. Also, research links the consumption of meat, especially red and processed meats, to increased risk of several types of cancer. Vegetarian and vegan diets increase beneficial plant foods and plant constituents, eliminate the intake of red and processed meat, and aid in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. The direct and indirect evidence taken together suggests that vegetarian diets are a useful strategy for reducing risk of cancer.

A generic archive protocol and an implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, J. M.; Jennings, D. G.; Mcglynn, T. A.; Ruggiero, N. G.; Serlemitsos, T. A.

1992-01-01

Archiving vast amounts of data has become a major part of every scientific space mission today. The Generic Archive/Retrieval Services Protocol (GRASP) addresses the question of how to archive the data collected in an environment where the underlying hardware archives may be rapidly changing. GRASP is a device independent specification defining a set of functions for storing and retrieving data from an archive, as well as other support functions. GRASP is divided into two levels: the Transfer Interface and the Action Interface. The Transfer Interface is computer/archive independent code while the Action Interface contains code which is dedicated to each archive/computer addressed. Implementations of the GRASP specification are currently available for DECstations running Ultrix, Sparcstations running SunOS, and microVAX/VAXstation 3100's. The underlying archive is assumed to function as a standard Unix or VMS file system. The code, written in C, is a single suite of files. Preprocessing commands define the machine unique code sections in the device interface. The implementation was written, to the greatest extent possible, using only ANSI standard C functions.

Competition Between Transients in the Rate of Approach to a Fixed Point

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, Judy; Rubin, Jonathan E.; Chow, Carson C.

2009-01-01

The goal of this paper is to provide and apply tools for analyzing a specific aspect of transient dynamics not covered by previous theory. The question we address is whether one component of a perturbed solution to a system of differential equations can overtake the corresponding component of a reference solution as both converge to a stable node at the origin, given that the perturbed solution was initially farther away and that both solutions are nonnegative for all time. We call this phenomenon tolerance, for its relation to a biological effect. We show using geometric arguments that tolerance will exist in generic linear systems with a complete set of eigenvectors and in excitable nonlinear systems. We also define a notion of inhibition that may constrain the regions in phase space where the possibility of tolerance arises in general systems. However, these general existence theorems do not not yield an assessment of tolerance for specific initial conditions. To address that issue, we develop some analytical tools for determining if particular perturbed and reference solution initial conditions will exhibit tolerance.

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…

Commentary: Writing and Evaluating Qualitative Research Reports.

PubMed

Wu, Yelena P; Thompson, Deborah; Aroian, Karen J; McQuaid, Elizabeth L; Deatrick, Janet A

2016-06-01

To provide an overview of qualitative methods, particularly for reviewers and authors who may be less familiar with qualitative research. A question and answer format is used to address considerations for writing and evaluating qualitative research. When producing qualitative research, individuals are encouraged to address the qualitative research considerations raised and to explicitly identify the systematic strategies used to ensure rigor in study design and methods, analysis, and presentation of findings. Increasing capacity for review and publication of qualitative research within pediatric psychology will advance the field's ability to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of pediatric populations, tailor interventions more effectively, and promote optimal health. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Review of reviews on exposures to synthetic organic chemicals and children's neurodevelopment: Methodological and interpretation challenges.

PubMed

LaKind, Judy S; Anthony, Laura G; Goodman, Michael

2017-01-01

Environmental epidemiology data are becoming increasingly important in public health decision making, which commonly incorporates a systematic review of multiple studies. This review addresses two fundamental questions: What is the quality of available reviews on associations between exposure to synthetic organic chemicals and neurodevelopmental outcomes? What is the value (e.g., quality and consistency) of the underlying literature? Published reviews on associations between synthetic organic environmental chemical exposures and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children were systematically evaluated. Seventy-four relevant reviews were identified, and these were evaluated with respect to four methodological characteristics: (1) systematic inclusion/exclusion criteria and reproducible methods for search and retrieval of studies; (2) structured evaluation of underlying data quality; (3) systematic assessment of consistency across specific exposure-outcome associations; and (4) evaluation of reporting/publication bias. None of the 74 reviews fully met the criteria for all four methodological characteristics. Only four reviews met two criteria, and six reviews fulfilled only one criterion. Perhaps more importantly, the higher quality reviews were not able to meet all of the criteria owing to the shortcomings of underlying studies, which lacked comparability in terms of specific research question of interest, overall design, exposure assessment, outcome ascertainment, and analytic methods. Thus, even the most thoughtful and rigorous review may be of limited value if the underlying literature includes investigations that address different hypotheses and are beset by methodological inconsistencies and limitations. Issues identified in this review of reviews illustrate considerable challenges that are facing assessments of epidemiological evidence.

The effect of learning styles and attitude on preservice elementary teachers' conceptual understanding of chemistry and the nature of matter in a simulation-based learning environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Jaroudi, Mo H.

This causal-comparative descriptive study investigated the achievement of pre-service elementary teachers taking an introductory physical science course that integrates inquiry-based instruction with computer simulations. The study was intended to explore if pre-service elementary teachers with different attitudes towards science as well as students with different learning styles would benefit differentially. Four research questions including four hypotheses were developed. The first major question consist of four specific hypothesis that addressed preservice elementary teachers' learning styles (Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, and Sequential/Global) and their conceptual understanding of chemistry and the particulate nature of matter in a science class which use hands-on learning integrated with computer based simulated activities. The second major question pertained to the relationship between preservice teachers learning science and chemistry and their attitude towards science. The third major question related to preservice elementary teachers science and chemistry achievement gain scores and attitude average affected by their learning styles. Finally, the fourth question pertained to the dissipation or the minimization of preservice elementary teachers' science and chemistry misconceptions over the course of study. Three instruments were given to preservice elementary teachers in three different classes: pretest/posttest for the science conceptual understanding examination, and pretest-only for the science attitude and learning styles instruments. Total usable science attitude surveys returned was 67 out of 70. The overall average mean was 3.13 (SD = .51) on a five point scale. Total return of science achievement instrument was 65, with a total mean test score (quantitative and qualitative together) of 6.38 (SD = 3.05) on the pretest, with a post test mean of 9.06 (SD = 4.19). Results revealed no statistically significant achievement gain scores based on students' learning styles, entering in all 4-combined dimensions at the same time Visual/Verbal, Sensing/Intuitive, Sequential/Global, and Active/Reflective (p > .05), indicating the four learning styles dimensions cannot be used to predict students' achievement gain. Results also indicated that there was no significant relationship between achievement gain and students' attitude (p > .05). Attitude and learning style together were also not significantly related to achievement gain. Preservice elementary teachers' comprehension of chemical concepts in this study varied from no comprehension to fair comprehension, and included many misconceptions; no answer showed complete understanding of the concepts. Many of the preservice teachers held misconception related to evaporation. If not addressed in science content and methods courses, this could be a problem as this new generation of teachers goes out to teach. It is proposed that to fix preservice elementary teachers' conceptual problems, curriculum needs to specifically focus on misconceptions. The preservice elementary subjects of the study showed a variety of misconceptions on both pretest and posttest concerning the particulate and the kinetic nature of matter. Suggestions are made is that a science content course could more contribute to preservice students' conceptual change if curriculum designers incorporate a segment that specifically addresses misconceptions, especially those misconceptions that have been documented in the literature for decades. A robust cognitive model for science education is proposed to increase teachers' science knowledge and to decrease science misconceptions.

Working with Second Language Learners: Answers to Teachers' Top Ten Questions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cary, Stephen

This book aims to provide practical, research-informed answers to the questions most frequently asked by teachers of second language learners. Every question targets one of the key instructional issues teachers must address to ensure success for their second language students. Included among the questions are: How do I assess a student's English?…

System considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alper, M. E.

1978-01-01

Closing remarks and a general summary of the Alternative Energy Systems Seminar are presented. It was concluded from the seminar that the DOE programs described were focused on trying to make a commercial market develop for the various systems. The question addressed is how this is going to happen. To address this question, social, economical, political and technical aspects are considered with major emphasis placed on systems engineering to provide low cost efficient systems.

LATIST: A Performance Support Tool for Integrating Technologies into Defense Acquisition University Learning Assets

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-01

TECHNOLOGIES INTO DEFENSE ACqUISITION UNIVERSITY LEARNING ASSETS Nada Dabbagh, Kevin Clark, Susan Dass , Salim Al Waaili, Sally Byrd, Susan...demographic data, four Likert- scale questions that targeted respondents’ familiarity with ALT, and one Likert- scale question addressing the...use of technology in learning with under- served populations. (E-mail address: kclark6@gmu.edu) Ms. Susan Dass has over 20 years’ experi- ence in

Community Decadal Panel for Terrestrial Analogs to Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barlow, N. G.; Farr, T.; Baker, V. R.; Bridges, N.; Carsey, F.; Duxbury, N.; Gilmore, M. S.; Green, J. R.; Grin, E.; Hansen, V.; Keszthelyi, L.; Lanagan, P.; Lentz, R.; Marinangeli, L.; Morris, P. A.; Ori, G. G.; Paillou, P.; Robinson, C.; Thomson, B.

2001-11-01

It is well recognized that interpretations of Mars must begin with the Earth as a reference. The most successful comparisons have focused on understanding geologic processes on the Earth well enough to extrapolate to Mars' environment. Several facets of terrestrial analog studies have been pursued and are continuing. These studies include field workshops, characterization of terrestrial analog sites for Mars, instrument tests, laboratory measurements (including analysis of martian meteorites), and computer and laboratory modeling. The combination of all these activities allows scientists to constrain the processes operating in specific terrestrial environments and extrapolate how similar processes could affect Mars. The Terrestrial Analogs for Mars Community Panel is considering the following two key questions: (1) How do terrestrial analog studies tie in to the MEPAG science questions about life, past climate, and geologic evolution of Mars, and (2) How can future instrumentation be used to address these questions. The panel is considering the issues of data collection, value of field workshops, data archiving, laboratory measurements and modeling, human exploration issues, association with other areas of solar system exploration, and education and public outreach activities.

Terrestrial Analogs to Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farr, T. G.; Arcone, S.; Arvidson, R. W.; Baker, V.; Barlow, N. G.; Beaty, D.; Bell, M. S.; Blankenship, D. D.; Bridges, N.; Briggs, G.; Bulmer, M.; Carsey, F.; Clifford, S. M.; Craddock, R. A.; Dickerson, P. W.; Duxbury, N.; Galford, G. L.; Garvin, J.; Grant, J.; Green, J. R.; Gregg, T. K. P.; Guinness, E.; Hansen, V. L.; Hecht, M. H.; Holt, J.; Howard, A.; Keszthelyi, L. P.; Lee, P.; Lanagan, P. D.; Lentz, R. C. F.; Leverington, D. W.; Marinangeli, L.; Moersch, J. E.; Morris-Smith, P. A.; Mouginis-Mark, P.; Olhoeft, G. R.; Ori, G. G.; Paillou, P.; Reilly, J. F., II; Rice, J. W., Jr.; Robinson, C. A.; Sheridan, M.; Snook, K.; Thomson, B. J.; Watson, K.; Williams, K.; Yoshikawa, K.

2002-08-01

It is well recognized that interpretations of Mars must begin with the Earth as a reference. The most successful comparisons have focused on understanding geologic processes on the Earth well enough to extrapolate to Mars' environment. Several facets of terrestrial analog studies have been pursued and are continuing. These studies include field workshops, characterization of terrestrial analog sites, instrument tests, laboratory measurements (including analysis of Martian meteorites), and computer and laboratory modeling. The combination of all these activities allows scientists to constrain the processes operating in specific terrestrial environments and extrapolate how similar processes could affect Mars. The Terrestrial Analogs for Mars Community Panel has considered the following two key questions: (1) How do terrestrial analog studies tie in to the Mars Exploration Payload Assessment Group science questions about life, past climate, and geologic evolution of Mars, and (2) How can future instrumentation be used to address these questions. The panel has considered the issues of data collection, value of field workshops, data archiving, laboratory measurements and modeling, human exploration issues, association with other areas of solar system exploration, and education and public outreach activities.

Context Memory in Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

El Haj, Mohamad; Kessels, Roy P.C.

2013-01-01

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by a gradual loss of memory. Specifically, context aspects of memory are impaired in AD. Our review sheds light on the neurocognitive mechanisms of this memory component that forms the core of episodic memory function. Summary Context recall, an element of episodic memory, refers to remembering the context in which an event has occurred, such as from whom or to whom information has been transmitted. Key Messages Our review raises crucial questions. For example, (1) which context element is more prone to being forgotten in the disease? (2) How do AD patients fail to bind context features together? (3) May distinctiveness heuristic or decisions based on metacognitive expectations improve context retrieval in these patients? (4) How does cueing at retrieval enhance reinstating of encoding context in AD? By addressing these questions, our work contributes to the understanding of the memory deficits in AD. PMID:24403906

MEVTV Workshop on Early Tectonic and Volcanic Evolution of Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frey, H. (Editor)

1988-01-01

Although not ignored, the problems of the early tectonic and volcanic evolution of Mars have generally received less attention than those later in the evolution of the planet. Specifically, much attention was devoted to the evolution of the Tharsis region of Mars and to the planet itself at the time following the establishment of this major tectonic and volcanic province. By contrast, little attention was directed at fundamental questions, such as the conditions that led to the development of Tharsis and the cause of the basic fundamental dichotomy of the Martian crust. It was to address these and related questions of the earliest evolution of Mars that a workshop was organized under the auspices of the Mars: Evolution of Volcanism, Tectonism, and Volatiles (MEVTV) Program. Four sessions were held: crustal dichotomy; crustal differentiation/volcanism; Tharsis, Elysium, and Valles Marineris; and ridges and fault tectonics.

Verbal Ability and Persistent Offending: A Race-Specific Test of Moffitt's Theory

PubMed Central

Bellair, Paul E.; McNulty, Thomas L.; Piquero, Alex R.

2014-01-01

Theoretical questions linger over the applicability of the verbal ability model to African Americans and the social control theory hypothesis that educational failure mediates the effect of verbal ability on offending patterns. Accordingly, this paper investigates whether verbal ability distinguishes between offending groups within the context of Moffitt's developmental taxonomy. Questions are addressed with longitudinal data spanning childhood through young-adulthood from an ongoing national panel, and multinomial and hierarchical Poisson models (over-dispersed). In multinomial models, low verbal ability predicts membership in a life-course-persistent-oriented group relative to an adolescent-limited-oriented group. Hierarchical models indicate that verbal ability is associated with arrest outcomes among White and African American subjects, with effects consistently operating through educational attainment (high school dropout). The results support Moffitt's hypothesis that verbal deficits distinguish adolescent-limited- and life-course-persistent-oriented groups within race as well as the social control model of verbal ability. PMID:26924885

Volcanism on Io: Insights from Global Geologic Mapping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, D. A.; Keszthelyi, L. P.; Crown, D. A.; Geissler, P. E.; Schenk, P. M.; Yff, Jessica; Jaeger, W. L.

2009-01-01

We are preparing a new global geo-logic map of Jupiter s volcanic moon, Io. Here we report the type of data that are now available from our global mapping efforts, and how these data can be used to investigate questions regarding the volcano-tectonic evolution of Io. We are using the new map to investigate several specific questions about the geologic evolution of Io that previously could not be well addressed, including (for example) a comparison of the areas vs. the heights of Ionian mountains to assess their stability and evolution (Fig. 1). The area-height relationships of Io s visible mountains show the low abundance and low relief of volcanic mountains (tholi) relative to tectonic mountains, consistent with formation from low-viscosity lavas less likely to build steep edifices. Mottled mountains are generally less high than lineated mountains, consistent with a degradational formation.

Region-specific protein misfolding cyclic amplification reproduces brain tropism of prion strains.

PubMed

Privat, Nicolas; Levavasseur, Etienne; Yildirim, Serfildan; Hannaoui, Samia; Brandel, Jean-Philippe; Laplanche, Jean-Louis; Béringue, Vincent; Seilhean, Danielle; Haïk, Stéphane

2017-10-06

Human prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are transmissible brain proteinopathies, characterized by the accumulation of a misfolded isoform of the host cellular prion protein (PrP) in the brain. According to the prion model, prions are defined as proteinaceous infectious particles composed solely of this abnormal isoform of PrP (PrP Sc ). Even in the absence of genetic material, various prion strains can be propagated in experimental models. They can be distinguished by the pattern of disease they produce and especially by the localization of PrP Sc deposits within the brain and the spongiform lesions they induce. The mechanisms involved in this strain-specific targeting of distinct brain regions still are a fundamental, unresolved question in prion research. To address this question, we exploited a prion conversion in vitro assay, protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA), by using experimental scrapie and human prion strains as seeds and specific brain regions from mice and humans as substrates. We show here that region-specific PMCA in part reproduces the specific brain targeting observed in experimental, acquired, and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases. Furthermore, we provide evidence that, in addition to cellular prion protein, other region- and species-specific molecular factors influence the strain-dependent prion conversion process. This important step toward understanding prion strain propagation in the human brain may impact research on the molecular factors involved in protein misfolding and the development of ultrasensitive methods for diagnosing prion disease. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Visions and reality: the idea of competence-oriented assessment for German medical students is not yet realised in licensing examinations

PubMed Central

Huber-Lang, Markus; Palmer, Annette; Grab, Claudia; Boeckers, Anja; Boeckers, Tobias Maria; Oechsner, Wolfgang

2017-01-01

Objective: Competence orientation, often based on the CanMEDS model, has become an important goal for modern curricula in medical education. The National Competence Based Catalogue of Learning Objectives for Undergraduate Medical Education (NKLM) has been adopted in Germany. However, it is currently unknown whether the vision of competence orientation has also reached the licensing examination procedures. Methods: Therefore, a prospective, descriptive, single-centre, exemplary study design was applied to evaluate 4051 questions/tasks (from 28 examiners at 7 two-day licensing oral-practical exams) for undergraduate medical students at the University of Ulm. The oral and practical questions/tasks as well as the real bedside assessment were assigned to specific competence roles (NKLM section I), categories (NKLM section II) and taxonomy levels of learning domains. Results: Numerous questions/tasks were set per candidate (day 1/2: 70±24/86±19 questions) in the licensing oral-practical exam. Competence roles beyond the “medical expert” were scarcely considered. Furthermore, practical and communication skills at the bedside were hardly addressed (less than 3/15 min). Strikingly, there was a significant predominance of questions with a low-level taxonomy. Conclusions: The data indicate a misalignment of competence-oriented frameworks and the “real world” licensing practical-oral medical exam, which needs improvement in both evaluation and education processes. PMID:28584873

Have the Answers to Common Legal Questions Concerning Nutrition Support Changed Over the Past Decade? 10 Questions for 10 Years.

PubMed

Barrocas, Albert; Cohen, Michael L

2016-06-01

Clinical nutrition specialists (CNSs) are often confronted with technological, ethical, and legal questions, that is, what can be done technologically, what should be done ethically, and what must be done legally, which conflict at times. The conflict represents a "troubling trichotomy" as discussed in the lead article of this issue of Nutrition in Clinical Practice (NCP). During Clinical Nutrition Week in 2006, a symposium covering these 3 topics was presented, and later that year, an article covering the same topic was published in NCP In this article, we revisit several legal questions/issues that were raised 10 years ago and discuss current answers and approaches. Some of the answers remain unchanged. Other answers have been modified by additional legislation, court decisions, or regulations. In addition, new questions/issues have arisen. Some of the most common questions regarding nutrition support involve the following: liability, informed consent, medical decisional incapacity vs legal competence, advance directive specificity, surrogate decision making, physician orders for life-sustaining treatment and electronic medical orders for life-sustaining treatment, legal definition of death, patient vs family decision making, the noncompliant patient, and elder abuse obligations. In the current healthcare environment, these questions and issues are best addressed via a transdisciplinary team that focuses on function rather than form. The CNS can play a pivotal role in dealing with these challenges by applying the acronym ACT: being Accountable and Communicating with all stakeholders while actively participating as an integral part of the transdisciplinary Team. © 2016 American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Answering Your Questions about AIDS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalichman, Seth C.

This book focuses on AIDS education and answers 350 commonly asked questions about Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) taken from questions addressed to two major urban AIDS hotlines (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Houston, Texas). Chapter 1, "HIV - The Virus That Causes AIDS," discusses: the HIV…

Draft evidence report : traumatic brain injury and commercial motor vehicle driver safety (comprehensive review).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-30

Purpose of this evidence report is to address several key questions posed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration : Key question 1: What is the impact of traumatic brain injury on crash risk/driving performance? Key question 2: What factor...

Discriminatory Questions and Applicant Reactions in the Employment Interview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saks, Alan M.; And Others

This study investigated the effects of discriminatory interview questions on applicants' perceptions and intentions toward an organization. Participants included 118 graduate business students (59 percent male), average age of 31 with more than eight years of full-time work experience. Discriminatory questions addressed handicaps, plans for…

How much detail and accuracy is required in plant growth sub-models to address questions about optimal management strategies in agricultural systems?

PubMed Central

Renton, Michael

2011-01-01

Background and aims Simulations that integrate sub-models of important biological processes can be used to ask questions about optimal management strategies in agricultural and ecological systems. Building sub-models with more detail and aiming for greater accuracy and realism may seem attractive, but is likely to be more expensive and time-consuming and result in more complicated models that lack transparency. This paper illustrates a general integrated approach for constructing models of agricultural and ecological systems that is based on the principle of starting simple and then directly testing for the need to add additional detail and complexity. Methodology The approach is demonstrated using LUSO (Land Use Sequence Optimizer), an agricultural system analysis framework based on simulation and optimization. A simple sensitivity analysis and functional perturbation analysis is used to test to what extent LUSO's crop–weed competition sub-model affects the answers to a number of questions at the scale of the whole farming system regarding optimal land-use sequencing strategies and resulting profitability. Principal results The need for accuracy in the crop–weed competition sub-model within LUSO depended to a small extent on the parameter being varied, but more importantly and interestingly on the type of question being addressed with the model. Only a small part of the crop–weed competition model actually affects the answers to these questions. Conclusions This study illustrates an example application of the proposed integrated approach for constructing models of agricultural and ecological systems based on testing whether complexity needs to be added to address particular questions of interest. We conclude that this example clearly demonstrates the potential value of the general approach. Advantages of this approach include minimizing costs and resources required for model construction, keeping models transparent and easy to analyse, and ensuring the model is well suited to address the question of interest. PMID:22476477

Studying Cannabis Use Behaviors With Facebook and Web Surveys: Methods and Insights

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

The rapid and wide-reaching expansion of internet access and digital technologies offers epidemiologists numerous opportunities to study health behaviors. One particularly promising new data collection strategy is the use of Facebook’s advertising platform in conjunction with Web-based surveys. Our research team at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health has used this quick and cost-efficient method to recruit large samples and address unique scientific questions related to cannabis use. In conducting this research, we have gleaned several insights for using this sampling method effectively and have begun to document the characteristics of the resulting data. We believe this information could be useful to other researchers attempting to study cannabis use or, potentially, other health behaviors. The first aim of this paper is to describe case examples of procedures for using Facebook as a survey sampling method for studying cannabis use. We then present several distinctive features of the data produced using this method. Finally, we discuss the utility of this sampling method for addressing specific types of epidemiological research questions. Overall, we believe that sampling with Facebook advertisements and Web surveys is best conceptualized as a targeted, nonprobability-based method for oversampling cannabis users across the United States. PMID:29720366

Disturbed soil characterization workshop: post-meeting summary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cathcart, J. Michael

2010-04-01

Disturbance of ground surfaces can arise from a variety of processes, both manmade and natural. Burying landmines, vehicle movement, and walking are representative examples of processes that disturb ground surfaces. The nature of the specific disturbance process can lead to the observables that can aid the detection and identification of that process. While much research has been conducted in this area, fundamental questions related to the remote detection and characterization of disturbed soil surfaces remain unanswered. Under the sponsorship of the Army Research Office (ARO), the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC), Georgia Tech hosted a workshop to address Remote Sensing Methods for Disturbed Soil Characterization. The workshop was held January 15-17, 2008 in Atlanta. The primary objective of this workshop was to take a new look at the disturbed soil problem in general as well as its relation to buried explosive detection and other manmade disturbances. In particular, the participants sought to outline the basic science and technology questions that need to be addressed across the full spectrum of military applications to fully exploit this phenomenon. This presentation will outline the approach taken during the workshop and provide a summary of the conclusions.

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

Weber, Nicholas D., E-mail: nweber@fhcrc.org; Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; Aubert, Martine, E-mail: maubert@fhcrc.org

Treatment for most persistent viral infections consists of palliative drug options rather than curative approaches. This is often because long-lasting viral DNA in infected cells is not affected by current antivirals, providing a source for viral persistence and reactivation. Targeting latent viral DNA itself could therefore provide a basis for novel curative strategies. DNA cleavage enzymes can be used to induce targeted mutagenesis of specific genes, including those of exogenous viruses. Although initial in vitro and even in vivo studies have been carried out using DNA cleavage enzymes targeting various viruses, many questions still remain concerning the feasibility of thesemore » strategies as they transition into preclinical research. Here, we review the most recent findings on DNA cleavage enzymes for human viral infections, consider the most relevant animal models for several human viral infections, and address issues regarding safety and enzyme delivery. Results from well-designed in vivo studies will ideally provide answers to the most urgent remaining questions, and allow continued progress toward clinical application. - Highlights: • Recent in vitro and in vivo results for DNA cleavage enzymes targeting persistent viral infections. • Analysis of the best animal models for testing enzymes for HBV, HSV, HIV and HPV. • Challenges facing in vivo delivery of therapeutic enzymes for persistent viral infections. • Safety issues to be addressed with proper animal studies.« less

A comparative evaluation of supervised and unsupervised representation learning approaches for anaplastic medulloblastoma differentiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cruz-Roa, Angel; Arevalo, John; Basavanhally, Ajay; Madabhushi, Anant; González, Fabio

2015-01-01

Learning data representations directly from the data itself is an approach that has shown great success in different pattern recognition problems, outperforming state-of-the-art feature extraction schemes for different tasks in computer vision, speech recognition and natural language processing. Representation learning applies unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods to large amounts of data to find building-blocks that better represent the information in it. Digitized histopathology images represents a very good testbed for representation learning since it involves large amounts of high complex, visual data. This paper presents a comparative evaluation of different supervised and unsupervised representation learning architectures to specifically address open questions on what type of learning architectures (deep or shallow), type of learning (unsupervised or supervised) is optimal. In this paper we limit ourselves to addressing these questions in the context of distinguishing between anaplastic and non-anaplastic medulloblastomas from routine haematoxylin and eosin stained images. The unsupervised approaches evaluated were sparse autoencoders and topographic reconstruct independent component analysis, and the supervised approach was convolutional neural networks. Experimental results show that shallow architectures with more neurons are better than deeper architectures without taking into account local space invariances and that topographic constraints provide useful invariant features in scale and rotations for efficient tumor differentiation.

Interplay of space radiation and microgravity in DNA damage and DNA damage response.

PubMed

Moreno-Villanueva, María; Wong, Michael; Lu, Tao; Zhang, Ye; Wu, Honglu

2017-01-01

In space, multiple unique environmental factors, particularly microgravity and space radiation, pose constant threat to the DNA integrity of living organisms. Specifically, space radiation can cause damage to DNA directly, through the interaction of charged particles with the DNA molecules themselves, or indirectly through the production of free radicals. Although organisms have evolved strategies on Earth to confront such damage, space environmental conditions, especially microgravity, can impact DNA repair resulting in accumulation of severe DNA lesions. Ultimately these lesions, namely double strand breaks, chromosome aberrations, micronucleus formation, or mutations, can increase the risk for adverse health effects, such as cancer. How spaceflight factors affect DNA damage and the DNA damage response has been investigated since the early days of the human space program. Over the years, these experiments have been conducted either in space or using ground-based analogs. This review summarizes the evidence for DNA damage induction by space radiation and/or microgravity as well as spaceflight-related impacts on the DNA damage response. The review also discusses the conflicting results from studies aimed at addressing the question of potential synergies between microgravity and radiation with regard to DNA damage and cellular repair processes. We conclude that further experiments need to be performed in the true space environment in order to address this critical question.

Systematic review to inform prevention and management of chronic disease for Indigenous Australians: overview and priorities.

PubMed

Gomersall, Judith Streak; Canuto, Karla; Aromataris, Edoardo; Braunack-Mayer, Annette; Brown, Alex

2016-02-01

To describe the main characteristics of systematic reviews addressing questions of chronic disease and related risk factors for Indigenous Australians. We searched databases for systematic reviews meeting inclusion criteria. Two reviewers assessed quality and extracted characteristics using pre-defined tools. We identified 14 systematic reviews. Seven synthesised evidence about health intervention effectiveness; four addressed chronic disease or risk factor prevalence; and six conducted critical appraisal as per current best practice. Only three reported steps to align the review with standards for ethical research with Indigenous Australians and/or capture Indigenous-specific knowledge. Most called for more high-quality research. Systematic review is an under-utilised method for gathering evidence to inform chronic disease prevention and management for Indigenous Australians. Relevance of future systematic reviews could be improved by: 1) aligning questions with community priorities as well as decision maker needs; 2) involvement of, and leadership by, Indigenous researchers with relevant cultural and contextual knowledge; iii) use of critical appraisal tools that include traditional risk of bias assessment criteria and criteria that reflect Indigenous standards of appropriate research. Systematic review method guidance, tools and reporting standards are required to ensure alignment with ethical obligations and promote rigor and relevance. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

Assessment of surface water chloride and conductivity trends in areas of unconventional oil and gas development-Why existing national data sets cannot tell us what we would like to know

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bowen, Zachary H.; Oelsner, Gretchen P.; Cade, Brian S.; Gallegos, Tanya J.; Farag, Aïda M.; Mott, David N.; Potter, Christopher J.; Cinotto, Peter J.; Clark, Melanie L.; Kappel, William M.; Kresse, Timothy M.; Melcher, Cynthia P.; Paschke, Suzanne; Susong, David D.; Varela, Brian A.

2015-01-01

Heightened concern regarding the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas development on regional water quality has emerged, but the few studies on this topic are limited in geographic scope. Here we evaluate the potential utility of national and publicly available water-quality data sets for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development. We used existing U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data sets to increase understanding of the spatial distribution of unconventional oil and gas development in the U.S. and broadly assess surface water quality trends in these areas. Based on sample size limitations, we were able to estimate trends in specific conductance (SC) and chloride (Cl-) from 1970 to 2010 in 16% (n=155) of the watersheds with unconventional oil and gas resources. We assessed these trends relative to spatiotemporal distributions of hydraulically fractured wells. Results from this limited analysis suggest no consistent and widespread trends in surface water quality for SC and Cl- in areas with increasing unconventional oil and gas development and highlight limitations of existing national databases for addressing questions regarding unconventional oil and gas development and water quality.

On framing the research question and choosing the appropriate research design.

PubMed

Parfrey, Patrick S; Ravani, Pietro

2015-01-01

Clinical epidemiology is the science of human disease investigation with a focus on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The generation of a reasonable question requires definition of patients, interventions, controls, and outcomes. The goal of research design is to minimize error, to ensure adequate samples, to measure input and output variables appropriately, to consider external and internal validities, to limit bias, and to address clinical as well as statistical relevance. The hierarchy of evidence for clinical decision-making places randomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematic review of good quality RCTs at the top of the evidence pyramid. Prognostic and etiologic questions are best addressed with longitudinal cohort studies.

On framing the research question and choosing the appropriate research design.

PubMed

Parfrey, Patrick; Ravani, Pietro

2009-01-01

Clinical epidemiology is the science of human disease investigation with a focus on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. The generation of a reasonable question requires the definition of patients, interventions, controls, and outcomes. The goal of research design is to minimize error, ensure adequate samples, measure input and output variables appropriately, consider external and internal validities, limit bias, and address clinical as well as statistical relevance. The hierarchy of evidence for clinical decision making places randomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematic review of good quality RCTs at the top of the evidence pyramid. Prognostic and etiologic questions are best addressed with longitudinal cohort studies.

The Basic Epistemological Questions--Are There Also Valid Answers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oderman, Dale B.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that seeks answers to two main questions: How do we know? and How do we know we know? This paper is concerned with how four major schools of thought have addressed these questions and the implications that their answers to these questions have for education. The paper begins by discussing how four major…

The Role of Special Education Administrators in Addressing Contextual Factors When Implementing Comprehensive School Reform in Response to the Mandate of the No Child Left behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darensbourg, Kennith Houston

2011-01-01

This study is designed to identify the effective implementation practices that special education administrators enact to alleviate the negative and enforce the positive effects of contextual factors when implementing comprehensive school reform. Two research questions were designed to address this issue. Research Question One sought to identify…

Incorporating children's toxicokinetics into a risk framework.

PubMed Central

Ginsberg, Gary; Slikker, William; Bruckner, James; Sonawane, Babasaheb

2004-01-01

Children's responses to environmental toxicants will be affected by the way in which their systems absorb, distribute, metabolize, and excrete chemicals. These toxicokinetic factors vary during development, from in utero where maternal and placental processes play a large role, to the neonate in which emerging metabolism and clearance pathways are key determinants. Toxicokinetic differences between neonates and adults lead to the potential for internal dosimetry differences and increased or decreased risk, depending on the mechanisms for toxicity and clearance of a given chemical. This article raises a number of questions that need to be addressed when conducting a toxicokinetic analysis of in utero or childhood exposures. These questions are organized into a proposed framework for conducting the assessment that involves problem formulation (identification of early life stage toxicokinetic factors and chemical-specific factors that may raise questions/concerns for children); data analysis (development of analytic approach, construction of child/adult or child/animal dosimetry comparisons); and risk characterization (evaluation of how children's toxicokinetic analysis can be used to decrease uncertainties in the risk assessment). The proposed approach provides a range of analytical options, from qualitative to quantitative, for assessing children's dosimetry. Further, it provides background information on a variety of toxicokinetic factors that can vary as a function of developmental stage. For example, the ontology of metabolizing systems is described via reference to pediatric studies involving therapeutic drugs and evidence from in vitro enzyme studies. This type of resource information is intended to help the assessor begin to address the issues raised in this paper. PMID:14754583