Sample records for study takes advantage

  1. TAKING SCIENTIFIC ADVANTAGE OF A DISASTROUS OIL SPILL

    EPA Science Inventory

    On 19 January 1996, the North Cape barge ran aground on Moonstone Beach in southern Rhode Island, releasing 828,000 gallons of refined oil. This opportunistic study was designed to take scientific advantage of the most severely affected seabird, the common loon (Gavia immer) . As...

  2. VOC Emission Reduction Study at the Hill Air Force Base Building 515 Painting Facility

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-09-01

    occurs during painting. A system for decreasing the flow to a downstream VOC emission control device can be designed that takes advantage of this...paint application process. A flow-reducing ventilation system that takes advantage of this operating characteristic can be designed in which the...flow from the second duct is vented to a VOC emission control device. The advantage of this system is that the flow rate to a VOC emission contro

  3. Neural Correlates of Traditional Chinese Medicine Induced Advantageous Risk-Taking Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Tiffany M. Y.; Guo, Li-guo; Shi, Hong-zhi; Li, Yong-zhi; Luo, Yue-jia; Sung, Connie Y. Y.; Chan, Chetwyn C. H.; Lee, Tatia M. C.

    2009-01-01

    This fMRI study examined the neural correlates of the observed improvement in advantageous risk-taking behavior, as measured by the number of adjusted pumps in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), following a 60-day course of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recipe, specifically designed to regulate impulsiveness in order to modulate…

  4. Scaling Task Management in Space and Time: Reducing User Overhead in Ubiquitous-Computing Environments

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-03-28

    consequently users are torn between taking advantage of increasingly pervasive computing systems, and the price (in attention and skill) that they have to... advantage of the surrounding computing environments; and (c) that it is usable by non-experts. Second, from a software architect’s perspective, we...take full advantage of the computing systems accessible to them, much as they take advantage of the furniture in each physical space. In the example

  5. 75 FR 21077 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-22

    ... of the NYSE BBO service in any calendar month. In order to take advantage of the per-query fee, a... most likely to take advantage of the proposed service; (iv) The contribution of market data revenues that the Exchange believes is appropriate for entities that are most likely to take advantage of the...

  6. 5 CFR 792.207 - When does the child care subsidy program law become effective and how may agencies take advantage...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false When does the child care subsidy program law become effective and how may agencies take advantage of this law? 792.207 Section 792.207... When does the child care subsidy program law become effective and how may agencies take advantage of...

  7. Education and the Asian Surge: A Comparison of the Education Systems in India and China

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-01-01

    countries similar to those that other researchers have faced. For instance, Bardhan (2003) notes that fewer reliability checks and internal consistency tests...with a critical mass to take advantage of the software outsourcing boom 2 According to UNESCO, although the definition of literacy may vary from one...need to be targeted. For instance, too much emphasis on the study of information technology to take advantage of the current outsourcing trends could

  8. Effects of Contoured Pallets on AMC Mission Efficiency

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-06-01

    carrier moves it on a B-747-100 as if it was a B-747-400, all while not planning to take advantage of the additional cargo capacity of the newer...nature of the cargo being moved and determine if opportunities existed to take advantage of increased MD-11 airlift. Each model had different...types of cargo can help efficiency by planning contoured requirements to take advantage of the fact that while moving these pallets underutilizes

  9. Taking Advantage of Student Engagement Results in Student Affairs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinzie, Jillian; Hurtado, Sarah S.

    2017-01-01

    This chapter urges student affairs professionals committed to enhancing student success through data-informed decision making to take full advantage of opportunities to apply and use student engagement results.

  10. 24 CFR 1710.4 - Exemptions-general.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ..., practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon a purchaser. (c... Secretary in order to take advantage of an exemption. If a developer elects to take advantage of an...

  11. Socioeconomic differences in alcohol-related risk-taking behaviours.

    PubMed

    Livingston, Michael

    2014-11-01

    There is substantial research showing that low socioeconomic position is a predictor of negative outcomes from alcohol consumption, while alcohol consumption itself does not exhibit a strong social gradient. This study aims to examine socioeconomic differences in self-reported alcohol-related risk-taking behaviour to explore whether differences in risk-taking while drinking may explain some of the socioeconomic disparities in alcohol-related harm. Cross-sectional data from current drinkers (n = 21 452) in the 2010 wave of the Australian National Drug Strategy Household Survey were used. Ten items on risk-taking behaviour while drinking were combined into two risk scores, and zero-inflated Poisson regression was used to assess the relationship between socioeconomic position and risk-taking while controlling for age, sex and alcohol consumption. Socioeconomically advantaged respondents reported substantially higher rates of alcohol-related hazardous behaviour than socioeconomically disadvantaged respondents. Controlling for age, sex, volume of drinking and frequency of heavy drinking, respondents living in the most advantaged quintile of neighbourhoods reported significantly higher rates of hazardous behaviour than those in the least advantaged quintile. A similar pattern was evident for household income. Socioeconomically advantaged Australians engage in alcohol-related risky behaviour at higher rates than more disadvantaged Australians even with alcohol consumption controlled. The significant socioeconomic disparities in negative consequences linked to alcohol consumption cannot in this instance be explained via differences in behaviour while drinking. Other factors not directly related to alcohol consumption may be responsible for health inequalities in outcomes with significant alcohol involvement. © 2014 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  12. Five Principles for MOOC Design: With a Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drake, John R.; O'Hara, Margaret; Seeman, Elaine

    2015-01-01

    New web technologies have enabled online education to take on a massive scale, prompting many universities to create massively open online courses (MOOCs) that take advantage of these technologies in a seemingly effortless manner. Designing a MOOC, however, is anything but trivial. It involves developing content, learning activities, and…

  13. Sedimentary Snow.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, Douglas W.; Lowenstein, Tim

    1994-01-01

    Describes activities that take advantage of heavy snowfalls to study numerous geological concepts including sedimentation, precipitation, morphology and metamorphosis of crystals, compaction and cementation, fossilization, and erosion. (JRH)

  14. Implementation of Virtualization Oriented Architecture: A Healthcare Industry Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, G. Subrahmanya Vrk; Parthasarathi, Jinka; Karthik, Sundararaman; Rao, Gvn Appa; Ganesan, Suresh

    This paper presents a Virtualization Oriented Architecture (VOA) and an implementation of VOA for Hridaya - a Telemedicine initiative. Hadoop Compute cloud was established at our labs and jobs which require a massive computing capability such as ECG signal analysis were submitted and the study is presented in this current paper. VOA takes advantage of inexpensive community PCs and provides added advantages such as Fault Tolerance, Scalability, Performance, High Availability.

  15. Sources of Support for Women Taking Professional Programs by Distance Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cragg, C. E. (Betty); Andrusyszyn, Mary-Anne; Fraser, Joy

    2005-01-01

    Women with multiple roles face many challenges when taking distance education courses in professional programs to achieve credentials or maintain competence. Among these challenges is finding the supports necessary for success as a distance student. As part of a larger study on advantages and stressors identified by such women in distance…

  16. Stretching Your Technology Dollar

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Doug

    2012-01-01

    A school district technology director offers 10 strategies to help schools make the most of their technology dollar. These include using effective budgeting techniques, taking advantage of the buying power of groups, practicing sustainable technology, purchasing the right tool for the right job, taking advantage of free software, using cloud…

  17. The Exposure Advantage: Early Exposure to a Multilingual Environment Promotes Effective Communication.

    PubMed

    Fan, Samantha P; Liberman, Zoe; Keysar, Boaz; Kinzler, Katherine D

    2015-07-01

    Early language exposure is essential to developing a formal language system, but may not be sufficient for communicating effectively. To understand a speaker's intention, one must take the speaker's perspective. Multilingual exposure may promote effective communication by enhancing perspective taking. We tested children on a task that required perspective taking to interpret a speaker's intended meaning. Monolingual children failed to interpret the speaker's meaning dramatically more often than both bilingual children and children who were exposed to a multilingual environment but were not bilingual themselves. Children who were merely exposed to a second language performed as well as bilingual children, despite having lower executive-function scores. Thus, the communicative advantages demonstrated by the bilinguals may be social in origin, and not due to enhanced executive control. For millennia, multilingual exposure has been the norm. Our study shows that such an environment may facilitate the development of perspective-taking tools that are critical for effective communication. © The Author(s) 2015.

  18. 3 CFR 8524 - Proclamation 8524 of May 20, 2010. National Safe Boating Week, 2010

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ..., let us recommit during National Safe Boating Week to practicing safe techniques so boaters of all ages... awareness and teach safe boating practices. Boaters can take advantage of these opportunities to learn, make... activities to observe this occasion by learning more about safe boating practices and to take advantage of...

  19. Know the risk, take the win: how executive functions and probability processing influence advantageous decision making under risk conditions.

    PubMed

    Brand, Matthias; Schiebener, Johannes; Pertl, Marie-Theres; Delazer, Margarete

    2014-01-01

    Recent models on decision making under risk conditions have suggested that numerical abilities are important ingredients of advantageous decision-making performance, but empirical evidence is still limited. The results of our first study show that logical reasoning and basic mental calculation capacities predict ratio processing and that ratio processing predicts decision making under risk. In the second study, logical reasoning together with executive functions predicted probability processing (numeracy and probability knowledge), and probability processing predicted decision making under risk. These findings suggest that increasing an individual's understanding of ratios and probabilities should lead to more advantageous decisions under risk conditions.

  20. New Simulation Methods to Facilitate Achieving a Mechanistic Understanding of Basic Pharmacology Principles in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grover, Anita; Lam, Tai Ning; Hunt, C. Anthony

    2008-01-01

    We present a simulation tool to aid the study of basic pharmacology principles. By taking advantage of the properties of agent-based modeling, the tool facilitates taking a mechanistic approach to learning basic concepts, in contrast to the traditional empirical methods. Pharmacodynamics is a particular aspect of pharmacology that can benefit from…

  1. Center for Corporate Climate Leadership Success Stories: Case Studies in Supply Chain Engagement

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The case studies on this page provide successful examples of companies engaging with their supply chains to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, understand their shifting supply chain risks, and take advantage of market opportunities.

  2. Factoring symmetric indefinite matrices on high-performance architectures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jones, Mark T.; Patrick, Merrell L.

    1990-01-01

    The Bunch-Kaufman algorithm is the method of choice for factoring symmetric indefinite matrices in many applications. However, the Bunch-Kaufman algorithm does not take advantage of high-performance architectures such as the Cray Y-MP. Three new algorithms, based on Bunch-Kaufman factorization, that take advantage of such architectures are described. Results from an implementation of the third algorithm are presented.

  3. Improving Military Educational Benefits

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-03-16

    military to take advantage of their educational benefits . o Adding recruiters or increasing bonuses are less costly ways to increase the number of...as members left to take advantage of their benefits --poorer retention would cancel out five percentage points of that gain. The overall cost of our...IMPROVING MILITARY EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS Statement of Robert F. Hale Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs

  4. Studies in Interior Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environ Planning Design, 1970

    1970-01-01

    Floor plans and photographs illustrate a description of the Samuel C. Williams Library at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, N.J. The unusual interior design allows students to take full advantage of the library's resources. (JW)

  5. Chromatin Pioneers | Center for Cancer Research

    Cancer.gov

    Taking advantage of their ability to explore provocative ideas, NCI investigators pioneered the study of chromatin to demonstrate its functional importance and lay the groundwork for understanding its role in cancer and other diseases.

  6. The contributions of handedness and working memory to episodic memory.

    PubMed

    Sahu, Aparna; Christman, Stephen D; Propper, Ruth E

    2016-11-01

    Past studies have independently shown associations of working memory and degree of handedness with episodic memory retrieval. The current study takes a step ahead by examining whether handedness and working memory independently predict episodic memory. In agreement with past studies, there was an inconsistent-handed advantage for episodic memory; however, this advantage was absent for working memory tasks. Furthermore, regression analyses showed handedness, and complex working memory predicted episodic memory performance at different times. Results are discussed in light of theories of episodic memory and hemispheric interaction.

  7. The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop note taking.

    PubMed

    Mueller, Pam A; Oppenheimer, Daniel M

    2014-06-01

    Taking notes on laptops rather than in longhand is increasingly common. Many researchers have suggested that laptop note taking is less effective than longhand note taking for learning. Prior studies have primarily focused on students' capacity for multitasking and distraction when using laptops. The present research suggests that even when laptops are used solely to take notes, they may still be impairing learning because their use results in shallower processing. In three studies, we found that students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes longhand. We show that whereas taking more notes can be beneficial, laptop note takers' tendency to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning. © The Author(s) 2014.

  8. Writing-Intensive Approaches in a Typographic Design Studio Class: Using Writing as a Tool toward More Intentional Design

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fowler, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Taking advantage of a university-wide initiative that requires all students during their course of study to take at least one of their writing intensive classes in their major, the author relates how he was spurred to formulate one of his graphic design studio classes to accommodate the writing-intensive requirement. He had been intuitively…

  9. Advantages of high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy in treatment of prostate cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Molokov, A. A.; Vanina, E. A.; Tseluyko, S. S.

    2017-09-01

    One of the modern methods of preserving organs radiation treatment is brachytherapy. This article analyzes the results of prostate brachytherapy. These studies of the advantages of high dose brachytherapy lead to the conclusion that this method of radiation treatment for prostate cancer has a favorable advantage in comparison with remote sensing methods, and is competitive, preserving organs in comparison to surgical methods of treatment. The use of the method of polyfocal transperineal biopsy during the brachytherapy session provides information on the volumetric spread of prostate cancer and adjust the dosimetry plan taking into account the obtained data.

  10. Selective altruism in collective games

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zappalà, Dario A.; Pluchino, Alessandro; Rapisarda, Andrea

    2014-09-01

    We study the emergence of altruistic behaviour in collective games. In particular, we take into account Toral's version of collective Parrondo's paradoxical games, in which the redistribution of capital between agents, who can play different strategies, creates a positive trend of increasing capital. In this framework, we insert two categories of players, altruistic and selfish ones, and see how they interact and how their capital evolves. More in detail, we analyse the positive effects of altruistic behaviour, but we also point out how selfish players take advantage of that situation. The general result is that altruistic behaviour is discouraged, because selfish players get richer while altruistic ones get poorer. We also consider a smarter way of being altruistic, based on reputation, called "selective altruism", which prevents selfish players from taking advantage of altruistic ones. In this new situation it is altruism, and not selfishness, to be encouraged and stabilized. Finally, we introduce a mechanism of imitation between players and study how it influences the composition of the population of both altruistic and selfish players as a function of time for different initial conditions and network topologies adopted.

  11. 75 FR 21088 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Amex LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-22

    ... example, for a single device to which the Vendor has granted two people access, the Vendor should report... Amex BBO service in any calendar month. In order to take advantage of the per-query fee, a NYSE Amex... anticipates will be the most likely to take advantage of the proposed service; (iv) the contribution of market...

  12. Advantaged group's emotional reactions to intergroup inequality: the dynamics of pride, guilt, and sympathy.

    PubMed

    Harth, Nicole Syringa; Kessler, Thomas; Leach, Colin Wayne

    2008-01-01

    Three studies establish intergroup inequality to investigate how it is emotionally experienced by the advantaged. Studies 1 and 2 examine psychology students' emotional experience of their unequal job situation with worse-off pedagogy students. When inequality is ingroup focused and legitimate, participants experience more pride. However, when inequality is ingroup focused and illegitimate, participants experience more guilt. Sympathy is increased when inequality is outgroup focused and illegitimate. These emotions have particular effects on behavioral tendencies. In Study 2 group-based pride predicts greater ingroup favoritism in a resource distribution task, whereas group-based sympathy predicts less ingroup favoritism. Study 3 replicates these findings in the context of students' willingness to let young immigrants take part in a university sport. Pride predicts less willingness to let immigrants take part whereas sympathy predicts greater willingness. Guilt is a weak predictor of behavioral tendencies in all studies. This shows the specificity of emotions experienced about intergroup inequality.

  13. Field Level Computer Exploitation Package

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-03-01

    to take advantage of the data retrieved from the computer. Major Barge explained that if a tool could be designed that nearly anyone could use...the study of network forensics. This has become a necessity because of the constantly growing eCommerce industry and the stiff competition between...Security. One big advantage that Insert has is the fact that it is quite small compared to most bootable CDs. At only 60 megabytes it can be burned

  14. Teaching science and ethics to undergraduates: a multidisciplinary approach.

    PubMed

    McGowan, Alan H

    2013-06-01

    The teaching of the ethical implications of scientific advances in science courses for undergraduates has significant advantages for both science and non-science majors. The article describes three courses taught by the author as examples of the concept, and examines the disadvantages as well as the advantages. A significant advantage of this approach is that many students take the courses primarily because of the ethical component who would not otherwise take science. A disadvantage is less time in the course for the science; arguably, this is outweighed by the greater retention of the science when it is put into context.

  15. Student Perceptions of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Geologic Note-taking with iPads

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dohaney, J. A.; Kennedy, B.; Gravley, D. M.

    2015-12-01

    During fieldwork, students and professionals record information and hypotheses into their geologic notebook. In a pilot study, students on an upper-level volcanology field trip were given iPads, with an open-source geology note-taking application (GeoFieldBook) and volunteered to record notes at two sites (i.e., Tongariro Volcanic Complex and Orakei Korako) in New Zealand. A group of students (n=9) were interviewed several weeks after fieldwork to reflect on using this technology. We aimed to characterise their experiences, strategies and examine the perceived benefits and challenges of hardcopy and digital note-taking. Students reported having a diverse range of strategies when taking notes but the most common strategies mentioned were: a) looking for/describing the differences, b) supporting note-taking with sketches, c) writing everything down, and d) focusing first on structure, texture and then composition of an outcrop. Additionally, students said they that the strategies they used were context-dependent (i.e., bedrock mapping versus detailed outcrop descriptions). When using the iPad, students reported that they specifically used different strategies: varying the length of text (from more to less), increasing the number of sites described (i.e., preferring to describe sites in more spatial detail rather than summarising several features in close proximity), and taking advantage of the 'editability' of iPad notes (abandoning rigid, systematic approaches). Overall, the reported advantages to iPad note-taking included allowing the user to be more efficient, organised and using the GPS mapping function to help them make observations and interpretations in real-time. Students also reported a range of disadvantages, but focused predominantly on the inability to annotate/draw sketches with the iPad in the same manner as pen and paper methods. These differences likely encourage different overall approaches to note-taking and cognition in the field environment, and we suggest to instructors that using pen and paper note-taking first, and then introducing new technology may encourage both systematic and efficient evaluation of field areas.

  16. Towards cheaper control centers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baize, Lionel

    1994-01-01

    Today, any approach to the design of new space systems must take into consideration an important constraint, namely costs. This approach is our guideline for new missions and also applies to the ground segment, and particularly to the control center. CNES has carried out a study on a recent control center for application satellites in order to take advantage of the experience gained. This analysis, the purpose of which is to determine, a posteriori, the costs of architecture needs and choices, takes hardware and software costs into account and makes a number of recommendations.

  17. ADVANCEMENTS IN SOURCE-TO-DOSE ANALYSIS OF POPULATION EXPOSURES TO OZONE

    EPA Science Inventory

    The current study takes advantage of the observations from regional air quality monitoring networks, the data from the NE-OPS (North East Oxidant and Particulate Study) Project in the Philadelphia region, and regional photochemical air quality model predictions to obtain and co...

  18. Attitude and perception of patients and health care practitioners toward oral sustained release dosage forms in Palestine.

    PubMed

    Zaid, Abdel Naser

    2010-10-01

    To evaluate the knowledge of health professionals in Palestine regarding the advantages of sustained release dosage forms (SRDFs) over conventional therapy. Data were gathered from a questionnaire that was handed out to community pharmacists, physicians and patients. Pharmaceutical industry decision makers were enrolled in this study. Data were analyzed using the SPSS. Pharmacists (92.9%) and 89.2% of physicians thought that SRDFs improve patient compliance. 81.5% of pharmacists and 77% of physicians were in agreement regarding the capacity of SRDFs to maintain therapeutic activity during night. In this study, 81.5% of pharmacists and 81% of physicians believed that SRDFs provide further advantage with psychiatric patients who forget to take their medications. Pharmacists (63.1%) and only 63.5% of physicians believed that SRDFs yield a time saving for nurses who use SRDFs in hospital. Only 45.3% of physicians and 43.4% of pharmacists thought that SRDFs result in cost saving due to better disease management. Pharmacists (95.2%) and 95.9% of physicians agreed that SRDFs could be the right choice for faith patient's who must take their medication during the month of Ramadan. Pharmacists (66.7%) and 50.7% of physicians recognize that SRDFs may be unsafe if they are improperly formulated. Bad swallowing was also recognized as inconveniences of SRDFs by 67.9% of pharmacists and 57.3% of physicians. Given the above advantages, 75% of patients showed economical problems regarding the cost of the single course therapy of SRDFs and 100% of interviewed patients were enthusiastic about the advantage of SRDFs during Ramadan. The advantages of SRDFs are not completely understood by Palestinian health professionals. Pharmaceutical industries should pay more attention to the development and advertising of SRDFs due to the valuable advantages of these dosage forms.

  19. Getting their appetite back. In need of capital, not-for-profit hospitals take advantage of dropping interest rates.

    PubMed

    Evans, Melanie

    2011-10-31

    After steering clear of the municipal bond market this year, not-for-profit hospitals are being lured back by dropping interest rates. "We're taking advantage of the current market," says Jim Budzinski, left, executive vice president and chief financial officer of WellStar Health System. The Georgia provider's recent bond deal helped erase $4.2 million in interest costs.

  20. Effects of Vaporized Decontamination Systems on Selected Building Interior Materials: Chlorine Dioxide

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-02-01

    Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) to take advantage of ECBC’s extensive expertise and specialized research facilities for the decontamination of surfaces...Agency (EPA) established an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) to take advantage of ECBC’s extensive...Detector (Waters Corporation, Milford, MA). Conductivity suppression was carried out using an ERIS 1000HP Autosuppressor ( Alltech Corporation, Deerfield

  1. 12 CFR 563.201 - Corporate opportunity.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... duty to a savings association, you must not take advantage of corporate opportunities belonging to the...; and (2) The opportunity is of present or potential practical advantage to the savings association, either directly or through its subsidiary. (c) OTS will not deem you to have taken advantage of a...

  2. "The BFG" and the Spaghetti Book Club: A Case Study of Children as Critics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, A. Robin

    2010-01-01

    Situated at the intersections of ethnography, childhood studies, literary studies, and education research, this reception study seeks to access real children's responses to a particular text, and to offer empirical description of actual reading experiences. Survey data is generated by taking advantage of an online resource: an archive of…

  3. The Impact of Mixing Modes on Reliability in Longitudinal Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cernat, Alexandru

    2015-01-01

    Mixed-mode designs are increasingly important in surveys, and large longitudinal studies are progressively moving to or considering such a design. In this context, our knowledge regarding the impact of mixing modes on data quality indicators in longitudinal studies is sparse. This study tries to ameliorate this situation by taking advantage of a…

  4. Study Abroad as Innovation: Applying the Diffusion Model to International Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spiering, Kerri; Erickson, Sheri

    2006-01-01

    This paper uses diffusion of innovation theory as a framework for studying why United States college students who attend study abroad information sessions fail to take advantage of such educational opportunities. Surveys were administered to two groups of undergraduate students--those who studied abroad and those who did not. Students ranked their…

  5. Multi-Level Bitmap Indexes for Flash Memory Storage

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

    Wu, Kesheng; Madduri, Kamesh; Canon, Shane

    2010-07-23

    Due to their low access latency, high read speed, and power-efficient operation, flash memory storage devices are rapidly emerging as an attractive alternative to traditional magnetic storage devices. However, tests show that the most efficient indexing methods are not able to take advantage of the flash memory storage devices. In this paper, we present a set of multi-level bitmap indexes that can effectively take advantage of flash storage devices. These indexing methods use coarsely binned indexes to answer queries approximately, and then use finely binned indexes to refine the answers. Our new methods read significantly lower volumes of data atmore » the expense of an increased disk access count, thus taking full advantage of the improved read speed and low access latency of flash devices. To demonstrate the advantage of these new indexes, we measure their performance on a number of storage systems using a standard data warehousing benchmark called the Set Query Benchmark. We observe that multi-level strategies on flash drives are up to 3 times faster than traditional indexing strategies on magnetic disk drives.« less

  6. Cutting Class Harms Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Lewis A., III

    2012-01-01

    An accessible business school population of undergraduate students was investigated in three independent, but related studies to determine effects on grades due to cutting class and failing to take advantage of optional reviews and study quizzes. It was hypothesized that cutting classes harms exam scores, attending preexam reviews helps exam…

  7. The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartik, Timothy J.; Lachowska, Marta

    2014-01-01

    This study takes advantage of the unexpected announcement of the Kalamazoo Promise to study its effects on student achievement and behavior in high school. The Kalamazoo Promise provides college scholarships to graduates of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS), a midsized urban school district in Michigan that is racially and economically diverse.…

  8. Taking Advantage of Murder and Mayhem for Social Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harden, G. Daniel

    1991-01-01

    Suggests the use of key historical antisocial acts to teach social studies concepts as a means of arousing the interest of adolescents. Recommends overcoming initial sensationalism by shifting emphasis to more appropriate interests. Includes discussion of the Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy assassinations and the Rosenberg spy case. Suggests…

  9. When to use your head and when to use your heart: the differential value of perspective-taking versus empathy in competitive interactions.

    PubMed

    Gilin, Debra; Maddux, William W; Carpenter, Jordan; Galinsky, Adam D

    2013-01-01

    Four studies explored whether perspective-taking and empathy would be differentially effective in mixed-motive competitions depending on whether the critical skills for success were more cognitively or emotionally based. Study 1 demonstrated that individual differences in perspective-taking, but not empathy, predicted increased distributive and integrative performance in a multiple-round war game that required a clear understanding of an opponent's strategic intentions. Conversely, both measures and manipulations of empathy proved more advantageous than perspective-taking in a relationship-based coalition game that required identifying the strength of interpersonal connections (Studies 2-3). Study 4 established a key process: perspective-takers were more accurate in cognitive understanding of others, whereas empathy produced stronger accuracy in emotional understanding. Perspective-taking and empathy were each useful but in different types of competitive, mixed-motive situations-their success depended on the task-competency match. These results demonstrate when to use your head versus your heart to achieve the best outcomes for oneself.

  10. Deep-Space Test of a Neutrino Detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Solomey, N.; Barghouty, N.; Christl, M.; Johnson, L.; Meyer, H.

    2018-02-01

    Changes in solar neutrino flux make it advantageous to take a detector into space since it changes as the inverse square of the distance from the Sun. A space-craft with a neutrino detector in solar orbit would perform science study opportunities.

  11. 16 CFR 1013.4 - Public attendance at Commission meetings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... into account in all cases the relative advantages and disadvantages to the public of conducting the... concludes on balance, taking into account the relative advantages and disadvantages to the public of...

  12. Examining Technology Perception of Social Studies Teachers with Rogers' Diffusion Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akman, Özkan; Koçoglu, Erol

    2017-01-01

    Mobile learning has started to take place in education literature with the developing technology, and this technology started to have an increasing spread along with its advantages. This study examines the responses of social studies teachers to the innovations in the field of mobile learning. The study was designed within the framework of theory…

  13. Temperature-dependent performance of competitive native and alien invasive plant species

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Uhram

    2017-10-01

    To assess the likely impacts of environmental change, the responses of two well-known invasive plant species, native Pueraria lobata and alien Humulus japonicus, to differences in growth temperature were studied in South Korea. Habitat preferences, physiological responses such as photosynthetic rates and chlorophyll contents, growth rates, and nutrient contents were quantified for each species. A competition experiment was conducted to evaluate the temperature preferences of the two species. All results indicated that the alien species H. japonicus can take advantage of elevated temperatures (35 °C) to enhance its competitive advantage against the native species P. lobata. While H. japonicus took advantage of elevated temperatures and preferred high-temperature areas, P. lobata showed reduced performance and dominance in high-temperature areas. Therefore, in future, due to global warming and urbanization, there are possibilities that H. japonicus takes advantage of elevated temperature against P. lobata that could lead to increased H. japonicus coverage over time. Therefore, consistent monitoring of both species especially where P. lobata is dominated are required because both species are found in every continents in the world. Controlling P. lobata requires thorough inspection of H. japonicus presence of the habitat in advance to prevent post P. lobata management invasion of H. japonicus.

  14. First down and goal to go. [Washington State resource applications for LANDSAT data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Little, G.

    1981-01-01

    A 10 year game plan for transition to the operational system was developed in the State of Washington. The plan is to: examine the results of past demonstration projects to identify successful operational applications, take advantage of geographic information systems, and work toward reducing/eliminating constraints of the present system which inhibit operational use. Support for the LANDSAT program was demonstrated by sending a user representative to NOAA working in the development of a user oriented system. It is suggested that the state should reassess its position, by taking advantage of the past 8 years' experience, and coordinate efforts to enhance LANDSAT' advantages in a cost effective manner.

  15. Patient's Guide to Living with Atrial Fibrillation

    MedlinePlus

    ... study showed that there was no advantage of one approach over the other in terms of survival. Patients ... series of different treatments before the best management approach is found for them. ... of AF, particularly if one is taking warfarin. There are many types of ...

  16. A joint equalization algorithm in high speed communication systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hao, Xin; Lin, Changxing; Wang, Zhaohui; Cheng, Binbin; Deng, Xianjin

    2018-02-01

    This paper presents a joint equalization algorithm in high speed communication systems. This algorithm takes the advantages of traditional equalization algorithms to use pre-equalization and post-equalization. The pre-equalization algorithm takes the advantage of CMA algorithm, which is not sensitive to the frequency offset. Pre-equalization is located before the carrier recovery loop in order to make the carrier recovery loop a better performance and overcome most of the frequency offset. The post-equalization takes the advantage of MMA algorithm in order to overcome the residual frequency offset. This paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of several equalization algorithms in the first place, and then simulates the proposed joint equalization algorithm in Matlab platform. The simulation results shows the constellation diagrams and the bit error rate curve, both these results show that the proposed joint equalization algorithm is better than the traditional algorithms. The residual frequency offset is shown directly in the constellation diagrams. When SNR is 14dB, the bit error rate of the simulated system with the proposed joint equalization algorithm is 103 times better than CMA algorithm, 77 times better than MMA equalization, and 9 times better than CMA-MMA equalization.

  17. Living on the Edge: Re-shaping the Interface of Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology.

    PubMed

    Wu, Shang-Jung; Boghossian, Ardemis A

    2016-11-30

    A new team of researchers at EPFL is taking an 'anti-disciplinary' approach to creating optical devices. These devices take advantage of the synergy in tuning both nano- and bio-material properties, coupling the advantages of two growing, albeit traditionally distinct, fields. With applications spanning from biosensing and microarray assays to living photovoltaics, the Laboratory of NanoBiotechnology (LNB) is uncovering an unexplored space for the next generation of chemical analytics and light-harvesting technologies.

  18. ENcentive: A Framework for Intelligent Marketing in Mobile Peer-To-Peer Environments

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    trade and commu- nication strategies, mobile electronic marketing, intelligent agents, collaborative eCommerce 1. INTRODUCTION With the explosion of...requests the promotion (since Jeff is a cof- fee drinker). MH2 signs the promotion with Susan’s eN- centive ID. At 6pm, Jeff decides to take advantage of the...to become valid, a user has a choice of remaining in his current loca- tion and being able to take advantage of the promotion. The eNcentive Ad

  19. THE COMMUNITY-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM, A FEASIBILITY STUDY.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ISAACK, THOMAS S.

    A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING COMMUNITY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS IN WEST VIRGINIA. THE CONCEPT IS THAT A WORKER IN ONE COMPANY WOULD UNDERTAKE ON THE JOB TRAINING AT ANOTHER COMPANY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MACHINES AND EQUIPMENT NOT CURRENTLY OWNED BY HIS COMPANY. THE AUTHOR STATES THAT THIS WOULD UPGRADE THE WORK…

  20. Importance of Grades and Placement for Math Attainment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tyson, Will; Roksa, Josipa

    2017-01-01

    Research on high school math course taking documents the advantages of starting high school at or beyond Algebra 1. Fewer studies examine differentiation into remedial, general, and honors Algebra 1 course types by course rigor. This study examines how course grades and course rigor are associated with math attainment among students with similar…

  1. Speech recognition by bilateral cochlear implant users in a cocktail-party setting

    PubMed Central

    Loizou, Philipos C.; Hu, Yi; Litovsky, Ruth; Yu, Gongqiang; Peters, Robert; Lake, Jennifer; Roland, Peter

    2009-01-01

    Unlike prior studies with bilateral cochlear implant users which considered only one interferer, the present study considered realistic listening situations wherein multiple interferers were present and in some cases originating from both hemifields. Speech reception thresholds were measured in bilateral users unilaterally and bilaterally in four different spatial configurations, with one and three interferers consisting of modulated noise or competing talkers. The data were analyzed in terms of binaural benefits including monaural advantage (better-ear listening) and binaural interaction. The total advantage (overall spatial release) received was 2–5 dB and was maintained with multiple interferers present. This advantage was dominated by the monaural advantage, which ranged from 1 to 6 dB and was largest when the interferers were mostly energetic. No binaural-interaction benefit was found in the present study with either type of interferer (speech or noise). While the total and monaural advantage obtained for noise interferers was comparable to that attained by normal-hearing listeners, it was considerably lower for speech interferers. This suggests that bilateral users are less capable of taking advantage of binaural cues, in particular, under conditions of informational masking. Furthermore, the use of noise interferers does not adequately reflect the difficulties experienced by bilateral users in real-life situations. PMID:19173424

  2. Attitude and perception of patients and health care practitioners toward oral sustained release dosage forms in Palestine

    PubMed Central

    Zaid, Abdel Naser

    2010-01-01

    Aim To evaluate the knowledge of health professionals in Palestine regarding the advantages of sustained release dosage forms (SRDFs) over conventional therapy. Methods Data were gathered from a questionnaire that was handed out to community pharmacists, physicians and patients. Pharmaceutical industry decision makers were enrolled in this study. Data were analyzed using the SPSS. Results Pharmacists (92.9%) and 89.2% of physicians thought that SRDFs improve patient compliance. 81.5% of pharmacists and 77% of physicians were in agreement regarding the capacity of SRDFs to maintain therapeutic activity during night. In this study, 81.5% of pharmacists and 81% of physicians believed that SRDFs provide further advantage with psychiatric patients who forget to take their medications. Pharmacists (63.1%) and only 63.5% of physicians believed that SRDFs yield a time saving for nurses who use SRDFs in hospital. Only 45.3% of physicians and 43.4% of pharmacists thought that SRDFs result in cost saving due to better disease management. Pharmacists (95.2%) and 95.9% of physicians agreed that SRDFs could be the right choice for faith patient’s who must take their medication during the month of Ramadan. Pharmacists (66.7%) and 50.7% of physicians recognize that SRDFs may be unsafe if they are improperly formulated. Bad swallowing was also recognized as inconveniences of SRDFs by 67.9% of pharmacists and 57.3% of physicians. Given the above advantages, 75% of patients showed economical problems regarding the cost of the single course therapy of SRDFs and 100% of interviewed patients were enthusiastic about the advantage of SRDFs during Ramadan. Conclusion The advantages of SRDFs are not completely understood by Palestinian health professionals. Pharmaceutical industries should pay more attention to the development and advertising of SRDFs due to the valuable advantages of these dosage forms. PMID:23960735

  3. Multi-directional energy harvesting by piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum with internal resonance

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

    Xu, J.; Tang, J., E-mail: jtang@engr.uconn.edu

    This letter reports a piezoelectric cantilever-pendulum design for multi-directional energy harvesting. A pendulum is attached to the tip of a piezoelectric cantilever-type energy harvester. This design aims at taking advantage of the nonlinear coupling between the pendulum motion in 3-dimensional space and the beam bending vibration at resonances. Experimental studies indicate that, under properly chosen parameters, 1:2 internal resonance can be induced, which enables the multi-directional energy harvesting with a single cantilever. The advantages of the design with respect to traditional piezoelectric cantilever are examined.

  4. Integrating sequence and array data to create an improved 1000 Genomes Project haplotype reference panel.

    PubMed

    Delaneau, Olivier; Marchini, Jonathan

    2014-06-13

    A major use of the 1000 Genomes Project (1000 GP) data is genotype imputation in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we develop a method to estimate haplotypes from low-coverage sequencing data that can take advantage of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotypes on the same samples. First the SNP array data are phased to build a backbone (or 'scaffold') of haplotypes across each chromosome. We then phase the sequence data 'onto' this haplotype scaffold. This approach can take advantage of relatedness between sequenced and non-sequenced samples to improve accuracy. We use this method to create a new 1000 GP haplotype reference set for use by the human genetic community. Using a set of validation genotypes at SNP and bi-allelic indels we show that these haplotypes have lower genotype discordance and improved imputation performance into downstream GWAS samples, especially at low-frequency variants.

  5. Redefining the Longitude/Latitude Experience with a Scaffolded Geocache

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hammond, Thomas; Bozdin, Alec M.; Stanlick, Sarah E.

    2014-01-01

    Latitude and longitude are foundational concepts for geography education, yet they are typically poorly understood by students and receive indifferent attention from instructors and publishers' materials. Social studies teachers can take advantage of increasingly ubiquitous geolocating devices such as Global Positions Systems (GPS) to provide…

  6. Differentiating Spatial Memory from Spatial Transformations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Street, Whitney N.; Wang, Ranxiao Frances

    2014-01-01

    The perspective-taking task is one of the most common paradigms used to study the nature of spatial memory, and better performance for certain orientations is generally interpreted as evidence of spatial representations using these reference directions. However, performance advantages can also result from the relative ease in certain…

  7. High speed sorting of Fusarium-damaged wheat kernels

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Recent studies have found that resistance to Fusarium fungal infection can be inherited in wheat from one generation to another. However, there is not yet available a cost effective method to separate Fusarium-damaged wheat kernels from undamaged kernels so that wheat breeders can take advantage of...

  8. Next Steps in Bayesian Structural Equation Models: Comments on, Variations of, and Extensions to Muthen and Asparouhov (2012)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rindskopf, David

    2012-01-01

    Muthen and Asparouhov (2012) made a strong case for the advantages of Bayesian methodology in factor analysis and structural equation models. I show additional extensions and adaptations of their methods and show how non-Bayesians can take advantage of many (though not all) of these advantages by using interval restrictions on parameters. By…

  9. The dynamic-stimulus advantage of visual symmetry perception.

    PubMed

    Niimi, Ryosuke; Watanabe, Katsumi; Yokosawa, Kazuhiko

    2008-09-01

    It has been speculated that visual symmetry perception from dynamic stimuli involves mechanisms different from those for static stimuli. However, previous studies found no evidence that dynamic stimuli lead to active temporal processing and improve symmetry detection. In this study, four psychophysical experiments investigated temporal processing in symmetry perception using both dynamic and static stimulus presentations of dot patterns. In Experiment 1, rapid successive presentations of symmetric patterns (e.g., 16 patterns per 853 ms) produced more accurate discrimination of orientations of symmetry axes than static stimuli (single pattern presented through 853 ms). In Experiments 2-4, we confirmed that the dynamic-stimulus advantage depended upon presentation of a large number of unique patterns within a brief period (853 ms) in the dynamic conditions. Evidently, human vision takes advantage of temporal processing for symmetry perception from dynamic stimuli.

  10. Is AIBO Real? Understanding Children's Beliefs about and Behavioral Interactions with Anthropomorphic Toys

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Francis, Andrea; Mishra, Punya

    2009-01-01

    Interactive toys for children are becoming more popular for both play and educational purposes, yet an understanding of the dependent measures used to study such interactions has not yet been explored. This study takes advantage of the idea that robotic animals exhibit both living and pretend qualities, and are therefore ideal for studying…

  11. Learners' Interpersonal Beliefs and Generated Feedback in an Online Role-Playing Peer-Feedback Activity: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ching, Yu-Hui; Hsu, Yu-Chang

    2016-01-01

    Peer feedback affords interaction and critical thinking opportunities for learners in online courses. However, various factors prevent learners from taking advantage of these promising benefits. This study explored learners' perceptions of the interpersonal factors in a role-playing peer-feedback activity, and examined the types of peer feedback…

  12. Designing a Master's Program in Corporate Communication at an Urban University: A Case Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson, Margaret Jones

    To assess how an urban university can take advantage of its setting to design a master's program in corporate communication, a 1987 study of the master's program in corporate communication at Duquesne University of Pittsburgh was conducted. Data were obtained through a survey of 590 local communication professionals, of whom 270 responded (a…

  13. A Study of Attitudes Associated with Retraining. Part II. Work Resource and Retraining Initiative.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miskovic, Darlene

    A study was conducted to gain insight into how to persuade those in fields where job opportunities are declining to take advantage of existing retraining programs in order to avoid future displacement. Research was conducted through a series of focus groups in Chicago, Louisville, and Davenport. Participants in these sessions included men and…

  14. The Quantal Larynx: The Stable Regions of Laryngeal Biomechanics and Implications for Speech Production

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moisik, Scott Reid; Gick, Bryan

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Recent proposals suggest that (a) the high dimensionality of speech motor control may be reduced via modular neuromuscular organization that takes advantage of intrinsic biomechanical regions of stability and (b) computational modeling provides a means to study whether and how such modularization works. In this study, the focus is on the…

  15. Using Big Data to Predict Student Dropouts: Technology Affordances for Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Niemi, David; Gitin, Elena

    2012-01-01

    An underlying theme of this paper is that it can be easier and more efficient to conduct valid and effective research studies in online environments than in traditional classrooms. Taking advantage of the "big data" available in an online university, we conducted a study in which a massive online database was used to predict student…

  16. Advanced supplier partnership practices: a case study.

    PubMed

    Williams, B R

    2000-05-01

    This article describes how a supplier partnership was set up to avoid the typical purchasing relationship--price being inversely proportional to quantity and having the purchaser take all the risk of product obsolescence. The case study also describes how rate-based replenishment replaced time-based delivery, and how all these advantages were achieved at reduced administrative costs.

  17. Academic Benefits of On-Campus Employment to First-Year Developmental Education Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilkie, Carolyn; Jones, Marquita

    1994-01-01

    A study of 1,012 college freshmen admitted through a developmental studies program and offered employment through a highly structured program of up to 8 work hours/week found those taking maximum advantage of the work opportunity had higher achievement and retention rates than others. Differences by race and gender, and student perceptions, are…

  18. Keyboard Instruction in the Music Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appell, Claudia J.

    1993-01-01

    Asserts that the use of electronic keyboards enables music educators to incorporate technological advances into instruction and take advantage of the popularity of electronic and computerized keyboards. Discusses advantages of electronic keyboard instruction related to student motivation and behavior. Describes methods of incorporating…

  19. Perspective on Automation: Three Talks to Educators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Theobald, Robert; And Others

    These papers take the view that automation impinges upon our socio-psychological as well as economic existence and we must take drastic measures to survive. Robert Theobald, presenting evidence that automation brings job displacement, suggests that we face the choice of trying to insure enough jobs, or of taking advantage of the new free time to…

  20. Commercial Application of In-Space Assembly

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lymer, John; Hanson, Mark; Tadros, Al; Boccio, Joel; Hollenstein, Bruno; Emerick, Ken; Doughtery, Sean; Doggett, Bill; Dorsey, John T.; King, Bruce D.; hide

    2016-01-01

    In-Space assembly (ISA) expands the opportunities for cost effective emplacement of systems in space. Currently, spacecraft are launched into space and deploy into their operational configuration through a carefully choreographed sequence of operations. The deployment operation dictates the arrangement of the primary systems on the spacecraft, limiting the ability to take full advantage of launch vehicles volume and mass capability. ISA enables vastly different spacecraft architectures and emplacement scenarios to be achieved, including optimal launch configurations ranging from single launch and assembly to on-orbit aggregation of multiple launches at different orbital locations and times. The spacecraft can be visited at different orbital locations and times to effect expansion and maintenance of an operational capability. To date, the primary application of ISA has been in large programs funded by government organizations, such as the International Space Station. Recently, Space Systems Loral (SSL) led a study funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), called Dragonfly, to investigate the commercial applicability and economic advantages of ISA. In the study, it was shown that ISA enables SSL to double the capability of a commercial satellite system by taking advantage of alternate packaging approaches for the reflectors. The study included an ultra-light-weight robotic system, derived from Mars manipulator designs, to complete assembly of portions of the antenna system using a tool derived from DARPA orbital express and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) automated structural assembly experience. The mechanical connector that enables robotic ISA takes advantage of decades of development by NASA from the 1970's to 1980's during the Space Station Freedom program, the precursor to the ISS. The mechanical connector was originally designed for rapid astronaut assembly while also providing a high quality structural connection with linear load deflection response. The paper will discuss the business case for ISA, the general approach taken to exploit on-orbit assembly in the GEO communication satellite market, and the concept of operations associated with the ISA approach, thus laying the foundation for ISA to become an accepted operational approach for commercial in-space operations.

  1. 78 FR 4392 - Defense Business Board; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee Meeting; Correction

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-22

    ... ``Employing Our Veterans Part II: Review of Pilot Transition Goal Plans Success Program'' and ``Taking Advantage of Opportunities for Commercial Satellite Communications Services'' Task Group Studies. The Board will also hear an update from the Task Group ``Applying Best Business Practices for Corporate...

  2. Nonstate Actors and the Open Border Policy: The Border Security Case Study of Nepal and India

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-12-01

    Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports. 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204. Arlington, VA 22202-4302... remuneration .”276 This massive migration of young and eager workers allowed Germany to take advantage of booming industries and markets. The impact on

  3. An Online Adaptive Learning Environment for Critical-Thinking-Infused English Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Ya-Ting Carolyn; Gamble, Jeffrey Hugh; Hung, Yu-Wan; Lin, Tzu-Yun

    2014-01-01

    Critical thinking (CT) and English literacy are two essential 21st century competencies that are a priority for teaching and learning in an increasingly digital learning environment. Taking advantage of innovations in educational technology, this study empirically investigates the effectiveness of CT-infused adaptive English literacy instruction…

  4. Map the Race to the White House

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shore, Felice S.; Cooper, Linda L.

    2010-01-01

    The 2008 presidential election is a great backdrop for analyzing graphs, learning about population distributions, and studying the effect on the electoral voting process. To take advantage of the enthusiasm surrounding the election, the authors conducted two activities in the months leading up to the 2008 presidential elections with several groups…

  5. Emerging Pedagogy: Teaching Digital Hypertexts in Social Contexts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strasma, Kip

    2001-01-01

    Considers how in the classroom, particularly, teachers should take advantage of the multiple aspects of narrative time constructed through hypertextual duration, frequency, and order. Uses an ethnographic study of two college courses to illustrate several of these opportunities as they subvert the dominant orders of textuality totalized by…

  6. Sensory Biology: How Female Treefrogs Pick Mates at a Noisy Party.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Ryan C

    2017-03-06

    A recent study has found that, despite strong acoustic masking from background noise, female treefrogs are able to select among individual males advertising for mates by taking advantage of small, periodic decreases in the overall noise structure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. WIYN open cluster study: photometric determination of binary mass ratios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cai, Kai; Durisen, Richard H.; Deliyannis, Constantine P.

    Taking advantage of WIYN Open Cluster Survey (WOCS) precision photometry, we have developed a method using appropriate Yonsei-Yale Isochrones to determine primary masses M2 and q (=M2/M1) for cluster binary stars and applied it to proper motion members of M35.

  8. Facilitating Attachment between School-Aged Children and a Dying Parent

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saldinger, Amy; Cain, Albert C.; Porterfield, Katherine; Lohnes, Kelly

    2004-01-01

    A qualitative, community study of 58 parentally bereaved children and their 35 surviving parents illustrates how families take advantage of forewarning of death to foster connections between children and dying parents and prepare for youngsters' continued attachment to dying parents after the death. Children and parents displayed strong yearnings…

  9. Evapotranspiration estimates derived using multi-platform remote sensing in a semiarid region

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key component of the water balance, especially in arid and semiarid regions. The current study takes advantage of spatially-distributed, near real-time information provided by satellite remote sensing to develop a regional scale ET product derived from remotely-sensed ob...

  10. Genetic and Epigenetic Biomarkers for Recurrent Prostate Cancer After Radiotherapy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-07-01

    several distinct advantages over surgical treatment, such as no complications from surgery, and a low risk of urinary incontinence , RT treatment takes...Khorana, Tissue factor and VEGF expression in prostate carcinoma: a tissue microarray study. Cancer Invest, 2009. 27(4): p. 430-4. 7. Crawford, E.D

  11. Supercalculators and University Entrance Calculus Examinations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hong, Ye Yoon; Thomas, Mike; Kiernan, Christine

    2000-01-01

    Investigates whether the use of computer algebra systems could provide a significant advantage to students taking standard university entrance calculus examinations. Indicates that supercalculators would probably provide a significant advantage, particularly for lower-achieving students. Demonstrates that it is possible to write questions in which…

  12. Alignment: Discrepancies of Practice and Vision in U.S. Army Staffing

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-05-26

    mitigating our own vulnerabilities through technological and informational advantage while maintaining superiority of lethal and non-lethal effects across...disadvantaged are burdened with the task of defending the prerogatives and alternatives of the most advantaged . To rectify the contemporary...Defense cannot afford to continue to measure recruits by Cold War standards but must take advantage of available technology and research to refine the

  13. HAARP 2011 Summer Student Research Campaign

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-10-16

    in order to take advantage of a wide variety of background ionospheric conditions and to provide ample time for each student to investigate...The SSRC expands on the PARS Summer School by providing a significant increase in facility operational time. This has advantages in several areas...in several advantages for scheduling and conducting experiments: (1) Higher ionospheric density yields higher F-region critical frequency (foF2

  14. Decoder calibration with ultra small current sample set for intracortical brain-machine interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Peng; Ma, Xuan; Chen, Luyao; Zhou, Jin; Wang, Changyong; Li, Wei; He, Jiping

    2018-04-01

    Objective. Intracortical brain-machine interfaces (iBMIs) aim to restore efficient communication and movement ability for paralyzed patients. However, frequent recalibration is required for consistency and reliability, and every recalibration will require relatively large most current sample set. The aim in this study is to develop an effective decoder calibration method that can achieve good performance while minimizing recalibration time. Approach. Two rhesus macaques implanted with intracortical microelectrode arrays were trained separately on movement and sensory paradigm. Neural signals were recorded to decode reaching positions or grasping postures. A novel principal component analysis-based domain adaptation (PDA) method was proposed to recalibrate the decoder with only ultra small current sample set by taking advantage of large historical data, and the decoding performance was compared with other three calibration methods for evaluation. Main results. The PDA method closed the gap between historical and current data effectively, and made it possible to take advantage of large historical data for decoder recalibration in current data decoding. Using only ultra small current sample set (five trials of each category), the decoder calibrated using the PDA method could achieve much better and more robust performance in all sessions than using other three calibration methods in both monkeys. Significance. (1) By this study, transfer learning theory was brought into iBMIs decoder calibration for the first time. (2) Different from most transfer learning studies, the target data in this study were ultra small sample set and were transferred to the source data. (3) By taking advantage of historical data, the PDA method was demonstrated to be effective in reducing recalibration time for both movement paradigm and sensory paradigm, indicating a viable generalization. By reducing the demand for large current training data, this new method may facilitate the application of intracortical brain-machine interfaces in clinical practice.

  15. Solar Workbook. A Step by Step Procedure for Assessing Solar Opportunities in Existing Buildings in New York State.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Energy Office, Albany.

    Determining the feasibility of modifying existing buildings to take advantage of solar energy requires a formal technical study. This workbook is designed to help the reader perform a preliminary analysis to decide whether investing in such a formal study would be beneficial. The book guides the user through an exploration of the general…

  16. Kelly during Twins Study Experiment Operations

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2015-09-24

    ISS045E028258 (09/24/2015) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly gives himself a flu shot for an ongoing study on the human immune system. The vaccination is part of NASA’s Twins Study, a compilation of multiple investigations that take advantage of a unique opportunity to study identical twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, while Scott spends a year aboard the International Space Station and Mark remains on Earth.

  17. Development of beam leaded low power logic circuits

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, B. W.; Malone, F.

    1972-01-01

    The technologies of low power TTL and beam lead processing were merged into a single product family. This family offers the power and thermal advantages of low power(54L), while providing the additional reliability advantages of beam leads. The reduction in the power and heat levels also allows the system designer to take advantage, through beam lead, multichip assemblies, of increased package density to reduce system size and weight.

  18. An Approach to the 40-Year Drug War

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-05-17

    and take advantage of adversary’s disadvantages .” 47 This paper will use a combination of the two. Tempo is therefore the significant number of events...tempo is the number of significant events per unit of time.46 Current doctrine states that, “tempo enables commanders to exploit friendly advantages ...financial advantage of the drug trafficking organizations by breaking them into smaller pieces.62 By achieving this strategic objective, the drug

  19. Operational VGOS Scheduling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Searle, Anthony; Petrachenko, Bill

    2016-12-01

    The VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) has been designed to take advantage of advances in data recording speeds and storage capacity, allowing for smaller and faster antennas, wider bandwidths, and shorter observation durations. Here, schedules for a ``realistic" VGOS network, frequency sequences, and expanded source lists are presented using a new source-based scheduling algorithm. The VGOS aim for continuous observations presents new operational challenges. As the source-based strategy is independent of the observing network, there are operational advantages which allow for more flexible scheduling of continuous VLBI observations. Using VieVS, simulations of several schedules are presented and compared with previous VGOS studies.

  20. JTAG-based remote configuration of FPGAs over optical fibers

    DOE PAGES

    Deng, B.; Xu, H.; Liu, C.; ...

    2015-01-28

    In this study, a remote FPGA-configuration method based on JTAG extension over optical fibers is presented. The method takes advantage of commercial components and ready-to-use software such as iMPACT and does not require any hardware or software development. The method combines the advantages of the slow remote JTAG configuration and the fast local flash memory configuration. The method has been verified successfully and used in the Demonstrator of Liquid-Argon Trigger Digitization Board (LTDB) for the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter Phase-I trigger upgrade. All components on the FPGA side are verified to meet the radiation tolerance requirements.

  1. Teaching a Course around a Textbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Healey, Mick; Ilbery, Brian

    1993-01-01

    Outlines the advantages and disadvantages of using a single textbook in a college-level economic geography course. Argues that, if a course text is used thoughtfully, the advantages can outweigh the disadvantages. Asserts that students must take greater responsibility for their own learning and develop independent inquiry skills. (CFR)

  2. 16 CFR 1013.4 - Public attendance at Commission meetings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... concludes on balance, taking into account the relative advantages and disadvantages to the public of... into account in all cases the relative advantages and disadvantages to the public of conducting the... types of matters to be withheld; (4) Disclose trade secrets and commercial or financial information...

  3. Introducing Students to a Synthetic and Spectroscopic Study of the Free Radical Chlorine Dioxide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutton, Sarah C.; Cleland, Walter E.; Hammer, Nathan I.

    2017-01-01

    This advanced undergraduate chemistry laboratory exercise takes advantage of the unique spectroscopic properties of the free radical chlorine dioxide to allow for a direct comparison of its symmetric stretch in both the ground and excited states. It incorporates several subject areas covered in an undergraduate chemistry degree (synthesis,…

  4. Accessible NMR Experiments Studying the Hydrodynamics of [subscript 15]N-Enriched Ubiquitin at Low Fields

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Laura E.; Rovnyak, David

    2007-01-01

    We have recently developed and implemented two experiments in biomolecular NMR for an undergraduate-level biophysical chemistry laboratory with commercially available [subscript 15]N-enriched human ubiquitin. These experiments take advantage of [subscript 15]N direct detection of the NMR signal. The first experiment develops skills in acquiring…

  5. Accessible NMR Experiments Studying the Hydrodynamics of [superscript 15]N-Enriched Ubiquitin at Low Fields

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Laura E.; Rovnyak, David

    2007-01-01

    We have recently developed and implemented two experiments in biomolecular NMR for an undergraduate-level biophysical chemistry laboratory with commercially available [superscript 15]N-enriched human ubiquitin. These experiments take advantage of [superscript 15]N direct detection of the NMR signal. The first experiment develops skills in…

  6. Quantitative Methods for Administrative Decision Making in Junior Colleges.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gold, Benjamin Knox

    With the rapid increase in number and size of junior colleges, administrators must take advantage of the decision-making tools already used in business and industry. This study investigated how these quantitative techniques could be applied to junior college problems. A survey of 195 California junior college administrators found that the problems…

  7. Engaging Middle School Students with Technology: Using Real-Time Data to Test Predictions in Aquatic Ecosystems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Lisa G.

    2011-01-01

    Take advantage of teen internet savvy and redirect students' online travels toward exploration of our environment through streaming real-time data (RTD). Studies have shown that using RTD adds relevancy to students' learning experiences and engages them in scientific investigations. (Contains 14 online resources and 5 figures.)

  8. Older People's Views of Falls-Prevention Interventions in Six European Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yardley, Lucy; Bishop, Felicity L.; Beyer, Nina; Hauer, Klaus; Kempen, Gertrudis I. J. M.; Piot-Ziegler, Chantal; Todd, Chris J.; Cuttelod, Therese; Horne, Maria; Lanta, Kyriaki; Holt, Anne Rosell

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: Our study identified factors common to a variety of populations and settings that may promote or inhibit uptake and adherence to falls-related interventions. Design and Methods: Semistructured interviews to assess perceived advantages and barriers to taking part in falls-related interventions were carried out in six European countries…

  9. Integrating Traditional Learning and Games on Large Displays: An Experimental Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ardito, Carmelo; Lanzilotti, Rosa; Costabile, Maria F.; Desolda, Giuseppe

    2013-01-01

    Current information and communication technology (ICT) has the potential to bring further changes to education. New learning techniques must be identified to take advantage of recent technological tools, such as smartphones, multimodal interfaces, multi-touch displays, etc. Game-based techniques that capitalize on ICT have proven to be very…

  10. Brain Networks Associated with Sublexical Properties of Chinese Characters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Jianfeng; Wang, Xiaojuan; Shu, Hua; Zevin, Jason D.

    2011-01-01

    Cognitive models of reading all assume some division of labor among processing pathways in mapping among print, sound and meaning. Many studies of the neural basis of reading have used task manipulations such as rhyme or synonym judgment to tap these processes independently. Here we take advantage of specific properties of the Chinese writing…

  11. Taking Advantage of the "Big Mo"--Momentum in Everyday English and Swedish and in Physics Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haglund, Jesper; Jeppsson, Fredrik; Ahrenberg, Lars

    2015-01-01

    Science education research suggests that our everyday intuitions of motion and interaction of physical objects fit well with how physicists use the term "momentum". Corpus linguistics provides an easily accessible approach to study language in different domains, including everyday language. Analysis of language samples from English text…

  12. The Use of ICT in Kindergarten for Teaching Addition Based on Realistic Mathematics Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaranis, Nicholas

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate if information and communications technology (ICT) helps improve kindergarten students' basic mathematical achievement regarding addition. Our research compares the level of mathematical competence of the students taught using our ICT oriented learning method which specifically takes advantage of…

  13. Enhancing the Student Learning Experience in Software Engineering Project Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marques, Maira; Ochoa, Sergio F.; Bastarrica, Maria Cecilia; Gutierrez, Francisco J.

    2018-01-01

    Carrying out real-world software projects in their academic studies helps students to understand what they will face in industry, and to experience first-hand the challenges involved when working collaboratively. Most of the instructional strategies used to help students take advantage of these activities focus on supporting agile programming,…

  14. Data Collection Instruments and Database for Assessment of Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Training Strategy: Appendixes

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-04-01

    problem. No calibration, -- no fire. (90) 6.A Are you able to take advant ge of the training time with the Batery ? Only about 25% of the time is quality...A Are you able to take advantage of the training time with the Batery ? Only about 25% of the time is quality training which is like six hours out of...advantage of the training time with the Batery ? Only about 25% of the time is quality training which is like six hours out of 24. The communications and

  15. The Critical Advantage: Developing Critical Thinking Skills in School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gormley, William T., Jr.

    2017-01-01

    In "The Critical Advantage," noted scholar and early childhood expert William T. Gormley, Jr. takes a wide ranging look at the important role of critical thinking in preparing students for college, careers, and civic life. Drawing on research from psychology, philosophy, business, political science, neuroscience, and other disciplines,…

  16. Module Eight: Induction; Basic Electricity and Electronics Individualized Learning System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

    The module covers in greater depth electromagnetic induction, its effects, and how it is used to advantage in electrical circuits; and the physical components, called inductors, designed to take advantage of the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction. This module is divided into four lessons: electromagnetism; inductors and flux density, inducing…

  17. Powder River outlook stays healthy

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

    Stremel, K.

    1984-08-01

    Well drilling activity in Wyoming's Powder River Basin is discussed. Operators are taking advantage of favorable economic advantages to tap the area's multiple pay potential and challenge its high success rate reputation. A significant amount of exploration and development can be expected in the future due to the recent discovery of high-flowing wells.

  18. The Impact of Commodity Councils on the Internal Structures of Purchasing Organizations in the United States Air Force

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-12-01

    product or service) (Tyndall 133). Purchasing in bulk allows companies to take advantage of volume discounts, while at the same time streamlining...for industry. They included, financial advantage , strategic global sourcing, quicker response to marketplace changes, a paperless environment for...purchasing, and an increased competitive advantage (Richter). He cautioned the Air Force to avoid the trap of focusing only on efficiency in creating

  19. Intergroup Contact and Social Change: Implications of Negative and Positive Contact for Collective Action in Advantaged and Disadvantaged Groups.

    PubMed

    Reimer, Nils Karl; Becker, Julia C; Benz, Angelika; Christ, Oliver; Dhont, Kristof; Klocke, Ulrich; Neji, Sybille; Rychlowska, Magdalena; Schmid, Katharina; Hewstone, Miles

    2017-01-01

    Previous research has shown that (a) positive intergroup contact with an advantaged group can discourage collective action among disadvantaged-group members and (b) positive intergroup contact can encourage advantaged-group members to take action on behalf of disadvantaged outgroups. Two studies investigated the effects of negative as well as positive intergroup contact. Study 1 ( n = 482) found that negative but not positive contact with heterosexual people was associated with sexual-minority students' engagement in collective action (via group identification and perceived discrimination). Among heterosexual students, positive and negative contacts were associated with, respectively, more and less LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) activism. Study 2 ( N = 1,469) found that only negative contact (via perceived discrimination) predicted LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) students' collective action intentions longitudinally while only positive contact predicted heterosexual/cisgender students' LGBT activism. Implications for the relationship between intergroup contact, collective action, and social change are discussed.

  20. Podcasting as a Mobile Learning Technology: A Study of iTunes U Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosell-Aguilar, Fernando

    2015-01-01

    Despite the fact that portability was perceived as one of the major benefits of podcasting as a teaching and learning tool, little evidence has been found of users taking advantage of this feature for academic use. This paper reports on a major study (1886 responses) of iTunes U users. The analysis compares the responses of those participants who…

  1. 2001 Industry Studies: Land Combat Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-01-01

    invest in human capital, to allocate resources to R&D, to take advantage of information technology , to expand their markets beyond traditional...their efforts to broaden their markets and services. This means greater efforts to exploit information technology in order to control worldwide...three essays of foremost importance to the industry supplement the study’s depth and utility: the US Army’s transformation, information technology

  2. Developing the Warrior-Scholar

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2001-08-01

    battlefield and prepares them to take advantage of advanced professional education later in their careers.2 In effect, the Army can better pre- pare...Military Education : An Asset for Peace and Progress,� A Report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Study Group on Professional...changes in the nature of war is officer education . The comparatively new, rap- idly changing role of professional military officers necessitates their

  3. Child Health in Elementary School Following California’s Paid Family Leave Program.

    PubMed

    Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee; Bell, Niryvia Pillay

    We evaluate changes in elementary school children health outcomes following the introduction of California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program, which provided parents with paid time off following the birth of a child. Our health outcomes--overweight, ADHD, and hearing-related problems--are characterized by diagnosis rates that only pick up during early elementary school. Moreover, our health outcomes have been found to be negatively linked with many potential implications of extended maternity leave--increased breastfeeding, prompt medical checkups at infancy, reduced prenatal stress, and reduced non-parental care during infancy. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) within a difference-in-differences framework, our results suggest improvements in health outcomes among California elementary school children following PFL’s introduction. Furthermore, the improvements are driven by children from less advantaged backgrounds, which is consistent with the notion that California’s PFL had the greatest effect on leave-taking duration after childbirth mostly for less advantaged mothers who previously could not afford to take unpaid leave.

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

    Jeffrey Wishart

    This document reports the work performed under Task 1.2.1.1: 'The development of a charge protocol to take advantage of off- and on-peak demand economics at facilities'. The work involved in this task included understanding the experimental results of the other tasks of SOW-5799 in order to take advantage of the economics of electricity pricing differences between on- and off-peak hours and the demonstrated charging and facility energy demand profiles. To undertake this task and to demonstrate the feasibility of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) bi-directional electricity exchange potential, BEA has subcontracted Electric Transportation Applications (now knownmore » as ECOtality North America and hereafter ECOtality NA) to use the data from the demand and energy study to focus on reducing the electrical power demand of the charging facility. The use of delayed charging as well as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-building (V2B) operations were to be considered.« less

  5. Coandă configured aircraft: A preliminary analytical assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamid, M. F. Abdul; Gires, E.; Harithuddin, A. S. M.; Abu Talib, A. R.; Rafie, A. S. M.; Romli, F. I.; Harmin, M. Y.

    2017-12-01

    The interest in the use of flow control for enhanced aerodynamic performance has grown, particularly in the use of jets (continuous, synthetic, pulsed, etc.), compliant surface, vortex-cell, and others. It has been widely documented that these active control concepts can dramatically alter the behaviour of aerodynamic components like airfoils, wings and bodies. In this conjunction, with the present demands of low-cost and efficient flights, the use of Coandă effect as a lift enhancer has attracted a lot of interest. Tangential jets that take advantage of the Coandă effect to closely follow the contours of the body have been considered to be simple and particularly effective. For this case, a large mass of surrounding air can be entrained, hence amplifying the circulation. In an effort to optimize the aerodynamic performance of an aircraft, such effect will be critically reviewed by taking advantage of recent progress. For this purpose, in this study, the design of a Coandă-configured aircraft wing will be mathematically idealized and modelled as a two-dimensional flow problem.

  6. Wordlikeness and Word Learning in Children with Hearing Loss

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stiles, Derek J.; McGregor, Karla K.; Bentler, Ruth A.

    2013-01-01

    Background: The more a novel word conforms to the phonotactics of the language, the more wordlike it is and the easier it is to learn. It is unknown to what extent children with hearing loss (CHL) take advantage of phonotactic cues to support word learning. Aims: This study investigated whether CHL had similar sensitivities to wordlikeness during…

  7. Impact of Introduction of Blended Learning in Gross Anatomy on Student Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, Rodney A.; Whitburn, Laura Y.

    2016-01-01

    Blended learning has become increasingly common, in a variety of disciplines, to take advantage of new technology and potentially increase the efficiency and flexibility of delivery. This study aimed to describe blended delivery of a gross anatomy course and to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery in terms of student outcomes. A gross…

  8. Dating Preferences and Meeting Opportunities in Mate Choice Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Belot, Michele; Francesconi, Marco

    2013-01-01

    Much empirical evidence shows that female and male partners look alike along a variety of attributes. It is, however, unclear how this positive sorting comes about because marriage is an equilibrium outcome arising from a process that entails searching, meeting, and choosing one another. This study takes advantage of unique data to shed light on…

  9. Decision-Making Considerations for Mid-Career Army Officers to Pursue Master's Degrees

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vance, Charles D.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding why military students pursue a master's degree has become more important as the number of military students taking advantage of education benefits through the Post-911 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 has increased. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how U.S. Army officers attending the Command and…

  10. Education Reform and the Academic Performance of Public and Private Secondary School Students in Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wongsurawat, Winai

    2011-01-01

    Taking advantage of newly available data on a standardized national examination for secondary school students in Thailand, this study attempts to explain the variation in the average performance of students using school and local characteristics. Special emphasis is placed on trying to understand the asymmetric success factors of public and…

  11. Messages from Space: The Solar System and Beyond. Grades 508. Teacher's Guide. Great Explorations in Science (GEMS).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beals, Kevin; Erickson, John; Sneider, Cary

    Building on collaborative work between the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute and the Lawrence Hall of Science, this curriculum takes advantage of humans' fascination with extraterrestrials to catalyze the study of the solar system and beyond. The unit begins when students attempt to decode a fictitious message from outer…

  12. Just Another Social Scene: Evidence for Decreased Attention to Negative Social Scenes in High-Functioning Autism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santos, Andreia; Chaminade, Thierry; Da Fonseca, David; Silva, Catarina; Rosset, Delphine; Deruelle, Christine

    2012-01-01

    The adaptive threat-detection advantage takes the form of a preferential orienting of attention to threatening scenes. In this study, we compared attention to social scenes in 15 high-functioning individuals with autism (ASD) and matched typically developing (TD) individuals. Eye-tracking was recorded while participants were presented with pairs…

  13. Supervisory Rotation: Impact on an Academic Library Reference Staff.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perdue, Bob; Piotrowski, Chris

    The results of a managerial rotation program in a medium-sized academic library reference department are presented. After meeting certain minimal eligibility requirements, librarians in this department take turns on a 2-year cycle serving as head of the department. This case study is used as a model to assess both the advantages and disadvantages…

  14. Using and improving social capital to increase community preparedness for wildfire

    Treesearch

    Shruti Agrawal; Martha C. Monroe

    2006-01-01

    Communities with more social capital are better able to work together to cope with problems such as a wildfire threat. This study found a positive relationship between perceiving greater social capital and participating in wildfire preparedness educational programs. Results suggest that managers can take advantage of existing social capital in communities to improve...

  15. Structuring Collaboration in Mixed-Ability Groups to Promote Verbal Interaction, Learning, and Motivation of Average-Ability Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saleh, Mohammad; Lazonder, Ard W.; Jong, Ton de

    2007-01-01

    Average-ability students often do not take full advantage of learning in mixed-ability groups because they hardly engage in the group interaction. This study examined whether structuring collaboration by group roles and ground rules for helping behavior might help overcome this participatory inequality. In a plant biology course, heterogeneously…

  16. A Visualization Case Study of Feature Vector and Stemmer Effects on TREC Topic-document Subsets.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rorvig, Mark T.; Sullivan, Terry; Oyarce, Guillermo

    1998-01-01

    Demonstrates a method of visual analysis which takes advantage of the pooling technique of topic-document set creation in the TREC collection. Describes the procedures used to create the initial visual fields, and their respective treatments as vectors without stemming and vectors with stemming; discusses results of these treatments and…

  17. Comprehension and Production of Non-Literal Comparisons (NLC) via Visual Stimuli in Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Douka, Glykeria; Motsiou, Eleni; Papadopoulou, Maria

    2014-01-01

    The present study focuses on the comprehension and production of non-literal comparisons (NLC) via visual means in three age groups: kindergarten, second grade and fifth grade students. Although non-literality is a cognitive process, the educational system does not take advantage of it in pedagogy, especially before the fourth grade. The research…

  18. A post-processor for the PEST code

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

    Priesche, S.; Manickam, J.; Johnson, J.L.

    1992-01-01

    A new post-processor has been developed for use with output from the PEST tokamak stability code. It allows us to use quantities calculated by PEST and take better advantage of the physical picture of the plasma instability which they can provide. This will improve comparison with experimentally measured quantities as well as facilitate understanding of theoretical studies.

  19. Visa Process Keeps Iraqi Students out of U.S.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Labi, Aisha

    2008-01-01

    This article reports that American visa procedures have prevented graduate students from taking advantage of the Iraqi government's program to study in the United States. Iraqi students seeking to come to American colleges on full scholarships from the Iraqi government face so many hurdles in obtaining a visa that few are able to enter the…

  20. The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS): Main Findings and Implications for Education Policies in Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    European Commission, 2014

    2014-01-01

    The 2013 European Commission Communication on Opening up Education underlined the importance of solid evidence to assess developments and take full advantage of the impact of technology on education, and called for sustained effort and international cooperation to improve our knowledge-base in this area. The International Computer and Information…

  1. Effectiveness and Utility of Terminal Tablet as Electric Textbooks for Nursing Practicum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nakamura, Yumiko; Fukayama, Kaori; Majima, Yukie

    2015-01-01

    Based on the Nursing Learning Support System, which was developed and tested by our university, this study developed the "Digital Nursing Dictionary (ver. 2)," a terminal tablet with a new function of an electronic books, by taking advantage of the developed ICT. This paper describes an interim report of the results of those assessments.…

  2. DETECTING CHANGES IN RIPARIAN HABITAT CONDITIONS BASED ON PATTERNS OF GREENNESS CHANGE: A CASE STUDY FROM THE UPPER SAN PEDRO RIVER BASIN, USA

    EPA Science Inventory

    Healthy riparian ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions exhibit shifting patterns of vegetation in response to periodic flooding. Their conditions also depend upon the amount of grazing and other human uses. Taking advantage of these system properties, we developed and tested a...

  3. Sentence and Discourse Processes in Skilled Comprehension. Resource Publication Series 4 No. 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Townsend, David J.

    This research disproves the hypothesis that less-skilled comprehenders are less able to take advantage of constraints at all levels of structure. Five studies used self-paced reading, meaning probe judgment, recall, and sentence and word recognition tasks to examine the effect of supportive discourse contexts on sentence processing in skilled and…

  4. Scaffolding Students' Use of Learner-Generated Content in a Technology-Enhanced Inquiry Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Dijk, Alieke M.; Lazonder, Ard W.

    2016-01-01

    Having students inspect and use each other's work is a promising way to advance inquiry-based science learning. Research has nevertheless shown that additional guidance is needed for students to take full advantage of the work produced by their peers. The present study investigated whether scaffolding through an integrated support tool could bring…

  5. Guidelines for enhancing ITS public/private partnerships in Wisconsin ; Project task reports for methods to enhance public/private partnerships for ITS in Wisconsin

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2002-05-01

    Since the early 1970s, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has taken advantage of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to help reduce highway congestion and improve safety. In order to take advantage of ITS in additional areas, funding out...

  6. 'Capital ideas' for health care in 2015.

    PubMed

    Payne, Christopher T

    2015-05-01

    Key factors in planning for healthcare financing in 2015 include: New rules related to municipal advisors. Long-term interest rates and the cost of traditional versus synthetic fixed-rate debt. Ways to use interest-rate swaps to take advantage of synthetic fixed-rate debt. Lesser-known structures that may make variable-rate financing advantageous.

  7. 48 CFR 47.303-17 - Contractor-prepaid commercial bills of lading, small package shipments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... advantageous to the Government, the contracting officer may authorize the contractor to ship supplies, which... with its own shipments so that the Government can take advantage of lower carload or truckload freight... charges with a copy of the carrier's receipted freight bill or other evidence of receipt, except as...

  8. 48 CFR 47.303-17 - Contractor-prepaid commercial bills of lading, small package shipments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... advantageous to the Government, the contracting officer may authorize the contractor to ship supplies, which... with its own shipments so that the Government can take advantage of lower carload or truckload freight... charges with a copy of the carrier's receipted freight bill or other evidence of receipt, except as...

  9. 48 CFR 47.303-17 - Contractor-prepaid commercial bills of lading, small package shipments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... advantageous to the Government, the contracting officer may authorize the contractor to ship supplies, which... with its own shipments so that the Government can take advantage of lower carload or truckload freight... charges with a copy of the carrier's receipted freight bill or other evidence of receipt, except as...

  10. 48 CFR 47.303-17 - Contractor-prepaid commercial bills of lading, small package shipments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... advantageous to the Government, the contracting officer may authorize the contractor to ship supplies, which... with its own shipments so that the Government can take advantage of lower carload or truckload freight... charges with a copy of the carrier's receipted freight bill or other evidence of receipt, except as...

  11. Nonprofit Institutions Could Make Gains in Online Education, Report Says

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carnevale, Dan

    2007-01-01

    The dominance that for-profit colleges enjoy in online education may erode as nonprofit institutions press forward in the marketplace and take advantage of their traditional assets, according to a new report by Eduventures. The education-consulting firm, which is based in Boston, found that typical advantages held by traditional institutions, such…

  12. Debate and the World Debates with You

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Read, Tina

    2011-01-01

    These days, many children do not enjoy the freedom to play outside. However, one of the advantages for children growing up now is the new technology that allows them to communicate with people their age, anywhere in the world. The author's company, Illumination Educational Software, decided to take advantage of these advances in technology to get…

  13. The Interpretation and Effective Implementation of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1996

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heard, Pamala D.

    1996-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to develop a plan that gives schools the opportunity to acquire knowledge of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act. The law suggests that federal agencies give surplus equipment to educational entities. It would then become the school's choice to take advantage of the opportunity. The purpose of this proposal is to develop an ongoing partnership with schools around the United States. Its attempt is to inform schools about the law and organize a plan that will allow schools to take advantage of this opportunity. It would inform teachers about available resources and expose their students to educational opportunities.

  14. Online Tools for Bioinformatics Analyses in Nutrition Sciences12

    PubMed Central

    Malkaram, Sridhar A.; Hassan, Yousef I.; Zempleni, Janos

    2012-01-01

    Recent advances in “omics” research have resulted in the creation of large datasets that were generated by consortiums and centers, small datasets that were generated by individual investigators, and bioinformatics tools for mining these datasets. It is important for nutrition laboratories to take full advantage of the analysis tools to interrogate datasets for information relevant to genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This review provides guidance regarding bioinformatics resources that are currently available in the public domain, with the intent to provide a starting point for investigators who want to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the bioinformatics field. PMID:22983844

  15. Label-free in-flow detection of single DNA molecules using glass nanopipettes.

    PubMed

    Gong, Xiuqing; Patil, Amol V; Ivanov, Aleksandar P; Kong, Qingyuan; Gibb, Thomas; Dogan, Fatma; deMello, Andrew J; Edel, Joshua B

    2014-01-07

    With the view of enhancing the functionality of label-free single molecule nanopore-based detection, we have designed and developed a highly robust, mechanically stable, integrated nanopipette-microfluidic device which combines the recognized advantages of microfluidic systems and the unique properties/advantages of nanopipettes. Unlike more typical planar solid-state nanopores, which have inherent geometrical constraints, nanopipettes can be easily positioned at any point within a microfluidic channel. This is highly advantageous, especially when taking into account fluid flow properties. We show that we are able to detect and discriminate between DNA molecules of varying lengths when motivated through a microfluidic channel, upon the application of appropriate voltage bias across the nanopipette. The effects of applied voltage and volumetric flow rates have been studied to ascertain translocation event frequency and capture rate. Additionally, by exploiting the advantages associated with microfluidic systems (such as flow control and concomitant control over analyte concentration/presence), we show that the technology offers a new opportunity for single molecule detection and recognition in microfluidic devices.

  16. An Evaluation of the Impacts of AF-M315E Propulsion Systems for Varied Mission Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Deans, Matthew C.; Oleson, Steven R.; Fittje, James; Colozza, Anthony; Packard, Tom; Gyekenyesi, John; McLean, Christopher H.; Spores, Ronald A.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the AF-M315E COMPASS study is to identify near-term (3-5 years) and long term (5 years +) opportunities for infusion, specifically the thruster and associated component technologies being developed as part of the GPIM project. Develop design reference missions which show the advantages of the AF-M315E green propulsion system. Utilize a combination of past COMPASS designs and selected new designs to demonstrate AF-M315E advantages. Use the COMPASS process to show the puts and takes of using AF-M315E at the integrated system level.

  17. Guidelines for a Scientific Approach to Critical Thinking Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bensley, D. Alan; Murtagh, Michael P.

    2012-01-01

    Assessment of student learning outcomes can be a powerful tool for improvement of instruction when a scientific approach is taken; unfortunately, many educators do not take full advantage of this approach. This article examines benefits of taking a scientific approach to critical thinking assessment and proposes guidelines for planning,…

  18. Teachable Moment: Google Earth Takes Us There

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Ann; Davinroy, Thomas C.

    2015-01-01

    In the current educational climate, where clearly articulated learning objectives are required, it is clear that the spontaneous teachable moment still has its place. Authors Ann Williams and Thomas Davinroy think that instructors from almost any discipline can employ Google Earth as a tool to take advantage of teachable moments through the…

  19. Technology and Curriculum: Will the Promised Revolution Take Place?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mojkowski, Charles

    1987-01-01

    To take advantage of the emerging technological revolution, education must undertake its own revolution. Otherwise, technology will never be successfully integrated into the curriculum and may effect change without improvement. Primary focus must be on the future of curriculum and instruction, particularly discipline-specific process skills and…

  20. Performance study of sugar-yeast-ethanol bio-hybrid fuel cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jahnke, Justin P.; Mackie, David M.; Benyamin, Marcus; Ganguli, Rahul; Sumner, James J.

    2015-05-01

    Renewable alternatives to fossil hydrocarbons for energy generation are of general interest for a variety of political, economic, environmental, and practical reasons. In particular, energy from biomass has many advantages, including safety, sustainability, and the ability to be scavenged from native ecosystems or from waste streams. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can take advantage of microorganism metabolism to efficiently use sugar and other biomolecules as fuel, but are limited by low power densities. In contrast, direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) take advantage of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) to generate electricity from alcohols at much higher power densities. Here, we investigate a novel bio-hybrid fuel cell design prepared using commercial off-the-shelf DAFCs. In the bio-hybrid fuel cells, biomass such as sugar is fermented by yeast to ethanol, which can be used to fuel a DAFC. A separation membrane between the fermentation and the DAFC is used to purify the fermentate while avoiding any parasitic power losses. However, shifting the DAFCs from pure alcohol-water solutions to filtered fermented media introduces complications related to how the starting materials, fermentation byproducts, and DAFC waste products affect both the fermentation and the long-term DAFC performance. This study examines the impact of separation membrane pore size, fermentation/fuel cell byproducts, alcohol and salt concentrations, and load resistance on fuel cell performance. Under optimized conditions, the performance obtained is comparable to that of a similar DAFC run with a pure alcohol-water mixture. Additionally, the modified DAFC can provide useable amounts of power for weeks.

  1. Measurement issues related to data collection on the World Wide Web.

    PubMed

    Strickland, Ora L; Moloney, Margaret F; Dietrich, Alexa S; Myerburg, Stuart; Cotsonis, George A; Johnson, Robert V

    2003-01-01

    As the World Wide Web has become more prominent as a mode of communication, it has opened up new possibilities for research data collection. This article identifies measurement issues that occur with Internet data collection that are relevant to qualitative and quantitative research approaches as they occurred in a triangulated Internet study of perimenopausal women with migraine headaches. Issues associated with quantitative data collection over the Internet include (a) selecting and designing Internet data collection protocols that adequately address study aims while also taking advantage of the Internet, (b) ensuring the reliability and validity of Internet data collected, (c) adapting quantitative paper-and-pencil data collection protocols for the Internet, (d) making Internet data collection practical for respondents and researchers, and (e) ensuring the quality of quantitative data collected. Qualitative data collection over the Internet needs to remain true to the philosophical stance of the qualitative approach selected. Researcher expertise in qualitative data collection must be combined with expertise in computer technology and information services if data are to be of ultimate quality The advantages and limitations of collecting qualitative data in real time or at a later time are explored, as well as approaches to enhance qualitative data collection over the Internet. It was concluded that like any research approach or method, Internet data collection requires considerable creativity, expertise, and planning to take advantage of the technology for the collection of reliable and valid research data.

  2. Secondary Schools in a County in Kenya Seem to Be Taking Advantages of the Cost Sharing Policy: Understanding Its Practice and Implications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Makori, Andrew; Chepchieng, Gideon; Misoi, Pauline; Kiplagat, Rotich

    2015-01-01

    The study set out to research on parents' views regarding the practice of cost sharing policy in secondary schools in Kenya in relation to form one entry items requirement and fee payment. This article reports on its findings. The study adopted a quantitative survey and employed a questionnaire (both closed and open-ended) to collect data. The…

  3. Inequality and redistribution behavior in a give-or-take game

    PubMed Central

    Bechtel, Michael M.; Scheve, Kenneth F.

    2018-01-01

    Political polarization and extremism are widely thought to be driven by the surge in economic inequality in many countries around the world. Understanding why inequality persists depends on knowing the causal effect of inequality on individual behavior. We study how inequality affects redistribution behavior in a randomized “give-or-take” experiment that created equality, advantageous inequality, or disadvantageous inequality between two individuals before offering one of them the opportunity to either take from or give to the other. We estimate the causal effect of inequality in representative samples of German and American citizens (n = 4,966) and establish two main findings. First, individuals imperfectly equalize payoffs: On average, respondents transfer 12% of the available endowments to realize more equal wealth distributions. This means that respondents tolerate a considerable degree of inequality even in a setting in which there are no costs to redistribution. Second, redistribution behavior in response to disadvantageous and advantageous inequality is largely asymmetric: Individuals who take from those who are richer do not also tend to give to those who are poorer, and individuals who give to those who are poorer do not tend to take from those who are richer. These behavioral redistribution types correlate in meaningful ways with support for heavy taxes on the rich and the provision of welfare benefits for the poor. Consequently, it seems difficult to construct a majority coalition willing to back the type of government interventions needed to counter rising inequality. PMID:29555734

  4. More Than What We Had: An Architectural and Historical Documentation of the Village Creek Project Neighborhoods Birmingham, Alabama

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-11-27

    development -- the 1920s. As workers accumulated the financial wherewithal to purchase house sites, they did so, taking advantage of the low asking...touted as an "ideal residence town" which would blend the home and the natural environment. The advantages cited for it would be its proximity to... advantage of the worker’s need for housing and the cheap land that could be had adjacent to the creek. Many purchased contiguous lots and developed

  5. Silicon web process development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duncan, C. S.; Seidensticker, R. G.; Mchugh, J. P.; Skutch, M. E.; Driggers, J. M.; Hopkins, R. H.

    1981-01-01

    The silicon web process takes advantage of natural crystallographic stabilizing forces to grow long, thin single crystal ribbons directly from liquid silicon. The ribbon, or web, is formed by the solidification of a liquid film supported by surface tension between two silicon filaments, called dendrites, which border the edges of the growing strip. The ribbon can be propagated indefinitely by replenishing the liquid silicon as it is transformed to crystal. The dendritic web process has several advantages for achieving low cost, high efficiency solar cells. These advantages are discussed.

  6. Keeping Things Interesting: A Reuse Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Troisi, V.; Swick, R.; Seufert, E.

    2006-12-01

    Software reuse has several obvious advantages. By taking advantage of the experience and skill of colleagues one not only saves time, money and resources, but can also jump start a project that might otherwise have floundered from the start, or not even have been possible. One of the least talked about advantages of software reuse is it helps keep the work interesting for the developers. Reuse prevents developers from spending time and energy writing software solutions to problems that have already been solved, and frees them to concentrate on solving new problems, developing new components, and doing things that have never been done before. At the National Snow and Ice Data Center we are fortunate our user community has some unique needs that aren't met by mainstream solutions. Consequently we look for reuse opportunities wherever possible so we can focus on the tasks that add value for our user community. This poster offers a case study of one thread through a decade of reuse at NSIDC that has involved eight different development efforts to date.

  7. Using Satellite Measurements to Investigate Regional-scale Chemistry: The Case for Geostationary Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fishman, Jack; Wozniak, Amy; Creilson, Jack

    2007-01-01

    One of the recommendations of the Decadal Survey that was recently released by the National Academy of Science was that of a geostationary platform from which to obtain trace gas measurements. The use of such a platform is particularly advantageous when applied to understanding the formation of regional air pollution. This study demonstrates the challenges of trying to utilize information from instruments on satellites in low-earth orbit (LEO). We also demonstrate the advantage gained through a simulation that would provide hourly observations. In this case study, we take advantage of the high resolution Level-2 orbital data available from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), in conjunction with assimilated stratospheric column ozone fields, to evaluate if meaningful tropospheric ozone information can be obtained on a regional scale. We focus on a period on late June 2005 when a widespread pollution episode enveloped the Houston metropolitan area as well as a large region in southeast Texas.

  8. Upward Wealth Mobility: Exploring the Roman Catholic Advantage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keister, Lisa A.

    2007-01-01

    Wealth inequality is among the most extreme forms of stratification in the United States, and upward wealth mobility is not common. Yet mobility is possible, and this paper takes advantage of trends among a unique group to explore the processes that generate mobility. I show that non-Hispanic whites raised in Roman Catholic families have been…

  9. Effects of Virtual Education on Academic Culture: Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jefferson, Renee N.; Arnold, Liz W.

    2009-01-01

    The perceived advantages and disadvantages of courses taught in online and face-to-face learning environments were explored for students taking an accounting and a data collection and analysis course. Both courses were taught in a face-to-face learning environment at the main or satellite campus. It was hypothesized that there would be…

  10. Advantages and Disadvantages of Weighted Grading. Research Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Karen

    2004-01-01

    What are the advantages and disadvantages of weighted grading? The primary purpose of weighted grading has been to encourage high school students to take more rigorous courses. This effort is then acknowledged by more weight being given to the grade for a specified class. There are numerous systems of weighted grading cited in the literature from…

  11. Women's Guide to Overseas Living. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piet-Pelon, Nancy J.; Hornby, Barbara

    This book examines issues critical to women and their families who go abroad to live. In advising how to cope effectively with the problems that arise, the book illuminates the advantages of living overseas and offers practical suggestions and guidelines that help women take advantage of the opportunity to share in another culture. Divided into 13…

  12. Fibrillar collagen scoring by second harmonic microscopy: a new tool in the assessment of liver fibrosis.

    PubMed

    Gailhouste, Luc; Le Grand, Yann; Odin, Christophe; Guyader, Dominique; Turlin, Bruno; Ezan, Frédéric; Désille, Yoann; Guilbert, Thomas; Bessard, Anne; Frémin, Christophe; Theret, Nathalie; Baffet, Georges

    2010-03-01

    Imaging of supramolecular structures by multiphoton microscopy offers significant advantages for studying specific fibrillar compounds in biological tissues. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the relevance of Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) for assessing and quantifying, without staining, fibrillar collagen in liver fibrosis. We first showed the relationship between SHG signal and collagen forms over-produced and accumulated during fibrosis progression. Taking this property into consideration, we developed an innovative method to precisely quantify the fibrosis area in histological slices by scoring of fibrillar collagen deposits (Fibrosis-SHG index). The scoring method was routinely applied to 119 biopsies from patients with chronic liver disease allowing a fast and accurate measurement of fibrosis correlated with the Fibrosis-Metavir score (rho=0.75, p<0.0001). The technique allowed discriminating patients with advanced (moderate to severe) fibrosis (AUROC=0.88, p<0.0001) and cirrhosis (AUROC=0.89, p<0.0001). Taking advantage of its continuous gradation, the Fibrosis-SHG index also allowed the discrimination of several levels of fibrosis within the same F-Metavir stage. The SHG process presented several advantages such as a high reliability and sensitivity that lead to a standardized evaluation of hepatic fibrosis in liver biopsies without staining and pathological examination. Second harmonic microscopy emerges as an original and powerful tool in the assessment of liver fibrosis and offers new possibilities for the evaluation of experimental protocols. We expect that this technology could easily be applicable in the study of other fibro-proliferative pathologies. Copyright (c) 2010 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Passive vs. Active Control of Rhythmic Ball Bouncing: The Role of Visual Information

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Siegler, Isabelle A.; Bardy, Benoit G.; Warren, William H.

    2010-01-01

    The simple task of bouncing a ball on a racket offers a model system for studying how human actors exploit the physics and information of the environment to control their behavior. Previous work shows that people take advantage of a passively stable solution for ball bouncing but can also use perceptual information to actively stabilize bouncing.…

  14. Attitudes, Perceptions, and Behavioral Intentions of Engineering Workers toward Web 2.0 Tools in the Workplace

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krause, Jaclyn A.

    2010-01-01

    As Web 2.0 tools and technologies increase in popularity in consumer markets, enterprises are seeking ways to take advantage of the rich social knowledge exchanges that these tools offer. The problem this study addresses is that it remains unknown whether employees perceive that these tools offer value to the organization and therefore will be…

  15. Proposal of Postgraduate in Management to Collaborate with the Sustainable Regional Development in the State of Mexico

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Galván, Israel Patiño

    2017-01-01

    Regional Development of the countries depends of the relation and interaction between enterprises, government, education sector and society, and the strategies to take advantage of the available resources. In that sense, the education sector plays a very important role as a supplier of competitive human capital. This study is the result of a…

  16. Re Viewing Listening: "Clip Culture" and Cross-Modal Learning in the Music Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Michael

    2010-01-01

    This article envisions a new, cross-modal approach to classroom music listening, one that takes advantage of students' rising screen literacy and the ever-expanding archive of music-related visual material available on DVD and on video sharing sites such as YouTube. It is grounded in current literature on music performance studies, embodied music…

  17. Role Play in Blended Learning: A Case Study Exploring the Impact of Story and Other Elements

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dracup, Mary

    2008-01-01

    Role play is an increasingly popular technique in tertiary education, being student centred, constructivist and suitable for a range of subject areas. The choice of formats is wide open, with options ranging from the traditional face to face performance through to multi-user online computer games. Some teachers prefer to take advantage of features…

  18. Poverty and Ethnicity: A Cross-Country Study of Roma Poverty in Central Europe. World Bank Technical Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Revenga, Ana; Ringold, Dena; Tracy, William Martin

    Roma, or "gypsies," are the main poverty risk group in many countries of central and eastern Europe. Living standards for the Roma have deteriorated more severely during the region's transition to a market economy than they have for other population groups, and Roma have been poorly positioned to take advantage of emerging economic and…

  19. The Influence of Education and Family Background on Women's Earnings in Midlife: Evidence from a British National Birth Cohort Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuh, Diana; Head, Fenny; Hardy, Rebecca; Wadsworth, Michael

    1997-01-01

    Observes that research on the influence of education on adult earnings hasn't focused on differences between women. Looks at British women born immediately after World War Two. Shows that women who were able to take advantage of expanded educational opportunities and achieve high educational qualifications earned significantly more than less…

  20. Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muschkin, Clara G.; Ladd, Helen F.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two…

  1. Web-based dynamic Delphi: a new survey instrument

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yao, JingTao; Liu, Wei-Ning

    2006-04-01

    We present a mathematical model for a dynamic Delphi survey method which takes advantages of Web technology. A comparative study on the performance of the conventional Delphi method and the dynamic Delphi instrument is conducted. It is suggested that a dynamic Delphi survey may form a consensus quickly. However, the result may not be robust due to the judgement leaking issues.

  2. Knowledge Typologies for Professional Learning: Educators' (Re)Generation of Knowledge When Learning Open Educational Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hood, Nina; Littlejohn, Allison

    2017-01-01

    Open education resources (OER) and accompanying open education practices (OEP), are changing the education landscape. For educators to take full advantage of the opportunities OER offer they must engage in learning activities to facilitate the extension and adaption of their practice. This paper forms part of a larger study exploring how adult…

  3. Hit parade for adoptive cell transfer therapy: the best T cells for superior clinical responses.

    PubMed

    Speiser, Daniel E

    2013-04-01

    Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) of T cells has great clinical potential, but the numerous variables of this therapy make choices difficult. A new study takes advantage of a novel technology for characterizing the T-cell responses of patients. If applied systematically, this approach may identify biomedical correlates of protection, thereby supporting treatment optimization. ©2013 AACR.

  4. Gasoline Price Pass-through

    EIA Publications

    2003-01-01

    Over the past several years, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has extensively studied the relationships between wholesale and retail markets for transportation fuels. This article represents a return to gasoline markets, where EIA first performed this type of analysis and modeling in 1997. The current effort takes advantage of improvements and enhancements to our approach over the intervening years, resulting in more detailed and accurate results.

  5. Delay Assessment Framework for Automated Question-Answering System: An Approach for eLearning Paradigm

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Iqbal, Muhammad Munwar; Saleem, Yasir

    2017-01-01

    Adoption of Electronic Learning (eLearning) for the dissemination of higher education is rapidly increasing day by day. A large number of universities offering hundreds of course and a large number of the students are taking advantage from this type of learning paradigm. The purpose of this study is to investigate the delay factor in answering the…

  6. Teachers' Views on Digital Educational Tools in English Language Learning: Benefits and Challenges in the Turkish Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çelik, Servet; Aytin, Kübra

    2014-01-01

    Despite the clear benefits provided by digital educational tools, Turkish teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) are often seen as failing to take advantage of computing technologies in the classroom. Deficiencies in terms of teachers' digital literacies are often faulted for this omission. The majority of studies concerning Turkish EFL…

  7. The Effects of Certain and Uncertain Reinforcement Procedures on the Quiz Submission and Performance of College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berkovits, Shira Melody

    2011-01-01

    College instructors often provide homework so that their students can review class material; however some students do not take advantage of these review opportunities. This study compared the effects of a certain reward and a lottery reward on the quiz submission rates and accuracy of 112 college students. In Baseline, quizzes were for practice…

  8. A Comparative Study on Cooperative Learning in Multimedia and Network Environment Used by English Majors between China Mainland and Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xue, Gong; Lingling, Liu

    2018-01-01

    This paper first based on the theory of cooperative learning research. It analyses the characteristics and advantages of cooperative learning under the multimedia network environment. And then take China Three Gorges University and Taiwan I-Shou University English major students for example, using questionnaires and interviews to investigate the…

  9. Potential of the Cogex Software Platform to Replace Logbooks in Capstone Design Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foley, David; Charron, François; Plante, Jean-Sébastien

    2018-01-01

    Recent technologies are offering the power to share and grow knowledge and ideas in unprecedented ways. The CogEx software platform was developed to take advantage of the digital world with innovative ideas to support designers work in both industrial and academic contexts. This paper presents a qualitative study on the usage of CogEx during…

  10. "Digital Natives": Honour and Respect in Computerized Encounters between Israeli Jewish and Arab Children and Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gamliel, Tova; Hazan, Haim

    2014-01-01

    In Israel's Multigenerational Connection Program (MCP), children instruct adults in computer and Internet use. Taking children's advantage in digital literacy as a given, the study examines their generational status in computerized encounters that MCP creates in two schools, one Jewish and one Arab. The data were gathered by means of qualitative…

  11. The Performance of Economics Graduates over the Entire Curriculum: The Determinants of Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swope, Kurtis J.; Schmitt, Pamela M.

    2006-01-01

    Most studies of the determinants of understanding in economics focus on performance in a single course or standardized exam. Taking advantage of a large data set available at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), the authors examined the performance of economics majors over an entire curriculum. They found that gender was not a significant predictor of…

  12. Effects of Competitive E-Learning Tools on Higher Education Students: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Regueras, L. M.; Verdu, E.; Munoz, M. F.; Perez, M. A.; de Castro, J. P.; Verdu, M. J.

    2009-01-01

    Over the last few years, most of the attempts to introduce active learning methodologies in the classroom have made use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Many of these efforts have been directed to collaborative scenarios used in remote, blended or face-to-face experiences, in order to take advantage of the flexibility provided by…

  13. Use of Internet for Academic Purposes among Students in Malaysian Institutions of Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayub, Ahmad Fauzi Mohd; Hamid, Wan Hamzari Wan; Nawawi, Mokhtar Hj.

    2014-01-01

    Students in institutions of higher learning should take advantage of information available on the Internet in their coursework. The Internet is also utilised for social and other non-academic functions. Hence, it is desirable, for students to strike a balance in the time spent online for academic and non-academic purposes. In this study, the…

  14. A Vulnerability Assessment of the U.S. Small Business B2C E-Commerce Network Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhao, Jensen J.; Truell, Allen D.; Alexander, Melody W.; Woosley, Sherry A.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: This study assessed the security vulnerability of the U.S. small companies' business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce network systems. Background: As the Internet technologies have been changing the way business is conducted, the U.S. small businesses are investing in such technologies and taking advantage of e-commerce to access global…

  15. Bayesian Inference: with ecological applications

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Link, William A.; Barker, Richard J.

    2010-01-01

    This text provides a mathematically rigorous yet accessible and engaging introduction to Bayesian inference with relevant examples that will be of interest to biologists working in the fields of ecology, wildlife management and environmental studies as well as students in advanced undergraduate statistics.. This text opens the door to Bayesian inference, taking advantage of modern computational efficiencies and easily accessible software to evaluate complex hierarchical models.

  16. Hot Water Propulsion for Horizontal Rocket Assisted Take-Off Systems for Future Reusable Launch Vehicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pilz, N.; Adirim, H.; Lo, R.; Schildknecht, A.

    2004-10-01

    Among other concepts, reusable space transportation systems that comprise winged reusable launch vehicles (RLV) with horizontal take-off and horizontal landing (HTHL) are under worldwide investigation, e.g. the respective concepts within ESA's FESTIP-Study (Future European Space Transportation Integration Program) or the HOPPER concept by EADS-ST. The payload of these RLVs could be significantly increased by means of a ground-based take-off assistance system that would accelerate the vehicle along a horizontal track until it reaches the desired speed to ignite its onboard engines for leaving the ground and launching into orbit. This paper illustrates the advantages of horizontal take-off for winged RLVs and provides an overview of launch-assist options for HTHL RLVs. It presents hot water propulsion for ground-based take-off assistance systems for future RLVs as an attractive choice besides magnetic levitation and acceleration (maglev) technology. Finally, preliminary design concepts are presented for a rocket assisted take-off system (RATOS) with hot water propulsion followed by an analysis of its improvement potential.

  17. Helping Your Child in Reading in Science.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ediger, Marlow

    Parents can help students learn science in a variety of ways. Taking advantage of children's natural curiosity, parents can take short walks with their child to notice interesting things in the environment. Parents can also help students perform science experiments at home that are related to school science experiments. In addition, parents can…

  18. Gamesmanship Beliefs and Ethical Decision Making of College Athletes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strand, Bradford; Brotherson, Sean; Tracy, Tyler

    2018-01-01

    Almost 30 years ago Eitzen (1988) stated, "American sport is plagued with problems. Coaches engage in outrageous behaviors but if they win, are rewarded handsomely. Gratuitous violence is glorified in the media. Some athletes take drugs. Many athletes in their search for a competitive edge cheat. Sports organizations take advantage of…

  19. It Takes Research to Build a Community: Ongoing Challenges for Scholars in Digitally-Supported Communicative Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dooly, Melinda

    2015-01-01

    This article provides an argument for closer multilateral alliances between the emergent and loosely-bound international community of educational researchers who are working in areas related to Digitally Supported Communicative Language Teaching and learning (herein DSCLT). By taking advantage of the communications revolution that is currently…

  20. AuDeNTES: Automatic Detection of teNtative Plagiarism According to a rEference Solution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mariani, Leonardo; Micucci, Daniela

    2012-01-01

    In academic courses, students frequently take advantage of someone else's work to improve their own evaluations or grades. This unethical behavior seriously threatens the integrity of the academic system, and teachers invest substantial effort in preventing and recognizing plagiarism. When students take examinations requiring the production of…

  1. A Tale of Two Types of Perspective Taking: Sex Differences in Spatial Ability.

    PubMed

    Tarampi, Margaret R; Heydari, Nahal; Hegarty, Mary

    2016-11-01

    Sex differences in favor of males have been documented in measures of spatial perspective taking. In this research, we examined whether social factors (i.e., stereotype threat and the inclusion of human figures in tasks) account for these differences. In Experiment 1, we evaluated performance when perspective-taking tests were framed as measuring either spatial or social (empathetic) perspective-taking abilities. In the spatial condition, tasks were framed as measures of spatial ability on which males have an advantage. In the social condition, modified tasks contained human figures and were framed as measures of empathy on which females have an advantage. Results showed a sex difference in favor of males in the spatial condition but not the social condition. Experiments 2 and 3 indicated that both stereotype threat and including human figures contributed to these effects. Results suggest that females may underperform on spatial tests in part because of negative performance expectations and the character of the spatial tests rather than because of actual lack of abilities. © The Author(s) 2016.

  2. Learning Styles of Pilots Currently Qualified in United States Air Force Aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kanske, Craig A.

    2001-01-01

    Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used to identify the predominant learning styles of pilots currently qualified in United States Air Force aircraft. The results indicate that these pilots show a significant preference for facts and things over people and feelings. By understanding the preferred learning styles of the target population, course material can be developed that take advantage of the strengths of these learning styles. This information can be especially useful in the future design of cockpit resource management training. The training program can be developed to demonstrate both that there are different learning styles and that it is possible to take advantage of the relative strengths of each of these learning styles.

  3. Data warehousing as a tool for quality management in oncology.

    PubMed

    Hölzer, S; Tafazzoli, A G; Altmann, U; Wächter, W; Dudeck, J

    1999-01-01

    At present, physicians are constrained by their limited skills to integrate and understand the growing amount of electronic medical information. To handle, extract, integrate, analyse and take advantage of the gathered information regarding the quality of patient care, the concept of a data warehouse seems to be especially interesting in medicine. Medical data warehousing allows the physicians to take advantage of all the operational data they have been collecting over the years. Our purpose is to build a data warehouse in order to use all available information about cancer patients. We think that with the sensible use of this tool, there are economic benefits for the Society and an improvement of quality of medical care for patients.

  4. The Spillover Effects of Medicare Managed Care: Medicare Advantage and Hospital Utilization

    PubMed Central

    Baicker, Katherine; Chernew, Michael; Robbins, Jacob

    2013-01-01

    More than a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which was created in large part to improve the efficiency of health care delivery by promoting competition among private managed care plans. This paper explores the spillover effects of the Medicare Advantage program on the traditional Medicare program and other patients, taking advantage of changes in Medicare Advantage payment policy to isolate exogenous increases in Medicare Advantage enrollment and trace out the effects of greater managed care penetration on hospital utilization and spending throughout the health care system. We find that when more seniors enroll in Medicare managed care, hospital costs decline for all seniors and for commercially insured younger populations. Greater managed care penetration is not associated with fewer hospitalizations, but is associated with lower costs and shorter stays per hospitalization. These spillovers are substantial – offsetting more than 10% of increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans. PMID:24308880

  5. The Parkinsons Registry Investigation of Diagnosis and Etiology (PRIDE) Study

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-04-01

    Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) through the State of California Health and Human Services Agency on 20-June-2011 as a minimal... pesticides , solvents or traumatic brain injury increase PD risk. This study takes advantage of the population-based PD registry in Santa Clara County...related morbidity and mortality are greater in persons exposed to pesticides , solvents, PCBs, and air pollutants. In addition, we will conduct a case

  6. Hyperspectral fluorescence microscopy detects autofluorescent factors that can be exploited as a diagnostic method for Candida species differentiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Graus, Matthew S.; Neumann, Aaron K.; Timlin, Jerilyn A.

    2017-01-01

    Fungi in the Candida genus are the most common fungal pathogens. They not only cause high morbidity and mortality but can also cost billions of dollars in healthcare. To alleviate this burden, early and accurate identification of Candida species is necessary. However, standard identification procedures can take days and have a large false negative error. The method described in this study takes advantage of hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscopy, which enables the capability to quickly and accurately identify and characterize the unique autofluorescence spectra from different Candida species with up to 84% accuracy when grown in conditions that closely mimic physiological conditions.

  7. Development of a Model for Human Operator Learning in Continuous Estimation and Control Tasks.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1983-12-01

    and (3) a " precognitive mode" in 𔄁 17 which the pilot is able to take full advantage of any predictability "" inherent in the external inputs and can...allow application of a partial feedforward strategy; and (3) a " precognitive " mode in which full advantage is taken of any predictability of the

  8. Quasiparticle properties of DNA bases from GW calculations in a Wannier basis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Qian, Xiaofeng; Marzari, Nicola; Umari, Paolo

    2009-03-01

    The quasiparticle GW-Wannier (GWW) approach [1] has been recently developed to overcome the size limitations of conventional planewave GW calculations. By taking advantage of the localization properties of the maximally-localized Wannier functions and choosing a small set of polarization basis we reduce the number of Bloch wavefunctions products required for the evaluation of dynamical polarizabilities, and in turn greatly reduce memory requirements and computational efficiency. We apply GWW to study quasiparticle properties of different DNA bases and base-pairs, and solvation effects on the energy gap, demonstrating in the process the key advantages of this approach. [1] P. Umari,G. Stenuit, and S. Baroni, cond-mat/0811.1453

  9. Evidence-based medicine: augmentation mammaplasty.

    PubMed

    Lista, Frank; Ahmad, Jamil

    2013-12-01

    After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Recognize the role of biofilm in breast implant surgery and possible ways to reduce the incidence of capsular contracture. 2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of various surgical approaches including the incision placement and implant location. 3. List the advantages and disadvantages of implant characteristics including implant fill, shell surface characteristics, and implant shape. 4. Take steps to avoid the phenomena of double capsule and late seroma. This article was prepared to accompany practice-based assessment with ongoing surgical education for the Maintenance of Certification for the American Board of Plastic Surgery. It is structured to outline the care of the patient presenting for cosmetic breast augmentation.

  10. Multi-provider architecture for cloud outsourcing of medical imaging repositories.

    PubMed

    Godinho, Tiago Marques; Bastião Silva, Luís A; Costa, Carlos; Oliveira, José Luís

    2014-01-01

    Over the last few years, the extended usage of medical imaging procedures has raised the medical community attention towards the optimization of their workflows. More recently, the federation of multiple institutions into a seamless distribution network has brought hope of increased quality healthcare services along with more efficient resource management. As a result, medical institutions are constantly looking for the best infrastructure to deploy their imaging archives. In this scenario, public cloud infrastructures arise as major candidates, as they offer elastic storage space, optimal data availability without great requirements of maintenance costs or IT personnel, in a pay-as-you-go model. However, standard methodologies still do not take full advantage of outsourced archives, namely because their integration with other in-house solutions is troublesome. This document proposes a multi-provider architecture for integration of outsourced archives with in-house PACS resources, taking advantage of foreign providers to store medical imaging studies, without disregarding security. It enables the retrieval of images from multiple archives simultaneously, improving performance, data availability and avoiding the vendor-locking problem. Moreover it enables load balancing and cache techniques.

  11. Automated daily processing of more than 1000 ground-based GPS receivers for studying intense ionospheric storms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Komjathy, Attila; Sparks, Lawrence; Wilson, Brian D.; Mannucci, Anthony J.

    2005-01-01

    To take advantage of the vast amount of GPS data, researchers use a number of techniques to estimate satellite and receiver interfrequency biases and the total electron content (TEC) of the ionosphere. Most techniques estimate vertical ionospheric structure and, simultaneously, hardware-related biases treated as nuisance parameters. These methods often are limited to 200 GPS receivers and use a sequential least squares or Kalman filter approach. The biases are later removed from the measurements to obtain unbiased TEC. In our approach to calibrating GPS receiver and transmitter interfrequency biases we take advantage of all available GPS receivers using a new processing algorithm based on the Global Ionospheric Mapping (GIM) software developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This new capability is designed to estimate receiver biases for all stations. We solve for the instrumental biases by modeling the ionospheric delay and removing it from the observation equation using precomputed GIM maps. The precomputed GIM maps rely on 200 globally distributed GPS receivers to establish the ''background'' used to model the ionosphere at the remaining 800 GPS sites.

  12. [Apple-Macintosh compatible software for documentation, management and evaluation of ultrasound findings in obstetrics].

    PubMed

    Kurmanavicius, J; Huch, R; Huch, A

    1993-02-01

    The advantage of using a computer to automate routine calculations and print out charts of the obstetrical ultrasound examination is obvious. This report describes a software designed to simplify the documentation and analysis of ultrasound data in obstetrics. The system is easy to use, even for persons with little computer knowledge. The programme was written in FoxBase+/Mac (Fox Software, Inc., USA). FoxBase+/Mac takes full advantage of the easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Macintosh interface and is also very fast. Another advantage of this software is that it can be used in teaching. Non-experienced examinators can double-check the correctness of their scanning planes by observing the ultrasound pictures with the markers indicating the right measurement sites and the lists of standard values of biometrical parameters for the corresponding gestational age on the screen. In routine obstetrical ultrasound examinations it takes less than 5 min to enter the foetal biometry data and print out reports. These reports are informative and easy to interpret.

  13. Fiber optics for propulsion control systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baumbick, R. J.

    1985-01-01

    In aircraft systems with digital controls, fiberoptics has advantages over wire systems because of its inherent immunity to electromagnetic noise (EMI) and electromagnetic pulses (EMP). It also offers a weight benefit when metallic conductors are replaced by optical fibers. To take full advantage of the benefits of optical waveguides, passive optical sensors are also being developed to eliminate the need for electrical power to the sensor. Fiberoptics may also be used for controlling actuators on engine and airframe. In this application, the optical fibers, connectors, etc. will be subjected to high temperature and vibrations. This paper discussed the use of fiberoptics in aircraft propulsion systems together with the optical sensors and optically controlled actuators being developed to take full advantage of the benefits which fiberoptics offers. The requirements for sensors and actuators in advanced propulsion systems are identified. The benefits of using fiberoptics in place of conventional wire systems are discussed as well as the environmental conditions under which the optical components must operate.

  14. Fiberoptics for propulsion control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baumbick, R. J.

    1984-01-01

    In aircraft systems with digital controls, fiberoptics has advantages over wire systems because of its inherent immunity to electromagnetic noise (EMI) and electromagnetic pulses (EMP). It also offers a weight benefit when metallic conductors are replaced by optical fibers. To take full advantage of the benefits of optical waveguides, passive optical sensors are also being developed to eliminate the need for electrical power to the sensor. Fiberoptics may also be used for controlling actuators on engine and airframe. In this application, the optical fibers, connectors, etc. will be subjected to high temperature and vibrations. This paper discussed the use of fiberoptics in aircraft propulsion systems together with the optical sensors and optically controlled actuators being developed to take full advantage of the benefits which fiberoptics offers. The requirements for sensors and actuators in advanced propulsion systems are identified. The benefits of using fiberoptics in place of conventional wire systems are discussed as well as the environmental conditions under which the optical components must operate.

  15. Always Gamble on an Empty Stomach: Hunger Is Associated with Advantageous Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    de Ridder, Denise; Kroese, Floor; Adriaanse, Marieke; Evers, Catharine

    2014-01-01

    Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire. Together, these studies for the first time provide evidence that hot states improve decision making under uncertain conditions, challenging the conventional conception of the detrimental role of impulsivity in decision making. PMID:25340399

  16. Always gamble on an empty stomach: hunger is associated with advantageous decision making.

    PubMed

    de Ridder, Denise; Kroese, Floor; Adriaanse, Marieke; Evers, Catharine

    2014-01-01

    Three experimental studies examined the counterintuitive hypothesis that hunger improves strategic decision making, arguing that people in a hot state are better able to make favorable decisions involving uncertain outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that participants with more hunger or greater appetite made more advantageous choices in the Iowa Gambling Task compared to sated participants or participants with a smaller appetite. Study 3 revealed that hungry participants were better able to appreciate future big rewards in a delay discounting task; and that, in spite of their perception of increased rewarding value of both food and monetary objects, hungry participants were not more inclined to take risks to get the object of their desire. Together, these studies for the first time provide evidence that hot states improve decision making under uncertain conditions, challenging the conventional conception of the detrimental role of impulsivity in decision making.

  17. The Gender Gap in High School Physics: Considering the Context of Local Communities

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Objectives We focus on variation in gender inequality in physics course-taking, questioning the notion of a ubiquitous male advantage. We consider how inequality in high school physics is related to the context of students’ local communities, specifically the representation of women in STEM occupations in the labor force. Methods This study uses nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and its education component, the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Transcript Study (AHAA). Results Approximately half of schools are characterized by either gender equality or even a small female advantage in enrollment in this traditionally male subject. Furthermore, variation in the gender gap in physics is related to the percent of women who are employed in STEM occupations within the community. Conclusion Our study suggests that communities differ in the extent to which traditionally gendered status expectations shape beliefs and behaviors. PMID:25605978

  18. Improving Basal Reading Programs: A Report of the Adoption Guidelines Project at the Center for the Study of Reading. Reading Education Report No. 68.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dole, Janice A.; And Others

    Commercially developed basal reading programs are used in most elementary school classrooms in the United States. Yet often neither the publishers developing these programs nor the members of textbook adoption committees selecting programs are able to take advantage of the best available knowledge about the reading process and reading instruction.…

  19. Student and In-Service Teachers' Acceptance of Spatial Hypermedia in Their Teaching: The Case of Hypersea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koutromanos, George; Styliaras, Georgios; Christodoulou, Sotiris

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to use the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in order to investigate the factors that influence student and in-service teachers' intention to use a spatial hypermedia application, the HyperSea, in their teaching. HyperSea is a modern hypermedia environment that takes advantage of space in order to display content nodes…

  20. Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade. Working Paper 121

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muschkin, Clara G.; Ladd, Helen F.; Dodge, Kenneth A.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two…

  1. Studying Hooke's Law by Using a Pogo Stick

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Nicolas

    2011-01-01

    Perhaps the pogo stick was little Robert Hooke's favorite childhood toy, consisting of a stiff spring inserted in a tube fixed at the upper end and connected to a moveable rod at the other. Hand grips and a foot rest are connected to the tube. The idea is to jump on it taking advantage of the force provided by the spring when it is compressed.…

  2. Research on the Application of GRC Material in Exhibition Decoration Engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cai, Yan

    2018-03-01

    Glass fiber reinforced cement (GRC) is a kind of new building material which is based on cement and take the alkali resistant glass fiber as reinforcing material. It is mainly used in building decoration project and it has many advantages like environmental protection, economical, practical modeling and others. This paper mainly studies the concrete application of GRC material in exhibition building decoration project.

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

    Zhu, Chengzhou; Fu, Shaofang; Song, Junhua

    In this study, self-assembled M–N-doped carbon nanotube aerogels with single-atom catalyst feature are for the first time reported through one-step hydrothermal route and subsequent facile annealing treatment. By taking advantage of the porous nanostructures, 1D nanotubes as well as single-atom catalyst feature, the resultant Fe–N-doped carbon nanotube aerogels exhibit excellent oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalytic performance even better than commercial Pt/C in alkaline solution.

  4. Taking Advantage of the Paradigmatic Crisis: Brazilian Everyday Life Studies as a New Epistemological Approach to the Understanding of Teachers' Work

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Süssekind, Maria Luiza

    2014-01-01

    This article presents an epistemological overview of abyssal thinking and its impact on the field of education, particularly in relation to teachers' work, as it is done and understood. It argues that the clearest expression of abyssal thinking is the hegemony of science which explains two school phenomena: the historical subalternisation of the…

  5. How Users Take Advantage of Different Forms of Interactivity on Online News Sites: Clicking, E-Mailing, and Commenting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boczkowski, Pablo J.; Mitchelstein, Eugenia

    2012-01-01

    This study examines the uptake of multiple interactive features on news sites. It looks at the thematic composition of the most clicked, most e-mailed, and most commented stories during periods of heightened and routine political activity. Results show that (a) during the former period, the most commented stories were more likely to be focused on…

  6. How to Develop College Students' Autonomous English Learning Skills--Take Reading Course in Joint-Program in HCFT as an Example

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Jihui

    2010-01-01

    The studies on autonomous learning based on the theories of constructivism and the advantages of technology propose valuable ideas for modern teaching theories and practices. In this paper, we put forward ways and methods in developing learner awareness, learning strategies and habits of autonomous learning in Henan College of Finance and Taxation…

  7. Brief Report: Broad Autism Phenotype in Adults Is Associated with Performance on an Eye-Tracking Measure of Joint Attention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, Meghan R.; Siller, Michael

    2014-01-01

    The current study takes advantage of modern eye-tracking technology and evaluates how individuals allocate their attention when viewing social videos that display an adult model who is gazing at a series of targets that appear and disappear in the four corners of the screen (congruent condition), or gazing elsewhere (incongruent condition). Data…

  8. New Metaphors for Organizing Data Could Change the Nature of Computers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Jeffrey R.

    1997-01-01

    Based on the idea that the current framework for organizing electronic data does not take advantage of the mind's ability to make connections among disparate pieces of information, several projects at universities around the country are taking new approaches to classification and storage of vast amounts of computerized data. The new systems take…

  9. Estate and business planning for the retiring physician.

    PubMed

    Kingma, Kenneth W; Vaughn, Thomas D

    2012-01-01

    Retiring physicians have much to think about for estate planning purposes. The authors stand ready to help physicians sell or close their medical practice, navigate the 2010 Tax Act, take advantage of current planning opportunities, and prepare appropriate estate planning documents. Every estate is unique, so it is important to contact an estate planning advisor before taking any action.

  10. One-Course-at-a-Time "Block Plan" Re-examined by College That Adopted It 25 Years Ago.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gose, Ben

    1995-01-01

    Colorado College is reconsidering its block scheduling, in which students take eight immersion courses consecutively within the academic year, rather than taking several courses concurrently. Advantages of block scheduling include more intensive instruction and increased student focus on subject matter. Some students and faculty are concerned that…

  11. To provide care and be cared for in a multiple-bed hospital room.

    PubMed

    Persson, Eva; Määttä, Sylvia

    2012-12-01

    To illuminate patients' experiences of being cared for and nurses' experiences of caring for patients in a multiple-bed hospital room. Many patients and healthcare personnel seem to prefer single-bed hospital rooms. However, certain advantages of multiple-bed hospital rooms (MBRs) have also been described. Eight men and eight women being cared for in a multiple-bedroom were interviewed, and two focus-group interviews (FGI) with 12 nurses were performed. A qualitative content analysis was used. One theme--Creating a sphere of privacy--and three categories were identified based on the patient interviews. The categories were: Being considerate, Having company and The patients' area. In the FGI, one theme--Integrating individual care with care for all--and two categories emerged: Experiencing a friendly atmosphere and Providing exigent care. Both patients and nurses described the advantages and disadvantages of multiple-bed rooms. The patient culture of taking care of one another and enjoying the company of room-mates were considered positive and gave a sense of security of both patients and nurses. The advantages were slight and could easily become disadvantages if, for example, room-mates were very ill or confused. The patients tried to maintain their privacy and dignity and claimed that there were small problems with room-mates listening to conversations. In contrast, the nurses stressed patient integrity as a main disadvantage and worked to protect the integrity of individual patients. Providing care for all patients simultaneously had the advantage of saving time. The insights gained in the present study could assist nurses in reducing the disadvantages and taking advantage of the positive elements of providing care in MBRs. Health professionals need to be aware of how attitudes towards male and female patients, respectively, could affect care provision. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  12. Economic evaluation of flying-qualities design criteria for a transport configured with relaxed static stability

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sliwa, S. M.

    1980-01-01

    Direct constrained parameter optimization was used to optimally size a medium range transport for minimum direct operating cost. Several stability and control constraints were varied to study the sensitivity of the configuration to specifying the unaugmented flying qualities of transports designed to take maximum advantage of relaxed static stability augmentation systems. Additionally, a number of handling qualities related design constants were studied with respect to their impact on the design.

  13. 21st Century Military Operations in a Complex Electromagnetic Environment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-07-01

    critically important, should not be viewed as complete. More is likely needed and it is hoped, as a result of improvements in governance of EW enterprise...strategy and take away the U.S. advantage. A commitment of $2.3 billion per year is viewed by this study as a relatively small down payment to...Mr. Al Munson Potomac Institue for Policy Studies Maj. Gen. Paul Nielsen, USAF (ret) Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University Mr

  14. Using Web-Based Activities to Promote Reading: An Exploratory Study with Teenagers (Uso de actividades en la red para promover la lectura: un estudio exploratorio con adolescentes)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rátiva Velandia, Marlén; Pedreros Torres, Andrés Leonardo; Núñez Alí, Mónica

    2012-01-01

    It is considered valuable to take advantage of web activities to improve and qualify the English teaching and learning processes, especially in the promotion of reading comprehension. In this article we share the process and results of a study that focused on some activities based on web materials that were designed and used with 10th grade…

  15. Primary care physicians' use of family history for cancer risk assessment

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Family history (FH) assessment is useful in identifying and managing patients at increased risk for cancer. This study assessed reported FH quality and associations with physician perceptions. Methods Primary care physicians practicing in two northeastern U.S. states were surveyed (n = 880; 70% response rate). Outcome measures of FH quality were extent of FH taken and ascertaining age at cancer diagnosis for affected family members. Predictors of quality measured in this survey included: perceived advantages and disadvantages of collecting FH information, knowledge of management options, access to supportive resources, and confidence in ability to interpret FH. Results Reported collection of information regarding second degree blood relatives and age of diagnosis among affected relatives was low. All hypothesized predictors were associated with measures of FH quality, but not all were consistent independent predictors. Perceived advantages of taking a family history, access to supportive resources, and confidence in ability to identify and manage higher risk patients were independent predictors of both FH quality measures. Perceived disadvantages of taking a family history was independently associated one measure of FH quality. Knowledge of management options was not independently associated with either quality measure. Conclusions Modifiable perception and resource factors were independently associated with quality of FH taking in a large and diverse sample of primary care physicians. Improving FH quality for identification of high risk individuals will require multi-faceted interventions. PMID:20525302

  16. The compression and storage method of the same kind of medical images: DPCM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Xiuying; Wei, Jingyuan; Zhai, Linpei; Liu, Hong

    2006-09-01

    Medical imaging has started to take advantage of digital technology, opening the way for advanced medical imaging and teleradiology. Medical images, however, require large amounts of memory. At over 1 million bytes per image, a typical hospital needs a staggering amount of memory storage (over one trillion bytes per year), and transmitting an image over a network (even the promised superhighway) could take minutes--too slow for interactive teleradiology. This calls for image compression to reduce significantly the amount of data needed to represent an image. Several compression techniques with different compression ratio have been developed. However, the lossless techniques, which allow for perfect reconstruction of the original images, yield modest compression ratio, while the techniques that yield higher compression ratio are lossy, that is, the original image is reconstructed only approximately. Medical imaging poses the great challenge of having compression algorithms that are lossless (for diagnostic and legal reasons) and yet have high compression ratio for reduced storage and transmission time. To meet this challenge, we are developing and studying some compression schemes, which are either strictly lossless or diagnostically lossless, taking advantage of the peculiarities of medical images and of the medical practice. In order to increase the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) by exploitation of correlations within the source signal, a method of combining differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) is presented.

  17. Primary care physicians' use of family history for cancer risk assessment.

    PubMed

    Flynn, Brian S; Wood, Marie E; Ashikaga, Takamaru; Stockdale, Alan; Dana, Greg S; Naud, Shelly

    2010-06-03

    Family history (FH) assessment is useful in identifying and managing patients at increased risk for cancer. This study assessed reported FH quality and associations with physician perceptions. Primary care physicians practicing in two northeastern U.S. states were surveyed (n = 880; 70% response rate). Outcome measures of FH quality were extent of FH taken and ascertaining age at cancer diagnosis for affected family members. Predictors of quality measured in this survey included: perceived advantages and disadvantages of collecting FH information, knowledge of management options, access to supportive resources, and confidence in ability to interpret FH. Reported collection of information regarding second degree blood relatives and age of diagnosis among affected relatives was low. All hypothesized predictors were associated with measures of FH quality, but not all were consistent independent predictors. Perceived advantages of taking a family history, access to supportive resources, and confidence in ability to identify and manage higher risk patients were independent predictors of both FH quality measures. Perceived disadvantages of taking a family history was independently associated one measure of FH quality. Knowledge of management options was not independently associated with either quality measure. Modifiable perception and resource factors were independently associated with quality of FH taking in a large and diverse sample of primary care physicians. Improving FH quality for identification of high risk individuals will require multi-faceted interventions.

  18. The Bell Curve and the Future of Literacy: If This Is the Answer, What Is the Question?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wahlstrom, Ralph

    This paper takes the position that the main premise of "The Bell Curve" (by Richard Murray and Charles Herrnstein) is that significant advantages exist for possessing an IQ toward the top of the range--advantages that pertain to school success, career, and income. The premise is that people with high IQs have naturally acquired scholarly…

  19. Information Management Utilizing Valued Information at the Right Time (VIRT) as Applied to a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) Mission

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-03-01

    technology in an effective way without taking a decade for implementation. 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 77 14. SUBJECT TERMS VIRT, Model Based... effective way without taking a decade for implementation. vi THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vii TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION...To build the most effective force for 2020, we must be fully joint.”2 What does being fully joint mean and how does the DoD take advantage of

  20. Synthesis of 1D-glyconanomaterials by a hybrid noncovalent-covalent functionalization of single wall carbon nanotubes: a study of their selective interactions with lectins and with live cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pernía Leal, M.; Assali, M.; Cid, J. J.; Valdivia, V.; Franco, J. M.; Fernández, I.; Pozo, D.; Khiar, N.

    2015-11-01

    To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes.To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures for the synthesis of compounds 12-10, 12-15, 17-20, 22-25, 27-30, NMR spectra, and additional TEM images. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr05956a

  1. Take the "Ow!" Out of Taxes Now: How to Plan for and Increase Your Medical Deductions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Medisky, Shannon M.

    2009-01-01

    Each year countless taxpayers overpay simply because they're not taking full advantage of medical deductions. Individuals with disabilities are especially at risk. Time and energy spent running around to doctor visits, therapy sessions, and the like can leave little left to spend on preparing taxes. Fortunately, with a little effort year round and…

  2. Evaluating an Enrichment Program in Early Childhood: A Multi-Methods Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Aswegen, Christa; Pendergast, Donna

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on the evaluation of one topic in an enrichment program designed for children in their early years of learning. The program is responsive to an increased understanding of the benefits for very young children of programs that not only take advantage of the sensitive periods for learning but that also assist parents to a take a…

  3. ANOVA Analysis of Student Daily Test Scores in Multi-Day Test Periods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mouritsen, Matthew L.; Davis, Jefferson T.; Jones, Steven C.

    2016-01-01

    Instructors are often concerned when giving multiple-day tests because students taking the test later in the exam period may have an advantage over students taking the test early in the exam period due to information leakage. However, exam scores seemed to decline as students took the same test later in a multi-day exam period (Mouritsen and…

  4. Getting a College Degree Fast: Testing Out & Other Accredited Short Cuts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aber, Joanne

    This book, directed especially to individuals over age 30, takes a how-to approach to earning a college degree in the least amount of time for the least amount of money. The book explains how to use fast-track methods such as "testing out," which takes advantage of prior learning, and accredited shortcuts to earn an accelerated degree. The first…

  5. What's So Special about Plants? Inquiry in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lightbody, Mary

    2011-01-01

    Students come to class with diverse experiences and backgrounds, and the author tries to take advantage of that diversity in the plant unit. Every year the author secures the help of the two or three green thumbs or green-thumb wannabes to help take care of the collection of plants she brings from home in the fall. The author also invites students…

  6. 48 CFR 42.1106 - Reporting requirements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... that information essential to Government needs and shall take maximum advantage of data output... contractor's report-preparation system or by individual review of each report. (c) The contract...

  7. Ultrafast diffraction conoscopy of the structural phase transition in VO2: Evidence of two lattice distortions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Nardeep; Rúa, Armando; Fernández, Félix E.; Lysenko, Sergiy

    2017-06-01

    Photoinduced phase transitions in complex correlated systems occur very rapidly and involve the interplay between various electronic and lattice degrees of freedom. For these materials to be considered for practical applications, it is important to discover how their phase transitions take place. Here we use a novel ultrafast diffraction conoscopy technique to study the evolution of vanadium dioxide (VO2) from biaxial to uniaxial symmetry. A key finding in this study is an additional relaxation process through which the phase transition takes place. Our results show that the biaxial monoclinic crystal initially, within the first 100-300 fs, transforms to a transient biaxial crystal, and within the next 300-400 fs converts into a uniaxial rutile crystal. The characteristic times for these transitions depend on film morphology and are presumably altered by misfit strain. We take advantage of Landau phenomenology to describe the complex dynamics of VO2 phase transition in the femtosecond regime.

  8. An Approach for Economic Analysis of Intermodal Transportation

    PubMed Central

    Sahin, Bahri; Ust, Yasin; Guneri, Ali Fuat; Gulsun, Bahadir; Turan, Eda

    2014-01-01

    A different intermodal transportation model based on cost analysis considering technical, economical, and operational parameters is presented. The model consists of such intermodal modes as sea-road, sea-railway, road-railway, and multimode of sea-road-railway. A case study of cargo transportation has been carried out by using the suggested model. Then, the single road transportation mode has been compared to intermodal modes in terms of transportation costs. This comparison takes into account the external costs of intermodal transportation. The research reveals that, in the short distance transportation, single transportation modes always tend to be advantageous. As the transportation distance gets longer, intermodal transportation advantages begin to be effective on the costs. In addition, the proposed method in this study leads to determining the fleet size and capacity for transportation and the appropriate transportation mode. PMID:25152919

  9. An approach for economic analysis of intermodal transportation.

    PubMed

    Sahin, Bahri; Yilmaz, Huseyin; Ust, Yasin; Guneri, Ali Fuat; Gulsun, Bahadir; Turan, Eda

    2014-01-01

    A different intermodal transportation model based on cost analysis considering technical, economical, and operational parameters is presented. The model consists of such intermodal modes as sea-road, sea-railway, road-railway, and multimode of sea-road-railway. A case study of cargo transportation has been carried out by using the suggested model. Then, the single road transportation mode has been compared to intermodal modes in terms of transportation costs. This comparison takes into account the external costs of intermodal transportation. The research reveals that, in the short distance transportation, single transportation modes always tend to be advantageous. As the transportation distance gets longer, intermodal transportation advantages begin to be effective on the costs. In addition, the proposed method in this study leads to determining the fleet size and capacity for transportation and the appropriate transportation mode.

  10. Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization.

    PubMed

    Farinha, Catarina Brazão; de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário; Fernández, J M; Jiménez, J R; Esquinas, A R

    2018-03-20

    The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation.

  11. Multidisciplinary approaches to solar hydrogen

    PubMed Central

    Bren, Kara L.

    2015-01-01

    This review summarizes three different approaches to engineering systems for the solar-driven evolution of hydrogen fuel from water: molecular, nanomaterials and biomolecular. Molecular systems have the advantage of being highly amenable to modification and detailed study and have provided great insight into photophysics, electron transfer and catalytic mechanism. However, they tend to display poor stability. Systems based on nanomaterials are more robust but also are more difficult to synthesize in a controlled manner and to modify and study in detail. Biomolecular systems share many properties with molecular systems and have the advantage of displaying inherently high efficiencies for light absorption, electron–hole separation and catalysis. However, biological systems must be engineered to couple modules that capture and convert solar photons to modules that produce hydrogen fuel. Furthermore, biological systems are prone to degradation when employed in vitro. Advances that use combinations of these three tactics also are described. Multidisciplinary approaches to this problem allow scientists to take advantage of the best features of biological, molecular and nanomaterials systems provided that the components can be coupled for efficient function. PMID:26052425

  12. Wastes as Aggregates, Binders or Additions in Mortars: Selecting Their Role Based on Characterization

    PubMed Central

    de Brito, Jorge; Veiga, Rosário

    2018-01-01

    The production of waste has increased over the years and, lacking a recycle or recovery solution, it is forwarded to landfill. The incorporation of wastes in cement-based materials is a solution to reduce waste deposition. In this regard, some researchers have been studying the incorporation of wastes with different functions: aggregate, binder and addition. The incorporation of wastes should take advantage of their characteristics. It requires a judicious analysis of their particles. This research involves the analysis of seven industrial wastes: biomass ashes, glass fibre, reinforced polymer dust, sanitary ware, fluid catalytic cracking, acrylic fibre, textile fibre and glass fibre. The main characteristics and advantages of each waste are enunciated and the best type of introduction in mortars is discussed. The characterization of the wastes as particles is necessary to identify the most suitable incorporation in mortars. In this research, some wastes are studied with a view to their re-use or recycling in mortars. Thus, this research focuses on the chemical, physical and mechanical characterization of industrial wastes and identification of the potentially most advantageous type of incorporation. PMID:29558418

  13. The spillover effects of Medicare managed care: Medicare Advantage and hospital utilization.

    PubMed

    Baicker, Katherine; Chernew, Michael E; Robbins, Jacob A

    2013-12-01

    More than a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which was created in large part to improve the efficiency of health care delivery by promoting competition among private managed care plans. This paper explores the spillover effects of the Medicare Advantage program on the traditional Medicare program and other patients, taking advantage of changes in Medicare Advantage payment policy to isolate exogenous increases in Medicare Advantage enrollment and trace out the effects of greater managed care penetration on hospital utilization and spending throughout the health care system. We find that when more seniors enroll in Medicare managed care, hospital costs decline for all seniors and for commercially insured younger populations. Greater managed care penetration is not associated with fewer hospitalizations, but is associated with lower costs and shorter stays per hospitalization. These spillovers are substantial - offsetting more than 10% of increased payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities (China Maritime Study, Number 11)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-02-01

    Chinese writings stress preemptive attacks on key U.S. power-projection capabili- ties—including aircraft carriers—prior to or quickly following formal...attack craft consistently stress covert, long-range attacks taking advantage of stealth, surprise, and standoff ranges. A final factor that supports...craft tenders, but this is speculative.56 The 2010 Chinese defense white paper does stress , however, that sea-based china’s near seas combat

  15. Figure mining for biomedical research.

    PubMed

    Rodriguez-Esteban, Raul; Iossifov, Ivan

    2009-08-15

    Figures from biomedical articles contain valuable information difficult to reach without specialized tools. Currently, there is no search engine that can retrieve specific figure types. This study describes a retrieval method that takes advantage of principles in image understanding, text mining and optical character recognition (OCR) to retrieve figure types defined conceptually. A search engine was developed to retrieve tables and figure types to aid computational and experimental research. http://iossifovlab.cshl.edu/figurome/.

  16. Organizational Culture and Its Relationship with the Organizational Climate in the Youth Higher Council from the Perspective of Council Staff

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    El-Majali, Basel Abdel Wahab

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the Higher Council of Youth in Jordan seeks to develop its services, to participate actively in King Abdullah II award for excellence and transparency, to promote the concepts of quality in all its activities and to take advantage of modern technology in the output of its programs and activities. This study considered as one of…

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

    Couture, Aaron Joseph

    This report documents aspects of direct and indirect neutron capture. The importance of neutron capture rates and methods to determine them are presented. The following conclusions are drawn: direct neutron capture measurements remain a backbone of experimental study; work is being done to take increased advantage of indirect methods for neutron capture; both instrumentation and facilities are making new measurements possible; more work is needed on the nuclear theory side to understand what is needed furthest from stability.

  18. Are There Differences Depending on the Device Used to Complete a Web Survey (PC or Smartphone) for Order-by-Click Questions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Revilla, Melanie

    2017-01-01

    The development of web surveys has been accompanied by the emergence of new scales, taking advantages of the visual and interactive features provided by the Internet like drop-down menus, sliders, drag-and-drop, or order-by-click scales. This article focuses on the order-by-click scales, studying the comparability of the data obtained for this…

  19. Detecting changes in riparian habitat conditions based on patterns of greenness change: a case study from the upper San Pedro River Basin, USA

    Treesearch

    K. Bruce Jones; Curtis E. Edmonds; E. Terrance Slonecker; James D. Wickham; Anne C. Neale; Timothy G. Wade; Kurt H. Riitters; William G. Kepner

    2008-01-01

    Healthy riparian ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions exhibit shifting patterns of vegetation in response to periodic flooding. Their conditions also depend upon the amount of grazing and other human uses. Taking advantage of these system properties, we developed and tested an approach that utilizes historical Landsat data to track changes in the patterns...

  20. Taking Advantage of Agile while Minimizing Risk: User Stories and Other Fables

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-11-20

    and inability to deliver 24 © 2013 Carnegie Mellon University Scrum practices are said to depend on each other and should not be changed We...identified two mismatches between Scrum and the studied organization Mismatches we identified were considered necessary or even beneficial Changes to... Scrum cannot categorically be considered detrimental ScrumButs What about modifying SCRUM ? 25 © 2013 Carnegie Mellon University Microsoft Research

  1. Using MODIS NDVI phenoclasses and phenoclusters to characterize wildlife habitat: Mexican spotted owl as a case study

    Treesearch

    Serra J. Hoagland; Paul Beier; Danny Lee

    2018-01-01

    Most uses of remotely sensed satellite data to characterize wildlife habitat have used metrics such as mean NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) in a year or season. These simple metrics do not take advantage of the temporal patterns in NDVI within and across years and the spatial arrangement of cells with various temporal NDVI signatures. Here we use 13 years...

  2. Mechanics modelling of fern cavitation catapult

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kang, Jingtian; Li, Kai; Tan, Huifeng; Wang, Changguo; Cai, Shengqiang

    2017-12-01

    Cavitation is often regarded as a failure mode in soft materials. An intriguing phenomenon has been recently discovered that fern sporangium can take advantage of drying-induced cavitation instability in annulus cells to disperse spores at an extraordinarily high acceleration. Briefly, the decrease of environmental humidity causes continuous bending of the sporangium and growth of cavities inside the annulus cells, with the elastic energy accumulated in sporangium walls. When the humidity is lower than a critical value, the cavities suddenly expand dramatically inside the cells, causing a quick release of the elastic energy stored in the annular structure. As a result, like a catapult, the sporangium snaps back and ejects the seeds at a high speed. Motivated by the observation, in this article, we study cavitation instability in a similar structure as the sporangium. To simplify the problem, in our model, the mechanics of cells in the sporangium are described by the polymer gel model, while the sporangium wall is modelled as a hyperelastic material. When the environmental humidity is lower than a critical value, through energetic analyses, we can predict the cavitation catapult phenomenon using the model. We hope that our study in this article can provide useful insights into the bio-inspired design of structures which can take advantage of cavitation instability in soft materials.

  3. Hyperspectral fluorescence microscopy detects autofluorescent factors that can be exploited as a diagnostic method for Candida species differentiation

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

    Graus, Matthew S.; Neumann, Aaron K.; Timlin, Jerilyn A.

    Fungi in the Candida genus are the most common fungal pathogens. They not only cause high morbidity and mortality but can also cost billions of dollars in healthcare. To alleviate this burden, early and accurate identification of Candida species is necessary. However, standard identification procedures can take days and have a large false negative error. The method described in this study takes advantage of hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscopy, which enables the capability to quickly and accurately identify and characterize the unique autofluorescence spectra from different Candida species with up to 84% accuracy when grown in conditions that closely mimic physiologicalmore » conditions.« less

  4. Hyperspectral fluorescence microscopy detects autofluorescent factors that can be exploited as a diagnostic method for Candida species differentiation

    DOE PAGES

    Graus, Matthew S.; Neumann, Aaron K.; Timlin, Jerilyn A.

    2017-01-05

    Fungi in the Candida genus are the most common fungal pathogens. They not only cause high morbidity and mortality but can also cost billions of dollars in healthcare. To alleviate this burden, early and accurate identification of Candida species is necessary. However, standard identification procedures can take days and have a large false negative error. The method described in this study takes advantage of hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscopy, which enables the capability to quickly and accurately identify and characterize the unique autofluorescence spectra from different Candida species with up to 84% accuracy when grown in conditions that closely mimic physiologicalmore » conditions.« less

  5. Miniaturized sensor module for a mechatronic bearing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Robert X.; Sahay, Priyaranjan

    1998-12-01

    To assess the working condition of a rolling element bearing, the condition monitoring system should be located as close as possible to the bearing to take advantage of shorter signal transmission path, increased signal-to-noise ratio, and reduced complexity of the signal processing electronics. The advantages of integrated sensing are presented in this paper, with a focus on the design and analysis of a miniaturized sensor module. Mechatronic principles have been applied to treat the various subjects in a synergistic way. To complement analytical studies, experiments have been conducted on a scaled-up version of the sensor module to analyze the system dynamic response. The result obtained provided insight into the electromechanical interaction within the module as well as input for the system implementation using miniaturization technologies.

  6. Targeting multiple heterogeneous hardware platforms with OpenCL

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fox, Paul A.; Kozacik, Stephen T.; Humphrey, John R.; Paolini, Aaron; Kuller, Aryeh; Kelmelis, Eric J.

    2014-06-01

    The OpenCL API allows for the abstract expression of parallel, heterogeneous computing, but hardware implementations have substantial implementation differences. The abstractions provided by the OpenCL API are often insufficiently high-level to conceal differences in hardware architecture. Additionally, implementations often do not take advantage of potential performance gains from certain features due to hardware limitations and other factors. These factors make it challenging to produce code that is portable in practice, resulting in much OpenCL code being duplicated for each hardware platform being targeted. This duplication of effort offsets the principal advantage of OpenCL: portability. The use of certain coding practices can mitigate this problem, allowing a common code base to be adapted to perform well across a wide range of hardware platforms. To this end, we explore some general practices for producing performant code that are effective across platforms. Additionally, we explore some ways of modularizing code to enable optional optimizations that take advantage of hardware-specific characteristics. The minimum requirement for portability implies avoiding the use of OpenCL features that are optional, not widely implemented, poorly implemented, or missing in major implementations. Exposing multiple levels of parallelism allows hardware to take advantage of the types of parallelism it supports, from the task level down to explicit vector operations. Static optimizations and branch elimination in device code help the platform compiler to effectively optimize programs. Modularization of some code is important to allow operations to be chosen for performance on target hardware. Optional subroutines exploiting explicit memory locality allow for different memory hierarchies to be exploited for maximum performance. The C preprocessor and JIT compilation using the OpenCL runtime can be used to enable some of these techniques, as well as to factor in hardware-specific optimizations as necessary.

  7. A Space Surveillance Ontology: Captured in an XML Schema

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-10-01

    characterization in a way most appropriate to a sub- domain. 6. The commercial market is embracing XML, and the military can take advantage of this significant...the space surveillance ontology effort to two key efforts: the Defense Information Infrastructure Common Operating Environment (DII COE) XML...strongly believe XML schemas will supplant them. Some of the advantages that XML schemas provide over DTDs include: • Strong data typing: The XML Schema

  8. Uses of continuum radiation in the AXAF calibration

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kolodziejczak, J. J.; Austin, R. A.; Elsner, R. F.; O'Dell, S. L.; Sulkanen, M. E.; Swartz, D. A.; Tennant, A. F.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zirnstein, G.; McDermott, W. C.

    1997-01-01

    X-ray calibration of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) observatory at the MSFC X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) made novel use of the x-ray continuum from a conventional electron-impact source. Taking advantage of the good spectral resolution of solid-state detectors, continuum measurements proved advantageous in calibrating the effective area of AXAF's High-Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) and in verifying its alignment to the XRCF's optical axis.

  9. The neural basis of self-face recognition after self-concept threat and comparison with important others.

    PubMed

    Guan, Lili; Qi, Mingming; Zhang, Qinglin; Yang, Juan

    2014-01-01

    The implicit positive association (IPA) theory attributed self-face advantage to the IPA with self-concept. Previous behavioral study has found that self-concept threat (SCT) could eliminate the self-advantage in face recognition over familiar-face, without taking levels of facial familiarity into account. The current event-related potential study aimed to investigate whether SCT could eliminate the self-face advantage over stranger-face. Fifteen participants completed a "self-friend" comparison task in which participants identified the face orientation of self-face and friend-face after SCT and non-self-concept threat (NSCT) priming, and a "self-stranger" comparison task was also completed in which participants identified the face orientation of self-face and stranger-face after SCT and NSCT priming. The results showed that the N2 amplitudes were more negative for processing friend-face than self-face after NSCT priming, but there was no significant difference between them after SCT priming. Moreover, the N2 amplitudes were more negative for processing stranger-face than self-face both after SCT priming and after NSCT priming. Furthermore, SCT manipulated the N2 amplitudes of friend-face rather than self-face. Overall, the present study made a supplementary to the current IPA theory and further indicated that SCT would only eliminate this self-face recognition advantage when comparing with important others.

  10. A Lesson from the Crocodile.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohanian, Susan

    1988-01-01

    A teacher encourages other teachers to look beyond rigid, locked-in, over-organized instructional approaches by pointing out the advantages of creativity, risk-taking, and flexibility in classroom teaching. (CB)

  11. An experiment to study energetic particle fluxes in and beyond the earth's outer magnetosphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, K. A.; Lin, R. P.; Paoli, R. J.; Parks, G. K.; Lin, C. S.; Reme, H.; Bosqued, J. M.; Martel, F.; Cotin, F.; Cros, A.

    1978-01-01

    This experiment is designed to take advantage of the ISEE Mother/Daughter dual spacecraft system to study energetic particle phenomena in the earth's outer magnetosphere and beyond. Large geometric factor fixed voltage electrostatic analyzers and passively cooled semiconductor detector telescopes provide high time resolution coverage of the energy range from 1.5 to 300 keV for both ions and electrons. Essentially identical instrumentation is placed on the two spacecraft to separate temporal from spatial effects in the observed particle phenomena.

  12. Synthesis of 1D-glyconanomaterials by a hybrid noncovalent-covalent functionalization of single wall carbon nanotubes: a study of their selective interactions with lectins and with live cells.

    PubMed

    Pernía Leal, M; Assali, M; Cid, J J; Valdivia, V; Franco, J M; Fernández, I; Pozo, D; Khiar, N

    2015-12-07

    To take full advantage of the remarkable applications of carbon nanotubes in different fields, there is a need to develop effective methods to improve their water dispersion and biocompatibility while maintaining their physical properties. In this sense, current approaches suffer from serious drawbacks such as loss of electronic structure together with low surface coverage in the case of covalent functionalizations, or instability of the dynamic hybrids obtained by non-covalent functionalizations. In the present work, we examined the molecular basis of an original strategy that combines the advantages of both functionalizations without their main drawbacks. The hierarchical self-assembly of diacetylenic-based neoglycolipids into highly organized and compacted rings around the nanotubes, followed by photopolymerization leads to the formation of nanotubes covered with glyconanorings with a shish kebab-type topology exposing the carbohydrate ligands to the water phase in a multivalent fashion. The glyconanotubes obtained are fully functional, and able to establish specific interactions with their cognate receptors. In fact, by taking advantage of this selective binding, an easy method to sense lectins as a working model of toxin detection was developed based on a simple analysis of TEM images. Remarkably, different experimental settings to assess cell membrane integrity, cell growth kinetics and cell cycle demonstrated the cellular biocompatibility of the sugar-coated carbon nanotubes compared to pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes.

  13. Insights on beer volatile profile: Optimization of solid-phase microextraction procedure taking advantage of the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography structured separation.

    PubMed

    Martins, Cátia; Brandão, Tiago; Almeida, Adelaide; Rocha, Sílvia M

    2015-06-01

    The aroma profile of beer is crucial for its quality and consumer acceptance, which is modu-lated by a network of variables. The main goal of this study was to optimize solid-phase microextraction experimental parameters (fiber coating, extraction temperature, and time), taking advantage of the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography structured separation. As far as we know, it is the first time that this approach was used to the untargeted and comprehensive study of the beer volatile profile. Decarbonation is a critical sample preparation step, and two conditions were tested: static and under ultrasonic treatment, and the static condition was selected. Considering the conditions that promoted the highest extraction efficiency, the following parameters were selected: poly(dimethylsiloxane)/divinylbenzene fiber coating, at 40ºC, using 10 min of pre-equilibrium followed by 30 min of extraction. Around 700-800 compounds per sample were detected, corresponding to the beer volatile profile. An exploratory application was performed with commercial beers, using a set of 32 compounds with reported impact on beer aroma, in which different patterns can be observed through the structured chromatogram. In summary, the obtained results emphasize the potential of this methodology to allow an in-depth study of volatile molecular composition of beer. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  14. Facilities | Computational Science | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    technology innovation by providing scientists and engineers the ability to tackle energy challenges that scientists and engineers to take full advantage of advanced computing hardware and software resources

  15. Facilty Focus: Residence Halls.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunnewell, James F., Jr.

    2002-01-01

    Describes the Western Ridge Residence at Colorado College and Beard Hall at Wheaton College. The buildings feature multiple levels that take advantage of views and also help create a "homey" feeling. (EV)

  16. SRAC

    Science.gov Websites

    to take advantage of the best aquaculture science, education skills, and facilities in the United and shared funding are strongly encouraged. RAC Projects 2010-2012: Use the links below to access

  17. Replica amplification of nucleic acid arrays

    DOEpatents

    Church, George M.; Mitra, Robi D.

    2010-08-31

    Disclosed are improved methods of making and using immobilized arrays of nucleic acids, particularly methods for producing replicas of such arrays. Included are methods for producing high density arrays of nucleic acids and replicas of such arrays, as well as methods for preserving the resolution of arrays through rounds of replication. Also included are methods which take advantage of the availability of replicas of arrays for increased sensitivity in detection of sequences on arrays. Improved methods of sequencing nucleic acids immobilized on arrays utilizing single copies of arrays and methods taking further advantage of the availability of replicas of arrays are disclosed. The improvements lead to higher fidelity and longer read lengths of sequences immobilized on arrays. Methods are also disclosed which improve the efficiency of multiplex PCR using arrays of immobilized nucleic acids.

  18. Smart dental practice: capitalising on smart mobile technology.

    PubMed

    Plangger, K; Bredican, J; Mills, A J; Armstrong, J

    2015-08-14

    To keep pace with consumer adoption of smart mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and the applications ('apps') developed for these devices, dental professionals should consider how this technology could be used to simultaneously improve both patient service experiences and dental practice management. Using U-Commerce as a theoretical lens, this article discusses the potential value of smart mobile technology to the dental practice context, with a particular focus on the unique and customisable capabilities of apps. To take full advantage of this technology, a process is outlined for identifying and designing bespoke dental apps that takes into account the unique advantages of these devices. Dental practices, with increasing financial and competitive pressures, may improve the efficiency and profitability of operations and better manage patients, employees and stakeholders by integrating smart mobile technology.

  19. From nurse to marketing entrepreneur.

    PubMed

    Aydlotte, J H

    1998-03-01

    An important lesson in career advancement is to be prepared for and take advantage of sudden opportunities that come your way. This risk-taking nurse went into nurse recruitment, which then opened avenues into health care marketing. She pioneered one of the largest health care advertising companies in the country and describes how she has used her new-found skills, at work and at home, to face life's biggest challenges.

  20. Throughout Year, New York District Offers Clusters of Enrichment to All Its Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manzo, Kathleen Kennedy

    2006-01-01

    Children don't have to be academically gifted to take advantage of some of the richest, and most fun, learning opportunities at South Grove Elementary School in New York. In fact, average pupils, those struggling to keep up with their grade-level peers, and even youngsters in special education all take part in the kinds of activities and projects…

  1. Sustaining the Light-Heavy Brigade

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1991-06-07

    of the combined arms concept. In the twentieth century technology made a significant impact on how units were organized and fought. One of these...34Support personnel must use innovation , suspend normal procedures when necessary, take advantage of unusual sources of supply and transportation and take...designed to be broken out to individual task forces. Therefore, support planners must be innovative in developing a solution that best supports the

  2. The ECO European Project: A New MOOC Dimension Based on an Intercreativity Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acedo, Sara Osuna; Cano, Lucía Camarero

    2016-01-01

    The ECO European Project funded by the European Commission is dedicated to bringing MOOCs to a new dimension by taking advantage of the new possibilities offered by the Social Web (O'Reilly, 2005). This paper focuses on the intercreative aspects of MOOCs. It takes a look at the characteristics of the new ECO MOOCs to see if they are designed and…

  3. Why have hydrostatic bearings been avoided as a stabilizing element for rotating machines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bently, D. E.; Muszynska, A.

    1985-01-01

    The advantages are discussed of hydrostatic, high pressure bearings as providers of higher margin of stability to the rotor/bearing systems. It is apparent that deliberate use of hydrostatic bearing high pressure lubricated (any gas or liquid) can easily be used to build higher stability margin into rotating machinery, in spite of the thirty years bias against high pressure lubrication. Since this supply pressure is controllable (the Direct Dynamic Stiffness at lower eccentricity is also controllable) so that within some rotor system limits, the stability margin and dynamic response of the rotor system is more readily controllable. It may be possible to take advantage of this effect in the various seals, as well as the bearings, to assist with stability margin and dynamic response of rotating machinery. The stability of the bearing can be additionally improved by taking advantage of the anti-swirling concept. The high pressure fluid supply inlets should be located tangentially at the bearing circumference and directed against rotation. The incoming fluid flow creates stability by reducing the swirling rate.

  4. A new cross-correlation algorithm for the analysis of "in vitro" neuronal network activity aimed at pharmacological studies.

    PubMed

    Biffi, E; Menegon, A; Regalia, G; Maida, S; Ferrigno, G; Pedrocchi, A

    2011-08-15

    Modern drug discovery for Central Nervous System pathologies has recently focused its attention to in vitro neuronal networks as models for the study of neuronal activities. Micro Electrode Arrays (MEAs), a widely recognized tool for pharmacological investigations, enable the simultaneous study of the spiking activity of discrete regions of a neuronal culture, providing an insight into the dynamics of networks. Taking advantage of MEAs features and making the most of the cross-correlation analysis to assess internal parameters of a neuronal system, we provide an efficient method for the evaluation of comprehensive neuronal network activity. We developed an intra network burst correlation algorithm, we evaluated its sensitivity and we explored its potential use in pharmacological studies. Our results demonstrate the high sensitivity of this algorithm and the efficacy of this methodology in pharmacological dose-response studies, with the advantage of analyzing the effect of drugs on the comprehensive correlative properties of integrated neuronal networks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Advantages and limitations of classic and 3D QSAR approaches in nano-QSAR studies based on biological activity of fullerene derivatives

    DOE PAGES

    Jagiello, Karolina; Grzonkowska, Monika; Swirog, Marta; ...

    2016-08-29

    In this contribution, the advantages and limitations of two computational techniques that can be used for the investigation of nanoparticles activity and toxicity: classic nano-QSAR (Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships employed for nanomaterials) and 3D nano-QSAR (three-dimensional Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships, such us Comparative Molecular Field Analysis, CoMFA/Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis, CoMSIA analysis employed for nanomaterials) have been briefly summarized. Both approaches were compared according to the selected criteria, including: efficiency, type of experimental data, class of nanomaterials, time required for calculations and computational cost, difficulties in the interpretation. Taking into account the advantages and limitations of each method, we provide themore » recommendations for nano-QSAR modellers and QSAR model users to be able to determine a proper and efficient methodology to investigate biological activity of nanoparticles in order to describe the underlying interactions in the most reliable and useful manner.« less

  6. Advantages and limitations of classic and 3D QSAR approaches in nano-QSAR studies based on biological activity of fullerene derivatives

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

    Jagiello, Karolina; Grzonkowska, Monika; Swirog, Marta

    In this contribution, the advantages and limitations of two computational techniques that can be used for the investigation of nanoparticles activity and toxicity: classic nano-QSAR (Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships employed for nanomaterials) and 3D nano-QSAR (three-dimensional Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationships, such us Comparative Molecular Field Analysis, CoMFA/Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis, CoMSIA analysis employed for nanomaterials) have been briefly summarized. Both approaches were compared according to the selected criteria, including: efficiency, type of experimental data, class of nanomaterials, time required for calculations and computational cost, difficulties in the interpretation. Taking into account the advantages and limitations of each method, we provide themore » recommendations for nano-QSAR modellers and QSAR model users to be able to determine a proper and efficient methodology to investigate biological activity of nanoparticles in order to describe the underlying interactions in the most reliable and useful manner.« less

  7. Summer is Coming!

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2013-05-20

    NASA Cassini spacecraft takes full advantage of the sunlight to capture these amazing views of the north polar hexagon and myriad storms, large and small, that comprise the weather systems in the polar region.

  8. 33 CFR 148.720 - What are the siting criteria?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... prevent or minimize detrimental environmental effects; (b) Minimizes the space needed for safe and... gas exploration and production or transportation uses; (m) Takes advantage of areas already allocated...

  9. 33 CFR 148.720 - What are the siting criteria?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... prevent or minimize detrimental environmental effects; (b) Minimizes the space needed for safe and... gas exploration and production or transportation uses; (m) Takes advantage of areas already allocated...

  10. XB-70A during take-off

    NASA Image and Video Library

    1965-08-17

    Viewed from the front the #1 XB-70A (62-0001) is shown climbing out during take-off. Most flights were scheduled during the morning hours to take advantage of the cooler ambient air temperatures for improved propulsion efficiencies. The wing tips are extended straight out to provide a maximum lifting wing surface. The XB-70A, capable of flying three times the speed of sound, was the world's largest experimental aircraft in the 1960s. Two XB-70A aircraft were built. Ship #1 was flown by NASA in a high speed flight research program.

  11. Backstroke start kinematic and kinetic changes due to different feet positioning.

    PubMed

    de Jesus, Karla; de Jesus, Kelly; Figueiredo, Pedro; Gonçalves, Pedro; Pereira, Suzana Matheus; Vilas-Boas, João Paulo; Fernandes, Ricardo Jorge

    2013-01-01

    The backstroke swimming start international rules changed in 2005. This study compared two backstroke start variants, both with feet parallel to each other but in complete immersion and emersion. Six elite swimmers performed two sets of 4 maximal 15 m bouts, each set using one of the variants. The starts were videotaped in the sagittal plane with two cameras, providing bi-dimensional dual-media kinematic evaluation, and an underwater force plate and a handgrip instrumented with a load cell collected kinetic data. Backstroke start with feet immerged displayed greater centre-of-mass horizontal starting position, centre-of-mass horizontal velocity at hands-off and take-off angle. Backstroke start with feet emerged showed greater wall contact time, centre-of-mass horizontal and downward vertical velocity at take-off, lower limbs horizontal impulse, and centre-of-mass downward vertical velocity during flight phase. Backstroke start with feet immerged and emerged displayed similar centre-of-mass horizontal water reach, back arc angle and 5 m starting time. Irrespective of the swimmer's feet positioning, coaches should emphasise each variant's mechanical advantages during the wall contact phases. Furthermore, the maintenance of those advantages throughout the flight should be stressed for better backstroke start performance.

  12. Geotourism, Medical Geology and local development: Cape Verde case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rocha, F.; Ferreira da Silva, E.

    2014-11-01

    Geotourism and Geoparks in particular are real opportunities to rural developments promoting the rate decline of unemployment and emigration through engaging the local communities in geopark activities and tourism marketing in the form of adventure tourism, ecotourism, rural tourism and health geotourism. Geotourism is closely linked with Medical Geology. The intake of minerals and chemical elements for food, water, soil (through geophagy) or dust can be accomplished by ingestion, inhalation or dermal absorption. Pelotherapy or “Mudtherapy” is the use of mud/clay for therapeutic applications, internal or external. Cape Verde archipelago is located in Atlantic ocean, 400 km westwards of Senegal coast. Geotourism is being developed, mainly focused on the development of a geopark in Fogo island huge caldera, but also trying to take advantage of their potentialities for Geomedecine. A cooperative program established between Cape Verde University (UCV) and Aveiro University (UA, Portugal) is under way, aiming, on a first stage, to identify Geotouristic potentialities and, on a second stage, to develop products. Geotourism is being developed, mainly focused on the development of a geopark in Fogo isl. huge caldera, but also trying to take advantage of their potentialities for Geomedecine.

  13. Leveraging Diversity Of Thought Through Inclusion: Advantages, Disadvantages, And Taking Advantage

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-03-17

    groups are cross- fertilizing one another within the organization .”30 Specifically, diversity and inclusion stimulate creativity by providing a...Squadron Officer College instructor once informed her class, “My squadron commander wanted me in his organization purely for diversity reasons.” The...better way for an Alabama Crimson Tide fan to get diversity of thought in his organization than to include an Auburn Tigers fan?” This example

  14. Why a Network Energy Monitoring and Control System?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1985-01-01

    years to complete as they were modified to work with existing, frequently very old, buildings. The benefits derived from those systems that did work were...or groups of workstations, then certain of the occupants could be tasked to turn off their respective lighting. The advantage is the increased...units. Duty Cycle (Strategy J) This strategy takes advantage of the oversizing of the air handling unit. The air handling unit is sized for a peak load

  15. An Analysis of Modern State-Level Terrorist Deradicalization Campaigns

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-12-01

    been reduced to remnants of the GSPC (Mortimer, 2007, p. 36). In the same year, GSPC officially franchised with AQ and changed its names to AQIM...events and ongoing policies place Indonesian prisons in an advantageous position to enhance collective disengagement within Indonesia. Two other...government, may have created a window of opportunity for JI to take advantage of the political inclusion mechanism. Since its inception in 2000, Ba’asyir’s

  16. Family Caregivers for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury: Exploring the Stresses and Benefits

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-12-01

    testing of the newly developed instrument was conducted, however, the sample size was smaller than needed for full pilot testing. A future study with a...larger sample will be needed to verify the pilot testing results. 15. SUBJECT TERMS spinal cord injury, veterans, caregivers 16. SECURITY...A qualitative approach takes advantage of the rich information provided by those living the experience of caregiving and SCI, enabling us to learn

  17. The MEM of spectral analysis applied to L.O.D.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernandez, L. I.; Arias, E. F.

    The maximum entropy method (MEM) has been widely applied for polar motion studies taking advantage of its performance on the management of complex time series. The authors used the algorithm of the MEM to estimate Cross Spectral function in order to compare interannual Length-of-Day (LOD) time series with Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) series, which are close related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events.

  18. Universal Zero Specular Reflection Curves for MetaMaterials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-09-01

    with their handedness, RH or LH. r   5 According to Holloway [7], we find that metasurfaces (or metafilms) can be used in place of MTMs in many...applications. Metafilm refers to thin metamaterial that is only one unit-cell thick. “ Metasurfaces have the advantage of taking up less physical space...than do full three-dimensional MTM structures.” [7] Further studies were conducted on metasurface characterization, various applications, and how

  19. Initial feasibility study of a microwave-powered sailplane as a high-altitude observation platform

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heyson, H. H.

    1978-01-01

    It is shown that a microwave-powered sailplane can be a reasonable substitute for a satellite in some missions requiring only limited coverage of the surface of the earth. A mode of operation in which the aircraft cyclically climbs to high altitude in the beam, and then glides for several hundred kilometers, is feasible and takes advantage of the inherent forward speed of the sailplane at high altitude.

  20. Public service communications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whalen, A. A.

    1979-01-01

    The purpose of the paper is to construct, for detailed analysis, satellite and terrestrial communications delivery system models. Attention is given to the Public Service Communications Delivery System Architectural Study, that takes advantage of the extensive experience which exists among the public service experimenters. The Application Test Pilot is examined, which is a program designed to help awareness, in a practical sense, of the technology available and by the users innovative talents, adapts the technology to solve their problems.

  1. DOD Weapon Systems Software Management Study, Appendix B. Shipborne Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1975-06-01

    program management, from Inception to development maintenance, 2. Detailed documentation requirements, 3. Standard high -level language development (CS-1...the Guided Missile School (GMS) at Dam Neck. The APL Land-Based Test Site (LETS) consisted of a Mk 152 digital fire control computer, SPG-55B radar...instruction and data segments are respectively placed in low and high core addresses to take advantage of UYK-7 memory accessing time savings. UYK-7

  2. Are Students of Color More Likely to Graduate from College if They Attend More Selective Institutions? Evidence from a Cohort of Recipients and Nonrecipients of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Melguizo, Tatiana

    2010-01-01

    The study takes advantage of the nontraditional selection process of the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program to test the association between selectivity of 4-year institution attended as well as other noncognitive variables on the college completion rates of a sample of students of color. The results of logistic regression and propensity score…

  3. Ultimate Gradient Limitation in Niobium Superconducting Accelerating Cavities

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

    Checchin, Mattia; Grassellino, Anna; Martinello, Martina

    2016-06-01

    The present study is addressed to the theoretical description of the ultimate gradient limitation in SRF cavities. Our intent is to exploit experimental data to confirm models which provide feed-backs on how to improve the current state-of-art. New theoretical insight on the cavities limiting factor can be suitable to improve the quench field of N-doped cavities, and therefore to take advantage of high Q 0 at high gradients.

  4. Best Practices Guide for PPGs and the States

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The guide is designed to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and stateofficials understand and take full advantage of the features and benefits of PerformancePartnership Grants (PPGs).

  5. Planning Framework for a Climate-Resilient Economy

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This framework can help communities assess their economic vulnerability to climate change and identify ways to build economic resilience and take advantage of opportunities that might arise as the climate changes.

  6. 33 CFR 148.720 - What are the siting criteria?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... prevent or minimize detrimental environmental effects; (b) Minimizes the space needed for safe and... exploration and production or transportation uses; (m) Takes advantage of areas already allocated for similar...

  7. 33 CFR 148.720 - What are the siting criteria?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... prevent or minimize detrimental environmental effects; (b) Minimizes the space needed for safe and... exploration and production or transportation uses; (m) Takes advantage of areas already allocated for similar...

  8. 33 CFR 148.720 - What are the siting criteria?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... prevent or minimize detrimental environmental effects; (b) Minimizes the space needed for safe and... exploration and production or transportation uses; (m) Takes advantage of areas already allocated for similar...

  9. Social inertia and diversity in collaboration networks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramasco, J. J.

    2007-04-01

    Random graphs are useful tools to study social interactions. In particular, the use of weighted random graphs allows to handle a high level of information concerning which agents interact and in which degree the interactions take place. Taking advantage of this representation, we recently defined a magnitude, the Social Inertia, that measures the eagerness of agents to keep ties with previous partners. To study this magnitude, we used collaboration networks that are specially appropriate to obtain valid statitical results due to the large size of publically available databases. In this work, I study the Social Inertia in two of these empirical networks, IMDB movie database and condmat. More specifically, I focus on how the Inertia relates to other properties of the graphs, and show that the Inertia provides information on how the weight of neighboring edges correlates. A social interpretation of this effect is also offered.

  10. Courses and Fellowships for Trainees

    Cancer.gov

    Cancer research fellows and trainees at NCI can take advantage of scientific and professional development courses. Current and prospective trainees will also find a listing of fellowships opportunities. Learn more about courses and fellowships.

  11. Connected Vehicle Applications : Road Weather Management

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2016-08-16

    Connected vehicle applications related to road weather management and enabling systems are being designed to collect and take advantage of connected vehicle data and information transmissions to increase situational awareness, improve roadway levels ...

  12. The first dedicated life sciences Spacelab mission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Perry, T. W.; Rummel, J. A.; Griffiths, L. D.; White, R. J.; Leonard, J. I.

    1984-01-01

    JIt is pointed out that the Shuttle-borne Spacelab provides the capability to fly large numbers of life sciences experiments, to retrieve and rescue experimental equipment, and to undertake multiple-flight studies. A NASA Life Sciences Flight Experiments Program has been organized with the aim to take full advantages of this capability. A description is provided of the scientific aspects of the most ambitious Spacelab mission currently being conducted in connection with this program, taking into account the First Dedicated Life Sciences Spacelab Mission. The payload of this mission will contain the equipment for 24 separate investigations. It is planned to perform the mission on two separate seven-day Spacelab flights, the first of which is currently scheduled for early 1986. Some of the mission objectives are related to the study of human and animal responses which occur promptly upon achieving weightlessness.

  13. The advantages and barriers in the implementation of a substance dependence treatment information system (SDTIS).

    PubMed

    Ajami, Sima; Mellat-Karkevandi, Zahra

    2015-11-01

    Addiction is a phenomenon that causes structural changes in different systems of society. Studies show for planning of addiction prevention and treatment, it is necessary to create an information management system. Substance dependence information systems refer to systems which collect, analyse and report data related to substance dependence information. The aim of this study was to identify advantages and barriers to implement Substance Dependence Treatment Information System (SDTIS). This study was a narrative review. Our review divided into three phases: literature collection, assessing, and selection. We employed the following keywords and their combinations in different areas of articles. In this study, 22 of collected articles and reports were selected based on their relevancy. We found many advantages for a substance dependence treatment information system such as recording sufficient, complete and accurate information and easy and timely access to them and monitoring and enhancing the quality of care received by patients. But we may face some concerns for implementing this information system like taking time and funds from client services, being expensive or even problems regarding the quality of data contained in these information systems. There are some important problems in the way of implementing. In order to overcome these issues, we need to raise community awareness.

  14. The advantages and barriers in the implementation of a substance dependence treatment information system (SDTIS)

    PubMed Central

    Ajami, Sima; Mellat-Karkevandi, Zahra

    2015-01-01

    Addiction is a phenomenon that causes structural changes in different systems of society. Studies show for planning of addiction prevention and treatment, it is necessary to create an information management system. Substance dependence information systems refer to systems which collect, analyse and report data related to substance dependence information. The aim of this study was to identify advantages and barriers to implement Substance Dependence Treatment Information System (SDTIS). This study was a narrative review. Our review divided into three phases: literature collection, assessing, and selection. We employed the following keywords and their combinations in different areas of articles. In this study, 22 of collected articles and reports were selected based on their relevancy. We found many advantages for a substance dependence treatment information system such as recording sufficient, complete and accurate information and easy and timely access to them and monitoring and enhancing the quality of care received by patients. But we may face some concerns for implementing this information system like taking time and funds from client services, being expensive or even problems regarding the quality of data contained in these information systems. There are some important problems in the way of implementing. In order to overcome these issues, we need to raise community awareness. PMID:26941816

  15. Advantages of Parallel Processing and the Effects of Communications Time

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eddy, Wesley M.; Allman, Mark

    2000-01-01

    Many computing tasks involve heavy mathematical calculations, or analyzing large amounts of data. These operations can take a long time to complete using only one computer. Networks such as the Internet provide many computers with the ability to communicate with each other. Parallel or distributed computing takes advantage of these networked computers by arranging them to work together on a problem, thereby reducing the time needed to obtain the solution. The drawback to using a network of computers to solve a problem is the time wasted in communicating between the various hosts. The application of distributed computing techniques to a space environment or to use over a satellite network would therefore be limited by the amount of time needed to send data across the network, which would typically take much longer than on a terrestrial network. This experiment shows how much faster a large job can be performed by adding more computers to the task, what role communications time plays in the total execution time, and the impact a long-delay network has on a distributed computing system.

  16. Computers and terminals as an aid to international technology transfer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sweeney, W. T.

    1974-01-01

    As technology transfer becomes more popular and proves to be an economical method for companies of all sizes to take advantage of a tremendous amount of new and available technology from sources all over the world, the introduction of computers and terminals into the international technology transfer process is proving to be a successful method for companies to take part in this beneficial approach to new business opportunities.

  17. Workshop approach for developing climate change adaptation strategies and actions for natural resource management agencies in the United States

    Treesearch

    Jessica E. Halofsky; David L Peterson; Michael J. Furniss; Linda A. Joyce; Constance I. Millar; Ronald P. Neilson

    2011-01-01

    Concrete ways to adapt to climate change are needed to help land-management agencies take steps to incorporate climate change into management and take advantage of opportunities to balance the negative effects of climate change. Because the development of adaptation tools and strategies is at an early stage, it is important that ideas and strategies are disseminated...

  18. Scalable Multiplexed Ion Trap Fabrication Using Ball Grid Arrays

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-10-31

    mounting micromirrors on the interposer surface to allow for improved ion addressing and distinct Doppler laser cooling and qubit operation zones...Having micromirrors so close to the ion position will allow for tighter beam focusing and individual ion addressing. Other possibilities could include...to build a unit cell that would take advantage of the micromirrors on the chip surface. Currently it only takes into account Doppler cooling and

  19. A revolutionary approach to health care cost control: leveraging the power of Web-enabled employee "consumerism".

    PubMed

    Rozzi, M V

    2001-09-01

    The confluence of two trends--health care "consumerism" and employee self-service benefits programs--offers employers a promising opportunity for health care cost control. To take advantage of this opportunity, employers must take a fresh look at the health care cost dilemma and find ways to simultaneously offer employees a new kind of benefit and implement more effective cost-control measures.

  20. Gene therapy progress and prospects: magnetic nanoparticle-based gene delivery.

    PubMed

    Dobson, J

    2006-02-01

    The recent emphasis on the development of non-viral transfection agents for gene delivery has led to new physics and chemistry-based techniques, which take advantage of charge interactions and energetic processes. One of these techniques which shows much promise for both in vitro and in vivo transfection involves the use of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles for gene delivery. In these systems, therapeutic or reporter genes are attached to magnetic nanoparticles, which are then focused to the target site/cells via high-field/high-gradient magnets. The technique promotes rapid transfection and, as more recent work indicates, excellent overall transfection levels as well. The advantages and difficulties associated with magnetic nanoparticle-based transfection will be discussed as will the underlying physical principles, recent studies and potential future applications.

  1. COS and WFC3 Observations of I Zwicky 18 Part 2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Green, James

    2010-09-01

    This program is a continuation of 11523, in which we took advantage of COS' high sensitivity to study both the stellar and gaseous component of the very-low-metallicity galaxy, I Zwicky 18 {IZw18}. Here, we repeat observations of I Zw 18 with G130M and G160M to increase the S/N of weak {or apparently absent} stellar and nebular features in order to improve our abundance estimates. For example, we wish to confirm the VERY low stellar abundance of nitrogen through spectral observations of the N V 1240 resonance doublet and the N IV 1718 line. We will also take advantage of WFC3's high-QE IR sensitivity to search for high-redshift galaxies via the Lyman-Break method.

  2. Reinforcement Learning for Weakly-Coupled MDPs and an Application to Planetary Rover Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bernstein, Daniel S.; Zilberstein, Shlomo

    2003-01-01

    Weakly-coupled Markov decision processes can be decomposed into subprocesses that interact only through a small set of bottleneck states. We study a hierarchical reinforcement learning algorithm designed to take advantage of this particular type of decomposability. To test our algorithm, we use a decision-making problem faced by autonomous planetary rovers. In this problem, a Mars rover must decide which activities to perform and when to traverse between science sites in order to make the best use of its limited resources. In our experiments, the hierarchical algorithm performs better than Q-learning in the early stages of learning, but unlike Q-learning it converges to a suboptimal policy. This suggests that it may be advantageous to use the hierarchical algorithm when training time is limited.

  3. Application of cokriging techniques for the estimation of hail size

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farnell, Carme; Rigo, Tomeu; Martin-Vide, Javier

    2018-01-01

    There are primarily two ways of estimating hail size: the first is the direct interpolation of point observations, and the second is the transformation of remote sensing fields into measurements of hail properties. Both techniques have advantages and limitations as regards generating the resultant map of hail damage. This paper presents a new methodology that combines the above mentioned techniques in an attempt to minimise the limitations and take advantage of the benefits of interpolation and the use of remote sensing data. The methodology was tested for several episodes with good results being obtained for the estimation of hail size at practically all the points analysed. The study area presents a large database of hail episodes, and for this reason, it constitutes an optimal test bench.

  4. Health Information System in a Cloud Computing Context.

    PubMed

    Sadoughi, Farahnaz; Erfannia, Leila

    2017-01-01

    Healthcare as a worldwide industry is experiencing a period of growth based on health information technology. The capabilities of cloud systems make it as an option to develop eHealth goals. The main objectives of the present study was to evaluate the advantages and limitations of health information systems implementation in a cloud-computing context that was conducted as a systematic review in 2016. Science direct, Scopus, Web of science, IEEE, PubMed and Google scholar were searched according study criteria. Among 308 articles initially found, 21 articles were entered in the final analysis. All the studies had considered cloud computing as a positive tool to help advance health technology, but none had insisted too much on its limitations and threats. Electronic health record systems have been mostly studied in the fields of implementation, designing, and presentation of models and prototypes. According to this research, the main advantages of cloud-based health information systems could be categorized into the following groups: economic benefits and advantages of information management. The main limitations of the implementation of cloud-based health information systems could be categorized into the 4 groups of security, legal, technical, and human restrictions. Compared to earlier studies, the present research had the advantage of dealing with the issue of health information systems in a cloud platform. The high frequency of studies conducted on the implementation of cloud-based health information systems revealed health industry interest in the application of this technology. Security was a subject discussed in most studies due to health information sensitivity. In this investigation, some mechanisms and solutions were discussed concerning the mentioned systems, which would provide a suitable area for future scientific research on this issue. The limitations and solutions discussed in this systematic study would help healthcare managers and decision-makers take better and more efficient advantages of this technology and make better planning to adopt cloud-based health information systems.

  5. Java for flight software

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Benowitz, E. G.; Niessner, A. F.

    2003-01-01

    We have successfully demonstrated a portion of the spacecraft attitude control and fault protection, running on a standard Java platform, and are currently in the process of taking advantage of the features provided by the RTSJ.

  6. Intra-reach headwater fish assemblage structure

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    McKenna, James E.

    2017-01-01

    Large-scale conservation efforts can take advantage of modern large databases and regional modeling and assessment methods. However, these broad-scale efforts often assume uniform average habitat conditions and/or species assemblages within stream reaches.

  7. Learn about the EPA's Federal Technology Transfer Act Program

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This act allows sharing Agency knowledge and expertise with outside partners through collaborative agreements and licensing. Potential partners can take advantage of opportunities to create or further develop solutions to environmental problems.

  8. Airway bypass treatment of severe homogeneous emphysema: taking advantage of collateral ventilation.

    PubMed

    Choong, Cliff K; Cardoso, Paulo F G; Sybrecht, Gerhard W; Cooper, Joel D

    2009-05-01

    Airway bypass is being investigated as a new form of minimally invasive therapy for the treatment of homogeneous emphysema. It is a bronchoscopic catheter-based procedure that creates transbronchial extra-anatomic passages at the bronchial segmental level. The passages are expanded, supported with the expectation that the patency is maintained by paclitaxel drug-eluting airway bypass stents. The concept of airway bypass has been demonstrated in two separate experimental studies. These studies have shown that airway bypass takes advantage of collateral ventilation present in homogeneous emphysema to allow trapped gas to escape and reduce hyperinflation. It improves lung mechanics, expiratory flow, and volume. Airway bypass stent placements have been shown to be feasible and safe in both animal and human studies. Paclitaxel-eluting airway bypass stents were found to prolong stent patency and were adopted for clinical studies. A study evaluating the early results of the clinical application of airway bypass with paclitaxel-eluting stents found that airway bypass procedures reduced hyperinflation and improved pulmonary function and dyspnea in selected subjects who have severe emphysema. The duration of benefit appeared to correlate with the degree of pretreatment hyperinflation. These preliminary clinical results supported further evaluation of the procedure and led to the EASE Trial. The EASE Trial is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. The trial aims to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the airway bypass to improve pulmonary function and reduce dyspnea in homogeneous emphysema subjects who have severe hyperinflation. The trial is presently ongoing worldwide, though enrollment was completed.

  9. Hydrophobic Drug Encapsulation Mechanisms of an Injectable Self-Assembling Peptide Hydrogel

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Jessie E. P.; Schneider, Joel P.; Pochan, Darrin J.

    2012-02-01

    We examined a beta-hairpin peptide network that is a shear thinning injectable solid with immediate rehealing behavior. These rheological properties result from the entangled and branched fibrillar nanostructure of the hydrogel networks. The fibrils are formed by the intramolecular folding and subsequent intermolecular assembly of the self-assembling peptides. Taking advantage of the nanofibrillar peptide structures, the hydrogel can be used to encapsulate curcumin, a hydrophobic, natural anticancer agent and indian spice. The hydrogel shields curcumin from the environment while depositing it exactly where it is intended through syringe injection, taking advantage of the hydrogel shear thinning and rehealing behavior. How the network envelopes and interacts with the curcumin is examined using fluoresence and electron microscopy methods to better understand the exact mechanisms and behaviors of the gel itself and the gel-curcumin construct.

  10. Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Observational Studies.

    PubMed

    Snyder, Graham M; Young, Heather; Varman, Meera; Milstone, Aaron M; Harris, Anthony D; Munoz-Price, Silvia

    2016-10-01

    Observational studies compare outcomes among subjects with and without an exposure of interest, without intervention from study investigators. Observational studies can be designed as a prospective or retrospective cohort study or as a case-control study. In healthcare epidemiology, these observational studies often take advantage of existing healthcare databases, making them more cost-effective than clinical trials and allowing analyses of rare outcomes. This paper addresses the importance of selecting a well-defined study population, highlights key considerations for study design, and offers potential solutions including biostatistical tools that are applicable to observational study designs. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1-6.

  11. Item-Based Top-N Recommendation Algorithms

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-01-20

    basket of items, utilized by many e-commerce sites, cannot take advantage of pre-computed user-to-user similarities. Finally, even though the...not discriminate between items that are present in frequent itemsets and items that are not, while still maintaining the computational advantages of...453219 0.02% 7.74 ccard 42629 68793 398619 0.01% 9.35 ecommerce 6667 17491 91222 0.08% 13.68 em 8002 1648 769311 5.83% 96.14 ml 943 1682 100000 6.31

  12. Parallel Vision Algorithm Design and Implementation 1988 End of Year Report

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-08-01

    as a local operation, the provided C code used raster order processing to speed up execution time. This made it impossible to implement the code using...Apply, which does not allow the programmer to take advantage of raster order processing . Therefore, the 5x5 median filter algorithm was a straight...possible to exploit raster- order processing in W2, giving greater efficiency. The first advantage is the reason that connected components and the Hough

  13. Novel encoding methods for DNA-templated chemical libraries.

    PubMed

    Li, Gang; Zheng, Wenlu; Liu, Ying; Li, Xiaoyu

    2015-06-01

    Among various types of DNA-encoded chemical libraries, DNA-templated library takes advantage of the sequence-specificity of DNA hybridization, enabling not only highly effective DNA-templated chemical reactions, but also high fidelity in library encoding. This brief review summarizes recent advances that have been made on the encoding strategies for DNA-templated libraries, and it also highlights their respective advantages and limitations for the preparation of DNA-encoded libraries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. How the risky features of previous selection affect subsequent decision-making: evidence from behavioral and fMRI measures.

    PubMed

    Dong, Guangheng; Zhang, Yifen; Xu, Jiaojing; Lin, Xiao; Du, Xiaoxia

    2015-01-01

    Human decision making is rarely conducted in temporal isolation. It is often biased and affected by environmental variables, particularly prior selections. In this study, we used a task that simulates a real gambling process to explore the effect of the risky features of a previous selection on subsequent decision making. Compared with decision making after an advantageous risk-taking situation (Risk_Adv), that after a disadvantageous risk-taking situation (Risk_Disadv) is associated with a longer response time (RT, the time spent in making decisions) and higher brain activations in the caudate and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Compared with decisions after Risk_Adv, those after Risk_Disadv in loss trials are associated with higher brain activations in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the precuneus. Brain activity and relevant RTs significantly correlated. Overall, people who experience disadvantageous risk-taking selections tend to focus on current decision making and engage cognitive endeavors in value evaluation and in the regulation of their risk-taking behaviors during decision making.

  15. SpS5 - II. Stellar and wind parameters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martins, F.; Bergemann, M.; Bestenlehner, J. M.; Crowther, P. A.; Hamann, W. R.; Najarro, F.; Nieva, M. F.; Przybilla, N.; Freimanis, J.; Hou, W.; Kaper, L.

    2015-03-01

    The development of infrared observational facilities has revealed a number of massive stars in obscured environments throughout the Milky Way and beyond. The determination of their stellar and wind properties from infrared diagnostics is thus required to take full advantage of the wealth of observations available in the near and mid infrared. However, the task is challenging. This session addressed some of the problems encountered and showed the limitations and successes of infrared studies of massive stars.

  16. Strategic planning: a biomedical communications model.

    PubMed

    Barrett, J E

    1991-01-01

    This article describes a biomedical communications approach to strategic planning. This model produces a short-term plan that allows a department to take the competitive advantage, react to technological change, and make timely decisions on new courses of action. The model calls for self-study, involving staff in brainstorming sessions where options are identified and ideas are prioritized into possible strategies for success. The article recommends that an evaluation and monitoring schedule be implemented after decisions have been made.

  17. Is the treatment worse than the cure? Attitudes toward medications among persons with severe mental illness.

    PubMed

    Van Dongen, C J

    1997-03-01

    1. Patients' attitudes toward taking long-term psychotropic medications and factors that may influence drug attitudes are important factors in compliance. 2. Patients in this study had generally positive drug attitudes and perceived their medications as important in preventing relapse. 3. Attitudes toward psychotropic medications may be more positive than has been assumed by mental health professionals, as patients seem to realize that the advantages of medications outweight side effects.

  18. Study of Command and Control (C&C) Structures on the Employment of Collaborative Engagement Capability (CEC) on Land Systems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-09-01

    especially the sophisticated sea- skimming missiles that take advantage of the earth’s spherical nature as well the “sea clutter” that obstructs...radar capabilities such as the radar scanning range and ability to filter sea clutter to detect sea- skimming missile. The longer the range and the more...sea clutter Compact, cluttered with buildings, residents Common Threats Long-range sea skimming missiles Projectiles Platform Large platform

  19. A field study of bar-sponsored drink specials and their associations with patron intoxication.

    PubMed

    Thombs, Dennis L; O'Mara, Ryan; Dodd, Virginia J; Hou, Wei; Merves, Michele L; Weiler, Robert M; Pokorny, Steven B; Goldberger, Bruce A; Reingle, Jennifer; Werch, Chudley Chad E

    2009-03-01

    The study examined associations between bar-sponsored drink specials and alcohol intoxication at the patron level. Data were collected in a college bar district located in a large campus community in the southeastern United States. Random and self-selected samples of patrons were interviewed after exiting college bars at night on four different nights (N=383). Anonymous interview and questionnaire data were collected as well as breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) readings. Significant gender differences existed in patron drinking practices. Women were more likely to take advantage of drink specials, whereas men reported greater alcohol expenditures, consumed more drinks, and drank for longer periods of time. Gender differences in BrAC were very small and not meaningful. Patrons who did not take advantage of drink specials reported consuming more drinks before bar entry than patrons who did participate in these promotions. Participation in "all-you-can-drink" promotions was significantly associated with higher BrAC readings after adjusting for covariates and random effects attributable to drinking establishment. Other drink specials did not have significant associations with alcohol intoxication. The all-you-can-drink special may be the specific discounting practice with the greatest potential for boosting patron intoxication and thus may need to be a stronger focus of alcohol-control policies aimed at improving the beverage service of drinking establishments.

  20. "The Gaze Heuristic:" Biography of an Adaptively Rational Decision Process.

    PubMed

    Hamlin, Robert P

    2017-04-01

    This article is a case study that describes the natural and human history of the gaze heuristic. The gaze heuristic is an interception heuristic that utilizes a single input (deviation from a constant angle of approach) repeatedly as a task is performed. Its architecture, advantages, and limitations are described in detail. A history of the gaze heuristic is then presented. In natural history, the gaze heuristic is the only known technique used by predators to intercept prey. In human history the gaze heuristic was discovered accidentally by Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter command just prior to World War II. As it was never discovered by the Luftwaffe, the technique conferred a decisive advantage upon the RAF throughout the war. After the end of the war in America, German technology was combined with the British heuristic to create the Sidewinder AIM9 missile, the most successful autonomous weapon ever built. There are no plans to withdraw it or replace its guiding gaze heuristic. The case study demonstrates that the gaze heuristic is a specific heuristic type that takes a single best input at the best time (take the best 2 ). Its use is an adaptively rational response to specific, rapidly evolving decision environments that has allowed those animals/humans/machines who use it to survive, prosper, and multiply relative to those who do not. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  1. The value of model averaging and dynamical climate model predictions for improving statistical seasonal streamflow forecasts over Australia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pokhrel, Prafulla; Wang, Q. J.; Robertson, David E.

    2013-10-01

    Seasonal streamflow forecasts are valuable for planning and allocation of water resources. In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology employs a statistical method to forecast seasonal streamflows. The method uses predictors that are related to catchment wetness at the start of a forecast period and to climate during the forecast period. For the latter, a predictor is selected among a number of lagged climate indices as candidates to give the "best" model in terms of model performance in cross validation. This study investigates two strategies for further improvement in seasonal streamflow forecasts. The first is to combine, through Bayesian model averaging, multiple candidate models with different lagged climate indices as predictors, to take advantage of different predictive strengths of the multiple models. The second strategy is to introduce additional candidate models, using rainfall and sea surface temperature predictions from a global climate model as predictors. This is to take advantage of the direct simulations of various dynamic processes. The results show that combining forecasts from multiple statistical models generally yields more skillful forecasts than using only the best model and appears to moderate the worst forecast errors. The use of rainfall predictions from the dynamical climate model marginally improves the streamflow forecasts when viewed over all the study catchments and seasons, but the use of sea surface temperature predictions provide little additional benefit.

  2. Genome Editing in the Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus.

    PubMed

    Watanabe, Takahito; Noji, Sumihare; Mito, Taro

    2017-01-01

    Hemimetabolous, or incompletely metamorphosing, insects are phylogenetically basal and include many beneficial and deleterious species. The cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, is an emerging model for hemimetabolous insects, based on the success of RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene-functional analyses and transgenic technology. Taking advantage of genome editing technologies in this species would greatly promote functional genomics studies. Genome editing has proven to be an effective method for site-specific genome manipulation in various species. Here, we describe a protocol for genome editing including gene knockout and gene knockin in G. bimaculatus for functional genomics studies.

  3. Approach to Mars Field Geology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Muehlberger, William; Rice, James W.; Parker, Timothy; Lipps, Jere H.; Hoffman, Paul; Burchfiel, Clark; Brasier, Martin

    1998-01-01

    The goals of field study on Mars are nothing less than to understand the processes and history of the planet at whatever level of detail is necessary. A manned mission gives us an unprecedented opportunity to use the immense power of the human mind to comprehend Mars in extraordinary detail. To take advantage of this opportunity, it is important to examine how we should approach the field study of Mars. In this effort, we are guided by over 200 years of field exploration experience on Earth as well as six manned missions exploring the Moon.

  4. The chimerical and multifaceted marine acoel Symsagittifera roscoffensis: from photosymbiosis to brain regeneration

    PubMed Central

    Bailly, Xavier; Laguerre, Laurent; Correc, Gaëlle; Dupont, Sam; Kurth, Thomas; Pfannkuchen, Anja; Entzeroth, Rolf; Probert, Ian; Vinogradov, Serge; Lechauve, Christophe; Garet-Delmas, Marie-José; Reichert, Heinrich; Hartenstein, Volker

    2014-01-01

    A remarkable example of biological engineering is the capability of some marine animals to take advantage of photosynthesis by hosting symbiotic algae. This capacity, referred to as photosymbiosis, is based on structural and functional complexes that involve two distantly unrelated organisms. These stable photosymbiotic associations between metazoans and photosynthetic protists play fundamental roles in marine ecology as exemplified by reef communities and their vulnerability to global changes threats. Here we introduce a photosymbiotic tidal acoel flatworm, Symsagittifera roscoffensis, and its obligatory green algal photosymbiont, Tetraselmis convolutae (Lack of the algal partner invariably results in acoel lethality emphasizing the mandatory nature of the photosymbiotic algae for the animal's survival). Together they form a composite photosymbiotic unit, which can be reared in controlled conditions that provide easy access to key life-cycle events ranging from early embryogenesis through the induction of photosymbiosis in aposymbiotic juveniles to the emergence of a functional “solar-powered” mature stage. Since it is possible to grow both algae and host under precisely controlled culture conditions, it is now possible to design a range of new experimental protocols that address the mechanisms and evolution of photosymbiosis. S. roscoffensis thus represents an emerging model system with experimental advantages that complement those of other photosymbiotic species, in particular corals. The basal taxonomic position of S. roscoffensis (and acoels in general) also makes it a relevant model for evolutionary studies of development, stem cell biology and regeneration. Finally, it's autotrophic lifestyle and lack of calcification make S. roscoffensis a favorable system to study the role of symbiosis in the response of marine organisms to climate change (e.g., ocean warming and acidification). In this article we summarize the state of knowledge of the biology of S. roscoffensis and its algal partner from studies dating back over a century, and provide an overview of ongoing research efforts that take advantage of this unique system. PMID:25324833

  5. Best practices for rural smart growth.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-07-01

    Smart growth is a development strategy that encompasses economic, environmental and social objectives to manage : the growth of a community. The basic principles of smart growth are to: : Mix land uses. : Take advantage of compact building de...

  6. Creating silvopastures: some considerations when planting trees in pastures

    Treesearch

    John Fike; Adam Downing; John Munsell; Gregory E. Frey; Kelly Mercier; Gabriel Pent; Chris Teutsch; J.B. Daniel; Jason Fisher; Miller Adams; Todd Groh

    2017-01-01

     Silvopastures — integrated tree-forage-livestock production systems — have the potential to boost farm resource use and income. These systems take advantage of the beneficial interactions...

  7. Transit signal priority with connected vehicle technology.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-01-01

    A new TSP logic was proposed, taking advantage of the resources provided by Connected Vehicle (CV) : technology, including two-way communication between the bus and the traffic signal controller, accurate bus : location detection and prediction, and ...

  8. Mexico Fires

    Atmospheric Science Data Center

    2013-04-18

    ... on the right. This quantity is retrieved using an automated computer algorithm that takes advantage of MISR's multi-angle capability. Areas ... NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Terra spacecraft is managed ...

  9. Land-Grant Colleges Take Aggressive Steps to Get Agriculture Funds from Congress.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cordes, Colleen

    1987-01-01

    Increasingly, institutions are seeking money directly from Congress for new research facilities and other science projects, stirring criticism of "pork-barrel science" and special advantages given to land-grant colleges. (MSE)

  10. 77 FR 20497 - National Financial Capability Month, 2012

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-05

    ... their financial future. I encourage all Americans to take advantage of the free, reliable financial resources at www.MyMoney.gov , www.ConsumerFinance.gov , and 1-888-MyMoney. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA...

  11. The TSA Dragon--How to Slay It.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jeffers, Robert D.; Lamkin, Robert

    1983-01-01

    Three types of structures used in university systems to permit faculty and staff to take advantage of voluntary Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) programs are discussed. An innovative system at the University of Nevada is described. (MLW)

  12. 78 FR 25782 - Guidance on FMCSA's Publication: Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-02

    ...) 366-8045. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: May marks the start of the summer moving season. Thousands of... unscrupulous movers and brokers attempt to take advantage of individuals' vulnerabilities and lack of...

  13. Herbicide efficacy and perennial grass establishment

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion has astronomically altered native plant communities throughout the Intermountain West. Cheatgrass truncates secondary succession by outcompeting native plant species for limited resources, thus building persistent seed banks to take advantage of conditions that...

  14. [Study on the effect of solar spectra on the retrieval of atmospheric CO2 concentration using high resolution absorption spectra].

    PubMed

    Hu, Zhen-Hua; Huang, Teng; Wang, Ying-Ping; Ding, Lei; Zheng, Hai-Yang; Fang, Li

    2011-06-01

    Taking solar source as radiation in the near-infrared high-resolution absorption spectrum is widely used in remote sensing of atmospheric parameters. The present paper will take retrieval of the concentration of CO2 for example, and study the effect of solar spectra resolution. Retrieving concentrations of CO2 by using high resolution absorption spectra, a method which uses the program provided by AER to calculate the solar spectra at the top of atmosphere as radiation and combine with the HRATS (high resolution atmospheric transmission simulation) to simulate retrieving concentration of CO2. Numerical simulation shows that the accuracy of solar spectrum is important to retrieval, especially in the hyper-resolution spectral retrieavl, and the error of retrieval concentration has poor linear relation with the resolution of observation, but there is a tendency that the decrease in the resolution requires low resolution of solar spectrum. In order to retrieve the concentration of CO2 of atmosphere, the authors' should take full advantage of high-resolution solar spectrum at the top of atmosphere.

  15. Affective responsiveness is influenced by intake of oral contraceptives.

    PubMed

    Radke, Sina; Derntl, Birgit

    2016-06-01

    Despite the widespread use of oral contraceptive pills (OCs), little is known about their impact on psychological processes and emotional competencies. Recent data indicate impaired emotion recognition in OC users compared to naturally cycling females. Building upon these findings, the current study investigated the influence of OC use on three components of empathy, i.e., emotion recognition, perspective-taking, and affective responsiveness. We compared naturally cycling women to two groups of OC users, one being tested in their pill-free week and one in the phase of active intake. Whereas groups did not differ in emotion recognition and perspective-taking, an effect of pill phase was evident for affective responsiveness: Females currently taking the pill showed better performance than those in their pill-free week. These processing advantages complement previous findings on menstrual cycle effects and thereby suggest an association with changes in endogenous and exogenous reproductive hormones. The current study highlights the need for future research to shed more light on the neuroendocrine alterations accompanying OC intake. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  16. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction of human genetic disease.

    PubMed

    Men, Ke; Duan, Xingmei; He, Zhiyao; Yang, Yang; Yao, Shaohua; Wei, Yuquan

    2017-05-01

    The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) protein 9 system (CRISPR/Cas9) provides a powerful tool for targeted genetic editing. Directed by programmable sequence-specific RNAs, this system introduces cleavage and double-stranded breaks at target sites precisely. Compared to previously developed targeted nucleases, the CRISPR/Cas9 system demonstrates several promising advantages, including simplicity, high specificity, and efficiency. Several broad genome-editing studies with the CRISPR/Cas9 system in different species in vivo and ex vivo have indicated its strong potential, raising hopes for therapeutic genome editing in clinical settings. Taking advantage of non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) and homology directed repair (HDR)-mediated DNA repair, several studies have recently reported the use of CRISPR/Cas9 to successfully correct disease-causing alleles ranging from single base mutations to large insertions. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent preclinical studies involving the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated correction of human genetic diseases.

  17. Making Waves: New Developments in Toxicology With the Zebrafish.

    PubMed

    Horzmann, Katharine A; Freeman, Jennifer L

    2018-05-01

    The laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now an accepted model in toxicologic research. The zebrafish model fills a niche between in vitro models and mammalian biomedical models. The developmental characteristics of the small fish are strategically being used by scientists to study topics ranging from high-throughput toxicity screens to toxicity in multi- and transgenerational studies. High-throughput technology has increased the utility of zebrafish embryonic toxicity assays in screening of chemicals and drugs for toxicity or effect. Additionally, advances in behavioral characterization and experimental methodology allow for observation of recognizable phenotypic changes after xenobiotic exposure. Future directions in zebrafish research are predicted to take advantage of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing methods in creating models of disease and interrogating mechanisms of action with fluorescent reporters or tagged proteins. Zebrafish can also model developmental origins of health and disease and multi- and transgenerational toxicity. The zebrafish has many advantages as a toxicologic model and new methodologies and areas of study continue to expand the usefulness and application of the zebrafish.

  18. Home Visiting for Intervention Delivery to Improve Rural Family Asthma Management

    PubMed Central

    Horner, Sharon D.

    2010-01-01

    The focus of this article is on the use of home visits in an asthma self-management intervention study with rural families who have a school-aged child with asthma. The study design involved randomization of the sample by elementary schools, then baseline (pre-test) and post-intervention data collection. The purpose of this article is to describe challenges in and pose solutions for implementing home visits for asthma self-management in rural areas. Home visiting is a strategy for program delivery that takes advantage of the home context for tailoring services to address the family’s individual needs. The advantages of intervening in the home included being able to (a) use actual home conditions for individualizing the asthma education to meet families’ needs; (b) match home visitors with family in terms of ethnicity and language; (c) retain a high percentage of families over the year-long duration of the study; and (d) not add to family burden of managing asthma. PMID:17064231

  19. Performance Management in Healthcare Organizations: Concept and Practicum.

    PubMed

    Dimitropoulos, Panagiotis E

    2017-01-01

    Organizational performance can create and sustain competitive advantages for corporations and even improve their sustainability and future prospects. Health care organizations present a sector where performance management is structured by multiple dimensions. The scope of this study is to analyze the issue of performance management in healthcare organizations and specifically the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) methodology on organizations providing health services. The study provides a discussion on the BSC development process, the steps that management has to take in order to prepare the implementation of the BSC and finally discusses a practical example of a scorecard with specific strategic goals and performance indicators. Managers of healthcare organizations and specifically those providing services to the elderly and the general population could use the propositions of the study as a roadmap for processing, analyzing, evaluating and implementing the balanced scorecard approach in their organizations' daily operations. BSC methodology can give an advantage in terms of enhanced stakeholder management and preservation within a highly volatile and competitive economic environment.

  20. Man’s best friend: what can pet dogs teach us about non-Hodgkin lymphoma?

    PubMed Central

    Richards, Kristy L.; Suter, Steven E.

    2014-01-01

    Summary Animal models are essential for understanding lymphoma biology and testing new treatments prior to human studies. Spontaneously arising lymphomas in pet dogs represent an underutilized resource that could be used to complement current mouse lymphoma models, which do not adequately represent all aspects of the human disease. Canine lymphoma resembles human lymphoma in many important ways, including characteristic translocations and molecular abnormalities and similar therapeutic responses to chemotherapy, radiation, and newer targeted therapies (e.g. ibrutinib). Given the large number of pet dogs and high incidence of lymphoma, particularly in susceptible breeds, dogs represent a largely untapped resource for advancing the understanding and treatment of human lymphoma. This review highlights similarities in molecular biology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes between human and canine lymphoma. It also describes resources that are currently available to study canine lymphoma, advantages to be gained by exploiting the genetic breed structure in dogs, and current and future challenges and opportunities to take full advantage of this resource for lymphoma studies. PMID:25510277

  1. Electric Field Control of Magnetism Using BiFeO3-Based Heterostructures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-04-22

    dissipation in the form of heat has become a center stage issue for the microelectronics industry. By taking advantage of the strong correlations...speed and storage density, significant energy dissipation in the form of heat has become a center stage issue for the microelectronics industry. By...and storage density, significant energy dissipation in the form of heat has become a center stage issue for the microelectronics industry. By taking

  2. Didactic Time, Epistemic Gain and Consistent Tool: Taking Care of Teachers' Needs for Classroom Use of CAS--A Reaction to Barzel's "New Technology? New Ways of Teaching--No Time Left for That!"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lagrange, Jean-Baptiste

    2007-01-01

    The relationship between teachers and Computer Algebra Systems is generally problematic. The extensive capabilities of CAS provide opportunities for learning but also bring a new complexity that makes it difficult for teachers to take advantage of these opportunities. Barzel's paper contrasts with this observation: in a "Lernwerkstatt"…

  3. Data Assimilation and Predictability Studies on Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) Using the WRF-LETKF System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyoshi, T.; Kunii, M.

    2011-12-01

    Data assimilation and predictability studies on Tropical Cyclones with a particular focus on intensity forecasts are performed with the newly-developed Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) system with the WRF model. Taking advantage of intensive observations of the internationally collaborated T-PARC (THORPEX Pacific Asian Regional Campaign) project, we focus on Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) which intensified rapidly before making landfall to Taiwan. This study includes a number of data assimilation experiments, higher-resolution forecasts, and sensitivity analysis which quantifies impacts of observations on forecasts. This presentation includes latest achievements up to the time of the conference.

  4. Leveraging business intelligence to make better decisions: Part I.

    PubMed

    Reimers, Mona

    2014-01-01

    Data is the new currency. Business intelligence tools will provide better performing practices with a competitive intelligence advantage that will separate the high performers from the rest of the pack. Given the investments of time and money into our data systems, practice leaders must work to take every advantage and look at the datasets as a potential goldmine of business intelligence decision tools. A fresh look at decision tools created from practice data will create efficiencies and improve effectiveness for end-users and managers.

  5. Evaluation of Item-Based Top-N Recommendation Algorithms

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2000-09-15

    Furthermore, one of the advantages of the item-based algorithm is that it has much smaller computational require- 11 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 ecommerce ...items, utilized by many e-commerce sites, cannot take advantage of pre-computed user-to-user similarities. Consequently, even though the throughput of...Non-Zeros ecommerce 6667 17491 91222 catalog 50918 39080 435524 ccard 42629 68793 398619 skills 4374 2125 82612 movielens 943 1682 100000 Table 1: The

  6. Shock Effect or Ships Passing in the Night: The Role of Armored Forces in Fourth Generation Warfare

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-06-23

    effects- based planning, by immediately making clear the limitations and constraints of the use of such force. It is certain that as an instrument of the...advantage of the weaknesses of disorder; conversely, disorder takes advantage of the weaknesses of order. Based upon the strategic aims of the...generations of war with their overlapping political, economic, social , military, and mass media arenas makes determining the type of war we are entering more

  7. Simulators for corporate pilot training and evaluation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Treichel, Curt

    1992-01-01

    Corporate aviation relies heavily on simulation to meet training and evaluation requirements. It appreciates the savings in fuel, money, noise, and time, and the added safety it provides. Also, simulation provides opportunities to experience many emergencies that cannot be safely practiced in the aircraft. There is a need to focus on the advantages of simulator training over aircraft training and to provide appropriate changes in the regulations to allow the community to make it possible for users to take full advantage of simulation.

  8. A Bioluminometric Method of DNA Sequencing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ronaghi, Mostafa; Pourmand, Nader; Stolc, Viktor; Arnold, Jim (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Pyrosequencing is a bioluminometric single-tube DNA sequencing method that takes advantage of co-operativity between four enzymes to monitor DNA synthesis. In this sequencing-by-synthesis method, a cascade of enzymatic reactions yields detectable light, which is proportional to incorporated nucleotides. Pyrosequencing has the advantages of accuracy, flexibility and parallel processing. It can be easily automated. Furthermore, the technique dispenses with the need for labeled primers, labeled nucleotides and gel-electrophoresis. In this chapter, the use of this technique for different applications is discussed.

  9. Associated petroleum gas utilization in Tomsk Oblast: energy efficiency and tax advantages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vazim, A.; Romanyuk, V.; Ahmadeev, K.; Matveenko, I.

    2015-11-01

    This article deals with oil production companies activities in increasing the utilization volume of associated petroleum gas (APG) in Tomsk Oblast. Cost-effectiveness analysis of associated petroleum gas utilization was carried out using the example of gas engine power station AGP-350 implementation at Yuzhno-Cheremshanskoye field, Tomsk Oblast. Authors calculated the effectiveness taking into account the tax advantages of 2012. The implementation of this facility shows high profitability, the payback period being less than 2 years.

  10. DAI-CLIPS: Distributed, Asynchronous, Interacting CLIPS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gagne, Denis; Garant, Alain

    1994-01-01

    DAI-CLIPS is a distributed computational environment within which each CLIPS is an active independent computational entity with the ability to communicate freely with other CLIPS. Furthermore, new CLIPS can be created, others can be deleted or modify their expertise, all dynamically in an asynchronous and independent fashion during execution. The participating CLIPS are distributed over a network of heterogeneous processors taking full advantage of the available processing power. We present the general framework encompassing DAI-CLIPS and discuss some of its advantages and potential applications.

  11. Ferroresonant Flux-Coupled Battery Charger

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mclyman, C. W.

    1986-01-01

    Portable battery charger operates at about 20 kHz to take advantage of relatively low weight and low acoustical noise of ferroresonant circuits operating in this frequency range. Charger split into stationary unit connected to powerline and mobile unit connected to battery or other load. Power transferred to mobile unit by magnetic coupling between mating transformer halves. Advantage where sparking at electrical connection might pose explosion hazard or where operator disabled and cannot manipulate plug into wall outlet. Likely applications for charger include wheelchairs and robots.

  12. A New Type of Heterogeneous Catalyst with Isolated FE-RH Diatomic Sites

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1988-06-01

    the logical step was to take advantage of the hoped-for changes in reactivity and selectivity of the new sites. They showed that characterization can...These gases were further purified by passing through Oxy-traps ( Alltech Associates) and molecular sieve traps (Linde 4A) to remove any remainin oxygen or...on a support surface. One of the advantages of the N Mossbauer Effect is that only certain atoms are Mossbauer active and the source used will dictate

  13. Meta-analysis of quantitative pleiotropic traits for next-generation sequencing with multivariate functional linear models

    PubMed Central

    Chiu, Chi-yang; Jung, Jeesun; Chen, Wei; Weeks, Daniel E; Ren, Haobo; Boehnke, Michael; Amos, Christopher I; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L; Ting Lee, Mei-ling; Xiong, Momiao; Fan, Ruzong

    2017-01-01

    To analyze next-generation sequencing data, multivariate functional linear models are developed for a meta-analysis of multiple studies to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates. The goal is to take the advantage of both meta-analysis and pleiotropic analysis in order to improve power and to carry out a unified association analysis of multiple studies and multiple traits of complex disorders. Three types of approximate F -distributions based on Pillai–Bartlett trace, Hotelling–Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants. Simulation analysis is performed to evaluate false-positive rates and power of the proposed tests. The proposed methods are applied to analyze lipid traits in eight European cohorts. It is shown that it is more advantageous to perform multivariate analysis than univariate analysis in general, and it is more advantageous to perform meta-analysis of multiple studies instead of analyzing the individual studies separately. The proposed models require individual observations. The value of the current paper can be seen at least for two reasons: (a) the proposed methods can be applied to studies that have individual genotype data; (b) the proposed methods can be used as a criterion for future work that uses summary statistics to build test statistics to meta-analyze the data. PMID:28000696

  14. Meta-analysis of quantitative pleiotropic traits for next-generation sequencing with multivariate functional linear models.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Chi-Yang; Jung, Jeesun; Chen, Wei; Weeks, Daniel E; Ren, Haobo; Boehnke, Michael; Amos, Christopher I; Liu, Aiyi; Mills, James L; Ting Lee, Mei-Ling; Xiong, Momiao; Fan, Ruzong

    2017-02-01

    To analyze next-generation sequencing data, multivariate functional linear models are developed for a meta-analysis of multiple studies to connect genetic variant data to multiple quantitative traits adjusting for covariates. The goal is to take the advantage of both meta-analysis and pleiotropic analysis in order to improve power and to carry out a unified association analysis of multiple studies and multiple traits of complex disorders. Three types of approximate F -distributions based on Pillai-Bartlett trace, Hotelling-Lawley trace, and Wilks's Lambda are introduced to test for association between multiple quantitative traits and multiple genetic variants. Simulation analysis is performed to evaluate false-positive rates and power of the proposed tests. The proposed methods are applied to analyze lipid traits in eight European cohorts. It is shown that it is more advantageous to perform multivariate analysis than univariate analysis in general, and it is more advantageous to perform meta-analysis of multiple studies instead of analyzing the individual studies separately. The proposed models require individual observations. The value of the current paper can be seen at least for two reasons: (a) the proposed methods can be applied to studies that have individual genotype data; (b) the proposed methods can be used as a criterion for future work that uses summary statistics to build test statistics to meta-analyze the data.

  15. [Study of the Application of Mobile Medical Technology in Construction of Grading Diagnosis and Treatment System].

    PubMed

    Zhu, Wenwu; Shen, Yihong; Zhen, Hui; Yang, Xiaohe; Hu, Kai

    2018-02-08

    The combination of mobile medical technology and the grading diagnosis and treatment system (GDTS) can stimulate the allocation of medical resources, reduce medical cost and improve public health significantly. Firstly we summarize development features of mobile medical technology in foreign and domestic market, then we study the application model of mobile medical application in GDTS with field research data and analyzes its advantage and shortage. Finally, we propose four measures for further developing mobile medical application in the GDTS:the government departments should formulate policies and industry standards of products as soon as possible to meet requirement of market; service providers should take the hospitals as core role to achieve mutual benefit and win-win situation; take the daily monitoring of chronic diseases as an entry point to build profitable business model; enhance publicity to promote public health awareness.

  16. Study on ecological conservation planning of Xianyue Park in Xiamen City, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Naizhong; Xi, Rong; Ren, Tingyan; Zhao, Peng; Chuai, Zeyao

    2017-08-01

    The paper discusses the current situation and existing problems of ecological restoration and tourist infrastructure development of Xiamen Xianyue Park located in Xiamen Island, China. Issues of ecosystem restoration and landscape improvement, restoring habitats, and ecosystem management system are analyzed. Options of further optimization of the tourist-targeted infrastructure are proposed, which take into account the ecological system and landscape pattern optimization, promotion of ecotourism, and implementation of the ecological management system. The particular solution envisages the park zoning with three primary zones (ecological protection, ecological buffer, and general activity zones) and five secondary ones (scenic landscape, ecotourism, religious activity, buildings and structures, and entertainment zones). By integrating the ecological principles into other land use objectives, taking full advantage of the park ecological and cultural heritage, and improving its ecological management, it is expected to provide the ecological restoration of the park under study and optimize its contribution to the regional economic and social development.

  17. Mate Finding, Sexual Spore Production, and the Spread of Fungal Plant Parasites.

    PubMed

    Hamelin, Frédéric M; Castella, François; Doli, Valentin; Marçais, Benoît; Ravigné, Virginie; Lewis, Mark A

    2016-04-01

    Sexual reproduction and dispersal are often coupled in organisms mixing sexual and asexual reproduction, such as fungi. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of mate limitation on the spreading speed of fungal plant parasites. Starting from a simple model with two coupled partial differential equations, we take advantage of the fact that we are interested in the dynamics over large spatial and temporal scales to reduce the model to a single equation. We obtain a simple expression for speed of spread, accounting for both sexual and asexual reproduction. Taking Black Sigatoka disease of banana plants as a case study, the model prediction is in close agreement with the actual spreading speed (100 km per year), whereas a similar model without mate limitation predicts a wave speed one order of magnitude greater. We discuss the implications of these results to control parasites in which sexual reproduction and dispersal are intrinsically coupled.

  18. The Primary Physician

    PubMed Central

    Sadler, Paul

    1969-01-01

    Dr Paul Sadler takes another point of view and describes the successful division of his housing-estate practice into four specialist departments: pxediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics and general medicine. He further details the organization and advantages of his own department, pediatrics. PMID:5816896

  19. Debt Financing: Academia's Funding Alternative.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baum, Rudy M.

    1981-01-01

    Discusses debt financing as a way to help universities alleviate the problems of obsolete scientific equipment and facilities for research. Reviews several forms of tax-exempt financing and takes note of some of the advantages of debt financing. (CS)

  20. Soybean

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The primary vulnerability of soybean production to climate change is likely to be from the effects of drought, which may be exacerbated by high temperature events. Technological adaptation can likely take advantage of warming in some production areas and rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon ...

  1. Matpar: Parallel Extensions for MATLAB

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Springer, P. L.

    1998-01-01

    Matpar is a set of client/server software that allows a MATLAB user to take advantage of a parallel computer for very large problems. The user can replace calls to certain built-in MATLAB functions with calls to Matpar functions.

  2. TXDOT ITS strategic plan 2013.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-04-01

    TxDOTs mission is to provide safe and reliable transportation solutions for the citizens of Texas. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) can play a pivotal role in meeting that mission. TxDOT can take advantage of advanced and emerging technolo...

  3. Shunting inhibitory cellular neural networks with chaotic external inputs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akhmet, M. U.; Fen, M. O.

    2013-06-01

    Taking advantage of external inputs, it is shown that shunting inhibitory cellular neural networks behave chaotically. The analysis is based on the Li-Yorke definition of chaos. Appropriate illustrations which support the theoretical results are depicted.

  4. Soil organic matter dynamics during 80 years of reforestation of tropical pastures

    Treesearch

    Erika Marin-Spiotta; Whendee L. Silver; Christopher W. Swanston; Rebecca Ostertag

    2009-01-01

    Our research takes advantage of a historical trend in natural reforestation of abandoned tropical pastures to examine changes in soil carbon (C) during 80 years of secondary forest regrowth. We combined a chronosequence...

  5. Rehabilitation of cheatgrass infested rangelands: an integrated approach

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion has astronomically altered native plant communities throughout the Intermountain West. Cheatgrass has truncated secondary succession by outcompeting native plant species for limited resources, thus building persistent seed banks to take advantage of conditions ...

  6. What Americans think of the new insurance marketplaces and Medicaid expansion: findings from the Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Marketplace Survey, 2013.

    PubMed

    Collins, Sara R; Rasmussen, Petra W; Doty, Michelle M; Garber, Tracy

    2013-09-01

    The Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces are opening for enrollment on October 1, 2013. The Commonwealth Fund Health Insurance Marketplace Survey, 2013, finds that only two of five adults are aware of the marketplaces or of potential financial help that may be available to them to pay for plans purchased though the marketplaces. However, three of five adults who might be eligible for these new options said they were likely to take advantage of them. The survey also finds broad support for state expansion of the Medicaid program, even in states that have not yet decided to expand their programs. While outreach and education are critical to ensuring that those eligible for the new coverage options will enroll, the survey results suggest that eligible Americans will likely take advantage of the law's insurance reforms in the months and years to come.

  7. Cloud Surprises Discovered in Moving NASA EOSDIS Applications into Amazon Web Services… and #6 Will Shock You!

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McLaughlin, B. D.; Pawloski, A. W.

    2017-12-01

    NASA ESDIS has been moving a variety of data ingest, distribution, and science data processing applications into a cloud environment over the last 2 years. As expected, there have been a number of challenges in migrating primarily on-premises applications into a cloud-based environment, related to architecture and taking advantage of cloud-based services. What was not expected is a number of issues that were beyond purely technical application re-architectures. From surprising network policy limitations, billing challenges in a government-based cost model, and obtaining certificates in an NASA security-compliant manner to working with multiple applications in a shared and resource-constrained AWS account, these have been the relevant challenges in taking advantage of a cloud model. And most surprising of all… well, you'll just have to wait and see the "gotcha" that caught our entire team off guard!

  8. Ultra-Low Heat-Leak, High-Temperature Superconducting Current Leads for Space Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rey, Christopher M.

    2013-01-01

    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has a need for current leads used in an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR) for space applications. These leads must comply with stringent requirements such as a heat leak of approximately 100 W or less while conducting up to 10 A of electric current, from more than 90 K down to 10 K. Additionally, a length constraint of < 300 mm length and < 50 mm diameter is to be maintained. The need for these current leads was addressed by developing a superconducting hybrid lead. This hybrid lead comprises two different high-temperature superconducting (HTS) conductors bonded together at a thermally and electrically determined optimum point along the length of the current lead. By taking advantage of material properties of each conductor type, employing advanced fabrication techniques, and taking advantage of novel insulation materials, the company was able to develop and fabricate the lightweight, low heat-leak leads currently to NASA's specs.

  9. Determining the number of chemical species in nuclear magnetic resonance data matrix by taking advantage of collinearity and noise.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wanping; Shao, Limin; Yuan, Bin; Zhang, Xu; Liu, Maili

    2018-08-31

    The number of chemical species is crucial in analyzing pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data. Any method to determine the number must handle the obstacles of collinearity and noise. Collinearity in pulsed field gradient NMR data poses a serious challenge to and fails many existing methods. A novel method is proposed by taking advantage of the two obstacles instead of eliminating them. In the proposed method, the determination is based on discriminating decay-profile-dominant eigenvectors from noise-dominant ones, and the discrimination is implemented with a novel low- and high-frequency energy ratio (LHFER). Its performance is validated with both simulated and experimental data. The method is mathematically rigorous, computationally efficient, and readily automated. It also has the potential to be applied to other types of data in which collinearity is fairly severe. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A Simple Method to Measure Nematodes' Propulsive Thrust and the Nematode Ratchet.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bau, Haim; Yuan, Jinzhou; Raizen, David

    2015-11-01

    Since the propulsive thrust of micro organisms provides a more sensitive indicator of the animal's health and response to drugs than motility, a simple, high throughput, direct measurement of the thrust is desired. Taking advantage of the nematode C. elegans being heavier than water, we devised a simple method to determine the propulsive thrust of the animals by monitoring their velocity when swimming along an inclined plane. We find that the swimming velocity is a linear function of the sin of the inclination angle. This method allows us to determine, among other things, the animas' propulsive thrust as a function of genotype, drugs, and age. Furthermore, taking advantage of the animals' inability to swim over a stiff incline, we constructed a sawteeth ratchet-like track that restricts the animals to swim in a predetermined direction. This research was supported, in part, by NIH NIA Grant 5R03AG042690-02.

  11. Hybrid Circuit QED with Electrons on Helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Ge

    Electrons on helium (eHe) is a 2-dimensional system that forms naturally at the interface between superfluid helium and vacuum. It has the highest measured electron mobility, and long predicted spin coherence time. In this talk, we will first review various quantum computer architecture proposals that take advantage of these exceptional properties. In particular, we describe how electrons on helium can be combined with superconducting microwave circuits to take advantage of the recent progress in the field of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED). We will then demonstrate how to reliably trap electrons on these devices hours at a time, at millikelvin temperatures inside a dilution refrigerator. The coupling between the electrons and the microwave resonator exceeds 1 MHz, and can be reproduced from the design geometry using our numerical simulation. Finally, we will present our progress on isolating individual electrons in such circuits, to build single-electron quantum dots with electrons on helium.

  12. Use of Internal Consistency Coefficients for Estimating Reliability of Experimental Tasks Scores

    PubMed Central

    Green, Samuel B.; Yang, Yanyun; Alt, Mary; Brinkley, Shara; Gray, Shelley; Hogan, Tiffany; Cowan, Nelson

    2017-01-01

    Reliabilities of scores for experimental tasks are likely to differ from one study to another to the extent that the task stimuli change, the number of trials varies, the type of individuals taking the task changes, the administration conditions are altered, or the focal task variable differs. Given reliabilities vary as a function of the design of these tasks and the characteristics of the individuals taking them, making inferences about the reliability of scores in an ongoing study based on reliability estimates from prior studies is precarious. Thus, it would be advantageous to estimate reliability based on data from the ongoing study. We argue that internal consistency estimates of reliability are underutilized for experimental task data and in many applications could provide this information using a single administration of a task. We discuss different methods for computing internal consistency estimates with a generalized coefficient alpha and the conditions under which these estimates are accurate. We illustrate use of these coefficients using data for three different tasks. PMID:26546100

  13. Facebook use during relationship termination: uncertainty reduction and surveillance.

    PubMed

    Tong, Stephanie Tom

    2013-11-01

    Many studies document how individuals use Facebook to meet partners or develop and maintain relationships. Less is known about information-seeking behaviors during the stages of relationship termination. Relational dissolution is a socially embedded activity, and affordances of social network sites offer many advantages in reducing uncertainty after a breakup. A survey collected responses from 110 individuals who use Facebook to gather information about their romantic ex-partners. Results indicated that after breakup, partners may take advantage of the system's information visibility and the relative invisibility of movement depending on relational factors (initiator role and breakup uncertainty), social factors (perceived network approval of Facebook surveillance), and individual privacy concerns. This investigation addresses questions such as what type of information-seeking foci do individuals employ and how do individuals use Facebook as a form of surveillance? What factors motivate surveillance behavior?

  14. Nanomaterial-Based Biosensors for Detection of Pesticides and Explosives

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

    Wang, Jun; Lin, Yuehe

    2009-01-01

    In this chapter, we describe nanomaterial-based biosensors for detecting OP pesticides and explosives. CNTs and functionalized silica nanoparticles have been chosen for this study. The biosensors were combined with the flow-injection system, providing great advantages for onsite, real-time, and continuous detection of environmental pollutants such as OPs and TNT. The sensors take advantage of the electrocatalytic properties of CNTs, which makes it feasible to achieve a sensitive electrochemical detection of the products from enzymatic reactions at low potential. This approach uses a large aspect ratio of silica nanoparticles, which can be used as a carrier for loading a large amountmore » of electroactive species, such as poly(guanine), for amplified detection of explosives. These methods offer a new environmental monitoring tool for rapid, inexpensive, and highly sensitive detection of OPs or TNT compounds.« less

  15. Self-Assembled Fe-N-Doped Carbon Nanotube Aerogels with Single-Atom Catalyst Feature as High-Efficiency Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts

    DOE PAGES

    Zhu, Chengzhou; Fu, Shaofang; Song, Junhua; ...

    2017-02-06

    In this study, self-assembled M–N-doped carbon nanotube aerogels with single-atom catalyst feature are for the first time reported through one-step hydrothermal route and subsequent facile annealing treatment. By taking advantage of the porous nanostructures, 1D nanotubes as well as single-atom catalyst feature, the resultant Fe–N-doped carbon nanotube aerogels exhibit excellent oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalytic performance even better than commercial Pt/C in alkaline solution.

  16. Design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for advanced space radiation studies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Königstein, T.; Karger, O.; Pretzler, G.; Rosenzweig, J. B.; Hidding, B.; Hidding

    2012-08-01

    We present design considerations for the use of laser-plasma accelerators for mimicking space radiation and testing space-grade electronics. This novel application takes advantage of the inherent ability of laser-plasma accelerators to produce particle beams with exponential energy distribution, which is a characteristic shared with the hazardous relativistic electron flux present in the radiation belts of planets such as Earth, Saturn and Jupiter. Fundamental issues regarding laser-plasma interaction parameters, beam propagation, flux development, and experimental setup are discussed.

  17. Computational fluid mechanics utilizing the variational principle of modeling damping seals

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Abernathy, J. M.

    1986-01-01

    A computational fluid dynamics code for application to traditional incompressible flow problems has been developed. The method is actually a slight compressibility approach which takes advantage of the bulk modulus and finite sound speed of all real fluids. The finite element numerical analog uses a dynamic differencing scheme based, in part, on a variational principle for computational fluid dynamics. The code was developed in order to study the feasibility of damping seals for high speed turbomachinery. Preliminary seal analyses have been performed.

  18. Macbeth in the resource room: students with learning disabilities study Shakespeare.

    PubMed

    Thorson, S

    1995-11-01

    A teacher describes a secondary English unit on Shakespeare implemented in a manner designed to take advantage of the learning differences of resource room students. After developing and investigating questions relating to Macbeth, students then read and enjoyed the drama. As a result of acquiring an understanding of Shakespeare exceeding that of students in general classes, self-esteem and academic motivation increased. Finally, connections to practice and behavioral, constructivist, feminist, and critical theories are discussed. Appendices describe specific schedules and routines.

  19. Study for incorporating time-synchronized approach control into the CH-47/VALT digital navigation system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mcconnell, W. J., Jr.

    1979-01-01

    Techniques for obtaining time synchronized (4D) approach control in the VALT research helicopter is described. Various 4D concepts and their compatibility with the existing VALT digital computer navigation and guidance system hardware and software are examined. Modifications to various techniques were investigated in order to take advantage of the unique operating characteristics of the helicopter in the terminal area. A 4D system is proposed, combining the direct to maneuver with the existing VALT curved path generation capability.

  20. Success in Science, Success in Collaboration

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

    Johnston, Mariann R.

    2016-08-25

    This is a series of four different scientific problems which were resolved through collaborations. They are: "Better flow cytometry through novel focusing technology", "Take Off ®: Helping the Agriculture Industry Improve the Viability of Sustainable, Large-Production Crops", "The National Institutes of Health's Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS)", and "Expanding the capabilities of SOLVE/RESOLVE through the PHENIX Consortium." For each one, the problem is listed, the solution, advantages, bottom line, then information about the collaboration including: developing the technology, initial success, and continued success.

  1. Numerical simulation of supersonic inlets using a three-dimensional viscous flow analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Anderson, B. H.; Towne, C. E.

    1980-01-01

    A three dimensional fully viscous computer analysis was evaluated to determine its usefulness in the design of supersonic inlets. This procedure takes advantage of physical approximations to limit the high computer time and storage associated with complete Navier-Stokes solutions. Computed results are presented for a Mach 3.0 supersonic inlet with bleed and a Mach 7.4 hypersonic inlet. Good agreement was obtained between theory and data for both inlets. Results of a mesh sensitivity study are also shown.

  2. Nearfield acoustic holography. I - Theory of generalized holography and the development of NAH

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maynard, J. D.; Williams, E. G.; Lee, Y.

    1985-01-01

    Because its underlying principles are so fundamental, holography has been studied and applied in many areas of science. Recently, a technique has been developed which takes the maximum advantage of the fundamental principles and extracts much more information from a hologram than is customarily associated with such a measurement. In this paper the fundamental principles of holography are reviewed, and a sound radiation measurement system, called nearfield acoustic holography (NAH), which fully exploits the fundamental principles, is described.

  3. Novel Small Molecules Disabling the IL-6/IL-6R/GP130 Heterohexamer Complex

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-10-01

    fluctuations over 20 ns MD simulation. The HFI unit of MDL-A showed instability in the gp130 D1-domain binding pocket, whereas the hydrophobic tail...compound containing only an HFI unit was not capable of inhibiting gp130 homodimerization. Our MDLs MD simulation studies showed consistent results...chain attached to the HFI unit which is designed to take advantage of interactions with the “additional” subpockets surrounding the MDL-A binding site

  4. Basic approaches to and tasks of space technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Okhotin, A. S.

    1978-01-01

    The high vacuum and weightlessness of outer space offer great possibilities for the new field of space technology. To take advantage of this, it is necessary to study such physical and chemical phenomena as diffusion, surface tension, heat exchange, and crystallization. The research shows the possibility of obtaining materials with a more perfect structure. Methods of treating materials can be used in space which are impossible on earth. Achievements in material science in outer space will have a large impact on the national economy.

  5. Fidelity under isospectral perturbations: a random matrix study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leyvraz, F.; García, A.; Kohler, H.; Seligman, T. H.

    2013-07-01

    The set of Hamiltonians generated by all unitary transformations from a single Hamiltonian is the largest set of isospectral Hamiltonians we can form. Taking advantage of the fact that the unitary group can be generated from Hermitian matrices we can take the ones generated by the Gaussian unitary ensemble with a small parameter as small perturbations. Similarly, the transformations generated by Hermitian antisymmetric matrices from orthogonal matrices form isospectral transformations among symmetric matrices. Based on this concept we can obtain the fidelity decay of a system that decays under a random isospectral perturbation with well-defined properties regarding time-reversal invariance. If we choose the Hamiltonian itself also from a classical random matrix ensemble, then we obtain solutions in terms of form factors in the limit of large matrices.

  6. Shape optimization of road tunnel cross-section by simulated annealing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sobótka, Maciej; Pachnicz, Michał

    2016-06-01

    The paper concerns shape optimization of a tunnel excavation cross-section. The study incorporates optimization procedure of the simulated annealing (SA). The form of a cost function derives from the energetic optimality condition, formulated in the authors' previous papers. The utilized algorithm takes advantage of the optimization procedure already published by the authors. Unlike other approaches presented in literature, the one introduced in this paper takes into consideration a practical requirement of preserving fixed clearance gauge. Itasca Flac software is utilized in numerical examples. The optimal excavation shapes are determined for five different in situ stress ratios. This factor significantly affects the optimal topology of excavation. The resulting shapes are elongated in the direction of a principal stress greater value. Moreover, the obtained optimal shapes have smooth contours circumscribing the gauge.

  7. Open Loop Structure Low Cost Integrated Differential Inductive Micro Magnetic Volumetric Bio-Sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khodadadi, Mohammad; Chang, Long; Litvinov, Dimitri

    This investigation proposes a study, model, simulate and experiment innovative very low cost Magnetic induction biosensor for point of care diagnostics. The biosensor consists of 2 ``semi-loops'' in a micro fluidic channel, one as a sensor and one as a reference, the design takes advantage of microfabrication processes to produce more precise structures to improve sensitivity. Besides the attractively low cost, this biosensor has many advantages. Since the detector is basically a shaped wire, it is inherently robust and reliable. Typical errors in fabricating the wires will not affect its performance and it is sensing volumetric, unlike GMR-based sensors used in biosensor systems that boast single particle detection. Due to small dimensions the sensors do not need to be calibrated. This sensor also has a large range of detection since its sensitivity is proportional to the excitation frequency. Being able to sense Magnetic nano particles in the volume is an advantage in term of trapping MNPs and sensitivity and functionality. Basically, this new brilliant design, fill the gap between the fabricated sensors and hand wounded sensors.

  8. Smart device-based testing for medical students in Korea: satisfaction, convenience, and advantages.

    PubMed

    Lim, Eun Young; Yim, Mi Kyoung; Huh, Sun

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate respondents' satisfaction with smart device-based testing (SBT), as well as its convenience and advantages, in order to improve its implementation. The survey was conducted among 108 junior medical students at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Korea, who took a practice licensing examination using SBT in September 2015. The survey contained 28 items scored using a 5-point Likert scale. The items were divided into the following three categories: satisfaction with SBT administration, convenience of SBT features, and advantages of SBT compared to paper-and-pencil testing or computer-based testing. The reliability of the survey was 0.95. Of the three categories, the convenience of the SBT features received the highest mean (M) score (M= 3.75, standard deviation [SD]= 0.69), while the category of satisfaction with SBT received the lowest (M= 3.13, SD= 1.07). No statistically significant differences across these categories with respect to sex, age, or experience were observed. These results indicate that SBT was practical and effective to take and to administer.

  9. Opportunities and methodological challenges in EEG and MEG resting state functional brain network research.

    PubMed

    van Diessen, E; Numan, T; van Dellen, E; van der Kooi, A W; Boersma, M; Hofman, D; van Lutterveld, R; van Dijk, B W; van Straaten, E C W; Hillebrand, A; Stam, C J

    2015-08-01

    Electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetoencephalogram (MEG) recordings during resting state are increasingly used to study functional connectivity and network topology. Moreover, the number of different analysis approaches is expanding along with the rising interest in this research area. The comparison between studies can therefore be challenging and discussion is needed to underscore methodological opportunities and pitfalls in functional connectivity and network studies. In this overview we discuss methodological considerations throughout the analysis pipeline of recording and analyzing resting state EEG and MEG data, with a focus on functional connectivity and network analysis. We summarize current common practices with their advantages and disadvantages; provide practical tips, and suggestions for future research. Finally, we discuss how methodological choices in resting state research can affect the construction of functional networks. When taking advantage of current best practices and avoid the most obvious pitfalls, functional connectivity and network studies can be improved and enable a more accurate interpretation and comparison between studies. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Comparisons Between Science Knowledge, Interest, and Information Literacy of Learners in Introductory Astronomy Courses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David; Formanek, Martin; Wenger, Matthew

    2018-01-01

    Introductory astronomy courses are exciting opportunities to engage non-major students in scientific issues, new discoveries, and scientific thinking. Many undergraduate students take these courses to complete their general education requirements. Many free-choice learners also take these courses, but for their own interest. We report on a study comparing the basic science knowledge, interest in science, and information literacy of undergraduate students and free choice learners enrolled in introductory astronomy courses run by the University of Arizona. Undergraduate students take both in-person and online courses for college credit. Free choice learners enroll in massive open online courses (MOOCs), through commercial platforms, that can earn them a certificate (although most do not take advantage of that opportunity). In general, we find that undergraduate students outperform the general public on basic science knowledge and that learners in our astronomy MOOCs outperform the undergraduate students in the study. Learners in the MOOC have higher interest in science in general. Overall, learners in both groups report getting information about science from online sources. Additionally, learners’ judgement of the reliability of different sources of information is weakly related to their basic science knowledge and more strongly related to how they describe what it means to study something scientifically. We discuss the implications of our findings for both undergraduate students and free-choice learners as well as instructors of these types of courses.

  11. Combining Solar Electric Propulsion and Chemical Propulsion for Crewed Missions to Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Percy, Tom; McGuire, Melissa; Polsgrove, Tara

    2015-01-01

    This paper documents the results of an investigation of human Mars mission architectures that leverage near-term technology investments and infrastructures resulting from the planned Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM), including high-power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) and a human presence in Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (LDRO). The architectures investigated use a combination of SEP and chemical propulsion elements. Through this combination of propulsion technologies, these architectures take advantage of the high efficiency SEP propulsion system to deliver cargo, while maintaining the faster trip times afforded by chemical propulsion for crew transport. Evolved configurations of the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV) are considered for cargo delivery. Sensitivities to SEP system design parameters, including power level and propellant quantity, are presented. For the crew delivery, liquid oxygen and methane stages were designed using engines common to future human Mars landers. Impacts of various Earth departure orbits, Mars loiter orbits, and Earth return strategies are presented. The use of the Space Launch System for delivery of the various architecture elements was also investigated and launch vehicle manifesting, launch scheduling and mission timelines are also discussed. The study results show that viable Mars architecture can be constructed using LDRO and SEP in order to take advantage of investments made in the ARRM mission.

  12. Competition and time-dependent behavior in spatial iterated prisoner’s dilemma incorporating adaptive zero-determinant strategies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Yong; Xu, Chen; Liu, Jie; Hui, Pak Ming

    2016-10-01

    We propose and study the competitiveness of a class of adaptive zero-determinant strategies (ZDSs) in a population with spatial structure against four classic strategies in iterated prisoner’s dilemma. Besides strategy updating via a probabilistic mechanism by imitating the strategy of a better performing opponent, players using the ZDSs can also adapt their strategies to take advantage of their local competing environment with another probability. The adapted ZDSs could be extortionate-like to avoid being continually cheated by defectors or to take advantage of unconditional cooperators. The adapted ZDSs could also be a compliance strategy so as to cooperate with the conditionally cooperative players. This flexibility makes adaptive ZDSs more competitive than nonadaptive ZDSs. Results show that adaptive ZDSs can either dominate over other strategies or at least coexist with them when the ZDSs are allowed to adapt more readily than to imitate other strategies. The effectiveness of the adaptive ZDSs relies on how fast they can adapt to the competing environment before they are replaced by other strategies. The adaptive ZDSs generally work well as they could adapt gradually and make use of other strategies for suppressing their enemies. When adaptation happens more readily than imitation for the ZDSs, they outperform other strategies over a wide range of cost-to-benefit ratios.

  13. Introducing a new methodology for the calculation of local philicity and multiphilic descriptor: an alternative to the finite difference approximation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sánchez-Márquez, Jesús; Zorrilla, David; García, Víctor; Fernández, Manuel

    2018-07-01

    This work presents a new development based on the condensation scheme proposed by Chamorro and Pérez, in which new terms to correct the frozen molecular orbital approximation have been introduced (improved frontier molecular orbital approximation). The changes performed on the original development allow taking into account the orbital relaxation effects, providing equivalent results to those achieved by the finite difference approximation and leading also to a methodology with great advantages. Local reactivity indices based on this new development have been obtained for a sample set of molecules and they have been compared with those indices based on the frontier molecular orbital and finite difference approximations. A new definition based on the improved frontier molecular orbital methodology for the dual descriptor index is also shown. In addition, taking advantage of the characteristics of the definitions obtained with the new condensation scheme, the descriptor local philicity is analysed by separating the components corresponding to the frontier molecular orbital approximation and orbital relaxation effects, analysing also the local parameter multiphilic descriptor in the same way. Finally, the effect of using the basis set is studied and calculations using DFT, CI and Möller-Plesset methodologies are performed to analyse the consequence of different electronic-correlation levels.

  14. Nonplasmonic Hot-Electron Photocurrents from Mn-Doped Quantum Dots in Photoelectrochemical Cells.

    PubMed

    Dong, Yitong; Rossi, Daniel; Parobek, David; Son, Dong Hee

    2016-03-03

    We report the measurement of the hot-electron current in a photoelectrochemical cell constructed from a glass/ITO/Al2 O3 (ITO=indium tin oxide) electrode coated with Mn-doped quantum dots, where hot electrons with a large excess kinetic energy were produced through upconversion of the excitons into hot electron hole pairs under photoexcitation at 3 eV. In our recent study (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 5549), we demonstrated the generation of hot electrons in Mn-doped II-VI semiconductor quantum dots and their usefulness in photocatalytic H2 production reaction, taking advantage of the more efficient charge transfer of hot electrons compared with band-edge electrons. Here, we show that hot electrons produced in Mn-doped CdS/ZnS quantum dots possess sufficient kinetic energy to overcome the energy barrier from a 5.4-7.5 nm thick Al2 O3 layer producing a hot-electron current in photoelectrochemical cell. This work demonstrates the possibility of harvesting hot electrons not only at the interface of the doped quantum dot surface, but also far away from it, thus taking advantage of the capability of hot electrons for long-range electron transfer across a thick energy barrier. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  15. Combining Solar Electric and Chemical Propulsion for Crewed Missions to Mars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Percy, Tom; McGuire, Melissa; Polsgrove, Tara

    2015-01-01

    This paper documents the results of an investigation of human Mars mission architectures that leverage near-term technology investments and infrastructures resulting from the planned Asteroid Redirect Mission, including high-power Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) and a human presence in Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (LDRO). The architectures investigated use a combination of SEP and chemical propulsion elements. Through this combination of propulsion technologies, these architectures take advantage of the high efficiency SEP propulsion system to deliver cargo, while maintaining the faster trip times afforded by chemical propulsion for crew transport. Evolved configurations of the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV) are considered for cargo delivery. Sensitivities to SEP system design parameters, including power level and propellant quantity, are presented. For the crew delivery, liquid oxygen and methane stages were designed using engines common to future human Mars landers. Impacts of various Earth departure orbits, Mars loiter orbits, and Earth return strategies are presented. The use of the Space Launch System for delivery of the various architecture elements was also investigated and launch vehicle manifesting, launch scheduling and mission timelines are also discussed. The study results show that viable Mars architecture can be constructed using LDRO and SEP in order to take advantage of investments made in the ARM mission.

  16. Ways to Initiate a Nuclear Reaction in Solid Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Storms, E. K.

    2001-03-01

    Although conventional science ignores and rejects it, a new phenomenon has been reported in hundreds of studies from laboratories throughout the world. The phenomenon involves initiating nuclear reactions within special solid structures without applying high energy, as is the usual method. In particular, fusion of ^2H to form He, ^3H, and significant energy has been duplicated in several laboratories in Japan and in the U.S.. A new understanding of nuclear interaction has been stimulated, resulting in extensions of the conventional theoretical understanding of the fusion process. As theories are further developed, many advantages will become obvious including an easy and clean production of nuclear energy as well as elimination of present nuclear waste. These potential advantages must take precedence over the difficulty in accepting these novel concepts. The low energy nuclear processes take place in a solid lattice where the atomic and electron structures are able to interfere with the barrier between nuclei. This unusual structure has been hard to reproduce so that the phenomenon is still hard to replicate. However, persistent efforts in many laboratories have now identified several methods for creating this environment. This work will be reviewed, including original work by the author. See also: http://home.netcom.com/ storms2/index.html

  17. Medicare Advantage Plans Pay Hospitals Less Than Traditional Medicare Pays.

    PubMed

    Baker, Laurence C; Bundorf, M Kate; Devlin, Aileen M; Kessler, Daniel P

    2016-08-01

    There is ongoing debate about how prices paid to providers by Medicare Advantage plans compare to prices paid by fee-for-service Medicare. We used data from Medicare and the Health Care Cost Institute to identify the prices paid for hospital services by fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, and commercial insurers in 2009 and 2012. We calculated the average price per admission, and its trend over time, in each of the three types of insurance for fixed baskets of hospital admissions across metropolitan areas. After accounting for differences in hospital networks, geographic areas, and case-mix between Medicare Advantage and FFS Medicare, we found that Medicare Advantage plans paid 5.6 percent less for hospital services than FFS Medicare did. Without taking into account the narrower networks of Medicare Advantage, the program paid 8.0 percent less than FFS Medicare. We also found that the rates paid by commercial plans were much higher than those of either Medicare Advantage or FFS Medicare, and growing. At least some of this difference comes from the much higher prices that commercial plans pay for profitable service lines. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  18. "Like the palm of my hands": Motor imagery enhances implicit and explicit visual recognition of one's own hands.

    PubMed

    Conson, Massimiliano; Volpicella, Francesco; De Bellis, Francesco; Orefice, Agnese; Trojano, Luigi

    2017-10-01

    A key point in motor imagery literature is that judging hands in palm view recruits sensory-motor information to a higher extent than judging hands in back view, due to the greater biomechanical complexity implied in rotating hands depicted from palm than from back. We took advantage from this solid evidence to test the nature of a phenomenon known as self-advantage, i.e. the advantage in implicitly recognizing self vs. others' hand images. The self-advantage has been actually found when implicitly but not explicitly judging self-hands, likely due to dissociation between implicit and explicit body representations. However, such a finding might be related to the extent to which motor imagery is recruited during implicit and explicit processing of hand images. We tested this hypothesis in two behavioural experiments. In Experiment 1, right-handed participants judged laterality of either self or others' hands, whereas in Experiment 2, an explicit recognition of one's own hands was required. Crucially, in both experiments participants were randomly presented with hand images viewed from back or from palm. The main result of both experiments was the self-advantage when participants judged hands from palm view. This novel finding demonstrate that increasing the "motor imagery load" during processing of self vs. others' hands can elicit a self-advantage in explicit recognition tasks as well. Future studies testing the possible dissociation between implicit and explicit visual body representations should take into account the modulatory effect of motor imagery load on self-hand processing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  19. 48 CFR 3028.306-90 - Contracts for lease of aircraft (USCG).

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... clause at (HSAR) 48 CFR 3052.228-92, Fair Market Value of Aircraft, when fair market value of the... cover the Government's exposure to liability as well. In order to take advantage of this coverage, the...

  20. Lunar Volatile System Dynamics: Observations Enabled by the Deep Space Gateway

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Honniball, C. I.; Lucey, P. G.; Petro, N.; Hurley, D.; Farrell, W.

    2018-02-01

    A UV spectrometer-imager and IR spectrometer are proposed to solve questions regarding the lunar volatile system. The instrument takes advantage of highly elliptical orbits and the thermal management system of the Deep Space Gateway.

  1. EPA for Businesses and Non-Profits

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Information and links to EPA web pages that are meant to help businesses and non-profits adhere to EPA regulations and otherwise protect the environment, take advantage of opportunities to collaborate with the EPA, and find training EPA training programs.

  2. Multitrophic effects of belowground parasitoid learning

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The ability to learn allows organisms to take advantage of dynamic and ephemeral opportunities in their environment. Here we show that learning in belowground entomopathogenic nematodes has cascading multitrophic effects on their hosts, other nematodes, and nematophagous fungal predators. In additio...

  3. 77 FR 11142 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, State/Local...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-24

    ..., and to establish a coordinated process to implement the plan, taking advantage of a wide-range of... maintenance costs for technical services. There are no annual start-up or capital costs. The estimated annual...

  4. 76 FR 13200 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 1660-0062; State...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-10

    ... losses from hazards, and to establish a coordinated process to implement the plan, taking advantage of a... maintenance, or capital and start-up costs associated with this collection of information. Comments Comments...

  5. Power of a Plan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mineo, Ronald W.; Stehn, John L.

    1998-01-01

    Discusses the effects of electric power deregulation on an educational facility's planning and purchasing for future power needs. Highlights ways schools can take advantage of deregulation. Examines various chiller technologies and economically assessing these technologies on a life-cycle cost basis. (GR)

  6. RISK EQUIVALENT SEASONAL WASTE LOAD ALLOCATION

    EPA Science Inventory

    Seasonal wastewater discharge programs employ different effluent standards during different times of the year to take advantage of the variation in a receiving water's susceptibility to adverse impacts. These programs should try to achieve the maximum economic benefits possible w...

  7. Cornering the College Job Market.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pressler, Michael

    1984-01-01

    Competition for teaching positions in the liberal arts is greater than ever. Every year good applicants fail, not because they lack the credentials, but because they don't take advantage of modern promotional advertising. Some humorous "award-winning" campaigns are presented. (MLW)

  8. Recycling and Disposal of CFLs and Other Bulbs that Contain Mercury

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Consumers can help prevent the release of mercury into the environment by taking advantage of available local options for recycling CFLs and other household hazardous wastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash.

  9. Rehabilitation of degraded rangelands: lessons learned

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The introduction and subsequent invasion of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has had astronomical effects to Great Basin rangelands. Cheatgrass has truncated secondary succession by outcompeting native plant species for limited resources, thus building persistent seed banks that take advantage of condi...

  10. Taking a History of Childhood Trauma in Psychotherapy

    PubMed Central

    SAPORTA, JOSÉ A.; GANS, JEROME S.

    1995-01-01

    The authors examine the process of taking an initial history of childhood abuse and trauma in psychodynamic psychotherapy. In exploring the advantages, complexities, and potential complications of this practice, they hope to heighten the sensitivities of clinicians taking trauma histories. Emphasis on the need to be active in eliciting important historical material is balanced with discussion of concepts that can help therapists avoid interpersonal dynamics that reenact and perpetuate the traumas the therapy seeks to treat. Ensuring optimal psychotherapeutic treatment for patients who have experienced childhood trauma requires attention to the following concepts: a safe holding environment, destabilization, compliance, the repetition compulsion, and projective identification. PMID:22700250

  11. The difference is more than floating: factors affecting breast cancer survivors' decisions to join and maintain participation in dragon boat teams and support groups.

    PubMed

    McDonough, Meghan H; Patterson, Michelle C; Weisenbach, Beth B; Ullrich-French, Sarah; Sabiston, Catherine M

    2018-03-09

    Peer support can be helpful in rehabilitation from breast cancer, but participation in peer support groups is low. Groups that provide support opportunities in physical activity contexts are an attractive alternative for some survivors. This study examined survivors' reasons for joining and maintaining participation on a dragon boat team, along with perceptions of barriers and attractions to traditional peer support groups. Seventeen breast cancer survivors were interviewed on five occasions over their first two seasons of a newly formed dragon boating team to explore their perceptions of peer support groups and dragon boating. Data were inductively analyzed using thematic analysis. Categories surrounding physical, psychological, social and community features were identified with several themes emerging within each. Advantages of dragon boating included opportunities to get a combination of physical, psychosocial and community benefits; health improvement and behavior change; and obtaining social support without the focus being on cancer. Peer support groups were identified as having advantages for forming relationships and avoiding barriers associated with physical activity. While neither type of program meets all needs, practical considerations are identified for incorporating advantages of both programs to improve participation. Implications for rehabilitation Further understanding of perceptions, and attractions and challenges to taking part in group programs will inform development of accessible programs that target multiple rehabilitation needs. Physical activity can provide a positive, alternative focus that takes the emphasis off of cancer, which is more accessible to some survivors. Physical activity also provides opportunities to build relationships around a common, positive goal, which can be a foundation for providing support for coping with cancer.

  12. An easy-to-build and re-usable microfluidic system for live-cell imaging.

    PubMed

    Babic, Julien; Griscom, Laurent; Cramer, Jeremy; Coudreuse, Damien

    2018-06-20

    Real-time monitoring of cellular responses to dynamic changes in their environment or to specific treatments has become central to cell biology. However, when coupled to live-cell imaging, such strategies are difficult to implement with precision and high time resolution, and the simultaneous alteration of multiple parameters is a major challenge. Recently, microfluidics has provided powerful solutions for such analyses, bringing an unprecedented level of control over the conditions and the medium in which cells under microscopic observation are grown. However, such technologies have remained under-exploited, largely as a result of the complexity associated with microfabrication procedures. In this study, we have developed simple but powerful microfluidic devices dedicated to live-cell imaging. These microsystems take advantage of a robust elastomer that is readily available to researchers and that presents excellent bonding properties, in particular to microscopy-grade glass coverslips. Importantly, the chips are easy-to-build without sophisticated equipment, and they are compatible with the integration of complex, customized fluidic networks as well as with the multiplexing of independent assays on a single device. We show that the chips are re-usable, a significant advantage for the popularization of microfluidics in cell biology. Moreover, we demonstrate that they allow for the dynamic, accurate and simultaneous control of multiple parameters of the cellular environment. While they do not possess all the features of the microdevices that are built using complex and costly procedures, the simplicity and versatility of the chips that we have developed make them an attractive alternative for a range of applications. The emergence of such devices, which can be fabricated and used by any laboratory, will provide the possibility for a larger number of research teams to take full advantage of these new methods for investigating cell biology.

  13. Electron density measurement of non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma using dispersion interferometer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshimura, Shinji; Kasahara, Hiroshi; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi

    2017-10-01

    Medical applications of non-equilibrium atmospheric plasmas have recently been attracting a great deal of attention, where many types of plasma sources have been developed to meet the purposes. For example, plasma-activated medium (PAM), which is now being studied for cancer treatment, has been produced by irradiating non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma with ultrahigh electron density to a culture medium. Meanwhile, in order to measure electron density in magnetic confinement plasmas, a CO2 laser dispersion interferometer has been developed and installed on the Large Helical Device (LHD) at the National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan. The dispersion interferometer has advantages that the measurement is insensitive to mechanical vibrations and changes in neutral gas density. Taking advantage of these properties, we applied the dispersion interferometer to electron density diagnostics of atmospheric pressure plasmas produced by the NU-Global HUMAP-WSAP-50 device, which is used for producing PAM. This study was supported by the Grant of Joint Research by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS).

  14. Students Teach Pupils Environmental Issues and Renewable Energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Friman, H.; Banner, I.; Tuchin, B. S.; Einav, Y.

    2018-05-01

    Technological advances and accessibility to information on the internet have opened a new channel of pupils that are being taught by students throughout the country. Students, full of motivation and a will to learn and teach, have understood that this way is good for them – enabling them to profit from a side job and take advantage of the knowledge they have accumulated in their degree. Holon Institute of Technology (“HIT”) developed a new program at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering. The Renewable Energy program gives the students technical and practical aspects of energy use (technology and methodology of the study) and energy efficiency. The program also deals with minimizing the environmental impacts of energy use, as well as with energy economy and environmental policy. The entrance of students to the field of teaching pupils while still in their studies brings many advantages, such as: fresh knowledge, motivation to teach, and innovative, out of the ordinary methods that arouse interest in the pupils and intrigue them.

  15. Wavelet Packet Feature Assessment for High-Density Myoelectric Pattern Recognition and Channel Selection toward Stroke Rehabilitation.

    PubMed

    Wang, Dongqing; Zhang, Xu; Gao, Xiaoping; Chen, Xiang; Zhou, Ping

    2016-01-01

    This study presents wavelet packet feature assessment of neural control information in paretic upper limb muscles of stroke survivors for myoelectric pattern recognition, taking advantage of high-resolution time-frequency representations of surface electromyogram (EMG) signals. On this basis, a novel channel selection method was developed by combining the Fisher's class separability index and the sequential feedforward selection analyses, in order to determine a small number of appropriate EMG channels from original high-density EMG electrode array. The advantages of the wavelet packet features and the channel selection analyses were further illustrated by comparing with previous conventional approaches, in terms of classification performance when identifying 20 functional arm/hand movements implemented by 12 stroke survivors. This study offers a practical approach including paretic EMG feature extraction and channel selection that enables active myoelectric control of multiple degrees of freedom with paretic muscles. All these efforts will facilitate upper limb dexterity restoration and improved stroke rehabilitation.

  16. A techno-economic approach to plasma gasification

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramos, Ana; Rouboa, Abel

    2018-05-01

    Within the most used Waste-to-Energy technologies plasma gasification is recent and therefore not yet widely commercialized. Thus, it is necessary to conduct a viability study to support the thorough understanding and implementation of this thermal treatment. This paper aims to assess some technical, environmental and economic aspects of plasma gasification paving the way for a more sustained waste management system, as well as taking advantage of the commodity assets granted by the technique. Therefore, results from previously published studies were updated and highlighted as a preliminary starting point in order to potentially evolve to a complete and systematic work.

  17. Ablative heat shield design for space shuttle

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Seiferth, R. W.

    1973-01-01

    Ablator heat shield configuration optimization studies were conducted for the orbiter. Ablator and reusable surface insulation (RSI) trajectories for design studies were shaped to take advantage of the low conductance of ceramic RSI and high temperature capability of ablators. Comparative weights were established for the RSI system and for direct bond and mechanically attached ablator systems. Ablator system costs were determined for fabrication, installation and refurbishment. Cost penalties were assigned for payload weight penalties, if any. The direct bond ablator is lowest in weight and cost. A mechanically attached ablator using a magnesium subpanel is highly competitive for both weight and cost.

  18. A Framework for Implementing Virtual Collaborative Networks - Case Study on Automobile Components Production Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parvinnia, Elham; Khayami, Raouf; Ziarati, Koorush

    Virtual collaborative networks are composed of small companies which take most advantage from the market opportunity and are able to compete with large companies. So some frameworks have been introduced for implementing this type of collaboration; although none of them has been standardized completely. In this paper we specify some instances that need to be standardized for implementing virtual enterprises. Then, a framework is suggested for implementing virtual collaborative networks. Finally, based on that suggestion, as a case study, we design a virtual collaborative network in automobile components production industry.

  19. [Exploration of influencing factors of price of herbal based on VAR model].

    PubMed

    Wang, Nuo; Liu, Shu-Zhen; Yang, Guang

    2014-10-01

    Based on vector auto-regression (VAR) model, this paper takes advantage of Granger causality test, variance decomposition and impulse response analysis techniques to carry out a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the price of Chinese herbal, including herbal cultivation costs, acreage, natural disasters, the residents' needs and inflation. The study found that there is Granger causality relationship between inflation and herbal prices, cultivation costs and herbal prices. And in the total variance analysis of Chinese herbal and medicine price index, the largest contribution to it is from its own fluctuations, followed by the cultivation costs and inflation.

  20. Citings on the Educational Horizon

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathies, Lorraine

    1975-01-01

    Article reviewed programs designed to help blind persons take advantage of information not in print form, programs which offer information on careers, programs designed to foster private sponsorship of basic research expeditions, and programs that eliminate social bias in educational materials. (Author/RK)

  1. Language Play in Y2K: Morphology Brought to You by Pokemon.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nilsen, Alleen Pace; Nilsen, Don L. F.

    2000-01-01

    Suggests that teachers can take advantage of children's interest in the Pokemon game to teach worthwhile lessons about how words are developed. Shows how, by analyzing Pokemon names, kids can learn the linguistic concept of morphology. (SR)

  2. Large volume continuous counterflow dialyzer has high efficiency

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mandeles, S.; Woods, E. C.

    1967-01-01

    Dialyzer separates macromolecules from small molecules in large volumes of solution. It takes advantage of the high area/volume ratio in commercially available 1/4-inch dialysis tubing and maintains a high concentration gradient at the dialyzing surface by counterflow.

  3. Avian Disease & Oncology Lab (ADOL) Research Update

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Employing Genomics, Epigenetics, and Immunogenetics to Control Diseases Induced by Avian Tumor Viruses - Gene expression is a major factor accounting for phenotypic variation. Taking advantage of allele-specific expression (ASE) screens, we found the use of genetic markers was superior to traditiona...

  4. The Effect of Weather Events on Truck Traffic Patterns Using Fixed and Mobile Traffic Sensors

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2017-12-20

    Connected vehicle applications related to road weather management and enabling systems are being designed to collect and take advantage of connected vehicle data and information transmissions to increase situational awareness, improve roadway levels ...

  5. Insurance Renewal Tips.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Madsen, Claudina

    1990-01-01

    College business officers should take advantage of the industry's market to prepare their institutions for an upcoming hard market. Steps to be taken include evaluating the insurance broker; meeting with the company underwriter; negotiating; considering a renewal contract; negotiating pooling mechanisms; lowering deductibles; and implementing…

  6. Taking advantage of modern turbines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thresher, Robert

    2018-06-01

    Wind facilities have generally deployed turbines of the same power and height in regular uniform arrays. Now, the modern generation of turbines, with customer-selectable tower heights and larger rotors, can significantly increase wind energy's economic potential using less land to generate cheaper electricity.

  7. Investigation of warm mix asphalt for Iowa roadways - phase II : tech transfer summary.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-09-01

    The implementation of warm mix asphalt (WMA) is becoming more : widespread with a growing number of contractors utilizing WMA : technologies to take advantage of reduced mixing and compaction : temperatures, reduced fuel consumption, and improved com...

  8. Curiosity Sky Crane Maneuver, Artist Concept

    NASA Image and Video Library

    2011-10-03

    This artist concept shows the sky crane maneuver during the descent of NASA Curiosity rover to the Martian surface. The sheer size of the rover over one ton, or 900 kilograms would preclude it from taking advantage of an airbag-assisted landing.

  9. Utilizing GIS to evaluate base schedules in paratransit operations

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-02-02

    With ready access to street file names and inexpensive GIS software, paratransit systems can take advantage of GIS technology to evaluate base schedules on a regular basis in order to maintain system efficiency at consistently high levels. This proje...

  10. Unstop the Logjams in Your Cash Flow.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Everett, R. E.

    1989-01-01

    A cash flow analysis is charting expenditures and revenues against a factor of time. Explains how school systems can, by charting the congruency of revenues and expenditures carefully, develop an investment program to take maximum advantage of a positive cash position. (MLF)

  11. In Vitro Models of Human Toxicity Pathways

    EPA Science Inventory

    For toxicity testing and assessment programs to address the large numbers of substances of potential concern, a paradigm shift in the assessment of chemical hazard and risk is needed that takes advantage of advances in molecular toxicology, computational sciences, and information...

  12. Evaluation of the cooperative multi-carrier delivery initiatives.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-12-01

    In the last several years there has been a surge of interest in fostering more sustainable logistical operations in : urban areas. Under the umbrella of the generic term City Logistics, these initiatives try to take advantage of : the coordinating po...

  13. Research to develop an ITS strategic plan for Texas.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2014-04-01

    TxDOTs mission is to provide safe and reliable transportation solutions for the citizens of Texas. Intelligent : transportation systems (ITS) can play a pivotal role in meeting that mission. TxDOT can take advantage of : advanced and emerging tech...

  14. Biogeochemical Stability of Contaminants in the Subsurface Following In Situ Treatment

    EPA Science Inventory

    In recent years, innovative treatment technologies have emerged to meet groundwater cleanup goals. In many cases these methods take advantage of the redox behavior of contaminant species. For example, remedial technologies that strategically manipulate subsurface redox conditio...

  15. Chemical modifications of renewable cellulosic materials

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    In agriculture, there is a fair amount of byproducts and waste materials. These materials typically contain significant portions of cellulose and hemicellulose. A good opportunity is to take advantage of these relatively cheap renewable materials, carry out chemical reactions, and increase their v...

  16. The Internet in Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neubarth, Michael, Ed.

    1995-01-01

    This special theme issue of "Internet World" contains 10 articles on the role of the Internet in education. The articles are: "Internet Cum Laude" (Eric C. Richardson)--technological developments in college and university services; "Campus Connections" (Michael A. Arnzen)--guidelines for taking full advantage of…

  17. Risky Business II: Finding Big Bucks. Panel IV.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appalachia, 1986

    1986-01-01

    Five panelists discuss alternatives to venture capital sources for Appalachian business expansion, new institutions created or supported by state and local governments to provide capital, and how businesses can best position themselves to take advantage of all capital sources. (NEC)

  18. Reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions: role of biotechnology, organic systems, and consumer behavior

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    All agricultural systems have environmental and societal costs and benefits that should be objectively quantified before recommending specific management practices. Agricultural biotechnology, which takes advantage of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs), along with organic cropping systems, econ...

  19. Environmental Models as a Service: Enabling Interoperability through RESTful Endpoints and API Documentation

    EPA Science Inventory

    Achieving interoperability in environmental modeling has evolved as software technology has progressed. The recent rise of cloud computing and proliferation of web services initiated a new stage for creating interoperable systems. Scientific programmers increasingly take advantag...

  20. Environmental Models as a Service: Enabling Interoperability through RESTful Endpoints and API Documentation.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Achieving interoperability in environmental modeling has evolved as software technology has progressed. The recent rise of cloud computing and proliferation of web services initiated a new stage for creating interoperable systems. Scientific programmers increasingly take advantag...

  1. Telecommunications: Avoiding the Black Hole.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riel, Margaret

    1993-01-01

    Careful planning is required for teachers to take full advantage of the cross-cultural learning opportunities afforded by electronic networks and telecommunications. Networking with more than one classroom and using a well-defined group project integral to other classroom activities are recommended. (EA)

  2. The Entrepreneurial Approach to Participation in Community Redevelopment Activities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wickert, Donald M.

    1985-01-01

    Discusses the use of tax increment financing to fund public redevelopment or urban rehabilitation projects and the opportunity for school districts to take advantage of such projects to supplement reduced property tax revenues in areas of declining valuation. (PGD)

  3. EPA’s New Funding Can Help Update New England’s Aging Water Infrastructure

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Now is the time for municipal and state officials to take advantage of an opportunity to lock in funding to upgrade aging water infrastructure and ensure that local communities have access to clean and safe water.

  4. Modular Design in Treaty Verification Equipment

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

    Macarthur, Duncan Whittemore; Benz, Jacob; Tolk, Keith

    2015-01-27

    It is widely believed that modular design is a good thing. However, there are often few explicit arguments, or even an agreed range of definitions, to back up this belief. In this paper, we examine the potential range of design modularity, the implications of various amounts of modularity, and the advantages and disadvantages of each level of modular construction. We conclude with a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each type, as well as discuss many caveats that should be observed to take advantage of the positive features of modularity and minimize the effects of the negative. The tradeoffsmore » described in this paper will be evaluated during the conceptual design to determine what amount of modularity should be included.« less

  5. Multiple Kernel Learning with Random Effects for Predicting Longitudinal Outcomes and Data Integration

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Tianle; Zeng, Donglin

    2015-01-01

    Summary Predicting disease risk and progression is one of the main goals in many clinical research studies. Cohort studies on the natural history and etiology of chronic diseases span years and data are collected at multiple visits. Although kernel-based statistical learning methods are proven to be powerful for a wide range of disease prediction problems, these methods are only well studied for independent data but not for longitudinal data. It is thus important to develop time-sensitive prediction rules that make use of the longitudinal nature of the data. In this paper, we develop a novel statistical learning method for longitudinal data by introducing subject-specific short-term and long-term latent effects through a designed kernel to account for within-subject correlation of longitudinal measurements. Since the presence of multiple sources of data is increasingly common, we embed our method in a multiple kernel learning framework and propose a regularized multiple kernel statistical learning with random effects to construct effective nonparametric prediction rules. Our method allows easy integration of various heterogeneous data sources and takes advantage of correlation among longitudinal measures to increase prediction power. We use different kernels for each data source taking advantage of the distinctive feature of each data modality, and then optimally combine data across modalities. We apply the developed methods to two large epidemiological studies, one on Huntington's disease and the other on Alzheimer's Disease (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, ADNI) where we explore a unique opportunity to combine imaging and genetic data to study prediction of mild cognitive impairment, and show a substantial gain in performance while accounting for the longitudinal aspect of the data. PMID:26177419

  6. Selection as a learning experience: an exploratory study.

    PubMed

    de Visser, Marieke; Laan, Roland F; Engbers, Rik; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Fluit, Cornelia

    2018-01-01

    Research on selection for medical school does not explore selection as a learning experience, despite growing attention for the learning effects of assessment in general. Insight in the learning effects allows us to take advantage of selection as an inclusive part of medical students' learning process to become competent professionals. The aims of this study at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands, were 1) to determine whether students have learning experiences in the selection process, and, if so, what experiences; and 2) to understand what students need in order to utilize the learning effects of the selection process at the start of the formal curriculum. We used focus groups to interview 30 students admitted in 2016 about their learning experiences in the selection process. Thematic analysis was used to explore the outcomes of the interviews and to define relevant themes. In the selection process, students learned about the curriculum, themselves, their relation to others, and the profession they had been selected to enter, although this was not explicitly perceived as learning. Students needed a connection between selection and the curriculum as well as feedback to be able to really use their learning experiences for their further development. Medical school selection qualifies as a learning experience, and students as well as medical schools can take advantage of this. We recommend a careful design of the selection procedure, integrating relevant selection learning experiences into the formal curriculum, providing feedback and explicitly approaching the selection and the formal curriculum as interconnected contributors to students' development.

  7. Changes Are Needed to the Army Contract with Sikorsky to Use Existing DoD Inventory and Control Costs at the Corpus Christi Army Depot

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-11-03

    contingency stock for requirements outside the CCAD/Sikorsky contract. 6 The DoD EMALL is a full-service eCommerce site, which strives to be the single...such quantity as (A) will result in the total cost and unit cost most advantageous to the United States where practicable.” Having more than one...practice and frequently does not allow DoD to take advantage of economic order quantities. Table 15 shows examples where higher quantities procured

  8. Battery designs with high capacity anode materials and cathode materials

    DOEpatents

    Masarapu, Charan; Anguchamy, Yogesh Kumar; Han, Yongbong; Deng, Haixia; Kumar, Sujeet; Lopez, Herman A.

    2017-10-03

    Improved high energy capacity designs for lithium ion batteries are described that take advantage of the properties of high specific capacity anode active compositions and high specific capacity cathode active compositions. In particular, specific electrode designs provide for achieving very high energy densities. Furthermore, the complex behavior of the active materials is used advantageously in a radical electrode balancing design that significantly reduced wasted electrode capacity in either electrode when cycling under realistic conditions of moderate to high discharge rates and/or over a reduced depth of discharge.

  9. Quasi-experimental study designs series-paper 2: complementary approaches to advancing global health knowledge.

    PubMed

    Geldsetzer, Pascal; Fawzi, Wafaie

    2017-09-01

    Quasi-experiments have been infrequently used in the health sciences. Focusing on health systems implementation research, this article details key advantages of quasi-experiments and argues that they can complement (but not replace) randomized evaluations. Specifically, it may be possible to use a quasi-experiment to study the causal effect of an intervention that cannot feasibly be randomized or that would be unethical (e.g., because the intervention has become the standard of care) to test in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). In addition, because they usually take advantage of routinely collected data, quasi-experiments may be feasible when it is too costly (either financially or in terms of the required time) to carry out a RCT - an important advantage in research on health systems, which vary widely between settings. Nonetheless, we argue that RCTs will continue to be indispensable for implementation research because i) the assumptions needed to establish causality with a quasi-experiment are often unverifiable, ii) available data frequently do not allow for a rigorous quasi-experiment, and iii) randomized designs tend to lend themselves more to informing policy makers of causal effects prior to (or during) the full-scale rollout of an intervention than quasi-experiments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Hitchhiker On Space Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Daelemans, Gerard; Goldsmith, Theodore

    1999-01-01

    The NASA/GSFC Shuttle Small Payloads Projects Office (SSPPO) has been studying the feasibility of migrating Hitchhiker customers past present and future to the International Space Station via a "Hitchhiker like" carrier system. SSPPO has been tasked to make the most use of existing hardware and software systems and infrastructure in its study of an ISS based carrier system. This paper summarizes the results of the SSPPO Hitchhiker on International Space Station (ISS) study. Included are a number of "Hitchhiker like" carrier system concepts that take advantage of the various ISS attached payload accommodation sites. Emphasis will be given to a HH concept that attaches to the Japanese Experiment Module - Exposed Facility (JEM-EF).

  11. Multipurpose active pixel sensor (APS)-based microtracker

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Eisenman, Allan R.; Liebe, Carl C.; Zhu, David Q.

    1998-12-01

    A new, photon-sensitive, imaging array, the active pixel sensor (APS) has emerged as a competitor to the CCD imager for use in star and target trackers. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has undertaken a program to develop a new generation, highly integrated, APS-based, multipurpose tracker: the Programmable Intelligent Microtracker (PIM). The supporting hardware used in the PIM has been carefully selected to enhance the inherent advantages of the APS. Adequate computation power is included to perform star identification, star tracking, attitude determination, space docking, feature tracking, descent imaging for landing control, and target tracking capabilities. Its first version uses a JPL developed 256 X 256-pixel APS and an advanced 32-bit RISC microcontroller. By taking advantage of the unique features of the APS/microcontroller combination, the microtracker will achieve about an order-of-magnitude reduction in mass and power consumption compared to present state-of-the-art star trackers. It will also add the advantage of programmability to enable it to perform a variety of star, other celestial body, and target tracking tasks. The PIM is already proving the usefulness of its design concept for space applications. It is demonstrating the effectiveness of taking such an integrated approach in building a new generation of high performance, general purpose, tracking instruments to be applied to a large variety of future space missions.

  12. Delay-and-sum beamforming for direction of arrival estimation applied to gunshot acoustics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ramos, António L. L.; Holm, Sverre; Gudvangen, Sigmund; Otterlei, Ragnvald

    2011-06-01

    Sniper positioning systems described in the literature use a two-step algorithm to estimate the sniper's location. First, the shockwave and the muzzle blast acoustic signatures must be detected and recognized, followed by an estimation of their respective direction-of-arrival (DOA). Second, the actual sniper's position is calculated based on the estimated DOA via an iterative algorithm that varies from system to system. The overall performance of such a system, however, is highly compromised when the first step is not carried out successfully. Currently available systems rely on a simple calculation of differences of time-of-arrival to estimate angles-of-arrival. This approach, however, lacks robustness by not taking full advantage of the array of sensors. This paper shows how the delay-and-sum beamforming technique can be applied to estimate the DOA for both the shockwave and the muzzle blast. The method has the twofold advantage of 1) adding an array gain of 10 logM, i.e., an increased SNR of 6 dB for a 4-microphone array, which is equivalent to doubling the detection range assuming free-field propagation; and 2) offering improved robustness in handling single- and multi-shots events as well as reflections by taking advantage of the spatial filtering capability.

  13. Membrane protein synthesis in cell-free systems: from bio-mimetic systems to bio-membranes.

    PubMed

    Sachse, Rita; Dondapati, Srujan K; Fenz, Susanne F; Schmidt, Thomas; Kubick, Stefan

    2014-08-25

    When taking up the gauntlet of studying membrane protein functionality, scientists are provided with a plethora of advantages, which can be exploited for the synthesis of these difficult-to-express proteins by utilizing cell-free protein synthesis systems. Due to their hydrophobicity, membrane proteins have exceptional demands regarding their environment to ensure correct functionality. Thus, the challenge is to find the appropriate hydrophobic support that facilitates proper membrane protein folding. So far, various modes of membrane protein synthesis have been presented. Here, we summarize current state-of-the-art methodologies of membrane protein synthesis in biomimetic-supported systems. The correct folding and functionality of membrane proteins depend in many cases on their integration into a lipid bilayer and subsequent posttranslational modification. We highlight cell-free systems utilizing the advantages of biological membranes. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Hybrid electro-optical nanosystem for neurons investigation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miu, Mihaela; Kleps, Irina; Craciunoiu, Florea; Simion, Monica; Bragaru, Adina; Ignat, Teodora

    2010-11-01

    The scope of this paper is development of a new laboratory-on-a-chip (LOC) device for biomedical studies consisting of a microfluidic system coupled to microelectronic/optical transducers with nanometric features, commonly called biosensors. The proposed device is a hybrid system with sensing element on silicon (Si) chip and microfluidic system on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates, taking into accounts their particular advantages. Different types of nanoelectrode arrays, positioned in the reactor, have been investigated as sensitive elements for electrical detection and the recording of neuron extracellular electric activity has been monitorized in parallel with whole-cell patch-clamp membrane current. Moreover, using an additional porosification process the sensing element became efficient for optical detection also. The preliminary test results demonstrate the functionality of the proposed design and also the fabrication technology, the devices bringing advantages in terms enhancement of sensitivity in both optoelectronic detection schemes.

  15. Experimental study of microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jacobs, Ryan T.

    Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Imaging (TAI) is a noninvasive hybrid modality which improves contrast by using thermoelastic wave generation induced by microwave absorption. Ultrasonography is widely used in medical practice as a low-cost alternative and supplement to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although ultrasonography has relatively high image resolution (depending on the ultrasonic wavelength at diagnostic frequencies), it suffers from low image contrast of soft tissues. In this work samples are irradiated with sub-microsecond electromagnetic pulses inducing acoustic waves in the sample that are then detected with an unfocused transducer. The advantage of this hybrid modality is the ability to take advantage of the microwave absorption coefficients which provide high contrast in tissue samples. This in combination with the superior spatial resolution of ultrasound waves is important to providing a low-cost alternative to MRI and early breast cancer detection methods. This work describes the implementation of a thermoacoustic experiment using a 5 kW peak power microwave source.

  16. Satellite analog FDMA/FM to digital TDMA conversion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Driggers, T.; Nguyen, T.; Kolavennu, V.

    1987-01-01

    The results of a study which investigated design issues regarding the use of analog to digital (A/D) conversion on board a satellite are presented. The need for A/D, and of course D/A as well, conversion arose from a satellite design which required analog FDMA/FM up and down links to/from a digitally modulated intersatellite link. There are also some advantages when one must interconnect a large number of various spot beams which are using analog, and therefore cannot take advantage of SS/TDMA switching among the beams, thus resulting in low fill factors. Various tradeoffs were performed regarding the implementation of on-board A/D processing, including mass, power, and costs. The various technologies which were considered included flash ADCs, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, and digital signal processing (DSP) chips. Impact analyses were also performed to determine the effect on ground stations to convert to digital if the A/D approach were not implemented.

  17. Beryllium implosion experiments at high case-to-capsule ratio on the National Ignition Facility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zylstra, Alex; Yi, Austin; Kline, John; Kyrala, George; Loomis, Eric; Perry, Ted; Shah, Rahul; Batha, Steve; MacLaren, Steve; Ralph, Joe; Salmonson, Jay; Masse, Laurent; Nikroo, Abbas; Stadermann, Michael; Callahan, Debbie; Hurricane, Omar; Rice, Neal; Huang, Haibo; Kong, Casey

    2017-10-01

    Using beryllium as an ablator material has several potential advantages for inertial fusion because of its low opacity and thus higher ablation rate. This could enable novel designs taking advantage of the reduced ablation-front growth rate, or operating at lower radiation temperature. To investigate the integrated performance of beryllium implosions, we conducted a tuning campaign leading into DT layered implosions using a 900um radius capsule in a 6.72mm diameter hohlraum (case-to-capsule ratio CCR=3.7); the large CCR enables direct study of the 1-D implosion performance. The tuning campaign shots demonstrate excellent control over the shock timing and implosion symmetry at this CCR. Performance data from the DT experiments will also be discussed. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DoE by LANL under contract DE-AC52-06NA52396.

  18. Mechanical Coal-Face Fracturer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Collins, E. R., Jr.

    1984-01-01

    Radial points on proposed drill bit take advantage of natural fracture planes of coal. Radial fracture points retracted during drilling and impacted by piston to fracture coal once drilling halts. Group of bits attached to array of pneumatic drivers to fracture large areas of coal face.

  19. Postprocessing techniques for 3D non-linear structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gallagher, Richard S.

    1987-01-01

    How graphics postprocessing techniques are currently used to examine the results of 3-D nonlinear analyses, some new techniques which take advantage of recent technology, and how these results relate to both the finite element model and its geometric parent are reviewed.

  20. Computational Ecology and Open Science: Tools to Help Manage Lakes for Cyanobacteria in Lakes

    EPA Science Inventory

    Computational ecology is an interdisciplinary field that takes advantage of modern computation abilities to expand our ecological understanding. As computational ecologists, we use large data sets, which often cover large spatial extents, and advanced statistical/mathematical co...

  1. Nucleic acids-based tools for ballast water surveillance, monitoring, and research

    EPA Science Inventory

    Understanding the risks of biological invasion posed by ballast water—whether in the context of compliance testing, routine monitoring, or basic research—is fundamentally an exercise in biodiversity assessment, and as such should take advantage of the best tools avail...

  2. Counter Piracy: A More Comprehensive Approach

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-04-25

    almost non-existent. The lack of governance allowed local and foreign fishing vessels to take advantage and overfish Somali waters. The local Any...piracy. 18 populace was powerless to stop them from overfishing those grounds that once provided subsistence.67 This situation enabled the

  3. MINERALOGICAL PRESERVATION OF SOLID SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM ANOXIC SUBSURFACE ENVIRONMENTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Remedial technologies utilized at hazardous waste sites for the treatment of metal and metalloid contaminants often take advantage of reduction-oxidation (redox) processes to reach ground water clean up goals. This is because redox reactions, in many cases, govern the biogeochem...

  4. Static Verification for Code Contracts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fähndrich, Manuel

    The Code Contracts project [3] at Microsoft Research enables programmers on the .NET platform to author specifications in existing languages such as C# and VisualBasic. To take advantage of these specifications, we provide tools for documentation generation, runtime contract checking, and static contract verification.

  5. Tomographic Image Compression Using Multidimensional Transforms.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Villasenor, John D.

    1994-01-01

    Describes a method for compressing tomographic images obtained using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Magnetic Resonance (MR) by applying transform compression using all available dimensions. This takes maximum advantage of redundancy of the data, allowing significant increases in compression efficiency and performance. (13 references) (KRN)

  6. Toward a Descriptive Profile of the Entrepreneur.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solomon, George T.; Winslow, Erik K.

    1988-01-01

    Sixty-one entrepreneurs were interviewed concerning their reasons for starting their own businesses, advantages of entrepreneurship, risk taking, definitions of success, personal assets and liabilities, ideas for the future, dealing with competition, advice to potential entrepreneurs, socializing, and their hobbies and sports. (JDD)

  7. MODULAR FIELD-BIOREACTOR FOR ACID MINE DRAINAGE TREATMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    The presentation focuses on the improvements to engineered features of a passive technology that has been used for remediation of acid rock drainage (ARD). This passive remedial technology, a sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) bioreactor, takes advantage of the ability of SRB that,...

  8. Distributing Congestion Management System Information Using the World Wide Web

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-01-01

    The Internet is a unique medium for the distribution of information, and it provides a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of peoples innate interest in transportation issues as they relate to their own lives. In particular, the World Wide Web (...

  9. Commuter Benefits Provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-08-22

    The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 makes offering a menu of commute benefits, sometimes called transportation fringe benefits, far more appealing to employers. Downtown employers and their employees are most likely to take advantage of the new tax law p...

  10. An Online Education Sourcebook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carr, Victor; Locatis, Craig; Reid, John C.; Ullmer, Eldon; Weisberg, Michael

    This resource provides basic information on five selected topics related to creating and implementing online educational programs. "Adult Learning" (John C. Reid) provides an overview of general learning theories and discusses the characteristics of adult learners, strategies for taking advantage of adults' traits and motivations in…

  11. PyGeoTess 0.2.0

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

    Maccarthy, Jonathan K.

    2016-07-28

    PyGeoTess is a Python interface module to the GeoTess gridding and earth model library from Sandia National Laboratories. It provides simplified access to a subset of the GeoTess C++ library, and takes advantage of Python's interactive interpreter and inline documentation system.

  12. Taking advantage of modern turbines

    DOE PAGES

    Thresher, Robert

    2018-05-14

    Here, wind facilities have generally deployed turbines of the same power and height in regular uniform arrays. Now, the modern generation of turbines, with customer-selectable tower heights and larger rotors, can significantly increase wind energy's economic potential using less land to generate cheaper electricity.

  13. 48 CFR 39.103 - Modular contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... increments to take advantage of any evolution in technology or needs that occur during implementation and use... CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY General 39.103 Modular contracting. (a) This section implements Section 5202, Incremental Acquisition of Information Technology, of the Clinger-Cohen...

  14. 48 CFR 39.103 - Modular contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... increments to take advantage of any evolution in technology or needs that occur during implementation and use... CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY General 39.103 Modular contracting. (a) This section implements Section 5202, Incremental Acquisition of Information Technology, of the Clinger-Cohen...

  15. 48 CFR 39.103 - Modular contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... increments to take advantage of any evolution in technology or needs that occur during implementation and use... CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY General 39.103 Modular contracting. (a) This... technology. Consistent with the agency's information technology architecture, agencies should, to the maximum...

  16. 48 CFR 39.103 - Modular contracting.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... increments to take advantage of any evolution in technology or needs that occur during implementation and use... CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY General 39.103 Modular contracting. (a) This section implements Section 5202, Incremental Acquisition of Information Technology, of the Clinger-Cohen...

  17. Cyber War: The Next Frontier for NATO

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-03-01

    cyber-attacks as a way to advance their agenda. Common examples of cyber- attacks include computer viruses, worms , malware, and distributed denial of...take advantage of security holes and cause damage to computer systems, steal financial data, or acquire sensitive secrets. As technology becomes

  18. Savvy Money Management Can Soothe the Sting of the Arbitrage Rebate.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Resnick, Michael A.

    1988-01-01

    For school systems, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 increased the relative cost of borrowing and put greater limits on investment opportunities. Offers tips to help school boards ask the right questions to take advantage of all possible opportunities. (MLF)

  19. Modern Segregation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothstein, Richard

    2014-01-01

    School reform alone cannot substantially improve the performance of the poorest African American students. This performance problem must be addressed primarily by improving the social and economic conditions that bring too many children to school unprepared to take advantage of what schools have to offer. Integrating disadvantaged black students…

  20. Repairing/strengthening of bridges with post-tensioned FRP strands and performance evaluation.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-06-01

    The proposed project is to take advantage of some new developments in bridge engineering to apply fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) post-tensioning strands on a selected structure. The use of externally post-tensioned FRP strands to repair/strengthen b...

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