Optimization of the inter-tablet coating uniformity for an active coating process at lab and pilot scale.

PubMed

Just, Sarah; Toschkoff, Gregor; Funke, Adrian; Djuric, Dejan; Scharrer, Georg; Khinast, Johannes; Knop, Klaus; Kleinebudde, Peter

2013-11-30

The objective of this study was to enhance the inter-tablet coating uniformity in an active coating process at lab and pilot scale by statistical design of experiments. The API candesartan cilexetil was applied onto gastrointestinal therapeutic systems containing the API nifedipine to obtain fixed dose combinations of these two drugs with different release profiles. At lab scale, the parameters pan load, pan speed, spray rate and number of spray nozzles were examined. At pilot scale, the parameters pan load, pan speed, spray rate, spray time, and spray pressure were investigated. A low spray rate and a high pan speed improved the coating uniformity at both scales. The number of spray nozzles was identified as the most influential variable at lab scale. With four spray nozzles, the highest CV value was equal to 6.4%, compared to 13.4% obtained with two spray nozzles. The lowest CV of 4.5% obtained with two spray nozzles was further reduced to 2.3% when using four spray nozzles. At pilot scale, CV values between 2.7% and 11.1% were achieved. Since the test of uniformity of dosage units accepts CV values of up to 6.25%, this active coating process is well suited to comply with the pharmacopoeial requirements. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

75 FR 34169 - Hewlett-Packard Company, Inkjet Consumer Solutions, HP Consumer Hardware Inkjet Lab, Including...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-16

..., Inkjet Consumer Solutions, HP Consumer Hardware Inkjet Lab, Including Leased Workers From Hightower..., applicable to all workers of Hewlett-Packard Company, Inkjet Consumer Solutions, HP Consumer Hardware Inkjet... the Department's certification is to include all workers employed at Hewlett Packard Company, Inkjet...

A study of energy-size relationship and wear rate in a lab-scale high pressure grinding rolls unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashidi Dashtbayaz, Samira

This study is focused on two independent topics of energy-size relationship and wear-rate measurements on a lab-scale high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR). The first part of this study has been aimed to investigate the influence of the operating parameters and the feed characteristics on the particle-bed breakage using four different ore samples in a 200 mm x 100 mm lab-scale HPGR. Additionally, multistage grinding, scale-up from a lab-scale HPGR, and prediction of the particle size distributions have been studied in detail. The results obtained from energy-size relationship studies help with better understanding of the factors contributing to more energy-efficient grinding. It will be shown that the energy efficiency of the two configurations of locked-cycle and open multipass is completely dependent on the ore properties. A test procedure to produce the scale-up data is presented. The comparison of the scale-up factors between the data obtained on the University of Utah lab-scale HPGR and the industrial machine at the Newmont Boddington plant confirmed the applicability of lab-scale machines for trade-off studies. The population balance model for the simulation of product size distributions has shown to work well with the breakage function estimated through tests performed on the HPGR at high rotational speed. Selection function has been estimated by back calculation of population balance model with the help of the experimental data. This is considered to be a major step towards advancing current research on the simulation of particle size distribution by using the HPGR machine for determining the breakage function. Developing a technique/setup to measure the wear rate of the HPGR rolls' surface is the objective of the second topic of this dissertation. A mockup was initially designed to assess the application of the linear displacement sensors for measuring the rolls' weight loss. Upon the analysis of that technique and considering the corresponding sources of

The multi-attribute task battery for human operator workload and strategic behavior research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comstock, J. Raymond, Jr.; Arnegard, Ruth J.

1992-01-01

The Multi-Attribute Task (MAT) Battery provides a benchmark set of tasks for use in a wide range of lab studies of operator performance and workload. The battery incorporates tasks analogous to activities that aircraft crewmembers perform in flight, while providing a high degree of experimenter control, performance data on each subtask, and freedom to use nonpilot test subjects. Features not found in existing computer based tasks include an auditory communication task (to simulate Air Traffic Control communication), a resource management task permitting many avenues or strategies of maintaining target performance, a scheduling window which gives the operator information about future task demands, and the option of manual or automated control of tasks. Performance data are generated for each subtask. In addition, the task battery may be paused and onscreen workload rating scales presented to the subject. The MAT Battery requires a desktop computer with color graphics. The communication task requires a serial link to a second desktop computer with a voice synthesizer or digitizer card.

The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernet, Claude; Senecal, Caroline; Guay, Frederic; Marsh, Herbert; Dowson, Martin

2008-01-01

The authors developed and validated a measure of teachers' motivation toward specific work tasks: The Work Tasks Motivation Scale for Teachers (WTMST). The WTMST is designed to assess five motivational constructs toward six work tasks (e.g., class preparation, teaching). The authors conducted a preliminary (n = 42) and a main study among…

Task driven optimal leg trajectories in insect-scale legged microrobots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doshi, Neel; Goldberg, Benjamin; Jayaram, Kaushik; Wood, Robert

Origami inspired layered manufacturing techniques and 3D-printing have enabled the development of highly articulated legged robots at the insect-scale, including the 1.43g Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR). Research on these platforms has expanded its focus from manufacturing aspects to include design optimization and control for application-driven tasks. Consequently, the choice of gait selection, body morphology, leg trajectory, foot design, etc. have become areas of active research. HAMR has two controlled degrees-of-freedom per leg, making it an ideal candidate for exploring leg trajectory. We will discuss our work towards optimizing HAMR's leg trajectories for two different tasks: climbing using electroadhesives and level ground running (5-10 BL/s). These tasks demonstrate the ability of single platform to adapt to vastly different locomotive scenarios: quasi-static climbing with controlled ground contact, and dynamic running with un-controlled ground contact. We will utilize trajectory optimization methods informed by existing models and experimental studies to determine leg trajectories for each task. We also plan to discuss how task specifications and choice of objective function have contributed to the shape of these optimal leg trajectories.

Comparison of lab, pilot, and industrial scale low consistency mechanical refining for improvements in enzymatic digestibility of pretreated hardwood.

PubMed

Jones, Brandon W; Venditti, Richard; Park, Sunkyu; Jameel, Hasan

2014-09-01

Mechanical refining has been shown to improve biomass enzymatic digestibility. In this study industrial high-yield sodium carbonate hardwood pulp was subjected to lab, pilot and industrial refining to determine if the mechanical refining improves the enzymatic hydrolysis sugar conversion efficiency differently at different refining scales. Lab, pilot and industrial refining increased the biomass digestibility for lignocellulosic biomass relative to the unrefined material. The sugar conversion was increased from 36% to 65% at 5 FPU/g of biomass with industrial refining at 67.0 kWh/t, which was more energy efficient than lab and pilot scale refining. There is a maximum in the sugar conversion with respect to the amount of refining energy. Water retention value is a good predictor of improvements in sugar conversion for a given fiber source and composition. Improvements in biomass digestibility with refining due to lab, pilot plant and industrial refining were similar with respect to water retention value. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A study on the effect of varying sequence of lab performance skills on lab performance of high school physics students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bournia-Petrou, Ethel A.

The main goal of this investigation was to study how student rank in class, student gender and skill sequence affect high school students' performance on the lab skills involved in a laboratory-based inquiry task in physics. The focus of the investigation was the effect of skill sequence as determined by the particular task. The skills considered were: Hypothesis, Procedure, Planning, Data, Graph, Calculations and Conclusion. Three physics lab tasks based on the simple pendulum concept were administered to 282 Regents physics high school students. The reliability of the designed tasks was high. Student performance was evaluated on individual student written responses and a scoring rubric. The tasks had high discrimination power and were of moderate difficulty (65%). It was found that, student performance was weak on Conclusion (42%), Hypothesis (48%), and Procedure (51%), where the numbers in parentheses represent the mean as a percentage of the maximum possible score. Student performance was strong on Calculations (91%), Data (82%), Graph (74%) and Plan (68%). Out of all seven skills, Procedure had the strongest correlation (.73) with the overall task performance. Correlation analysis revealed some strong relationships among the seven skills which were grouped in two distinct clusters: Hypothesis, Procedure and Plan belong to one, and Data, Graph, Calculations, and Conclusion belong to the other. This distinction may indicate different mental processes at play within each skill cluster. The effect of student rank was not statistically significant according to the MANOVA results due to the large variation of rank levels among the participating schools. The effect of gender was significant on the entire test because of performance differences on Calculations and Graph, where male students performed better than female students. Skill sequence had a significant effect on the skills of Procedure, Plan, Data and Conclusion. Students are rather weak in proposing a

Commerce lab: Mission analysis and payload integration study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Conceived as one or more arrays of carriers which would fly aboard space shuttle, Commerce Lab can provide a point of focus for implementing a series of shuttle flights, co-sponsored by NASA and U.S. domestic concerns, for performing materials processing in research and pre-commercial investigations. As an orbiting facility for testing, developing, and implementing hardware and procedures, Commerce Lab can enhance space station development and hasten space platform production capability. Tasks considered include: (1) synthesis of user requirements and identification of common element and voids; (2) definition of performance and infrastructure requirement and alternative approaches; and (3) carrier, mission model, and infrastructure development.

Human Engineering Modeling and Performance Lab Study Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliva-Buisson, Yvette J.

2014-01-01

The HEMAP (Human Engineering Modeling and Performance) Lab is a joint effort between the Industrial and Human Engineering group and the KAVE (Kennedy Advanced Visualiations Environment) group. The lab consists of sixteen camera system that is used to capture human motions and operational tasks, through te use of a Velcro suit equipped with sensors, and then simulate these tasks in an ergonomic software package know as Jac, The Jack software is able to identify the potential risk hazards.

Heat transfer analysis of a lab scale solar receiver using the discrete ordinates model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dordevich, Milorad C. W.

This thesis documents the development, implementation and simulation outcomes of the Discrete Ordinates Radiation Model in ANSYS FLUENT simulating the radiative heat transfer occurring in the San Diego State University lab-scale Small Particle Heat Exchange Receiver. In tandem, it also serves to document how well the Discrete Ordinates Radiation Model results compared with those from the in-house developed Monte Carlo Ray Trace Method in a number of simplified geometries. The secondary goal of this study was the inclusion of new physics, specifically buoyancy. Implementation of an additional Monte Carlo Ray Trace Method software package known as VEGAS, which was specifically developed to model lab scale solar simulators and provide directional, flux and beam spread information for the aperture boundary condition, was also a goal of this study. Upon establishment of the model, test cases were run to understand the predictive capabilities of the model. It was shown that agreement within 15% was obtained against laboratory measurements made in the San Diego State University Combustion and Solar Energy Laboratory with the metrics of comparison being the thermal efficiency and outlet, wall and aperture quartz temperatures. Parametric testing additionally showed that the thermal efficiency of the system was very dependent on the mass flow rate and particle loading. It was also shown that the orientation of the small particle heat exchange receiver was important in attaining optimal efficiency due to the fact that buoyancy induced effects could not be neglected. The analyses presented in this work were all performed on the lab-scale small particle heat exchange receiver. The lab-scale small particle heat exchange receiver is 0.38 m in diameter by 0.51 m tall and operated with an input irradiation flux of 3 kWth and a nominal mass flow rate of 2 g/s with a suspended particle mass loading of 2 g/m3. Finally, based on acumen gained during the implementation and development

Integrating Robotic Observatories into Astronomy Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruch, Gerald T.

2015-01-01

The University of St. Thomas (UST) and a consortium of five local schools is using the UST Robotic Observatory, housing a 17' telescope, to develop labs and image processing tools that allow easy integration of observational labs into existing introductory astronomy curriculum. Our lab design removes the burden of equipment ownership by sharing access to a common resource and removes the burden of data processing by automating processing tasks that are not relevant to the learning objectives.Each laboratory exercise takes place over two lab periods. During period one, students design and submit observation requests via the lab website. Between periods, the telescope automatically acquires the data and our image processing pipeline produces data ready for student analysis. During period two, the students retrieve their data from the website and perform the analysis. The first lab, 'Weighing Jupiter,' was successfully implemented at UST and several of our partner schools. We are currently developing a second lab to measure the age of and distance to a globular cluster.

Model-based strategy for cell culture seed train layout verified at lab scale.

PubMed

Kern, Simon; Platas-Barradas, Oscar; Pörtner, Ralf; Frahm, Björn

2016-08-01

Cell culture seed trains-the generation of a sufficient viable cell number for the inoculation of the production scale bioreactor, starting from incubator scale-are time- and cost-intensive. Accordingly, a seed train offers potential for optimization regarding its layout and the corresponding proceedings. A tool has been developed to determine the optimal points in time for cell passaging from one scale into the next and it has been applied to two different cell lines at lab scale, AGE1.HN AAT and CHO-K1. For evaluation, experimental seed train realization has been evaluated in comparison to its layout. In case of the AGE1.HN AAT cell line, the results have also been compared to the formerly manually designed seed train. The tool provides the same seed train layout based on the data of only two batches.

Recirculation of reverse osmosis concentrate in lab-scale anaerobic and aerobic landfill simulation reactors.

PubMed

Morello, Luca; Cossu, Raffaello; Raga, Roberto; Pivato, Alberto; Lavagnolo, Maria Cristina

2016-10-01

Leachate treatment is a major issue in the context of landfill management, particularly in view of the consistent changes manifested over time in the quality and quantity of leachate produced, linked to both waste and landfill characteristics, which renders the procedure technically difficult and expensive. Leachate recirculation may afford a series of potential advantages, including improvement of leachate quality, enhancement of gas production, acceleration of biochemical processes, control of moisture content, as well as nutrients and microbe migration within the landfill. Recirculation of the products of leachate treatment, such as reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate, is a less common practice, with widespread controversy relating to its suitability, potential impacts on landfill management and future gaseous and leachable emissions. Scientific literature provides the results of only a few full-scale applications of concentrate recirculation. In some cases, an increase of COD and ammonium nitrogen in leachate was observed, coupled with an increase of salinity; which, additionally, might negatively affect performance of the RO plant itself. In other cases, not only did leachate production not increase significantly but the characteristics of leachate extracted from the well closest to the re-injection point also remained unchanged. This paper presents the results of lab-scale tests conducted in landfill simulation reactors, in which the effects of injection of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate RO concentrate were evaluated. Six reactors were managed with different weekly concentrate inputs, under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions, with the aim of investigating the short and long-term effects of this practice on landfill emissions. Lab-scale tests resulted in a more reliable identification of compound accumulation and kinetic changes than full-scale applications, further enhancing the development of a mass balance in which gaseous emissions and waste

Perspectives on ecological research at the Outdoor StreamLab, a field-scale experimental stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merten, E. C.; Dieterman, D.; Kramarczuk, K.; Lightbody, A.; Orr, C. H.; Wellnitz, T.

2009-12-01

Artificial streams hold great promise for examining ecological processes. They lend themselves to manipulations of discharge, sediment load, water chemistry, and other parameters difficult or impossible to control in natural streams. However, artificial streams also have important limitations. In this presentation we describe insights gained from several ecological studies conducted at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory’s Outdoor StreamLab, including, 1) short-term turbidity exposure effects on fish health, 2) macroinvertebrate grazing rates on periphyton as a function of velocity, 3) rates of macroinvertebrate colonization as related to velocity, and 4) fine-scale correlations of periphytic biomass with hydraulic conditions. Several lessons emerge from these initial attempts at ecological research in the Outdoor StreamLab. We have learned that the size, flow rate, substrate, water chemistry, and available colonization population of the artificial stream limit the kinds of organisms and types of ecological processes that can be examined and the types of experiments that can be run. We suggest that short-term biotic responses are best for study in a system of this type, and note that constant experiment maintenance is essential. Operating artificial streams to meet the needs of multiple researchers also presents challenges of scheduling, coordination, and conflict resolution. Although ecological research in artificial streams has considerable potential, the planning required is no less than that of traditional field studies.

Behavior of TiO₂ nanoparticles during incineration of solid paint waste: a lab-scale test.

PubMed

Massari, Andrea; Beggio, Marta; Hreglich, Sandro; Marin, Riccardo; Zuin, Stefano

2014-10-01

In order to assess the potential impacts posed by products containing engineered nanoparticles, it is essential to generate more data about the release of these particles from products' life cycle. Although first studies were performed to investigate the release of nanoparticles from use phase, very few data are available on the potential release from recycling or disposal of nano-enhanced products. In this work, we investigated the behavior of TiO2 nanoparticles from incineration of solid paint waste containing these particles. Solid paint debris with and without TiO2 nanoparticles were treated in a lab scale incineration plant at 950°C (combustion temperature) and in oxidizing atmosphere. The obtained ashes were also vitrified with additives and the release of Ti was finally evaluated by leaching test. From our incineration lab-scale experiment, we did not observe a release of TiO2 nanoparticles into the atmosphere, and Ti was attached to the surface of obtained solid residues (i.e. ashes). The characterization of ashes showed that TiO2 nanoparticles reacted during the incineration to give calcium titanate. Finally, a very low release of Ti was measured, less 1 mg/kg, during the leaching test of ashes vitrified with glass cullet and feldspathic inert. Our work suggests that TiO2 nanoparticles added in paints may undergo to physicochemical transformation during the incineration, and that Ti found in ashes may be strongly immobilized in glass matrix. Since this conclusion is based on lab-scale experiment, further research is required to identify which nanoparticles will be emitted to the environment from a real-word-incineration system of household hazardous waste. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The national labs and their future

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

Crease, R.P.

National laboratories of the USA, born with the atomic age and raised to prominence by the need for scientific superiority during the long Cold War, are facing the most critical challenge: how best to support the nation's current need to improve its international competitiveness through superior technology The charge that the national laboratories are [open quotes]Cold War relics[close quotes] that have outlived their usefulness is based on a misunderstanding of their mission, says Robert P. Crease, historian for Brookhaven National laboratory. Three of the labs-Los Alamos, Sandia, and Lawrence Livermore- are weapons laboratories and their missions must change. Oak Ridge,more » Argonne, and Brookhaven laboratories are multipurpose: basic research facilities with a continuing role in the world of science The national laboratory system traces its origins to the Manhattan Project. Over the next half-century, America's national labs grew into part of the most effective scientific establishment in the world, a much-copied model for management of large-scale scientific programs. In the early years, each lab defined a niche in the complex world of reactors, accelerators, and high-energy proton and electron physics. In the 1970s, several labs worked on basic energy sciences to help solve a national energy crisis. Today, the labs are pressured to do more applied research-research to transfer to the private sector and will have to respond by devising more effective ways of coordinating basic and applied research. But, Crease warns, [open quotes]It also will be essential that any commitment to applied research not take place at the cost of reducing the wellspring of basic research from which so much applied research flows. [open quotes]Making a solid and persuasive case for the independent value of basic research, and for their own role in that enterprise, may be the most important task facing the laboratories in their next half-century,[close quotes].« less

Lab-scaled model to evaluate odor and gas production from cattle confinement facilities with deep bedded packs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A lab-scaled simulated bedded pack model was developed to study air quality and nutrient composition of deep-bedded packs found in cattle monoslope facilities. This protocol has been used to effectively evaluate many different bedding materials, environmental variables (temperature, humidity), and ...

RANS Simulation (Virtual Blade Model [VBM]) of Array of Three Coaxial Lab Scaled DOE RM1 MHK Turbine with 5D Spacing

DOE Data Explorer

Javaherchi, Teymour

2016-06-08

Attached are the .cas and .dat files along with the required User Defined Functions (UDFs) and look-up table of lift and drag coefficients for the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulation of three coaxially located lab-scaled DOE RM1 turbine implemented in ANSYS FLUENT CFD-package. The lab-scaled DOE RM1 is a re-design geometry, based of the full scale DOE RM1 design, producing same power output as the full scale model, while operating at matched Tip Speed Ratio values at reachable laboratory Reynolds number (see attached paper). In this case study the flow field around and in the wake of the lab-scaled DOE RM1 turbines in a coaxial array is simulated using Blade Element Model (a.k.a Virtual Blade Model) by solving RANS equations coupled with k-\\omega turbulence closure model. It should be highlighted that in this simulation the actual geometry of the rotor blade is not modeled. The effect of turbine rotating blades are modeled using the Blade Element Theory. This simulation provides an accurate estimate for the performance of each device and structure of their turbulent far wake. The results of these simulations were validated against the developed in-house experimental data. Simulations for other turbine configurations are available upon request.

Berkeley Lab - Materials Sciences Division

Science.gov Websites

Synthesis Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Scattering and Instrumentation Science Centers Center for materials and phenomena at multiple time and length scales. Through our core programs and research centers Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Phone Book Jobs Search DOE Search MSD Go MSD - Materials

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control - Task 3 Full-scale Test Results

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

Gary Blythe

2007-05-01

This Topical Report summarizes progress on Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-04NT42309, 'Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive'. The objective of the project is to demonstrate the use of a flue gas desulfurization (FGD) additive, Degussa Corporation's TMT-15, to prevent the reemission of elemental mercury (Hg{sup 0}) in flue gas exiting wet FGD systems on coal-fired boilers. Furthermore, the project intends to demonstrate whether the additive can be used to precipitate most of the mercury (Hg) removed in the wet FGD system as a fine TMT salt that can be separated from the FGD liquor and bulk solid byproducts for separate disposal.more » The project is conducting pilot- and full-scale tests of the TMT-15 additive in wet FGD absorbers. The tests are intended to determine required additive dosages to prevent Hg{sup 0} reemissions and to separate mercury from the normal FGD byproducts for three coal types: Texas lignite/Power River Basin (PRB) coal blend, high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal, and low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal. The project team consists of URS Group, Inc., EPRI, TXU Generation Company LP, Southern Company, and Degussa Corporation. TXU Generation has provided the Texas lignite/PRB cofired test site for pilot FGD tests, Monticello Steam Electric Station Unit 3. Southern Company is providing the low-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal host site for wet scrubbing tests, as well as the pilot- and full-scale jet bubbling reactor (JBR) FGD systems to be tested. IPL, an AES company, provided the high-sulfur Eastern bituminous coal full-scale FGD test site and cost sharing. Degussa Corporation is providing the TMT-15 additive and technical support to the test program as cost sharing. The project is being conducted in six tasks. Of the six project tasks, Task 1 involves project planning and Task 6 involves management and reporting. The other four tasks involve field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. The four tasks include: Task 2 - Pilot Additive

[Specialist's training for laparoscopic surgery in Wet-lab educational operating theatre].

PubMed

Khubezov, D A; Sazhin, V P; Ogoreltsev, A Yu; Puchkov, D K; Rodimov, S V; Ignatov, I S; Tazina, T V; Evsyukova, M A

2018-01-01

To develop system for students training in laparoscopic surgery by using of Wet-lab educational operating theatre. We have launched laparoscopic surgery teaching program for students of Ryazan State Medical University. This system includes several stages. At the first stage professional selection was carried out on 'dry' laparoscopic simulators among III-IV-year students of medical faculty. So, 10 people were selected. The second stage included theoretical and practical parts consisting of development of basic laparoscopic skills on 'dry' simulators. 5 students who scored the maximum points were admitted to the next stage. The third stage is working in Wet-lab operating theatre with a mentor. There were 10 sessions on 10 laboratory pigs. Final stage of our study compares two groups of participants: main group - 5 students who underwent above-described program and control group of 5 residents without experience for laparoscopic operations. The participants of the main group had significantly higher OSATS score compared with another group (20 vs. 10; p<0.05). Movements effectiveness estimated by measuring of movements trajectory total length was also higher in main group than in control group (6 vs. 20; p<0.05). Experts' subjective assessment according to 10-point scale was also higher for students than for interns (9 vs. 5, p<0.05). Participants in the main group required significantly less time to complete the task compared with the control group (40 vs. 90 minutes, p<0.05). Our experience has shown that training system with Wet-lab operating theatre is effective for quick and efficient training of medical students in main laparoscopic procedures. In our opinion, introduction of students into 'advanced' surgery from early age will make it possible to get finally highly professional specialists.

The suppression of scale-free fMRI brain dynamics across three different sources of effort: aging, task novelty and task difficulty.

PubMed

Churchill, Nathan W; Spring, Robyn; Grady, Cheryl; Cimprich, Bernadine; Askren, Mary K; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A; Jung, Mi Sook; Peltier, Scott; Strother, Stephen C; Berman, Marc G

2016-08-08

There is growing evidence that fluctuations in brain activity may exhibit scale-free ("fractal") dynamics. Scale-free signals follow a spectral-power curve of the form P(f ) ∝ f(-β), where spectral power decreases in a power-law fashion with increasing frequency. In this study, we demonstrated that fractal scaling of BOLD fMRI signal is consistently suppressed for different sources of cognitive effort. Decreases in the Hurst exponent (H), which quantifies scale-free signal, was related to three different sources of cognitive effort/task engagement: 1) task difficulty, 2) task novelty, and 3) aging effects. These results were consistently observed across multiple datasets and task paradigms. We also demonstrated that estimates of H are robust across a range of time-window sizes. H was also compared to alternative metrics of BOLD variability (SDBOLD) and global connectivity (Gconn), with effort-related decreases in H producing similar decreases in SDBOLD and Gconn. These results indicate a potential global brain phenomenon that unites research from different fields and indicates that fractal scaling may be a highly sensitive metric for indexing cognitive effort/task engagement.

The suppression of scale-free fMRI brain dynamics across three different sources of effort: aging, task novelty and task difficulty

PubMed Central

Churchill, Nathan W.; Spring, Robyn; Grady, Cheryl; Cimprich, Bernadine; Askren, Mary K.; Reuter-Lorenz, Patricia A.; Jung, Mi Sook; Peltier, Scott; Strother, Stephen C.; Berman, Marc G.

2016-01-01

There is growing evidence that fluctuations in brain activity may exhibit scale-free (“fractal”) dynamics. Scale-free signals follow a spectral-power curve of the form P(f ) ∝ f−β, where spectral power decreases in a power-law fashion with increasing frequency. In this study, we demonstrated that fractal scaling of BOLD fMRI signal is consistently suppressed for different sources of cognitive effort. Decreases in the Hurst exponent (H), which quantifies scale-free signal, was related to three different sources of cognitive effort/task engagement: 1) task difficulty, 2) task novelty, and 3) aging effects. These results were consistently observed across multiple datasets and task paradigms. We also demonstrated that estimates of H are robust across a range of time-window sizes. H was also compared to alternative metrics of BOLD variability (SDBOLD) and global connectivity (Gconn), with effort-related decreases in H producing similar decreases in SDBOLD and Gconn. These results indicate a potential global brain phenomenon that unites research from different fields and indicates that fractal scaling may be a highly sensitive metric for indexing cognitive effort/task engagement. PMID:27498696

Scaling behavior in exclusive meson photoproduction from Jefferson Lab at large momentum transfers

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

Dey, Biplab

2014-07-01

With the availability of new high-statistics and wide-angle measurements for several exclusive non-πN meson photoproduction channels from Jefferson Lab, we examine the fundamental scaling law of 90° scattering in QCD that was originally derived in the high-energy perturbative limit. The data show scaling to be prominently visible even in the medium-energy domain of 2.5 GeV ≲√s≲2.84 GeV, where √s is the center-of-mass energy. While constituent quark exchange suffices for pseudoscalar mesons, additional gluon exchanges from higher Fock states of the hadronic wave functions appear be needed for vector-meson production. Finally, the case of the Φ(1020), where two-gluon exchanges are knownmore » to dominate, is especially illuminating.« less

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

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

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in G a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn G . Without going into details here, G incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the perfect environment in which to teach

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

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

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in "G" a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn "G". Without going into details here, "G" incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the "perfect environment in which to

Determination of pore-scale hydrate phase equilibria in sediments using lab-on-a-chip technology.

PubMed

Almenningen, Stian; Flatlandsmo, Josef; Kovscek, Anthony R; Ersland, Geir; Fernø, Martin A

2017-11-21

We present an experimental protocol for fast determination of hydrate stability in porous media for a range of pressure and temperature (P, T) conditions. Using a lab-on-a-chip approach, we gain direct optical access to dynamic pore-scale hydrate formation and dissociation events to study the hydrate phase equilibria in sediments. Optical pore-scale observations of phase behavior reproduce the theoretical hydrate stability line with methane gas and distilled water, and demonstrate the accuracy of the new method. The procedure is applicable for any kind of hydrate transitions in sediments, and may be used to map gas hydrate stability zones in nature.

DOE EiR at Oakridge National Lab 2008/09

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

Bauer, Michael

2012-11-30

This project placed an experienced technology entrepreneur at Oak Ridge National Lab, one of DOE's premier laboratories undertaking cutting edge research in a variety of fields, including energy technologies. With the goal of accelerating the commercialization of advanced energy technologies, the task was to review available technologies at the lab and identify those that qualify for licensing and commercialization by a private startup company, backed by private venture capital. During the project, more than 1,500 inventions filed at the lab were reviewed over a 1 year period; a successively smaller number was selected for more detailed review, ultimately resulting inmore » five, and then 1 technology, being reviewed for immediate commercialization. The chosen technology, consisting in computational chemistry based approached to optimization of enzymes, was tested in lab experiments, paid for by funds raised by ORNL for the purpose of proving out the effectiveness of the technology and readiness for commercialization. The experiments proved out that the technology worked however it's performance proved not yet mature enough to qualify for private venture capital funded commercialization in a high tech startup. As a consequence, the project did not result in a new startup company being formed, as originally intended.« less

Field Testing of a Wet FGD Additive for Enhanced Mercury Control - Task 5 Full-Scale Test Results

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

Gary Blythe; MariJon Owens

2007-12-01

management and reporting. The other four tasks involve field testing on FGD systems, either at pilot or full scale. The four tasks include: Task 2 - Pilot Additive Testing in Texas Lignite Flue Gas; Task 3 - Full-scale FGD Additive Testing in High-sulfur Eastern Bituminous Flue Gas; Task 4 - Pilot Wet Scrubber Additive Tests at Plant Yates; and Task 5 - Full-scale Additive Tests at Plant Yates. The pilot-scale tests and the full-scale test using high-sulfur coal were completed in 2005 and 2006 and have been previously reported. This topical report presents the results from the Task 5 full-scale additive tests, conducted at Southern Company's Plant Yates Unit 1. Both additives were tested there.« less

Treatment of radioactive liquid effluents by reverse osmosis membranes: From lab-scale to pilot-scale.

PubMed

Combernoux, Nicolas; Schrive, Luc; Labed, Véronique; Wyart, Yvan; Carretier, Emilie; Moulin, Philippe

2017-10-15

The recent use of the reverse osmosis (RO) process at the damaged Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant generated a growing interest in the application of this process for decontamination purposes. This study focused on the development of a robust RO process for decontamination of two kinds of liquid effluents: a contaminated groundwater after a nuclear disaster and a contaminated seawater during a nuclear accident. The SW30 HR membrane was selected among other in this study due to higher retentions (96% for Cs and 98% for Sr) in a true groundwater. Significant fouling and scaling phenomenon, attributed to calcium and strontium precipitation, were evidenced in this work: this underscored the importance of the lab scale experiment in the process. Validation of the separation performances on trace radionuclides concentration was performed with similar retention around 96% between surrogates Cs (inactive) and 137 Cs (radioactive). The scale up to a 2.6 m 2 spiral wound membrane led to equivalent retentions (around 96% for Cs and 99% for Sr) but lower flux values: this underlined that the hydrodynamic parameters (flowrate/cross-flow velocity) should be optimized. This methodology was also applied on the reconstituted seawater effluent: retentions were slightly lower than for the groundwater and the same hydrodynamic effects were observed on the pilot scale. Then, ageing of the membrane through irradiation experiments were performed. Results showed that the membrane active layer composition influenced the membrane resistance towards γ irradiation: the SW30 HR membrane performances (retention and permeability) were better than the Osmonics SE at 1 MGy. Finally, to supplement the scale up approach, the irradiation of a spiral wound membrane revealed a limited effect on the permeability and retention. This indicated that irradiation conditions need to be controlled for a further development of the process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transport of pesticides and artificial tracers in vertical-flow lab-scale wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durst, Romy; Imfeld, Gwenaël.; Lange, Jens

2013-01-01

Wetland systems can be hydrologically connected to a shallow aquifer and intercept upward flow of pesticide-contaminated water during groundwater discharge. However, pesticide transport and attenuation through wetland sediments (WSs) intercepting contaminated water is rarely evaluated quantitatively. The use of artificial tracers to evaluate pesticide transport and associated risks is a fairly new approach that requires evaluation and validation. Here we evaluate during 84 days the transport of two pesticides (i.e., isoproturon (IPU) and metalaxyl (MTX)) and three tracers (i.e., bromide (Br), uranine (UR), and sulforhodamine B (SRB)) in upward vertical-flow vegetated and nonvegetated lab-scale wetlands. The lab-scale wetlands were filled with outdoor WSs and were continuously supplied with tracers and the pesticide-contaminated water. The transport of IPU and UR was characterized by high solute recovery (approximately 80%) and low retardation compared to Br. The detection of desmethylisoproturon in the wetlands indicated IPU degradation. SRB showed larger retardation (>3) and lower recovery (approximately 60%) compared to Br, indicating that sorption controlled SRB transport. MTX was moderately retarded (approximately 1.5), and its load attenuation in the wetland reached 40%. In the vegetated wetland, preferential flow along the roots decreased interactions between solutes and sediments, resulting in larger pesticide and tracer recovery. Our results show that UR and IPU have similar transport characteristics under the tested subsurface-flow conditions, whereas SRB may serve as a proxy for less mobile and more persistent pesticides. Since UR and SRB are not significantly affected by degradation, their use as proxies for fast degrading pollutants may be limited. We anticipate our results to be a starting point for considering artificial tracers for investigating pesticide transport in environments at groundwater/surface-water interfaces.

Subjective scaling of mental workload in a multi-task environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daryanian, B.

1982-01-01

Those factors in a multi-task environment that contribute to the operators' "sense" of mental workload were identified. The subjective judgment as conscious experience of mental effort was decided to be the appropriate method of measurement. Thurstone's law of comparative judgment was employed in order to construct interval scales of subjective mental workload from paired comparisons data. An experimental paradigm (Simulated Multi-Task Decision-Making Environment) was employed to represent the ideal experimentally controlled environment in which human operators were asked to "attend" to different cases of Tulga's decision making tasks. Through various statistical analyses it was found that, in general, a lower number of tasks-to-be-processed per unit time (a condition associated with longer interarrival times), results in a lower mental workload, a higher consistency of judgments within a subject, a higher degree of agreement among the subjects, and larger distances between the cases on the Thurstone scale of subjective mental workload. The effects of various control variables and their interactions, and the different characteristics of the subjects on the variation of subjective mental workload are demonstrated.

Reflections on Three Corporate Research Labs: Bell Labs, HP Labs, Agilent Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollenhorst, James

2008-03-01

This will be a personal reflection on corporate life and physics-based research in three industrial research labs over three decades, Bell Labs during the 1980's, HP Labs during the 1990's, and Agilent Labs during the 2000's. These were times of great change in all three companies. I'll point out some of the similarities and differences in corporate cultures and how this impacted the research and development activities. Along the way I'll mention some of the great products that resulted from physics-based R&D.

3D-Lab: a collaborative web-based platform for molecular modeling.

PubMed

Grebner, Christoph; Norrby, Magnus; Enström, Jonatan; Nilsson, Ingemar; Hogner, Anders; Henriksson, Jonas; Westin, Johan; Faramarzi, Farzad; Werner, Philip; Boström, Jonas

2016-09-01

The use of 3D information has shown impact in numerous applications in drug design. However, it is often under-utilized and traditionally limited to specialists. We want to change that, and present an approach making 3D information and molecular modeling accessible and easy-to-use 'for the people'. A user-friendly and collaborative web-based platform (3D-Lab) for 3D modeling, including a blazingly fast virtual screening capability, was developed. 3D-Lab provides an interface to automatic molecular modeling, like conformer generation, ligand alignments, molecular dockings and simple quantum chemistry protocols. 3D-Lab is designed to be modular, and to facilitate sharing of 3D-information to promote interactions between drug designers. Recent enhancements to our open-source virtual reality tool Molecular Rift are described. The integrated drug-design platform allows drug designers to instantaneously access 3D information and readily apply advanced and automated 3D molecular modeling tasks, with the aim to improve decision-making in drug design projects.

Performance assessment and calibration of a profiling lab-scale acoustic Doppler velocimeter for application over mixed sand-gravel beds

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Acoustic Doppler velocimetry has made high-resolution turbulence measurements in sediment-laden flows possible. Recent developments have resulted in a commercially available lab-scale acoustic Doppler profiling device, a Nortek Vectrino II, that allows for three-dimensional velocity data to be colle...

eComLab: remote laboratory platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pontual, Murillo; Melkonyan, Arsen; Gampe, Andreas; Huang, Grant; Akopian, David

2011-06-01

Hands-on experiments with electronic devices have been recognized as an important element in the field of engineering to help students get familiar with theoretical concepts and practical tasks. The continuing increase the student number, costly laboratory equipment, and laboratory maintenance slow down the physical lab efficiency. As information technology continues to evolve, the Internet has become a common media in modern education. Internetbased remote laboratory can solve a lot of restrictions, providing hands-on training as they can be flexible in time and the same equipment can be shared between different students. This article describes an on-going remote hands-on experimental radio modulation, network and mobile applications lab project "eComLab". Its main component is a remote laboratory infrastructure and server management system featuring various online media familiar with modern students, such as chat rooms and video streaming.

Developing automated analytical methods for scientific environments using LabVIEW.

PubMed

Wagner, Christoph; Armenta, Sergio; Lendl, Bernhard

2010-01-15

The development of new analytical techniques often requires the building of specially designed devices, each requiring its own dedicated control software. Especially in the research and development phase, LabVIEW has proven to be one highly useful tool for developing this software. Yet, it is still common practice to develop individual solutions for different instruments. In contrast to this, we present here a single LabVIEW-based program that can be directly applied to various analytical tasks without having to change the program code. Driven by a set of simple script commands, it can control a whole range of instruments, from valves and pumps to full-scale spectrometers. Fluid sample (pre-)treatment and separation procedures can thus be flexibly coupled to a wide range of analytical detection methods. Here, the capabilities of the program have been demonstrated by using it for the control of both a sequential injection analysis - capillary electrophoresis (SIA-CE) system with UV detection, and an analytical setup for studying the inhibition of enzymatic reactions using a SIA system with FTIR detection.

The College of Charleston's 400-Student Observational Lab Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

True, C. M.

2006-06-01

For over thirty years the College of Charleston has been teaching a year-long introductory astronomy course incorporating a mandatory 3 hour lab. Despite our location in a very light polluted, coastal, high humidity, and often cloudy metropolitan area we have emphasized observational activities as much as possible. To accommodate our population of between 300-400 students per semester, we have 28 8-inch Celestron Telescopes and 25 GPS capable 8-inch Meade LX-200 telescopes. Finally, we have a 16 DFM adjacent to our rooftop observing decks. For indoor activities we have access to 42 computers running a variety of astronomy education software. Some of the computer activities are based on the Starry Night software (Backyard and Pro), the CLEA software from Gettysburg College, and Spectrum Explorer from Boston University. Additionally, we have labs involving cratering, eclipses and phases, coordinate systems with celestial globes, the inverse square law, spectroscopy and spectral classification, as well as others. In this presentation we will discuss the difficulties in managing a program of this size. We have approximately 14 lab sections a week. The lab manager's task involves coordinating 8-10 lab instructors and the same number of undergraduate teaching assistants as well as trying to maintain a coherent experience between the labs and lecture sections. Our lab manuals are produced locally with yearly updates. Samples from the manuals will be available. This program has been developed by a large number of College of Charleston astronomy faculty, including Don Drost, Bob Dukes, Chris Fragile, Tim Giblin, Jon Hakkila, Bill Kubinec, Lee Lindner, Jim Neff, Laura Penny, Al Rainis, Terry Richardson, and D. J. Williams, as well as adjunct and visiting faculty Bill Baird, Kevin Bourque, Ethan Denault, Kwayera Davis, Francie Halter, and Alan Johnson. Part of this work has been funded by NSF DUE grants to the College of Charleston.

Relating lab to life: Decrements in attention over time predict math productivity among children with ADHD.

PubMed

Fosco, Whitney D; Hawk, Larry W

2017-02-01

A child's ability to sustain attention over time (AOT) is critical in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), yet no prior work has examined the extent to which a child's decrement in AOT on laboratory tasks relates to clinically-relevant behavior. The goal of this study is to provide initial evidence for the criterion validity of laboratory assessments of AOT. A total of 20 children with ADHD (7-12 years of age) who were enrolled in a summer treatment program completed two lab attention tasks (a continuous performance task and a self-paced choice discrimination task) and math seatwork. Analyses focused on relations between attention task parameters and math productivity. Individual differences in overall attention (OA) measures (averaged across time) accounted for 23% of the variance in math productivity, supporting the criterion validity of lab measures of attention. The criterion validity was enhanced by consideration of changes in AOT. Performance on all laboratory attention measures deteriorated as time-on-task increased, and individual differences in the decrement in AOT accounted for 40% of the variance in math productivity. The only variable to uniquely predict math productivity was from the self-paced choice discrimination task. This study suggests that attention tasks in the lab do predict a clinically-relevant target behavior in children with ADHD, supporting their use as a means to study attention processes in a controlled environment. Furthermore, this prediction is improved when attention is examined as a function of time-on-task and when the attentional demands are consistent between lab and life contexts.

Orodispersible films: Product transfer from lab-scale to continuous manufacturing.

PubMed

Thabet, Yasmin; Breitkreutz, Joerg

2018-01-15

Orodispersible films have been described as new beneficial dosage forms for special patient populations. Due to various production settings, different requirements on film formulations are required for non- continuous and continuous manufacturing. In this study, a continuous coating machine was qualified in regards of the process conditions for film compositions and their effects on the formed films. To investigate differences between both manufacturing processes, various film formulations of hydrochlorothiazide and hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) or hydroxypropylmethycellulose (HPMC) as film formers were produced and the resulting films were characterized. The qualification of the continuously operating coating machine reveals no uniform heat distribution during drying. Coating solutions for continuous manufacturing should provide at least a dynamic viscosity of 1 Pa*s (wet film thickness of 500 μm, velocity of 15.9 cm/min). HPC films contain higher residuals of ethanol or acetone in bench-scale than in continuous production mode. Continuous production lead to lower drug content of the films. All continuously produced films disintegrate within less than 30 s. There are observed significant effects of the production process on the film characteristics. When transferring film manufacturing from lab-scale to continuous mode, film compositions, processing conditions and suitable characterization methods have to be carefully selected and adopted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison between lab- and full-scale applications of in situ aeration of an old landfill and assessment of long-term emission development after completion

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

Hrad, Marlies; Gamperling, Oliver; Huber-Humer, Marion, E-mail: marion.huber-humer@boku.ac.at

Highlights: ► Current data on in situ aeration effects from the first Austrian full-scale case study. ► Data on lasting waste stabilisation after aeration completion. ► Information on the transferability of results from lab- to full-scale aeration. - Abstract: Sustainable landfilling has become a fundamental objective in many modern waste management concepts. In this context, the in situ aeration of landfills has been recognised for its potential to convert conventional anaerobic landfills into biological stabilised state, whereby both current and potential (long-term) emissions of the landfilled waste are mitigated. In recent years, different in situ aeration concepts have been successfullymore » applied in Europe, North America and Asia, all pursuing different objectives and strategies. In Austria, the first full-scale application of in situ landfill aeration by means of low pressure air injection and simultaneous off-gas collection and treatment was implemented on an old, small municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill (2.6 ha) in autumn 2007. Complementary laboratory investigations were conducted with waste samples taken from the landfill site in order to provide more information on the transferability of the results from lab- to full-scale aeration measures. In addition, long-term emission development of the stabilised waste after aeration completion was assessed in an ongoing laboratory experiment. Although the initial waste material was described as mostly stable in terms of the biological parameters gas generation potential over 21 days (GP{sub 21}) and respiration activity over 4 days (RA{sub 4}), the lab-scale experiments indicated that aeration, which led to a significant improvement of leachate quality, was accompanied by further measurable changes in the solid waste material under optimised conditions. Even 75 weeks after aeration completion the leachate, as well as gaseous emissions from the stabilised waste material, remained low and stayed below

Examining and contrasting the cognitive activities engaged in undergraduate research experiences and lab courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, N. G.; Wieman, Carl E.

2016-12-01

While the positive outcomes of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been extensively categorized, the mechanisms for those outcomes are less understood. Through lightly structured focus group interviews, we have extracted the cognitive tasks that students identify as engaging in during their UREs. We also use their many comparative statements about their coursework, especially lab courses, to evaluate their experimental physics-related cognitive tasks in those environments. We find there are a number of cognitive tasks consistently encountered in physics UREs that are present in most experimental research. These are seldom encountered in lab or lecture courses, with some notable exceptions. Having time to reflect and fix or revise, and having a sense of autonomy, were both repeatedly cited as key enablers of the benefits of UREs. We also identify tasks encountered in actual experimental research that are not encountered in UREs. We use these findings to identify opportunities for better integration of the cognitive tasks in UREs and lab courses, as well as discussing the barriers that exist. This work responds to extensive calls for science education to better develop students' scientific skills and practices, as well as calls to expose more students to scientific research.

The experiment editor: supporting inquiry-based learning with virtual labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galan, D.; Heradio, R.; de la Torre, L.; Dormido, S.; Esquembre, F.

2017-05-01

Inquiry-based learning is a pedagogical approach where students are motivated to pose their own questions when facing problems or scenarios. In physics learning, students are turned into scientists who carry out experiments, collect and analyze data, formulate and evaluate hypotheses, and so on. Lab experimentation is essential for inquiry-based learning, yet there is a drawback with traditional hands-on labs in the high costs associated with equipment, space, and maintenance staff. Virtual laboratories are helpful to reduce these costs. This paper enriches the virtual lab ecosystem by providing an integrated environment to automate experimentation tasks. In particular, our environment supports: (i) scripting and running experiments on virtual labs, and (ii) collecting and analyzing data from the experiments. The current implementation of our environment supports virtual labs created with the authoring tool Easy Java/Javascript Simulations. Since there are public repositories with hundreds of freely available labs created with this tool, the potential applicability to our environment is considerable.

Simultaneous Microwave Extraction and Separation of Volatile and Non-Volatile Organic Compounds of Boldo Leaves. From Lab to Industrial Scale

PubMed Central

Petigny, Loïc; Périno, Sandrine; Minuti, Matteo; Visinoni, Francesco; Wajsman, Joël; Chemat, Farid

2014-01-01

Microwave extraction and separation has been used to increase the concentration of the extract compared to the conventional method with the same solid/liquid ratio, reducing extraction time and separate at the same time Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from non-Volatile Organic Compounds (NVOC) of boldo leaves. As preliminary study, a response surface method has been used to optimize the extraction of soluble material and the separation of VOC from the plant in laboratory scale. The results from the statistical analysis revealed that the optimized conditions were: microwave power 200 W, extraction time 56 min and solid liquid ratio of 7.5% of plants in water. Lab scale optimized microwave method is compared to conventional distillation, and requires a power/mass ratio of 0.4 W/g of water engaged. This power/mass ratio is kept in order to upscale from lab to pilot plant. PMID:24776762

Integration and segregation of large-scale brain networks during short-term task automatization

PubMed Central

Mohr, Holger; Wolfensteller, Uta; Betzel, Richard F.; Mišić, Bratislav; Sporns, Olaf; Richiardi, Jonas; Ruge, Hannes

2016-01-01

The human brain is organized into large-scale functional networks that can flexibly reconfigure their connectivity patterns, supporting both rapid adaptive control and long-term learning processes. However, it has remained unclear how short-term network dynamics support the rapid transformation of instructions into fluent behaviour. Comparing fMRI data of a learning sample (N=70) with a control sample (N=67), we find that increasingly efficient task processing during short-term practice is associated with a reorganization of large-scale network interactions. Practice-related efficiency gains are facilitated by enhanced coupling between the cingulo-opercular network and the dorsal attention network. Simultaneously, short-term task automatization is accompanied by decreasing activation of the fronto-parietal network, indicating a release of high-level cognitive control, and a segregation of the default mode network from task-related networks. These findings suggest that short-term task automatization is enabled by the brain's ability to rapidly reconfigure its large-scale network organization involving complementary integration and segregation processes. PMID:27808095

A Study of Cognitive Load for Enhancing Student’s Quantitative Literacy in Inquiry Lab Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuraeni, E.; Rahman, T.; Alifiani, D. P.; Khoerunnisa, R. S.

2017-09-01

Students often find it difficult to appreciate the relevance of the role of quantitative analysis and concept attainment in the science class. This study measured student cognitive load during the inquiry lab of the respiratory system to improve quantitative literacy. Participants in this study were 40 11th graders from senior high school in Indonesia. After students learned, their feelings about the degree of mental effort that it took to complete the learning tasks were measured by 28 self-report on a 4-point Likert scale. The Task Complexity Worksheet were used to asses processing quantitative information and paper based test were applied to assess participants’ concept achievements. The results showed that inquiry instructional induced a relatively low mental effort, high processing information and high concept achievments.

Comparative Cognitive Task Analyses of Experimental Science and Instructional Laboratory Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wieman, Carl

2015-09-01

Undergraduate instructional labs in physics generate intense opinions. Their advocates are passionate as to their importance for teaching physics as an experimental activity and providing "hands-on" learning experiences, while their detractors (often but not entirely students) offer harsh criticisms that they are pointless, confusing and unsatisfying, and "cookbook." Here, both to help understand the reason for such discrepant views and to aid in the design of instructional lab courses, I compare the mental tasks or types of thinking ("cognitive task analysis") associated with a physicist doing tabletop experimental research with the cognitive tasks of students in an introductory physics instructional lab involving traditional verification/confirmation exercises.

Recent advances in particle and droplet manipulation for lab-on-a-chip devices based on surface acoustic waves.

PubMed

Wang, Zhuochen; Zhe, Jiang

2011-04-07

Manipulation of microscale particles and fluid liquid droplets is an important task for lab-on-a-chip devices for numerous biological researches and applications, such as cell detection and tissue engineering. Particle manipulation techniques based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs) appear effective for lab-on-a-chip devices because they are non-invasive, compatible with soft lithography micromachining, have high energy density, and work for nearly any type of microscale particles. Here we review the most recent research and development of the past two years in SAW based particle and liquid droplet manipulation for lab-on-a-chip devices including particle focusing and separation, particle alignment and patterning, particle directing, and liquid droplet delivery.

Using a million cell simulation of the cerebellum: network scaling and task generality.

PubMed

Li, Wen-Ke; Hausknecht, Matthew J; Stone, Peter; Mauk, Michael D

2013-11-01

Several factors combine to make it feasible to build computer simulations of the cerebellum and to test them in biologically realistic ways. These simulations can be used to help understand the computational contributions of various cerebellar components, including the relevance of the enormous number of neurons in the granule cell layer. In previous work we have used a simulation containing 12000 granule cells to develop new predictions and to account for various aspects of eyelid conditioning, a form of motor learning mediated by the cerebellum. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of scaling up this simulation to over one million granule cells using parallel graphics processing unit (GPU) technology. We observe that this increase in number of granule cells requires only twice the execution time of the smaller simulation on the GPU. We demonstrate that this simulation, like its smaller predecessor, can emulate certain basic features of conditioned eyelid responses, with a slight improvement in performance in one measure. We also use this simulation to examine the generality of the computation properties that we have derived from studying eyelid conditioning. We demonstrate that this scaled up simulation can learn a high level of performance in a classic machine learning task, the cart-pole balancing task. These results suggest that this parallel GPU technology can be used to build very large-scale simulations whose connectivity ratios match those of the real cerebellum and that these simulations can be used guide future studies on cerebellar mediated tasks and on machine learning problems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Better dual-task processing in simultaneous interpreters

PubMed Central

Strobach, Tilo; Becker, Maxi; Schubert, Torsten; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a highly complex activity and requires the performance and coordination of multiple, simultaneous tasks: analysis and understanding of the discourse in a first language, reformulating linguistic material, storing of intermediate processing steps, and language production in a second language among others. It is, however, an open issue whether persons with experience in SI possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks and whether they are able to transfer these skills to lab-based dual-task situations. Within the present study, we set out to explore whether interpreting experience is associated with related higher-order executive functioning in the context of dual-task situations of the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) type. In this PRP situation, we found faster reactions times in participants with experience in simultaneous interpretation in contrast to control participants without such experience. Thus, simultaneous interpreters possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks in lab-based dual-task situations. PMID:26528232

Introductory labs; what they don't, should, and can teach (and why)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wieman, Carl

2016-03-01

Introductory physics labs are widely used and expensive. They have a wide variety of potential learning goals, but these are seldom specified and less often measured if they are achieved. We cover three different research projects on introductory labs: 1) We have done cognitive task analyses of both experimental research in physics and instructional labs. The striking differences explain much of the unhappiness expressed by students with labs: 2) We have measured the effectiveness of two introductory physics lab courses specifically intended to teach the physics content covered in standard introductory courses on mechanics and E & M. As measured by course exams, the benefit is 0 +/-2% for both. 3) We show how it is possible to use lab courses to teach students to correctly evaluate physical models with uncertain data. Such quantitative critical thinking is an important skill that is not learned in typical lab courses, but is well learned by our modified lab instruction.

HD-MTL: Hierarchical Deep Multi-Task Learning for Large-Scale Visual Recognition.

PubMed

Fan, Jianping; Zhao, Tianyi; Kuang, Zhenzhong; Zheng, Yu; Zhang, Ji; Yu, Jun; Peng, Jinye

2017-02-09

In this paper, a hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm is developed to support large-scale visual recognition (e.g., recognizing thousands or even tens of thousands of atomic object classes automatically). First, multiple sets of multi-level deep features are extracted from different layers of deep convolutional neural networks (deep CNNs), and they are used to achieve more effective accomplishment of the coarseto- fine tasks for hierarchical visual recognition. A visual tree is then learned by assigning the visually-similar atomic object classes with similar learning complexities into the same group, which can provide a good environment for determining the interrelated learning tasks automatically. By leveraging the inter-task relatedness (inter-class similarities) to learn more discriminative group-specific deep representations, our deep multi-task learning algorithm can train more discriminative node classifiers for distinguishing the visually-similar atomic object classes effectively. Our hierarchical deep multi-task learning (HD-MTL) algorithm can integrate two discriminative regularization terms to control the inter-level error propagation effectively, and it can provide an end-to-end approach for jointly learning more representative deep CNNs (for image representation) and more discriminative tree classifier (for large-scale visual recognition) and updating them simultaneously. Our incremental deep learning algorithms can effectively adapt both the deep CNNs and the tree classifier to the new training images and the new object classes. Our experimental results have demonstrated that our HD-MTL algorithm can achieve very competitive results on improving the accuracy rates for large-scale visual recognition.

Detailed analysis of the supermarket task included on the Japanese version of the Rapid Dementia Screening Test.

PubMed

Moriyama, Yasushi; Yoshino, Aihide; Muramatsu, Taro; Mimura, Masaru

2017-05-01

The supermarket task, which is included in the Japanese version of the Rapid Dementia Screening Test, requires the quick (1 min) generation of words for things that can be bought in a supermarket. Cluster size and switches are investigated during this task. We investigated how the severity of dementia related to cluster size and switches on the supermarket task in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We administered the Japanese version of the Rapid Dementia Screening Test to 250 patients with very mild to severe Alzheimer's disease and to 49 healthy volunteers. Patients had Mini-Mental State Examination scores from 12 to 26 and Clinical Dementia Rating scale scores from 0.5 to 3. Patients were divided into four groups based on their Clinical Dementia Rating score (0.5, 1, 2, 3). We performed statistical analyses between the four groups and control subjects based on cluster size and switch scores on the supermarket task. The score for cluster size and switches deteriorated according to the severity of dementia. Moreover, for subjects with a Clinical Dementia Rating score of 0.5, cluster size was impaired, but switches were intact. Our findings indicate that the scores for cluster size and switches on the supermarket task may be useful for detecting the severity of symptoms of dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease. © 2016 The Authors. Psychogeriatrics © 2016 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Large-scale laboratory testing of bedload-monitoring technologies: overview of the StreamLab06 Experiments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marr, Jeffrey D.G.; Gray, John R.; Davis, Broderick E.; Ellis, Chris; Johnson, Sara; Gray, John R.; Laronne, Jonathan B.; Marr, Jeffrey D.G.

2010-01-01

A 3-month-long, large-scale flume experiment involving research and testing of selected conventional and surrogate bedload-monitoring technologies was conducted in the Main Channel at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory under the auspices of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics. These experiments, dubbed StreamLab06, involved 25 researchers and volunteers from academia, government, and the private sector. The research channel was equipped with a sediment-recirculation system and a sediment-flux monitoring system that allowed continuous measurement of sediment flux in the flume and provided a data set by which samplers were evaluated. Selected bedload-measurement technologies were tested under a range of flow and sediment-transport conditions. The experiment was conducted in two phases. The bed material in phase I was well-sorted siliceous sand (0.6-1.8 mm median diameter). A gravel mixture (1-32 mm median diameter) composed the bed material in phase II. Four conventional bedload samplers – a standard Helley-Smith, Elwha, BLH-84, and Toutle River II (TR-2) sampler – were manually deployed as part of both experiment phases. Bedload traps were deployed in study Phase II. Two surrogate bedload samplers – stationarymounted down-looking 600 kHz and 1200 kHz acoustic Doppler current profilers – were deployed in experiment phase II. This paper presents an overview of the experiment including the specific data-collection technologies used and the ambient hydraulic, sediment-transport and environmental conditions measured as part of the experiment. All data collected as part of the StreamLab06 experiments are, or will be available to the research community.

Planning a Computer Lab: Considerations To Ensure Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

IALL Journal of Language Learning Technologies, 1994

1994-01-01

Presents points to consider when organizing a computer laboratory. These include the lab's overall objectives and how best to meet them; what type of students will use the lab; where the lab will be located; and what software and hardware can best meet the lab's overall objectives, population, and location requirements. Other factors include time,…

The Immersive Virtual Reality Lab: Possibilities for Remote Experimental Manipulations of Autonomic Activity on a Large Scale.

PubMed

Juvrud, Joshua; Gredebäck, Gustaf; Åhs, Fredrik; Lerin, Nils; Nyström, Pär; Kastrati, Granit; Rosén, Jörgen

2018-01-01

There is a need for large-scale remote data collection in a controlled environment, and the in-home availability of virtual reality (VR) and the commercial availability of eye tracking for VR present unique and exciting opportunities for researchers. We propose and provide a proof-of-concept assessment of a robust system for large-scale in-home testing using consumer products that combines psychophysiological measures and VR, here referred to as a Virtual Lab. For the first time, this method is validated by correlating autonomic responses, skin conductance response (SCR), and pupillary dilation, in response to a spider, a beetle, and a ball using commercially available VR. Participants demonstrated greater SCR and pupillary responses to the spider, and the effect was dependent on the proximity of the stimuli to the participant, with a stronger response when the spider was close to the virtual self. We replicated these effects across two experiments and in separate physical room contexts to mimic variability in home environment. Together, these findings demonstrate the utility of pupil dilation as a marker of autonomic arousal and the feasibility to assess this in commercially available VR hardware and support a robust Virtual Lab tool for massive remote testing.

The Immersive Virtual Reality Lab: Possibilities for Remote Experimental Manipulations of Autonomic Activity on a Large Scale

PubMed Central

Juvrud, Joshua; Gredebäck, Gustaf; Åhs, Fredrik; Lerin, Nils; Nyström, Pär; Kastrati, Granit; Rosén, Jörgen

2018-01-01

There is a need for large-scale remote data collection in a controlled environment, and the in-home availability of virtual reality (VR) and the commercial availability of eye tracking for VR present unique and exciting opportunities for researchers. We propose and provide a proof-of-concept assessment of a robust system for large-scale in-home testing using consumer products that combines psychophysiological measures and VR, here referred to as a Virtual Lab. For the first time, this method is validated by correlating autonomic responses, skin conductance response (SCR), and pupillary dilation, in response to a spider, a beetle, and a ball using commercially available VR. Participants demonstrated greater SCR and pupillary responses to the spider, and the effect was dependent on the proximity of the stimuli to the participant, with a stronger response when the spider was close to the virtual self. We replicated these effects across two experiments and in separate physical room contexts to mimic variability in home environment. Together, these findings demonstrate the utility of pupil dilation as a marker of autonomic arousal and the feasibility to assess this in commercially available VR hardware and support a robust Virtual Lab tool for massive remote testing. PMID:29867318

Inexpensive DAQ based physics labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Benjamin; Clark, Shane

2015-11-01

Quality Data Acquisition (DAQ) based physics labs can be designed using microcontrollers and very low cost sensors with minimal lab equipment. A prototype device with several sensors and documentation for a number of DAQ-based labs is showcased. The device connects to a computer through Bluetooth and uses a simple interface to control the DAQ and display real time graphs, storing the data in .txt and .xls formats. A full device including a larger number of sensors combined with software interface and detailed documentation would provide a high quality physics lab education for minimal cost, for instance in high schools lacking lab equipment or students taking online classes. An entire semester’s lab course could be conducted using a single device with a manufacturing cost of under $20.

SenseLab

PubMed Central

Crasto, Chiquito J.; Marenco, Luis N.; Liu, Nian; Morse, Thomas M.; Cheung, Kei-Hoi; Lai, Peter C.; Bahl, Gautam; Masiar, Peter; Lam, Hugo Y.K.; Lim, Ernest; Chen, Huajin; Nadkarni, Prakash; Migliore, Michele; Miller, Perry L.; Shepherd, Gordon M.

2009-01-01

This article presents the latest developments in neuroscience information dissemination through the SenseLab suite of databases: NeuronDB, CellPropDB, ORDB, OdorDB, OdorMapDB, ModelDB and BrainPharm. These databases include information related to: (i) neuronal membrane properties and neuronal models, and (ii) genetics, genomics, proteomics and imaging studies of the olfactory system. We describe here: the new features for each database, the evolution of SenseLab’s unifying database architecture and instances of SenseLab database interoperation with other neuroscience online resources. PMID:17510162

MethLAB

PubMed Central

Kilaru, Varun; Barfield, Richard T; Schroeder, James W; Smith, Alicia K

2012-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that DNA methylation changes may underlie numerous complex traits and diseases. The advent of commercial, array-based methods to interrogate DNA methylation has led to a profusion of epigenetic studies in the literature. Array-based methods, such as the popular Illumina GoldenGate and Infinium platforms, estimate the proportion of DNA methylated at single-base resolution for thousands of CpG sites across the genome. These arrays generate enormous amounts of data, but few software resources exist for efficient and flexible analysis of these data. We developed a software package called MethLAB (http://genetics.emory.edu/conneely/MethLAB) using R, an open source statistical language that can be edited to suit the needs of the user. MethLAB features a graphical user interface (GUI) with a menu-driven format designed to efficiently read in and manipulate array-based methylation data in a user-friendly manner. MethLAB tests for association between methylation and relevant phenotypes by fitting a separate linear model for each CpG site. These models can incorporate both continuous and categorical phenotypes and covariates, as well as fixed or random batch or chip effects. MethLAB accounts for multiple testing by controlling the false discovery rate (FDR) at a user-specified level. Standard output includes a spreadsheet-ready text file and an array of publication-quality figures. Considering the growing interest in and availability of DNA methylation data, there is a great need for user-friendly open source analytical tools. With MethLAB, we present a timely resource that will allow users with no programming experience to implement flexible and powerful analyses of DNA methylation data. PMID:22430798

Teachers' Perspectives on Online Virtual Labs vs. Hands-On Labs in High School Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohr, Teresa M.

This study of online science teachers' opinions addressed the use of virtual labs in online courses. A growing number of schools use virtual labs that must meet mandated laboratory standards to ensure they provide learning experiences comparable to hands-on labs, which are an integral part of science curricula. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teachers' perceptions of the quality and effectiveness of high school virtual labs. The theoretical foundation was constructivism, as labs provide student-centered activities for problem solving, inquiry, and exploration of phenomena. The research questions focused on experienced teachers' perceptions of the quality of virtual vs. hands-on labs. Data were collected through survey questions derived from the lab objectives of The Next Generation Science Standards . Eighteen teachers rated the degree of importance of each objective and also rated how they felt virtual labs met these objectives; these ratings were reported using descriptive statistics. Responses to open-ended questions were few and served to illustrate the numerical results. Many teachers stated that virtual labs are valuable supplements but could not completely replace hands-on experiences. Studies on the quality and effectiveness of high school virtual labs are limited despite widespread use. Comprehensive studies will ensure that online students have equal access to quality labs. School districts need to define lab requirements, and colleges need to specify the lab experience they require. This study has potential to inspire positive social change by assisting science educators, including those in the local school district, in evaluating and selecting courseware designed to promote higher order thinking skills, real-world problem solving, and development of strong inquiry skills, thereby improving science instruction for all high school students.

NOT Another Lab Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ende, Fred

2012-01-01

Ask students to name the aspects of science class they enjoy most, and working on labs will undoubtedly be mentioned. What often won't be included, however, is writing lab reports. For many students, the process of exploration and data collection is paramount, while the explanation and analysis of findings often takes a backseat. After all, if…

Scaling of theory-of-mind tasks.

PubMed

Wellman, Henry M; Liu, David

2004-01-01

Two studies address the sequence of understandings evident in preschoolers' developing theory of mind. The first, preliminary study provides a meta-analysis of research comparing different types of mental state understandings (e.g., desires vs. beliefs, ignorance vs. false belief). The second, primary study tests a theory-of-mind scale for preschoolers. In this study 75 children (aged 2 years, 11 months to 6 years, 6 months) were tested on 7 tasks tapping different aspects of understanding persons' mental states. Responses formed a consistent developmental progression, where for most children if they passed a later item they passed all earlier items as well, as confirmed by Guttman and Rasch measurement model analyses.

Experiences with lab-centric instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titterton, Nathaniel; Lewis, Colleen M.; Clancy, Michael J.

2010-06-01

Lab-centric instruction emphasizes supervised, hands-on activities by substituting lab for lecture time. It combines a multitude of pedagogical techniques into the format of an extended, structured closed lab. We discuss the range of benefits for students, including increased staff interaction, frequent and varied self-assessments, integrated collaborative activities, and a systematic sequence of activities that gradually increases in difficulty. Instructors also benefit from a deeper window into student progress and understanding. We follow with discussion of our experiences in courses at U.C. Berkeley, and using data from some of these investigate the effects of lab-centric instruction on student learning, procrastination, and course pacing. We observe that the lab-centric format helped students on exams but hurt them on extended programming assignments, counter to our hypothesis. Additionally, we see no difference in self-ratings of procrastination and limited differences in ratings of course pace. We do find evidence that the students who choose to attend lab-centric courses are different in several important ways from students who choose to attend the same course in a non-lab-centric format.

Portable Anthrax Testing with Lab-in-a-Pocket

ScienceCinema

Finley, Melissa; Koskelo, Markku; Edwards, Thayne

2018-05-30

BaDx (Bacillus anthracis Diagnostics) is a lab-in-a-pocket device to sample, sense, and diagnose bacteria that cause anthrax. It accomplishes these tasks in environments with no power, refrigerated storage, or laboratory equipment. BaDx was designed to be used with minimal or no training, and to keep handlers safe.

Portable Anthrax Testing with Lab-in-a-Pocket

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

Finley, Melissa; Koskelo, Markku; Edwards, Thayne

2014-10-24

BaDx (Bacillus anthracis Diagnostics) is a lab-in-a-pocket device to sample, sense, and diagnose bacteria that cause anthrax. It accomplishes these tasks in environments with no power, refrigerated storage, or laboratory equipment. BaDx was designed to be used with minimal or no training, and to keep handlers safe.

Using Mental Transformation Strategies for Spatial Scaling: Evidence from a Discrimination Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Möhring, Wenke; Newcombe, Nora S.; Frick, Andrea

2016-01-01

Spatial scaling, or an understanding of how distances in different-sized spaces relate to each other, is fundamental for many spatial tasks and relevant for success in numerous professions. Previous research has suggested that adults use mental transformation strategies to mentally scale spatial input, as indicated by linear increases in response…

Comparison between lab- and full-scale applications of in situ aeration of an old landfill and assessment of long-term emission development after completion.

PubMed

Hrad, Marlies; Gamperling, Oliver; Huber-Humer, Marion

2013-10-01

Sustainable landfilling has become a fundamental objective in many modern waste management concepts. In this context, the in situ aeration of landfills has been recognised for its potential to convert conventional anaerobic landfills into biological stabilised state, whereby both current and potential (long-term) emissions of the landfilled waste are mitigated. In recent years, different in situ aeration concepts have been successfully applied in Europe, North America and Asia, all pursuing different objectives and strategies. In Austria, the first full-scale application of in situ landfill aeration by means of low pressure air injection and simultaneous off-gas collection and treatment was implemented on an old, small municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill (2.6ha) in autumn 2007. Complementary laboratory investigations were conducted with waste samples taken from the landfill site in order to provide more information on the transferability of the results from lab- to full-scale aeration measures. In addition, long-term emission development of the stabilised waste after aeration completion was assessed in an ongoing laboratory experiment. Although the initial waste material was described as mostly stable in terms of the biological parameters gas generation potential over 21days (GP21) and respiration activity over 4days (RA4), the lab-scale experiments indicated that aeration, which led to a significant improvement of leachate quality, was accompanied by further measurable changes in the solid waste material under optimised conditions. Even 75weeks after aeration completion the leachate, as well as gaseous emissions from the stabilised waste material, remained low and stayed below the authorised Austrian discharge limits. However, the application of in situ aeration at the investigated landfill is a factor 10 behind the lab-based predictions after 3years of operation, mainly due to technical limitations in the full-scale operation (e.g. high air flow resistivity due

Towards Better Computational Models of the Balance Scale Task: A Reply to Shultz and Takane

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Maas, Han L. J.; Quinlan, Philip T.; Jansen, Brenda R. J.

2007-01-01

In contrast to Shultz and Takane [Shultz, T.R., & Takane, Y. (2007). Rule following and rule use in the balance-scale task. "Cognition", in press, doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2006.12.004.] we do not accept that the traditional Rule Assessment Method (RAM) of scoring responses on the balance scale task has advantages over latent class analysis (LCA):…

New Policy Focuses on Lab Coats, Safety Glasses, and Footwear | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Paul Stokely, Guest Writer When working in any laboratory or animal facility, you must wear a lab coat, protective eyewear, appropriate gloves, and closed-toe shoes, unless you are performing purely administrative tasks.

Stream piracy in the Black Hills: A geomorphology lab exercise

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zaprowski, B.J.; Evenson, E.B.; Epstein, J.B.

2002-01-01

The Black Hills of South Dakota exhibits many fine examples of stream piracy that are very suitable for teaching geomorphology lab exercises. This lab goes beyond standard topographic map interpretation by using geologic maps, well logs, gravel provenance and other types of data to teach students about stream piracy. Using a step-by-step method in which the lab exercises ramp up in difficulty, students hone their skills in deductive reasoning and data assimilation. The first exercises deal with the identification of stream piracy at a variety of spatial scales and the lab culminates with an exercise on landscape evolution and drainage rearrangement.

LCOGT Imaging Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tufts, Joseph R.; Lobdill, Rich; Haldeman, Benjamin J.; Haynes, Rachel; Hawkins, Eric; Burleson, Ben; Jahng, David

2008-07-01

The Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) is an ambitious project to build and operate, within 5 years, a worldwide robotic network of 50 0.4, 1, and 2 m telescopes sharing identical instrumentation and optimized for precision photometry of time-varying sources. The telescopes, instrumentation, and software are all developed in house with two 2 m telescopes already installed. The LCOGT Imaging Lab is responsible for assembly and characterization of the network's cameras and instrumentation. In addition to a fully equipped CNC machine shop, two electronics labs, and a future optics lab, the Imaging Lab is designed from the ground up to be a superb environment for bare detectors, precision filters, and assembled instruments. At the heart of the lab is an ISO class 5 cleanroom with full ionization. Surrounding this, the class 7 main lab houses equipment for detector characterization including QE and CTE, and equipment for measuring transmission and reflection of optics. Although the first science cameras installed, two TEC cooled e2v 42-40 deep depletion based units and two CryoTiger cooled Fairchild Imaging CCD486-BI based units, are from outside manufacturers, their 18 position filter wheels and the remainder of the network's science cameras, controllers, and instrumentation will be built in house. Currently being designed, the first generation LCOGT cameras for the network's 1 m telescopes use existing CCD486-BI devices and an in-house controller. Additionally, the controller uses digital signal processing to optimize readout noise vs. speed, and all instrumentation uses embedded microprocessors for communication over ethernet.

EarthLabs: A National Model for Earth Science Lab Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDaris, J. R.; Dahlman, L.; Barstow, D.

2008-12-01

As a response to the need for more rigorous, inquiry-based high school Earth science courses, a coalition of scientists, educators, and five states have created EarthLabs, a set of pilot modules that can serve as a national model for lab-based science courses. The content of EarthLabs chapters focuses on Earth system science and environmental literacy and conforms to the National Science Education Standards as well as the states' curriculum frameworks. The effort is funded by NOAA's Environmental Literacy program. The pilot modules present activities on Corals, Drought, Fisheries, and Hurricanes. The Fisheries and Hurricanes units were reviewed and field-tested by educators in Texas and Arizona. The feedback from this evaluation led to revisions of these units and guided development of the Corals and Drought chapters. Each module consists of activities that use online data sets, satellite imagery, web-based readings, and hands-on laboratory experiments. The project comprises two separate websites, one for the instructor and one for students. The instructor's site contains the pedagogical underpinnings for each lab including teaching materials, assessment strategies, and the alignment of activities with state and national science standards. The student site provides access to all materials that students need to complete the activities or, in the case of the hands-on labs, where they access additional information to help extend their learning. There are also formative and summative questions embedded in the student webpages to help scaffold learning through the activities.

Effects of scaling task constraints on emergent behaviours in children's racquet sports performance.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Anna; Davids, Keith; Stone, Joseph A

2018-04-01

Manipulating task constraints by scaling key features like space and equipment is considered an effective method for enhancing performance development and refining movement patterns in sport. Despite this, it is currently unclear whether scaled manipulation of task constraints would impact emergent movement behaviours in young children, affording learners opportunities to develop relevant skills. Here, we sought to investigate how scaling task constraints during 8 weeks of mini tennis training shaped backhand stroke development. Two groups, control (n = 8, age = 7.2 ± 0.6 years) and experimental (n = 8, age 7.4 ± 0.4 years), underwent practice using constraints-based manipulations, with a specific field of affordances designed for backhand strokes as the experimental treatment. To evaluate intervention effects, pre- and post-test match-play characteristics (e.g. forehand and backhand percentage strokes) and measures from a tennis-specific skills test (e.g. forehand and backhand technical proficiency), were evaluated. Post intervention, the experimental group performed a greater percentage of backhand strokes out of total number of shots played (46.7 ± 3.3%). There was also a significantly greater percentage of backhand winners out of total backhand strokes observed (5.5 ± 3.0%), compared to the control group during match-play (backhands = 22.4 ± 6.5%; backhand winners = 1.0 ± 3.6%). The experimental group also demonstrated improvements in forehand and backhand technical proficiency and the ability to maintain a rally with a coach, compared to the control group. In conclusion, scaled manipulations implemented here elicited more functional performance behaviours than standard Mini Tennis Red constraints. Results suggested how human movement scientists may scale task constraint manipulations to augment young athletes' performance development. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bacterial community structure of a lab-scale anammox membrane bioreactor.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Martinez, Alejandro; Osorio, F; Rodriguez-Sanchez, Alejandro; Martinez-Toledo, Maria Victoria; Gonzalez-Lopez, Jesus; Lotti, Tommaso; van Loosdrecht, M C M

2015-01-01

Autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies have proliferated through the last decade. Among these, a promising one is the membrane bioreactor (MBR) Anammox, which can achieve very high solids retention time and therefore sets a proper environment for the cultivation of anammox bacteria. In this sense, the MBR Anammox is an efficient technology for the treatment of effluents with low organic carbon and high ammonium concentrations once it has been treated under partial nitrification systems. A lab-scale MBR Anammox bioreactor has been built at the Technological University of Delft, The Netherlands and has been proven for efficient nitrogen removal and efficient cultivation of anammox bacteria. In this study, next-generation sequencing techniques have been used for the investigation of the bacterial communities of this MBR Anammox for the first time ever. A strong domination of Candidatus Brocadia bacterium and also the presence of a myriad of other microorganisms that have adapted to this environment were detected, suggesting that the MBR Anammox bioreactor might have a more complex microbial ecosystem that it has been thought. Among these, nitrate-reducing heterotrophs and primary producers, among others, were identified. Definition of the ecological roles of the OTUs identified through metagenomic analysis was discussed. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Love the Lab, Hate the Lab Report?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bjorn, Genevive

2018-01-01

In the author's large, urban high school, enrollment in a laboratory science is mandatory. While the student participation rate for lab activities is over 98%, the turn-in rate for traditional lab reports averages just 35% to 85%. Those students who don't produce a lab report miss a critical opportunity to improve their skills in scientific…

Labs: 1987.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Igelsrud, Don, Ed.

1988-01-01

This article presents a variety of topics discussed in this column and at a biology teachers' workshop concerning the quality and value of lab techniques used for teaching high school biology. Topics included are Drosophila salivary glands, sea urchins, innovations, dyes and networking. (CW)

Development and psychometric validation of the Task-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale for Chinese people with mental illness.

PubMed

Chou, Chih Chin; Cardoso, Elizabeth Da Silva; Chan, Fong; Tsang, Hector W H; Wu, Mingyi

2007-12-01

The aim of this study was to validate a Task-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale for Chinese people with mental illness. The study included 79 men and 77 women with chronic mental illness. The Task-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale for People with Mental Illness (TSSES-PMI) and Change Assessment Questionnaire for People with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness were used as measures for the study. Factor analysis of the TSSES-PMI resulted in four subscales: Symptom Management Skills, Work-Related Skills, Help-Seeking Skills, and Self-Emotional-Regulation Skills. These community living skills were found to be related to the level of readiness for psychiatric rehabilitation among Chinese people with mental illness. In conclusion the results support the construct validity of the TSSES-PMI for the Chinese population and the TSSES-PMI can be a useful instrument for working with Chinese people with mental illnesses.

Clay and Shale Permeability at Lab to Regional Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuzil, C.

2017-12-01

Because clays, shales, and other clay-rich media tend to be only poorly permeable, and are laterally extensive and voluminous, they play key roles in problems as diverse as groundwater supply, waste confinement, exploitation of conventional and unconventional oil and gas, and deformation and failure in the crust. Clay and shale permeability is a crucial but often highly uncertain analysis parameter; direct measurements are challenging, error-prone, and - perhaps most importantly - provide information only at quite small scales. Fortunately, there has been a dramatic increase in clay and shale permeability data from sources that include scientific ocean drilling, nuclear waste repository research, groundwater resource studies, liquid waste and CO2 sequestration, and oil and gas research. The effect of lithology as well as porosity on matrix permeability can now be examined and permeability - scale relations are becoming discernable. A significant number of large-scale permeability estimates have been obtained by inverse methods that essentially treat large-scale flow systems as natural experiments. They suggest surprisingly little scale-dependence in clay and shale permeabilities in subsiding basins and accretionary complexes. Stable continental settings present a different picture; as depths increase beyond 1 km, scale dependence mostly disappears even over the largest areas. At depths less than 1 km, secondary permeability is not always present over areas of 1 - 10 km2, but always evident for areas in excess of about 103 km2. Transmissive fractures have been observed in very low porosity (< 0.03) shales in these settings, but the cause of scale dependence in other cases is unclear; it may reflect time-dependent, or "dynamic" conditions, including irreversible and ongoing changes imposed on subsurface flow systems by human activities.

Rule Following and Rule Use in the Balance-Scale Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shultz, Thomas R.; Takane, Yoshio

2007-01-01

Quinlan et al. [Quinlan, p., van der Mass, H., Jansen, B., Booij, O., & Rendell, M. (this issue). Re-thinking stages of cognitive development: An appraisal of connectionist models of the balance scale task. "Cognition", doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2006.02.004] use Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to criticize a connectionist model of development on the…

Effects of granular activated carbon on methane removal performance and methanotrophic community of a lab-scale bioreactor.

PubMed

Lee, Eun-Hee; Choi, Sun-Ah; Yi, Taewoo; Kim, Tae Gwan; Lee, Sang-Don; Cho, Kyung-Suk

2015-01-01

Two identical lab-scale bioreactor systems were operated to examine the effects of granular activated carbon (GAC) on methane removal performance and methanotrophic community. Both bioreactor systems removed methane completely at a CH4 loading rate of 71.2 g-CH4·d(-1) for 17 days. However, the methane removal efficiency declined to 88% in the bioreactor without GAC, while the bioreactor amended with GAC showed greater methane removal efficiency of 97% at a CH4 loading rate of 107.5 g-CH4·d(-1). Although quantitative real-time PCR showed that methanotrophic populations were similar levels of 5-10 × 10(8) pmoA gene copy number·VSS(-1) in both systems, GAC addition changed the methanotrophic community composition of the bioreactor systems. Microarray assay revealed that GAC enhanced the type I methanotrophic genera including Methylobacter, Methylomicrobium, and Methylomonas of the system, which suggests that GAC probably provided a favorable environment for type I methanotrophs. These results indicated that GAC is a promising support material in bioreactor systems for CH4 mitigation.

Future{at}Labs.Prosperity Game{trademark}

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

Beck, D.F.; Boyack, K.W.; Berman, M.

Prosperity Games{trademark} are an outgrowth and adaptation of move/countermove and seminar War Games, Prosperity Games{trademark} are simulations that explore complex issues in a variety of areas including economics, politics, sociology, environment, education, and research. These issues can be examined from a variety of perspectives ranging from global, macroeconomic and geopolitical viewpoint down to the details of customer/supplier/market interactions specific industries. All Prosperity Games{trademark} are unique in that both the game format and the player contributions vary from game to game. This report documents the Future{at}Labs.Prosperity Game{trademark} conducted under the sponsorship of the Industry Advisory Boards of the national labs, themore » national labs, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the University of California. Players were drawn from all stakeholders involved including government, industry, labs, and academia. The primary objectives of this game were to: (1) explore ways to optimize the role of the multidisciplinary labs in serving national missions and needs; (2) explore ways to increase collaboration and partnerships among government, laboratories, universities, and industry; and (3) create a network of partnership champions to promote findings and policy options. The deliberations and recommendations of these players provided valuable insights as to the views of this diverse group of decision makers concerning the future of the labs.« less

Lab experiments investigating astrophysical jet physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellan, Paul

2014-10-01

Dynamics relevant to astrophysical plasmas is being investigated in lab experiments having similar physics and topology, but much smaller time and space scales. High speed movies and numerical simulations both show that highly collimated MHD-driven plasma flows are a critical feature; these collimated flows can be considered to be a lab version of an astrophysical jet. Having both axial and azimuthal magnetic fields, the jet is effectively an axially lengthening plasma-confining flux tube with embedded helical magnetic field (flux rope). The jet velocity is in good agreement with an MHD acceleration model. Axial stagnation of the jet compresses embedded azimuthal magnetic flux and so results in jet self-collimation. Jets kink when they breach the Kruskal-Shafranov stability limit. The lateral acceleration of a sufficiently strong kink can provide an effective gravity which provides the environment for a spontaneously-developing, fine-scale, extremely fast Rayleigh-Taylor instability that erodes the current channel to be smaller than the ion skin depth. This cascade from the ideal MHD scale of the kink to the non-MHD ion skin depth scale can result in a fast magnetic reconnection whereby the jet breaks off from its source electrode. Supported by USDOE and NSF.

NASA GeneLab Concept of Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Terri; Gibbs, Kristina; Rask, Jon; Coughlan, Joseph; Smith, Jeffrey

2014-01-01

NASA's GeneLab aims to greatly increase the number of scientists that are using data from space biology investigations on board ISS, emphasizing a systems biology approach to the science. When completed, GeneLab will provide the integrated software and hardware infrastructure, analytical tools and reference datasets for an assortment of model organisms. GeneLab will also provide an environment for scientists to collaborate thereby increasing the possibility for data to be reused for future experimentation. To maximize the value of data from life science experiments performed in space and to make the most advantageous use of the remaining ISS research window, GeneLab will apply an open access approach to conducting spaceflight experiments by generating, and sharing the datasets derived from these biological studies in space.Onboard the ISS, a wide variety of model organisms will be studied and returned to Earth for analysis. Laboratories on the ground will analyze these samples and provide genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic and proteomic data. Upon receipt, NASA will conduct data quality control tasks and format raw data returned from the omics centers into standardized, annotated information sets that can be readily searched and linked to spaceflight metadata. Once prepared, the biological datasets, as well as any analysis completed, will be made public through the GeneLab Space Bioinformatics System webb as edportal. These efforts will support a collaborative research environment for spaceflight studies that will closely resemble environments created by the Department of Energy (DOE), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and other institutions in additional areas of study, such as cancer and environmental biology. The results will allow for comparative analyses that will help scientists around the world take a major leap forward in understanding the effect of microgravity, radiation, and other aspects of the space environment on model organisms

Practical Physics Labs: A Resource Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Peter

This resource manual focuses on physics labs that relate to the world around us and utilize simple equipment and situations. Forty-five laboratories are included that relate to thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, dynamics, optics, wave transmission, centripetal force, and atomic physics. Each lab has three sections. The first section…

Learning with Multiple Representations: Extending Multimedia Learning beyond the Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eilam, Billie; Poyas, Yael

2008-01-01

The present study extended multimedia learning principles beyond the lab to an ecologically valid setting (homework). Eighteen information cards were used to perform three homework tasks. The control group students learned from single representation (SR) cards that presented all information as printed text. The multiple representation (MR) group…

Peers at work: Evidence from the lab

PubMed Central

Oosterbeek, Hessel; Sonnemans, Joep

2018-01-01

This paper reports the results of a lab experiment designed to study the role of observability for peer effects in the setting of a simple production task. In our experiment, participants in the role of workers engage in a team real-effort task. We vary whether they can observe, or be observed by, one of their co-workers. In contrast to earlier findings from the field, we find no evidence that low-productivity workers perform better when they are observed by high-productivity co-workers. Instead, our results imply that peer effects in our experiment are heterogeneous, with some workers reciprocating a high-productivity co-worker but others taking the opportunity to free ride. PMID:29408863

Effects of different nitrogen sources on the biogas production - a lab-scale investigation.

PubMed

Wagner, Andreas Otto; Hohlbrugger, Peter; Lins, Philipp; Illmer, Paul

2012-12-20

For anaerobic digestion processes nitrogen sources are poorly investigated although they are known as possible process limiting factors (in the hydrolysis phase) but also as a source for fermentations for subsequent methane production by methanogenic archaea. In the present study different complex and defined nitrogen sources were investigated in a lab-scale experiment in order to study their potential to build up methane. The outcome of the study can be summarised as follows: from complex nitrogen sources yeast extract and casamino acids showed the highest methane production with approximately 600 ml methane per mole of nitrogen, whereas by the use of skim milk no methane production could be observed. From defined nitrogen sources L-arginine showed the highest methane production with almost 1400 ml methane per mole of nitrogen. Moreover it could be demonstrated that the carbon content and therefore C/N-ratio has only minor influence for the methane production from the used substrates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Open web system of Virtual labs for nuclear and applied physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saldikov, I. S.; Afanasyev, V. V.; Petrov, V. I.; Ternovykh, M. Yu

2017-01-01

An example of virtual lab work on unique experimental equipment is presented. The virtual lab work is software based on a model of real equipment. Virtual labs can be used for educational process in nuclear safety and analysis field. As an example it includes the virtual lab called “Experimental determination of the material parameter depending on the pitch of a uranium-water lattice”. This paper included general description of this lab. A description of a database on the support of laboratory work on unique experimental equipment which is included this work, its concept development are also presented.

Explorative Function in Williams Syndrome Analyzed through a Large-Scale Task with Multiple Rewards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foti, F.; Petrosini, L.; Cutuli, D.; Menghini, D.; Chiarotti, F.; Vicari, S.; Mandolesi, L.

2011-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate spatial function in subjects with Williams syndrome (WS) by using a large-scale task with multiple rewards and comparing the spatial abilities of WS subjects with those of mental age-matched control children. In the present spatial task, WS participants had to explore an open space to search nine rewards placed in…

Scale-Free and Multifractal Time Dynamics of fMRI Signals during Rest and Task

PubMed Central

Ciuciu, P.; Varoquaux, G.; Abry, P.; Sadaghiani, S.; Kleinschmidt, A.

2012-01-01

Scaling temporal dynamics in functional MRI (fMRI) signals have been evidenced for a decade as intrinsic characteristics of ongoing brain activity (Zarahn et al., 1997). Recently, scaling properties were shown to fluctuate across brain networks and to be modulated between rest and task (He, 2011): notably, Hurst exponent, quantifying long memory, decreases under task in activating and deactivating brain regions. In most cases, such results were obtained: First, from univariate (voxelwise or regionwise) analysis, hence focusing on specific cognitive systems such as Resting-State Networks (RSNs) and raising the issue of the specificity of this scale-free dynamics modulation in RSNs. Second, using analysis tools designed to measure a single scaling exponent related to the second order statistics of the data, thus relying on models that either implicitly or explicitly assume Gaussianity and (asymptotic) self-similarity, while fMRI signals may significantly depart from those either of those two assumptions (Ciuciu et al., 2008; Wink et al., 2008). To address these issues, the present contribution elaborates on the analysis of the scaling properties of fMRI temporal dynamics by proposing two significant variations. First, scaling properties are technically investigated using the recently introduced Wavelet Leader-based Multifractal formalism (WLMF; Wendt et al., 2007). This measures a collection of scaling exponents, thus enables a richer and more versatile description of scale invariance (beyond correlation and Gaussianity), referred to as multifractality. Also, it benefits from improved estimation performance compared to tools previously used in the literature. Second, scaling properties are investigated in both RSN and non-RSN structures (e.g., artifacts), at a broader spatial scale than the voxel one, using a multivariate approach, namely the Multi-Subject Dictionary Learning (MSDL) algorithm (Varoquaux et al., 2011) that produces a set of spatial components that

Devolatilization of oil sludge in a lab-scale bubbling fluidized bed.

PubMed

Liu, Jianguo; Jiang, Xiumin; Han, Xiangxin

2011-01-30

Devolatilization of oil sludge pellets was investigated in nitrogen and air atmosphere in a lab-scale bubbling fluidized bed (BFB). Devolatilization times were measured by the degree of completion of the evolution of the volatiles for individual oil sludge pellets in the 5-15 mm diameter range. The influences of pellet size, bed temperature and superficial fluidization velocity on devolatilization time were evaluated. The variation of devolatilization time with particle diameter was expressed by the correlation, τ(d) = Ad(p)(N). The devolatilization time to pellet diameter curve shows nearly a linear increase in nitrogen, whereas an exponential increase in air. No noticeable effect of superficial fluidization velocity on devolatilization time in air atmosphere was observed. The behavior of the sludge pellets in the BFB was also focused during combustion experiments, primary fragmentation (a micro-explosive combustion phenomenon) was observed for bigger pellets (>10mm) at high bed temperatures (>700 °C), which occurred towards the end of combustion and remarkably reduce the devolatilization time of the oil sludge pellet. The size analysis of bed materials and fly ash showed that entire ash particle was entrained or elutriated out of the BFB furnace due to the fragile structure of oil sludge ash particles. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Driving Objectives and High-level Requirements for KP-Lab Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakkala, Minna; Paavola, Sami; Toikka, Seppo; Bauters, Merja; Markannen, Hannu; de Groot, Reuma; Ben Ami, Zvi; Baurens, Benoit; Jadin, Tanja; Richter, Christoph; Zoserl, Eva; Batatia, Hadj; Paralic, Jan; Babic, Frantisek; Damsa, Crina; Sins, Patrick; Moen, Anne; Norenes, Svein Olav; Bugnon, Alexandra; Karlgren, Klas; Kotzinons, Dimitris

2008-01-01

One of the central goals of the KP-Lab project is to co-design pedagogical methods and technologies for knowledge creation and practice transformation in an integrative and reciprocal manner. In order to facilitate this process user tasks, driving objectives and high-level requirements have been introduced as conceptual tools to mediate between…

The Virtual Genetics Lab: A Freely-Available Open-Source Genetics Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Brian; Bolker, Ethan; Koolar, Nikunj; Ma, Wei; Maw, Naing Naing; Yu, Chung Ying

2007-01-01

This lab is a computer simulation of transmission genetics. It presents students with a genetic phenomenon--the inheritance of a randomly--selected trait. The students' task is to determine how this trait is inherited by designing their own crosses and analyzing the results produced by the software.

Supercharging Lessons with a Virtual Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Jefferson; Vincent, Daniel

2013-01-01

The authors describes their experiences incorporating the virtual lab into a simple circuit lesson during an energy unit in a sixth-grade class. The lesson included a hands-on group experiment using wire, batteries, and light bulbs to make a circuit and an online simulation, using a virtual lab. Class discussions, student inquiries, and the study…

Monitoring CO2 invasion processes at the pore scale using geological labs on chip.

PubMed

Morais, S; Liu, N; Diouf, A; Bernard, D; Lecoutre, C; Garrabos, Y; Marre, S

2016-09-21

In order to investigate at the pore scale the mechanisms involved during CO2 injection in a water saturated pore network, a series of displacement experiments is reported using high pressure micromodels (geological labs on chip - GLoCs) working under real geological conditions (25 < T (°C) < 75 and 4.5 < p (MPa) < 8). The experiments were focused on the influence of three experimental parameters: (i) the p, T conditions, (ii) the injection flow rates and (iii) the pore network characteristics. By using on-chip optical characterization and imaging approaches, the CO2 saturation curves as a function of either time or the number of pore volume injected were determined. Three main mechanisms were observed during CO2 injection, namely, invasion, percolation and drying, which are discussed in this paper. Interestingly, besides conventional mechanisms, two counterintuitive situations were observed during the invasion and drying processes.

The Importance of Team Sex Composition in Team-Training Research Employing Complex Psychomotor Tasks.

PubMed

Jarrett, Steven M; Glaze, Ryan M; Schurig, Ira; Arthur, Winfred

2017-08-01

The relationship between team sex composition and team performance on a complex psychomotor task was examined because these types of tasks are commonly used in the lab-based teams literature. Despite well-documented sex-based differences on complex psychomotor tasks, the preponderance of studies-mainly lab based-that use these tasks makes no mention of the sex composition of teams across or within experimental conditions. A sample of 123 four-person teams with varying team sex composition learned and performed a complex psychomotor task, Steal Beasts Pro PE. Each team completed a 5-hr protocol whereby they conducted several performance missions. The results indicated significant large mean differences such that teams with larger proportions of males had higher performance scores. These findings demonstrate the potential effect of team sex composition on the validity of studies that use complex psychomotor tasks to explore and investigate team performance-related phenomena when (a) team sex composition is not a focal variable of interest and (b) it is not accounted for or controlled. Given the proclivity of complex psychomotor action-based tasks used in lab-based team studies, it is important to understand and control for the impact of team sex composition on team performance. When team sex composition is not controlled for, either methodologically or statistically, it may affect the validity of the results in teams studies using these types of tasks.

Lab Reports: A Concise Guide for Non-Native English Speakers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soundranayagam, Luxshmi

2014-01-01

College students in the non-English-speaking world have to overcome formidable barriers in reading and writing when their medium of instruction is English. One particular problem faced by science majors is the writing of lab reports, a demanding task that might not be effectively supported by the standard guides and manuals available. This paper…

Berkeley Lab Training

Science.gov Websites

Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Phone Book Jobs Search DOE Help Berkeley Lab Training Welcome Welcome to Berkeley Lab Training! Login to access your LBNL Training Profile. This provides quick access to all of the courses you need. Look below, to learn about different types of training available at

Recurrence quantification analysis of electroencephalograph signals during standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford group scale of hypnotic susceptibility.

PubMed

Yargholi, Elahe'; Nasrabadi, Ali Motie

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to apply RQA (recurrence quantification analysis) on hypnotic electroencephalograph (EEG) signals recorded after hypnotic induction while subjects were doing standard tasks of the Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) of hypnotic susceptibility. Then recurrence quantifiers were used to analyse the influence of hypnotic depth on EEGs. By the application of this method, the capability of tasks to distinguish subjects of different hypnotizability levels was determined. Besides, medium hypnotizable subjects showed the highest disposition to be inducted by hypnotizer. Similarities between brain governing dynamics during tasks of the same type were also observed. The present study demonstrated two remarkable innovations; investigating the EEGs of the hypnotized as doing mental tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) and applying RQA on hypnotic EEGs.

Leveraging Large-Scale Semantic Networks for Adaptive Robot Task Learning and Execution.

PubMed

Boteanu, Adrian; St Clair, Aaron; Mohseni-Kabir, Anahita; Saldanha, Carl; Chernova, Sonia

2016-12-01

This work seeks to leverage semantic networks containing millions of entries encoding assertions of commonsense knowledge to enable improvements in robot task execution and learning. The specific application we explore in this project is object substitution in the context of task adaptation. Humans easily adapt their plans to compensate for missing items in day-to-day tasks, substituting a wrap for bread when making a sandwich, or stirring pasta with a fork when out of spoons. Robot plan execution, however, is far less robust, with missing objects typically leading to failure if the robot is not aware of alternatives. In this article, we contribute a context-aware algorithm that leverages the linguistic information embedded in the task description to identify candidate substitution objects without reliance on explicit object affordance information. Specifically, we show that the task context provided by the task labels within the action structure of a task plan can be leveraged to disambiguate information within a noisy large-scale semantic network containing hundreds of potential object candidates to identify successful object substitutions with high accuracy. We present two extensive evaluations of our work on both abstract and real-world robot tasks, showing that the substitutions made by our system are valid, accepted by users, and lead to a statistically significant reduction in robot learning time. In addition, we report the outcomes of testing our approach with a large number of crowd workers interacting with a robot in real time.

Large-Scale Cooperative Task Distribution on Peer-to-Peer Networks

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

SUBTITLE Large-scale cooperative task distribution on peer-to-peer networks 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...of agents, and each agent attempts to form a coalition with its most profitable partner. The second algorithm builds upon the Shapley for- mula [37...ters at the second layer. These Category Layer clusters each represent a single resource, and agents join one or more clusters based on their

Introducing ADS Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accomazzi, Alberto; Henneken, E.; Grant, C. S.; Kurtz, M. J.; Di Milia, G.; Luker, J.; Thompson, D. M.; Bohlen, E.; Murray, S. S.

2011-05-01

ADS Labs is a platform that ADS is introducing in order to test and receive feedback from the community on new technologies and prototype services. Currently, ADS Labs features a new interface for abstract searches, faceted filtering of results, visualization of co-authorship networks, article-level recommendations, and a full-text search service. The streamlined abstract search interface provides a simple, one-box search with options for ranking results based on a paper relevancy, freshness, number of citations, and downloads. In addition, it provides advanced rankings based on collaborative filtering techniques. The faceted filtering interface allows users to narrow search results based on a particular property or set of properties ("facets"), allowing users to manage large lists and explore the relationship between them. For any set or sub-set of records, the co-authorship network can be visualized in an interactive way, offering a view of the distribution of contributors and their inter-relationships. This provides an immediate way to detect groups and collaborations involved in a particular research field. For a majority of papers in Astronomy, our new interface will provide a list of related articles of potential interest. The recommendations are based on a number of factors, including text similarity, citations, and co-readership information. The new full-text search interface allows users to find all instances of particular words or phrases in the body of the articles in our full-text archive. This includes all of the scanned literature in ADS as well as a select portion of the current astronomical literature, including ApJ, ApJS, AJ, MNRAS, PASP, A&A, and soon additional content from Springer journals. Fulltext search results include a list of the matching papers as well as a list of "snippets" of text highlighting the context in which the search terms were found. ADS Labs is available at http://adslabs.org

Development and Confirmatory Factory Analysis of the Achievement Task Value Scale for University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lou, Yu-Chiung; Lin, Hsiao-Fang; Lin, Chin-Wen

2013-01-01

The aims of the study were (a) to develop a scale to measure university students' task value and (b) to use confirmatory factor analytic techniques to investigate the construct validity of the scale. The questionnaire items were developed based on theoretical considerations and the final version contained 38 items divided into 4 subscales.…

The Scaling of Water Governance Tasks: A Comparative Federal Analysis of the European Union and Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benson, David; Jordan, Andrew

2010-07-01

Conflicts over how to “scale” policy-making tasks have characterized environmental governance since time immemorial. They are particularly evident in the area of water policy and raise important questions over the democratic legitimacy, economic efficiency and effectiveness of allocating (or “scaling”) tasks to some administrative levels as opposed to others. This article adopts a comparative federalism perspective to assess the “optimality” of scaling—either upward or downward—in one issue area, namely coastal recreational water quality. It does so by comparing the scaling of recreational water quality tasks in the European Union (EU) and Australia. It reveals that the two systems have adopted rather different approaches to scaling and that this difference can partly be accounted for in federal theoretical terms. However, a much greater awareness of the inescapably political nature of scaling processes is nonetheless required. Finally, some words of caution are offered with regard to transferring policy lessons between these two jurisdictions.

Virtual Labs and Virtual Worlds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehler, Ted

2006-12-01

Virtual Labs and Virtual Worlds Coastline Community College has under development several virtual lab simulations and activities that range from biology, to language labs, to virtual discussion environments. Imagine a virtual world that students enter online, by logging onto their computer from home or anywhere they have web access. Upon entering this world they select a personalized identity represented by a digitized character (avatar) that can freely move about, interact with the environment, and communicate with other characters. In these virtual worlds, buildings, gathering places, conference rooms, labs, science rooms, and a variety of other “real world” elements are evident. When characters move about and encounter other people (players) they may freely communicate. They can examine things, manipulate objects, read signs, watch video clips, hear sounds, and jump to other locations. Goals of critical thinking, social interaction, peer collaboration, group support, and enhanced learning can be achieved in surprising new ways with this innovative approach to peer-to-peer communication in a virtual discussion world. In this presentation, short demos will be given of several online learning environments including a virtual biology lab, a marine science module, a Spanish lab, and a virtual discussion world. Coastline College has been a leader in the development of distance learning and media-based education for nearly 30 years and currently offers courses through PDA, Internet, DVD, CD-ROM, TV, and Videoconferencing technologies. Its distance learning program serves over 20,000 students every year. sponsor Jerry Meisner

Leaching behaviour of different scrap materials at recovery and recycling companies: full-, pilot- and lab-scale investigation.

PubMed

Blondeel, E; Chys, M; Depuydt, V; Folens, K; Du Laing, G; Verliefde, A; Van Hulle, S W H

2014-12-01

Scrap material recovery and recycling companies are confronted with waste water that has a highly fluctuating flow rate and composition. Common pollutants, such as COD, nutrients and suspended solids, potentially toxic metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and poly chlorinated biphenyls can exceed the discharge limits. An analysis of the leaching behaviour of different scrap materials and scrap yard sweepings was performed at full-scale, pilot-scale and lab-scale in order to find possible preventive solutions for this waste water problem. The results of these leaching tests (with concentrations that frequently exceeded the Flemish discharge limits) showed the importance of regular sweeping campaigns at the company, leak proof or covered storage of specific scrap materials and oil/water separation on particular leachates. The particulate versus dissolved fraction was also studied for the pollutants. For example, up to 98% of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons, poly chlorinated biphenyls and some metals were in the particulate form. This confirms the (potential) applicability of sedimentation and filtration techniques for the treatment of the majority of the leachates, and as such the rainwater run-off as a whole. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Networking Labs in the Online Environment: Indicators for Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lahoud, Hilmi A.; Krichen, Jack P.

2010-01-01

Several techniques have been used to provide hands-on educational experiences to online learners, including remote labs, simulation software, and virtual labs, which offer a more structured environment, including simulations and scheduled asynchronous access to physical resources. This exploratory study investigated how these methods can be used…

Traditional Labs + New Questions = Improved Student Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rezba, Richard J.; And Others

1992-01-01

Presents three typical lab activities involving the breathing rate of fish, the behavior of electromagnets, and tests for water hardness to demonstrate how labs can be modified to teach process skills. Discusses how basic concepts about experimentation are developed and ways of generating and improving science experiments. Includes a laboratory…

Improving "lab-on-a-chip" techniques using biomedical nanotechnology: a review.

PubMed

Gorjikhah, Fatemeh; Davaran, Soodabeh; Salehi, Roya; Bakhtiari, Mohsen; Hasanzadeh, Arash; Panahi, Yunes; Emamverdy, Masumeh; Akbarzadeh, Abolfazl

2016-11-01

Nanotechnology and its applications in biomedical sciences principally in molecular nanodiagnostics are known as nanomolecular diagnostics, which provides new options for clinical nanodiagnostic techniques. Molecular nanodiagnostics are a critical role in the development of personalized medicine, which features point-of care performance of diagnostic procedure. This can to check patients at point-of-care facilities or in remote or resource-poor locations, therefore reducing checking time from days to minutes. In this review, applications of nanotechnology suited to biomedicine are discussed in two main class: biomedical applications for use inside (such as drugs, diagnostic techniques, prostheses, and implants) and outside the body (such as "lab-on-a-chip" techniques). A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a tool that incorporates numerous laboratory tasks onto a small device, usually only millimeters or centimeters in size. Finally, are discussed the applications of biomedical nanotechnology in improving "lab-on-a-chip" techniques.

GeoLab: A Geological Workstation for Future Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, Cynthia; Calaway, Michael; Bell, Mary Sue; Li, Zheng; Tong, Shuo; Zhong, Ye; Dahiwala, Ravi

2014-01-01

The GeoLab glovebox was, until November 2012, fully integrated into NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Analog Testbed. The conceptual design for GeoLab came from several sources, including current research instruments (Microgravity Science Glovebox) used on the International Space Station, existing Astromaterials Curation Laboratory hardware and clean room procedures, and mission scenarios developed for earlier programs. GeoLab allowed NASA scientists to test science operations related to contained sample examination during simulated exploration missions. The team demonstrated science operations that enhance theThe GeoLab glovebox was, until November 2012, fully integrated into NASA's Deep Space Habitat (DSH) Analog Testbed. The conceptual design for GeoLab came from several sources, including current research instruments (Microgravity Science Glovebox) used on the International Space Station, existing Astromaterials Curation Laboratory hardware and clean room procedures, and mission scenarios developed for earlier programs. GeoLab allowed NASA scientists to test science operations related to contained sample examination during simulated exploration missions. The team demonstrated science operations that enhance the early scientific returns from future missions and ensure that the best samples are selected for Earth return. The facility was also designed to foster the development of instrument technology. Since 2009, when GeoLab design and construction began, the GeoLab team [a group of scientists from the Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate at JSC] has progressively developed and reconfigured the GeoLab hardware and software interfaces and developed test objectives, which were to 1) determine requirements and strategies for sample handling and prioritization for geological operations on other planetary surfaces, 2) assess the scientific contribution of selective in-situ sample

Microbial community changes with decaying chloramine residuals in a lab-scale system.

PubMed

Bal Krishna, K C; Sathasivan, Arumugam; Ginige, Maneesha P

2013-09-01

When chloramine is used as a disinfectant, managing an acceptable "residual" throughout the water distribution systems particularly once nitrification has set in is challenging. Managing chloramine decay prior to the onset of nitrification through effective control strategies is important and to-date the strategies developed around nitrification has been ineffective. This study aimed at developing a more holistic knowledge on how decaying chloramine and nitrification metabolites impact microbial communities in chloraminated systems. Five lab-scale reactors (connected in series) were operated to simulate a full-scale chloraminated distribution system. Culture independent techniques (cloning and qPCR) were used to characterise and quantify the mixed microbial communities in reactors maintaining a residual of high to low (2.18-0.03 mg/L). The study for the first time associates chloramine residuals and nitrification metabolites to different microbial communities. Bacterial classes Solibacteres, Nitrospira, Sphingobacteria and Betaproteobacteria dominated at low chloramine residuals whereas Actinobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria dominated at higher chloramine residuals. Prior to the onset of nitrification bacterial genera Pseudomonas, Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas were found to be dominant and Sphingomonas in particular increased with the onset of nitrification. Nitrosomonas urea, oligotropha, and two other novel ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were detected once the chloramine residuals had dropped below 0.65 mg/L. Additionally nitrification alone failed to explain chloramine decay rates observed in these reactors. The finding of this study is expected to re-direct the focus from nitrifiers to heterotrophic bacteria, which the authors believe could hold the key towards developing a control strategy that would enable better management of chloramine residuals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Taking Battery Technology from the Lab to the Big City

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

Banerjee, Sanjoy; Shmukler, Michael; Martin, Cheryl

2013-07-29

Urban Electric Power, a startup formed by researchers from the City University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute, is taking breakthroughs in battery technology from the lab to the market. With industry and government funding, including a grant from the Energy Department, Urban Electric Power developed a zinc-nickel oxide battery electrolyte that circulates constantly, eliminating dendrite formation and preventing battery shortages. Their new challenge is to take this technology to the market, where they can scale up the batteries for reducing peak energy demand in urban areas and storing variable renewable electricity.

Taking Battery Technology from the Lab to the Big City

ScienceCinema

Banerjee, Sanjoy; Shmukler, Michael; Martin, Cheryl

2018-02-02

Urban Electric Power, a startup formed by researchers from the City University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute, is taking breakthroughs in battery technology from the lab to the market. With industry and government funding, including a grant from the Energy Department, Urban Electric Power developed a zinc-nickel oxide battery electrolyte that circulates constantly, eliminating dendrite formation and preventing battery shortages. Their new challenge is to take this technology to the market, where they can scale up the batteries for reducing peak energy demand in urban areas and storing variable renewable electricity.

Toward Better Physics Labs for Future Biologists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannini, John; Moore, Kim; Losert, Wolfgang

2014-03-01

We have developed a set of laboratories and hands on activities to accompany a new two-semester interdisciplinary physics course that has been successfully developed and tested in two small test classes of students at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) in 2012-2013, and is currently being used on a wider scale. We have designed the laboratories to be taken accompanying a reformed course in the student's second year, with calculus, biology, and chemistry as prerequisites. This permits the laboratories to include significant content on physics relevant to cellular scales, from chemical interactions to random motion and charge screening in fluids. One major focus of the laboratories is to introduce the students to research-grade equipment and modern physics analysis tools in contexts relevant to biology, while maintaining the pedagogically valuable open-ended laboratory structure of reformed laboratories. Lab development procedures along with some preliminary student results from these two small test classes are discussed.

e-Learning - Physics Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohottala, Hashini

2014-03-01

The general student population enrolled in any college level class is highly diverse. An increasing number of ``nontraditional'' students return to college and most of these students follow distance learning degree programs while engaging in their other commitments, work and family. However, those students tend to avoid taking science courses with labs, mostly because of the incapability of remotely completing the lab components in such courses. In order to address this issue, we have come across a method where introductory level physics labs can be taught remotely. In this process a lab kit with the critical lab components that can be easily accessible are conveniently packed into a box and distributed among students at the beginning of the semester. Once the students are given the apparatus they perform the experiments at home and gather data All communications with reference to the lab was done through an interactive user-friendly webpage - Wikispaces (WikiS). Students who create pages on WikiS can submit their lab write-ups, embed videos of the experiments they perform, post pictures and direct questions to the lab instructor. The students who are enrolled in the same lab can interact with each other through WikiS to discuss labs and even get assistance.

Promoting Metacognition in Introductory Calculus-based Physics Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grennell, Drew; Boudreaux, Andrew

2010-10-01

In the Western Washington University physics department, a project is underway to develop research-based laboratory curriculum for the introductory calculus-based course. Instructional goals not only include supporting students' conceptual understanding and reasoning ability, but also providing students with opportunities to engage in metacognition. For the latter, our approach has been to scaffold reflective thinking with guided questions. Specific instructional strategies include analysis of alternate reasoning presented in fictitious dialogues and comparison of students' initial ideas with their lab group's final, consensus understanding. Assessment of student metacognition includes pre- and post- course data from selected questions on the CLASS survey, analysis of written lab worksheets, and student opinion surveys. CLASS results are similar to a traditional physics course and analysis of lab sheets show that students struggle to engage in a metacognitive process. Future directions include video studies, as well as use of additional written assessments adapted from educational psychology.

The Impact of Powerful Oral Language Lab on Chilean EFL Preservice Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Hsuying Chiou; Andruske, Cynthia Lee

2013-01-01

This exploratory qualitative case study reports the impact of using a public-speaking structure (Powerful Oral Language Lab [POLL]) in teaching preservice Chilean English pedagogy students. It describes how this task-based method of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher training is related to language strategic competence. Twenty students…

A Lab for All Reasons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronin-Jones, Linda L.

1990-01-01

Described is a demonstration science laboratory at the University of Florida. Discussed is laboratory design, including instructional space, lab stations, sink areas, safety areas, and a storage and distribution area. The impact of this type of design is cited. Diagrams and photographs are included. (CW)

DeepLab: Semantic Image Segmentation with Deep Convolutional Nets, Atrous Convolution, and Fully Connected CRFs.

PubMed

Chen, Liang-Chieh; Papandreou, George; Kokkinos, Iasonas; Murphy, Kevin; Yuille, Alan L

2018-04-01

In this work we address the task of semantic image segmentation with Deep Learning and make three main contributions that are experimentally shown to have substantial practical merit. First, we highlight convolution with upsampled filters, or 'atrous convolution', as a powerful tool in dense prediction tasks. Atrous convolution allows us to explicitly control the resolution at which feature responses are computed within Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. It also allows us to effectively enlarge the field of view of filters to incorporate larger context without increasing the number of parameters or the amount of computation. Second, we propose atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) to robustly segment objects at multiple scales. ASPP probes an incoming convolutional feature layer with filters at multiple sampling rates and effective fields-of-views, thus capturing objects as well as image context at multiple scales. Third, we improve the localization of object boundaries by combining methods from DCNNs and probabilistic graphical models. The commonly deployed combination of max-pooling and downsampling in DCNNs achieves invariance but has a toll on localization accuracy. We overcome this by combining the responses at the final DCNN layer with a fully connected Conditional Random Field (CRF), which is shown both qualitatively and quantitatively to improve localization performance. Our proposed "DeepLab" system sets the new state-of-art at the PASCAL VOC-2012 semantic image segmentation task, reaching 79.7 percent mIOU in the test set, and advances the results on three other datasets: PASCAL-Context, PASCAL-Person-Part, and Cityscapes. All of our code is made publicly available online.

Lab-on-a-Chip Based Protein Crystallization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

vanderWoerd, Mark J.; Brasseur, Michael M.; Spearing, Scott F.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We are developing a novel technique with which we will grow protein crystals in very small volumes, utilizing chip-based, microfluidic ("LabChip") technology. This development, which is a collaborative effort between NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Caliper Technologies Corporation, promises a breakthrough in the field of protein crystal growth. Our initial results obtained from two model proteins, Lysozyme and Thaumatin, show that it is feasible to dispense and adequately mix protein and precipitant solutions on a nano-liter scale. The mixtures have shown crystal growth in volumes in the range of 10 nanoliters to 5 microliters. In addition, large diffraction quality crystals were obtained by this method. X-ray data from these crystals were shown to be of excellent quality. Our future efforts will include the further development of protein crystal growth with LabChip(trademark) technology for more complex systems. We will initially address the batch growth method, followed by the vapor diffusion method and the liquid-liquid diffusion method. The culmination of these chip developments is to lead to an on orbit protein crystallization facility on the International Space Station. Structural biologists will be invited to utilize the on orbit Iterative Biological Crystallization facility to grow high quality macromolecular crystals in microgravity.

iMetaLab 1.0: A web platform for metaproteomics data analysis.

PubMed

Liao, Bo; Ning, Zhibin; Cheng, Kai; Zhang, Xu; Li, Leyuan; Mayne, Janice; Figeys, Daniel

2018-06-15

The human gut microbiota, a complex, dynamic and biodiverse community, has been increasingly shown to influence many aspects of health and disease. Metaproteomic analysis has proven to be a powerful approach to study the functionality of the microbiota. However, the processing and analyses of metaproteomic mass spectrometry (MS) data remains a daunting task in metaproteomics data analysis. We developed iMetaLab, a web based platform to provide a user-friendly and comprehensive data analysis pipeline with a focus on lowering the technical barrier for metaproteomics data analysis. iMetaLab is freely available through at http://imetalab.ca. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Symbiotic relationship analysis of predominant bacteria in a lab-scale anammox UASB bioreactor.

PubMed

Wang, Yujia; Hu, Xiaomin; Jiang, Binhui; Song, Zhenhui; Ma, Yongguang

2016-04-01

In order to provide the comprehensive insight into the key microbial groups in anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process, high-throughput sequencing analysis has been used for the investigation of the bacterial communities of a lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) anammox bioreactor. Results revealed that 109 operational taxonomic units (OTUs; out of 14,820 reads) were identified and a domination of anammox bacteria of Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis (OTU474, 35.42 %), along with heterotrophs of Limnobacter sp. MED105 (OTU951, 14.98 %), Anerolinea thermophila UNI-1 (OTU465 and OTU833, 6.60 and 3.93 %), Azoarcus sp. B72 (OTU26, 9.47 %), and Ignavibacterium sp. JCM 16511 (OTU459, 8.33 %) were detected. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that Candidatus K. stuttgartiensis encountered gene defect in synthesizing a series of metabolic cofactors for growth, implying that K. stuttgartiensis is auxotrophic. Coincidentally, the other dominant species severally showed complete metabolic pathways with full set gene encoding to corresponding cofactors presented in the surrounding environment. Furthermore, it was likely that the survival of heterotrophs in the autotrophic system indicates the existence of a symbiotic and mutual relationship in anammox system.

Chaos-chaos transition of left hemisphere EEGs during standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of hypnotic susceptibility.

PubMed

Yargholi, Elahe'; Nasrabadi, Ali Motie

2015-01-01

A recent study, recurrence quantification analysis of EEG signals during standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale of hypnotic susceptibility investigated recurrence quantifiers (RQs) of hypnotic electroencephalograph (EEG) signals recorded after hypnotic induction while subjects were doing standard tasks of Waterloo-Stanford Group Scale (WSGS) of hypnotic susceptibility to distinguish subjects of different hypnotizability levels. Following the same analysis, the current study determines the capability of different RQs to distinguish subjects of low, medium and high hypnotizability level and studies the influence of hypnotizability level on underlying dynamic of tasks. Besides, EEG channels were sorted according to the number of their RQs, which differed significantly among subjects of different hypnotizability levels. Another valuable result was determination of major brain regions in observing significant differences in various task types (ideomotors, hallucination, challenge and memory).

New Features in ADS Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accomazzi, Alberto; Kurtz, M. J.; Henneken, E. A.; Grant, C. S.; Thompson, D.; Di Milia, G.; Luker, J.; Murray, S. S.

2013-01-01

The NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) has been working hard on updating its services and interfaces to better support our community's research needs. ADS Labs is a new interface built on the old tried-and-true ADS Abstract Databases, so all of ADS's content is available through it. In this presentation we highlight the new features that have been developed in ADS Labs over the last year: new recommendations, metrics, a citation tool and enhanced fulltext search. ADS Labs has long been providing article-level recommendations based on keyword similarity, co-readership and co-citation analysis of its corpus. We have now introduced personal recommendations, which provide a list of articles to be considered based on a individual user's readership history. A new metrics interface provides a summary of the basic impact indicators for a list of records. These include the total and normalized number of papers, citations, reads, and downloads. Also included are some of the popular indices such as the h, g and i10 index. The citation helper tool allows one to submit a set of records and obtain a list of top 10 papers which cite and/or are cited by papers in the original list (but which are not in it). The process closely resembles the network approach of establishing "friends of friends" via an analysis of the citation network. The full-text search service now covers more than 2.5 million documents, including all the major astronomy journals, as well as physics journals published by Springer, Elsevier, the American Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union, and all of the arXiv eprints. The full-text search interface interface allows users and librarians to dig deep and find words or phrases in the body of the indexed articles. ADS Labs is available at http://adslabs.org

Application of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in freshness keeping of tilapia fillets as sashimi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Rong; Liu, Qi; Chen, Shengjun; Yang, Xianqing; Li, Laihao

2015-08-01

Aquatic products are extremely perishable food commodities. Developing methods to keep the freshness of fish represents a major task of the fishery processing industry. Application of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) as food preservative is a novel approach. In the present study, the possibility of using lactic acid bacteria in freshness keeping of tilapia fillets as sashimi was examined. Fish fillets were dipped in Lactobacillus plantarum 1.19 (obtained from China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center) suspension as LAB-treated group. Changes in K-value, APC, sensory properties and microbial flora were analyzed. Results showed that LAB treatment slowed the increase of K-value and APC in the earlier storage, and caused a smooth decrease in sensory score. Gram-negative bacteria dominated during refrigerated storage, with Pseudomonas and Aeromonas being relatively abundant. Lactobacillus plantarum 1.19 had no obvious inhibitory effect against these Gram-negatives. However, Lactobacillus plantarum 1.19 changed the composition of Gram-positive bacteria. No Micrococcus were detected and the proportion of Staphylococcus decreased in the spoiled LAB-treated samples. The period that tilapia fillets could be used as sashimi material extended from 24 h to 48 h after LAB treatment. The potential of using LAB in sashimi processing was confirmed.

Lab-on-fiber technology: a new vision for chemical and biological sensing.

PubMed

Ricciardi, Armando; Crescitelli, Alessio; Vaiano, Patrizio; Quero, Giuseppe; Consales, Marco; Pisco, Marco; Esposito, Emanuela; Cusano, Andrea

2015-12-21

The integration of microfluidics and photonic biosensors has allowed achievement of several laboratory functions in a single chip, leading to the development of photonic lab-on-a-chip technology. Although a lot of progress has been made to implement such sensors in small and easy-to-use systems, many applications such as point-of-care diagnostics and in vivo biosensing still require a sensor probe able to perform measurements at precise locations that are often hard to reach. The intrinsic property of optical fibers to conduct light to a remote location makes them an ideal platform to meet this demand. The motivation to combine the good performance of photonic biosensors on chips with the unique advantages of optical fibers has thus led to the development of the so-called lab-on-fiber technology. This emerging technology envisages the integration of functionalized materials on micro- and nano-scales (i.e. the labs) with optical fibers to realize miniaturized and advanced all-in-fiber probes, especially useful for (but not limited to) label-free chemical and biological applications. This review presents a broad overview of lab-on-fiber biosensors, with particular reference to lab-on-tip platforms, where the labs are integrated on the optical fiber facet. Light-matter interaction on the fiber tip is achieved through the integration of thin layers of nanoparticles or nanostructures supporting resonant modes, both plasmonic and photonic, highly sensitive to local modifications of the surrounding environment. According to the physical principle that is exploited, different configurations - such as localized plasmon resonance probes, surface enhanced Raman scattering probes and photonic probes - are classified, while various applications are presented in context throughout. For each device, the surface chemistry and the related functionalization protocols are reviewed. Moreover, the implementation strategies and fabrication processes, either based on bottom-up or top

Object positioning in storages of robotized workcells using LabVIEW Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hryniewicz, P.; Banaś, W.; Sękala, A.; Gwiazda, A.; Foit, K.; Kost, G.

2015-11-01

During the manufacturing process, each performed task is previously developed and adapted to the conditions and the possibilities of the manufacturing plant. The production process is supervised by a team of specialists because any downtime causes great loss of time and hence financial loss. Sensors used in industry for tracking and supervision various stages of a production process make it much easier to maintain it continuous. One of groups of sensors used in industrial applications are non-contact sensors. This group includes: light barriers, optical sensors, rangefinders, vision systems, and ultrasonic sensors. Through to the rapid development of electronics the vision systems were widespread as the most flexible type of non-contact sensors. These systems consist of cameras, devices for data acquisition, devices for data analysis and specialized software. Vision systems work well as sensors that control the production process itself as well as the sensors that control the product quality level. The LabVIEW program as well as the LabVIEW Vision and LabVIEW Builder represent the application that enables program the informatics system intended to process and product quality control. The paper presents elaborated application for positioning elements in a robotized workcell. Basing on geometric parameters of manipulated object or on the basis of previously developed graphical pattern it is possible to determine the position of particular manipulated elements. This application could work in an automatic mode and in real time cooperating with the robot control system. It allows making the workcell functioning more autonomous.

Role of accentuation in the selection/rejection task framing effect.

PubMed

Chen, Jing; Proctor, Robert W

2017-04-01

Procedure invariance is a basic assumption of rational theories of choice, however, it has been shown to be violated: Different response modes, or task frames, sometimes reveal opposite preferences. The current study focused on selection and rejection task frames, involving a unique type of problem with enriched and impoverished options, which has previously led to conflicting findings and theoretical explanations: the compatibility hypothesis (Shafir, 1993) and the accentuation hypothesis (Wedell, 1997). We examined the role of task frame by distinguishing these 2 hypotheses and evaluating the information-processing basis of the choices. Experiments conducted online (Experiments 1 and 3) and in-lab (Experiment 4 with eye-tracking technique) revealed a difference between the 2 task frames in the choice data (i.e., the task-framing effect) as a function of the relative attractiveness of the options. Also, this task-framing effect was not influenced by imposed time constraints (Experiments 5 and 6) and was similarly evident with a more direct measure for the option attractiveness (obtained in Experiment 7). Experiment 2, conducted in a lab setting with verbal-protocol requirements, yielded no task-framing effect, suggesting that a requirement to verbalize reasons for choice minimizes accentuation. With this exception, the choice data are in agreement with the accentuation hypothesis, and the combined findings in choice, decision time, task confusion, and eye-tracking data provide evidence of a basis in cognitive effort rather than motivation, as Wedell proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparison of NASA-TLX scale, Modified Cooper-Harper scale and mean inter-beat interval as measures of pilot mental workload during simulated flight tasks.

PubMed

Mansikka, Heikki; Virtanen, Kai; Harris, Don

2018-04-30

The sensitivity of NASA-TLX scale, modified Cooper-Harper (MCH) scale and the mean inter-beat interval (IBI) of successive heart beats, as measures of pilot mental workload (MWL), were evaluated in a flight training device (FTD). Operational F/A-18C pilots flew instrument approaches with varying task loads. Pilots' performance, subjective MWL ratings and IBI were measured. Based on the pilots' performance, three performance categories were formed; high-, medium- and low-performance. Values of the subjective rating scales and IBI were compared between categories. It was found that all measures were able to differentiate most task conditions and there was a strong, positive correlation between NASA-TLX and MCH scale. An explicit link between IBI, NASA-TLX, MCH and performance was demonstrated. While NASA-TLX, MCH and IBI have all been previously used to measure MWL, this study is the first one to investigate their association in a modern FTD, using a realistic flying mission and operational pilots.

A Comparative Study on Real Lab and Simulation Lab in Communication Engineering from Students' Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Balakrishnan, B.; Woods, P. C.

2013-01-01

Over the years, rapid development in computer technology has engendered simulation-based laboratory (lab) in addition to the traditional hands-on (physical) lab. Many higher education institutions adopt simulation lab, replacing some existing physical lab experiments. The creation of new systems for conducting engineering lab activities has raised…

Kinematic Labs with Mobile Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinser, Jason M.

2015-07-01

This book provides 13 labs spanning the common topics in the first semester of university-level physics. Each lab is designed to use only the student's smartphone, laptop and items easily found in big-box stores or a hobby shop. Each lab contains theory, set-up instructions and basic analysis techniques. All of these labs can be performed outside of the traditional university lab setting and initial costs averaging less than 8 per student, per lab.

Nano/micro-scale magnetophoretic devices for biomedical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Byeonghwa; Vavassori, Paolo; Sooryakumar, R.; Kim, CheolGi

2017-01-01

In recent years there have been tremendous advances in the versatility of magnetic shuttle technology using nano/micro-scale magnets for digital magnetophoresis. While the technology has been used for a wide variety of single-cell manipulation tasks such as selection, capture, transport, encapsulation, transfection, or lysing of magnetically labeled and unlabeled cells, it has also expanded to include parallel actuation and study of multiple bio-entities. The use of nano/micro-patterned magnetic structures that enable remote control of the applied forces has greatly facilitated integration of the technology with microfluidics, thereby fostering applications in the biomedical arena. The basic design and fabrication of various scaled magnets for remote manipulation of individual and multiple beads/cells, and their associated energies and forces that underlie the broad functionalities of this approach, are presented. One of the most useful features enabled by such advanced integrated engineering is the capacity to remotely tune the magnetic field gradient and energy landscape, permitting such multipurpose shuttles to be implemented within lab-on-chip platforms for a wide range of applications at the intersection of cellular biology and biotechnology.

PWC - PAIRWISE COMPARISON SOFTWARE: SOFTWARE PROGRAM FOR PAIRWISE COMPARISON TASK FOR PSYCHOMETRIC SCALING AND COGNITIVE RESEARCH

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricks, W. R.

1994-01-01

PWC is used for pair-wise comparisons in both psychometric scaling techniques and cognitive research. The cognitive tasks and processes of a human operator of automated systems are now prominent considerations when defining system requirements. Recent developments in cognitive research have emphasized the potential utility of psychometric scaling techniques, such as multidimensional scaling, for representing human knowledge and cognitive processing structures. Such techniques involve collecting measurements of stimulus-relatedness from human observers. When data are analyzed using this scaling approach, an n-dimensional representation of the stimuli is produced. This resulting representation is said to describe the subject's cognitive or perceptual view of the stimuli. PWC applies one of the many techniques commonly used to acquire the data necessary for these types of analyses: pair-wise comparisons. PWC administers the task, collects the data from the test subject, and formats the data for analysis. It therefore addresses many of the limitations of the traditional "pen-and-paper" methods. By automating the data collection process, subjects are prevented from going back to check previous responses, the possibility of erroneous data transfer is eliminated, and the burden of the administration and taking of the test is eased. By using randomization, PWC ensures that subjects see the stimuli pairs presented in random order, and that each subject sees pairs in a different random order. PWC is written in Turbo Pascal v6.0 for IBM PC compatible computers running MS-DOS. The program has also been successfully compiled with Turbo Pascal v7.0. A sample executable is provided. PWC requires 30K of RAM for execution. The standard distribution medium for this program is a 5.25 inch 360K MS-DOS format diskette. Two electronic versions of the documentation are included on the diskette: one in ASCII format and one in MS Word for Windows format. PWC was developed in 1993.

The Effect of Tool Handle Shape on Hand Muscle Load and Pinch Force in a Simulated Dental Scaling Task

PubMed Central

Dong, Hui; Loomer, Peter; Barr, Alan; LaRoche, Charles; Young, Ed; Rempel, David

2007-01-01

Work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome, are prevalent among dentists and dental hygienists. An important risk factor for developing these disorders is forceful pinching which occurs during periodontal work such as dental scaling. Ergonomically designed dental scaling instruments may help reduce the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome among dental practitioners. In this study, 8 custom-designed dental scaling instruments with different handle shapes were used by 24 dentists and dental hygienists to perform a simulated tooth scaling task. The muscle activity of two extensors and two flexors in the forearm was recorded with electromyography while thumb pinch force was measured by pressure sensors. The results demonstrated that the instrument handle with a tapered, round shape and a 10 mm diameter required the least muscle load and pinch force when performing simulated periodontal work. The results from this study can guide dentists and dental hygienists in selection of dental scaling instruments. PMID:17156742

Differences between child and adult large-scale functional brain networks for reading tasks.

PubMed

Liu, Xin; Gao, Yue; Di, Qiqi; Hu, Jiali; Lu, Chunming; Nan, Yun; Booth, James R; Liu, Li

2018-02-01

Reading is an important high-level cognitive function of the human brain, requiring interaction among multiple brain regions. Revealing differences between children's large-scale functional brain networks for reading tasks and those of adults helps us to understand how the functional network changes over reading development. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 17 adults (19-28 years old) and 16 children (11-13 years old), and graph theoretical analyses to investigate age-related changes in large-scale functional networks during rhyming and meaning judgment tasks on pairs of visually presented Chinese characters. We found that: (1) adults had stronger inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree in occipital regions, while children had stronger inter-regional connectivity in temporal regions, suggesting that adults rely more on visual orthographic processing whereas children rely more on auditory phonological processing during reading. (2) Only adults showed between-task differences in inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree, whereas children showed no task differences, suggesting the topological organization of adults' reading network is more specialized. (3) Children showed greater inter-regional connectivity and nodal degree than adults in multiple subcortical regions; the hubs in children were more distributed in subcortical regions while the hubs in adults were more distributed in cortical regions. These findings suggest that reading development is manifested by a shift from reliance on subcortical to cortical regions. Taken together, our study suggests that Chinese reading development is supported by developmental changes in brain connectivity properties, and some of these changes may be domain-general while others may be specific to the reading domain. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Characterization of an Autotrophic Nitrogen-Removing Biofilm from a Highly Loaded Lab-Scale Rotating Biological Contactor

PubMed Central

Pynaert, Kris; Smets, Barth F.; Wyffels, Stijn; Beheydt, Daan; Siciliano, Steven D.; Verstraete, Willy

2003-01-01

In this study, a lab-scale rotating biological contactor (RBC) treating a synthetic NH4+ wastewater devoid of organic carbon and showing high N losses was examined for several important physiological and microbial characteristics. The RBC biofilm removed 89% ± 5% of the influent N at the highest surface load of approximately 8.3 g of N m−2 day−1, with N2 as the main end product. In batch tests, the RBC biomass showed good aerobic and anoxic ammonium oxidation (147.8 ± 7.6 and 76.5 ± 6.4 mg of NH4+-N g of volatile suspended solids [VSS]−1 day−1, respectively) and almost no nitrite oxidation (< 1 mg of N g of VSS−1 day−1). The diversity of aerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AAOB) and planctomycetes in the biofilm was characterized by cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the clones revealed that the AAOB community was fairly homogeneous and was dominated by Nitrosomonas-like species. Close relatives of the known anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (AnAOB) Kuenenia stuttgartiensis dominated the planctomycete community and were most probably responsible for anoxic ammonium oxidation in the RBC. Use of a less specific planctomycete primer set, not amplifying the AnAOB, showed a high diversity among other planctomycetes, with representatives of all known groups present in the biofilm. The spatial organization of the biofilm was characterized using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM). The latter showed that AAOB occurred side by side with putative AnAOB (cells hybridizing with probe PLA46 and AMX820/KST1275) throughout the biofilm, while other planctomycetes hybridizing with probe PLA886 (not detecting the known AnAOB) were present as very conspicuous spherical structures. This study reveals that long-term operation of a lab-scale RBC on a synthetic NH4+ wastewater devoid of organic carbon yields a stable biofilm in which two bacterial groups, thought

TangoLab-2 Card Troubleshooting

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-17

iss053e105442 (Oct. 17, 2017) --- Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei swaps out a payload card from the TangoLab-1 facility and places into the TangoLab-2 facility. TangoLab provides a standardized platform and open architecture for experimental modules called CubeLabs. CubeLab modules may be developed for use in 3-dimensional tissue and cell cultures.

Solar photocatalitycal treatment of carbofuran at lab and pilot scale: effect of classical parameters, evaluation of the toxicity and analysis of organic by-products.

PubMed

Lopez-Alvarez, Blady; Torres-Palma, Ricardo A; Peñuela, Gustavo

2011-07-15

In this work the TiO(2) solar-photocatalytical degradation of the pesticide carbofuran (CBF) in water, at lab and pilot scale, was studied. At lab scale the evaluation of CBF concentration (14-282 μmol L(-1)) showed that the system followed a Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics type. TiO(2) concentration (0.05-2 g L(-1)) and initial pH (3-9) were also evaluated and optimized using the surface response methodology and the Pareto diagram. In the range of variables studied, initial pH 7.60 and 1.43 g L(-1) of TiO(2) favoured the efficiency of the process. Under optimal conditions the evolution of substrate, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved organic carbon, toxicity and organics by-products were evaluated. In the pilot scale tests, using direct sunlight, 55 mg L(-1) of CBF in a commercial formulation was eliminated after 420 min; while after 900 min of treatment 80% of toxicity (1/E(50) on Vibrium Fischeri), 80% of chemical oxygen demand and 60% of dissolved organic carbon were removed. The analysis and evolution of five CBF by-products, as well the evaluation of the treatment in the presence of isopropanol or using acetonitrile as a solvent suggest that the degradation is mainly carried out by OH radical attack. Finally, a schema depicting the main degradation pathway is proposed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Symbiotic Sensing for Energy-Intensive Tasks in Large-Scale Mobile Sensing Applications.

PubMed

Le, Duc V; Nguyen, Thuong; Scholten, Hans; Havinga, Paul J M

2017-11-29

Energy consumption is a critical performance and user experience metric when developing mobile sensing applications, especially with the significantly growing number of sensing applications in recent years. As proposed a decade ago when mobile applications were still not popular and most mobile operating systems were single-tasking, conventional sensing paradigms such as opportunistic sensing and participatory sensing do not explore the relationship among concurrent applications for energy-intensive tasks. In this paper, inspired by social relationships among living creatures in nature, we propose a symbiotic sensing paradigm that can conserve energy, while maintaining equivalent performance to existing paradigms. The key idea is that sensing applications should cooperatively perform common tasks to avoid acquiring the same resources multiple times. By doing so, this sensing paradigm executes sensing tasks with very little extra resource consumption and, consequently, extends battery life. To evaluate and compare the symbiotic sensing paradigm with the existing ones, we develop mathematical models in terms of the completion probability and estimated energy consumption. The quantitative evaluation results using various parameters obtained from real datasets indicate that symbiotic sensing performs better than opportunistic sensing and participatory sensing in large-scale sensing applications, such as road condition monitoring, air pollution monitoring, and city noise monitoring.

Symbiotic Sensing for Energy-Intensive Tasks in Large-Scale Mobile Sensing Applications

PubMed Central

Scholten, Hans; Havinga, Paul J. M.

2017-01-01

Energy consumption is a critical performance and user experience metric when developing mobile sensing applications, especially with the significantly growing number of sensing applications in recent years. As proposed a decade ago when mobile applications were still not popular and most mobile operating systems were single-tasking, conventional sensing paradigms such as opportunistic sensing and participatory sensing do not explore the relationship among concurrent applications for energy-intensive tasks. In this paper, inspired by social relationships among living creatures in nature, we propose a symbiotic sensing paradigm that can conserve energy, while maintaining equivalent performance to existing paradigms. The key idea is that sensing applications should cooperatively perform common tasks to avoid acquiring the same resources multiple times. By doing so, this sensing paradigm executes sensing tasks with very little extra resource consumption and, consequently, extends battery life. To evaluate and compare the symbiotic sensing paradigm with the existing ones, we develop mathematical models in terms of the completion probability and estimated energy consumption. The quantitative evaluation results using various parameters obtained from real datasets indicate that symbiotic sensing performs better than opportunistic sensing and participatory sensing in large-scale sensing applications, such as road condition monitoring, air pollution monitoring, and city noise monitoring. PMID:29186037

A comparative study on real lab and simulation lab in communication engineering from students' perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balakrishnan, B.; Woods, P. C.

2013-05-01

Over the years, rapid development in computer technology has engendered simulation-based laboratory (lab) in addition to the traditional hands-on (physical) lab. Many higher education institutions adopt simulation lab, replacing some existing physical lab experiments. The creation of new systems for conducting engineering lab activities has raised concerns among educators on the merits and shortcomings of both physical and simulation labs; at the same time, many arguments have been raised on the differences of both labs. Investigating the effectiveness of both labs is complicated, as there are multiple factors that should be considered. In view of this challenge, a study on students' perspectives on their experience related to key aspects on engineering laboratory exercise was conducted. In this study, the Visual Auditory Read and Kinetic model was utilised to measure the students' cognitive styles. The investigation was done through a survey among participants from Multimedia University, Malaysia. The findings revealed that there are significant differences for most of the aspects in physical and simulation labs.

TIMESERIESSTREAMING.VI: LabVIEW program for reliable data streaming of large analog time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czerwinski, Fabian; Oddershede, Lene B.

2011-02-01

With modern data acquisition devices that work fast and very precise, scientists often face the task of dealing with huge amounts of data. These need to be rapidly processed and stored onto a hard disk. We present a LabVIEW program which reliably streams analog time series of MHz sampling. Its run time has virtually no limitation. We explicitly show how to use the program to extract time series from two experiments: For a photodiode detection system that tracks the position of an optically trapped particle and for a measurement of ionic current through a glass capillary. The program is easy to use and versatile as the input can be any type of analog signal. Also, the data streaming software is simple, highly reliable, and can be easily customized to include, e.g., real-time power spectral analysis and Allan variance noise quantification. Program summaryProgram title: TimeSeriesStreaming.VI Catalogue identifier: AEHT_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEHT_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 250 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 63 259 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: LabVIEW ( http://www.ni.com/labview/) Computer: Any machine running LabVIEW 8.6 or higher Operating system: Windows XP and Windows 7 RAM: 60-360 Mbyte Classification: 3 Nature of problem: For numerous scientific and engineering applications, it is highly desirable to have an efficient, reliable, and flexible program to perform data streaming of time series sampled with high frequencies and possibly for long time intervals. This type of data acquisition often produces very large amounts of data not easily streamed onto a computer hard disk using standard methods. Solution method: This LabVIEW program is developed to directly

Cyberinfrastructure to Support Collaborative Research Within Small Ecology Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laney, C.; Jaimes, A.; Cody, R. P.; Kassin, A.; Salayandia, L.; Tweedie, C. E.

2011-12-01

Increasingly, ecological research programs addressing complex challenges are driving technological innovations that allow the acquisition and analysis of data collected over larger spatial scales and finer temporal resolutions. Many research labs are shifting from deploying technicians or students into the field to setting up automated sensors. These sensors can cost less on an individual basis, provide continuous and reliable data collection, and allow researchers to spend more time analyzing data and testing hypotheses. They can provide an enormous amount of complex information about an ecosystem. However, the effort to manage, analyze, and disseminate that information can be daunting. Small labs unfamiliar with these efforts may find their capacity to publish at competitive rates hindered by information management. Such labs would be well served by an easy to manage cyberinfrastructure (CI) that is organized in a modular, plug-and-play design and is amenable to a wide variety of data types. Its functionality would permit addition of new sensors and perform automated data analysis and visualization. Such a system would conceivably enhance access to data from small labs through web services, thereby improving the representation of smaller labs in scientific syntheses and enhancing the spatial and temporal coverage of such efforts. We present a CI that is designed to meet the needs of a small but heavily instrumented research site located within the USDA ARS Jornada Experimental Range in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. This site was constructed and is operated by the Systems Ecology Lab at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), a relatively small and young lab. Researchers at the site study land-atmosphere carbon, water, and energy fluxes at a mixed creosote (Larrea tridentata) - mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) shrubland. The site includes an eddy covariance tower built to AmeriFlux and FLUXNET specifications, a robotic cart that measures hyperspectral

A Role-Playing Game for a Software Engineering Lab: Developing a Product Line

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zuppiroli, Sara; Ciancarini, Paolo; Gabbrielli, Maurizio

2012-01-01

Software product line development refers to software engineering practices and techniques for creating families of similar software systems from a basic set of reusable components, called shared assets. Teaching how to deal with software product lines in a university lab course is a challenging task, because there are several practical issues that…

A Constructivist Cloud Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emery, Dave

1996-01-01

Describes a lab involving a cloud formation activity that uses the constructivist learning model to get students more involved in creating the lab. Enables students to develop a greater understanding of the concepts involved and more interest in the lab's outcomes. (JRH)

Overcoming hurdles in translating visual search research between the lab and the field.

PubMed

Clark, Kait; Cain, Matthew S; Adamo, Stephen H; Mitroff, Stephen R

2012-01-01

Research in visual search can be vital to improving performance in careers such as radiology and airport security screening. In these applied, or "field," searches, accuracy is critical, and misses are potentially fatal; however, despite the importance of performing optimally, radiological and airport security searches are nevertheless flawed. Extensive basic research in visual search has revealed cognitive mechanisms responsible for successful visual search as well as a variety of factors that tend to inhibit or improve performance. Ideally, the knowledge gained from such laboratory-based research could be directly applied to field searches, but several obstacles stand in the way of straightforward translation; the tightly controlled visual searches performed in the lab can be drastically different from field searches. For example, they can differ in terms of the nature of the stimuli, the environment in which the search is taking place, and the experience and characteristics of the searchers themselves. The goal of this chapter is to discuss these differences and how they can present hurdles to translating lab-based research to field-based searches. Specifically, most search tasks in the lab entail searching for only one target per trial, and the targets occur relatively frequently, but field searches may contain an unknown and unlimited number of targets, and the occurrence of targets can be rare. Additionally, participants in lab-based search experiments often perform under neutral conditions and have no formal training or experience in search tasks; conversely, career searchers may be influenced by the motivation to perform well or anxiety about missing a target, and they have undergone formal training and accumulated significant experience searching. This chapter discusses recent work that has investigated the impacts of these differences to determine how each factor can influence search performance. Knowledge gained from the scientific exploration of search

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saha, Hrishikesh; Palmer, Timothy A.

1996-01-01

Virtual Reality Lab Assistant (VRLA) demonstration model is aligned for engineering and material science experiments to be performed by undergraduate and graduate students in the course as a pre-lab simulation experience. This will help students to get a preview of how to use the lab equipment and run experiments without using the lab hardware/software equipment. The quality of the time available for laboratory experiments can be significantly improved through the use of virtual reality technology.

A "Canned" Computer Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, John, Jr.

1972-01-01

Discusses the use of a set of computer programs (FORTRAN IV) in an introductory mechanics course for science majors. One laboratory activity is described for determining the coefficient of restitution of a glider on an air track. A student evaluation for the lab is included in the appendix. (Author/TS)

Nanophotonic lab-on-a-chip platforms including novel bimodal interferometers, microfluidics and grating couplers.

PubMed

Duval, Daphné; González-Guerrero, Ana Belén; Dante, Stefania; Osmond, Johann; Monge, Rosa; Fernández, Luis J; Zinoviev, Kirill E; Domínguez, Carlos; Lechuga, Laura M

2012-05-08

One of the main limitations for achieving truly lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices for point-of-care diagnosis is the incorporation of the "on-chip" detection. Indeed, most of the state-of-the-art LOC devices usually require complex read-out instrumentation, losing the main advantages of portability and simplicity. In this context, we present our last advances towards the achievement of a portable and label-free LOC platform with highly sensitive "on-chip" detection by using nanophotonic biosensors. Bimodal waveguide interferometers fabricated by standard silicon processes have been integrated with sub-micronic grating couplers for efficient light in-coupling, showing a phase resolution of 6.6 × 10(-4)× 2π rad and a limit of detection of 3.3 × 10(-7) refractive index unit (RIU) in bulk. A 3D network of SU-8 polymer microfluidics monolithically assembled at the wafer-level was included, ensuring perfect sealing and compact packaging. To overcome some of the drawbacks inherent to interferometric read-outs, a novel all-optical wavelength modulation system has been implemented, providing a linear response and a direct read-out of the phase variation. Sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility of the wavelength modulated BiMW sensor has been demonstrated through the label-free immunodetection of the human hormone hTSH at picomolar level using a reliable biofunctionalization process.

Observation of Flame Stabilized at a Hydrogen-Turbojet-Engine Injector Installed into a Lab-Scale Combustion Wind Tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michishita, Kazutaka; Nomura, Hiroshi; Ujiie, Yasushige; Okai, Keiichi

A lab-scale combustion wind tunnel was developed for investigation of low-pressure ignition and flame holding in a sub-scale pre-cooled turbojet engine with hydrogen fuel in order to make engine start at high altitudes sure. The combustion wind tunnel is a blow-down type. A fuel injector of the sub-scale pre-cooled turbojet engine was installed into the combustion wind tunnel. Conditions in which a flame can be stabilized at the fuel injector were examined. The combustor pressure and equivalence ratio were varied from 10 to 40 kPa and from 0.4 to 0.8, respectively. The mean inlet air velocity was varied from 2 to 48 m/s. Flames stabilized at 20 kPa in pressure and 0.6 in equivalence ratio were observed. It was found that the decrease in the combustor pressure narrows the mean inlet air velocity range for successful flame holdings. Flame holding at lower combustor pressures is realized at the equivalence ratio of 0.4 in the low mean inlet air velocity range, and at the equivalence ratio of 0.6 in the high mean inlet air velocity range. Flame luminosity is the largest near the fuel injector. The flame luminosity distribution becomes flatter as the increase in the mean inlet air velocity.

LabSkills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Nick

2010-01-01

This article describes LabSkills, a revolutionary teaching tool to improve practical science in schools. LabSkills offers the chance to help improve the exposure that the average Key Stage 5 (age 16-19) student has to practical work. This is a huge area for development being highlighted by universities who are seeing a worryingly growing trend in…

Successes and Challenges in Transitioning to Large Enrollment NEXUS/Physics IPLS Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, Kimberly

2017-01-01

UMd-PERG's NEXUS/Physics for Life Sciences laboratory curriculum, piloted in 2012-2013 in small test classes, has been implemented in large-enrollment environments at UMD from 2013-present. These labs address physical issues at biological scales using microscopy, image and video analysis, electrophoresis, and spectroscopy in an open, non-protocol-driven environment. We have collected a wealth of data (surveys, video analysis, etc.) that enables us to get a sense of the students' responses to this curriculum in a large-enrollment environment and with teaching assistants both `new to' and `experienced in' the labs. In this talk, we will provide a brief overview of what we have learned, including the challenges of transitioning to large N, student perception then and now, and comparisons of our large-enrollment results to the results from our pilot study. We will close with a discussion of the acculturation of teaching assistants to this novel environment and suggestions for sustainability.

Strategic Design of an Interactive Video Learning Lab (IVL).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Switzer, Ralph V., Jr.; Switzer, Jamie S.

1993-01-01

Describes a study that researched elements necessary for the design of an interactive video learning (IVL) lab for business courses. Highlights include a review of pertinent literature; guidelines for the use of an IVL lab; IVL systems integration; system specifications; hardware costs; and system software. (five references) (LRW)

Cognitive Task Analysis: Implications for the Theory and Practice of Instructional Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dehoney, Joanne

Cognitive task analysis grew out of efforts by cognitive psychologists to understand problem-solving in a lab setting. It has proved a useful tool for describing expert performance in complex problem solving domains. This review considers two general models of cognitive task analysis and examines the procedures and results of analyses in three…

Validity of Selected Lab and Field Tests of Physical Working Capacity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Edmund J.

The validity of selected lab and field tests of physical working capacity was investigated. Forty-four male college students were administered a series of lab and field tests of physical working capacity. Lab tests include a test of maximum oxygen uptake, the PWC 170 test, the Harvard Step Test, the Progressive Pulse Ratio Test, Margaria Test of…

Using hypermedia to develop an intelligent tutorial/diagnostic system for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Controller Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oreilly, Daniel; Williams, Robert; Yarborough, Kevin

1988-01-01

This is a tutorial/diagnostic system for training personnel in the use of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Controller (SSMEC) Simulation Lab. It also provides a diagnostic capable of isolating lab failures at least to the major lab component. The system was implemented using Hypercard, which is an program of hypermedia running on Apple Macintosh computers. Hypercard proved to be a viable platform for the development and use of sophisticated tutorial systems and moderately capable diagnostic systems. This tutorial/diagnostic system uses the basic Hypercard tools to provide the tutorial. The diagnostic part of the system uses a simple interpreter written in the Hypercard language (Hypertalk) to implement the backward chaining rule based logic commonly found in diagnostic systems using Prolog. Some of the advantages of Hypercard in developing this type of system include sophisticated graphics, animation, sound and voice capabilities, its ability as a hypermedia tool, and its ability to include digitized pictures. The major disadvantage is the slow execution time for evaluation of rules (due to the interpretive processing of the language). Other disadvantages include the limitation on the size of the cards, that color is not supported, that it does not support grey scale graphics, and its lack of selectable fonts for text fields.

A Connectionist Model of a Continuous Developmental Transition in the Balance Scale Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schapiro, Anna C.; McClelland, James L.

2009-01-01

A connectionist model of the balance scale task is presented which exhibits developmental transitions between "Rule I" and "Rule II" behavior [Siegler, R. S. (1976). Three aspects of cognitive development. "Cognitive Psychology," 8, 481-520.] as well as the "catastrophe flags" seen in data from Jansen and van der Maas [Jansen, B. R. J., & van der…

ExM:System Support for Extreme-Scale, Many-Task Applications

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

Katz, Daniel S

The ever-increasing power of supercomputer systems is both driving and enabling the emergence of new problem-solving methods that require the effi cient execution of many concurrent and interacting tasks. Methodologies such as rational design (e.g., in materials science), uncertainty quanti fication (e.g., in engineering), parameter estimation (e.g., for chemical and nuclear potential functions, and in economic energy systems modeling), massive dynamic graph pruning (e.g., in phylogenetic searches), Monte-Carlo- based iterative fi xing (e.g., in protein structure prediction), and inverse modeling (e.g., in reservoir simulation) all have these requirements. These many-task applications frequently have aggregate computing needs that demand the fastestmore » computers. For example, proposed next-generation climate model ensemble studies will involve 1,000 or more runs, each requiring 10,000 cores for a week, to characterize model sensitivity to initial condition and parameter uncertainty. The goal of the ExM project is to achieve the technical advances required to execute such many-task applications efficiently, reliably, and easily on petascale and exascale computers. In this way, we will open up extreme-scale computing to new problem solving methods and application classes. In this document, we report on combined technical progress of the collaborative ExM project, and the institutional financial status of the portion of the project at University of Chicago, over the rst 8 months (through April 30, 2011)« less

Providing Guidance in Virtual Lab Experimentation: The Case of an Experiment Design Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Efstathiou, Charalampos; Hovardas, Tasos; Xenofontos, Nikoletta A.; Zacharia, Zacharias C.; deJong, Ton; Anjewierden, Anjo; van Riesen, Siswa A. N.

2018-01-01

The present study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess a computer-based tool, which was intended to scaffold the task of designing experiments when using a virtual lab for the process of experimentation. In particular, we assessed the impact of this tool on primary school students' cognitive processes and inquiry skills before and after…

Lab-scale evaluation of aerated burial concept for treatment and emergency disposal of infectious animal carcasses.

PubMed

Koziel, Jacek A; Ahn, Heekwon; Glanville, Thomas D; Frana, Timothy S; van Leeuwen, J Hans; Nguyen, Lam T

2018-06-01

Nearly 55,000 outbreaks of animal disease were reported to the World Animal Health Information Database between 2005 and 2016. To suppress the spread of disease, large numbers of animal mortalities often must be disposed of quickly and are frequently buried on the farm where they were raised. While this method of emergency disposal is fast and relatively inexpensive, it also can have undesirable and lasting impacts (slow decay, concerns about groundwater contamination, pathogens re-emergence, and odor). Following the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the Republic of Korea's National Institute of Animal Science funded research on selected burial alternatives or modifications believed to have potential to reduce undesirable impacts of burial. One such modification involves the injection of air into the liquid degradation products from the 60-70% water from decomposing carcasses in lined burial trenches. Prior to prototype development in the field, a laboratory-scale study of aerated decomposition (AeD) of poultry carcasses was conducted to quantify improvements in time of carcass decomposition, reduction of potential groundwater pollutants in the liquid products of decomposition (since trench liners may ultimately leak), and reduction of odorous VOCs emitted during decomposition. Headspace gases also were monitored to determine the potential for using gaseous biomarkers in the aerated burial trench exhaust stream to monitor completion of the decomposition. Results of the lab-scale experiments show that the mass of chicken carcasses was reduced by 95.0 ± 0.9% within 3 months at mesophilic temperatures (vs. negligible reduction via mesophilic anaerobic digestion typical of trench burial) with concomitant reduction of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD; 99%), volatile suspended solids (VSS; 99%), total suspended solids (TSS; 99%), and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN; 98%) in the liquid digestate. At week #7 BOD and TSS in digestate met the U.S. EPA standards for

Subjective rating scales as a workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bird, K. L.

1981-01-01

A multidimensional bipolar-adjective rating scale is employed as a subjective measure of operator workload in the performance of a one-axis tracking task. The rating scale addressed several dimensions of workload, including cognitive, physical, and perceptual task loading as well as fatigue and stress effects. Eight subjects performed a one-axis tracking task (with six levels of difficulty) and rated these tasks on several workload dimensions. Performance measures were tracking error RMS (root-mean square) and the standard deviation of control stick output. Significant relationships were observed between these performance measures and skill required, task complexity, attention level, task difficulty, task demands, and stress level.

Lab-on-a-Chip Pathogen Sensors for Food Safety

PubMed Central

Yoon, Jeong-Yeol; Kim, Bumsang

2012-01-01

There have been a number of cases of foodborne illness among humans that are caused by pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium, etc. The current practices to detect such pathogenic agents are cell culturing, immunoassays, or polymerase chain reactions (PCRs). These methods are essentially laboratory-based methods that are not at all real-time and thus unavailable for early-monitoring of such pathogens. They are also very difficult to implement in the field. Lab-on-a-chip biosensors, however, have a strong potential to be used in the field since they can be miniaturized and automated; they are also potentially fast and very sensitive. These lab-on-a-chip biosensors can detect pathogens in farms, packaging/processing facilities, delivery/distribution systems, and at the consumer level. There are still several issues to be resolved before applying these lab-on-a-chip sensors to field applications, including the pre-treatment of a sample, proper storage of reagents, full integration into a battery-powered system, and demonstration of very high sensitivity, which are addressed in this review article. Several different types of lab-on-a-chip biosensors, including immunoassay- and PCR-based, have been developed and tested for detecting foodborne pathogens. Their assay performance, including detection limit and assay time, are also summarized. Finally, the use of optical fibers or optical waveguide is discussed as a means to improve the portability and sensitivity of lab-on-a-chip pathogen sensors. PMID:23112625

Experimental investigation of fuel regression rate in a HTPB based lab-scale hybrid rocket motor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xintian; Tian, Hui; Yu, Nanjia; Cai, Guobiao

2014-12-01

The fuel regression rate is an important parameter in the design process of the hybrid rocket motor. Additives in the solid fuel may have influences on the fuel regression rate, which will affect the internal ballistics of the motor. A series of firing experiments have been conducted on lab-scale hybrid rocket motors with 98% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidizer and hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based fuels in this paper. An innovative fuel regression rate analysis method is established to diminish the errors caused by start and tailing stages in a short time firing test. The effects of the metal Mg, Al, aromatic hydrocarbon anthracene (C14H10), and carbon black (C) on the fuel regression rate are investigated. The fuel regression rate formulas of different fuel components are fitted according to the experiment data. The results indicate that the influence of C14H10 on the fuel regression rate of HTPB is not evident. However, the metal additives in the HTPB fuel can increase the fuel regression rate significantly.

Reaction time effects in lab- versus Web-based research: Experimental evidence.

PubMed

Hilbig, Benjamin E

2016-12-01

Although Web-based research is now commonplace, it continues to spur skepticism from reviewers and editors, especially whenever reaction times are of primary interest. Such persistent preconceptions are based on arguments referring to increased variation, the limits of certain software and technologies, and a noteworthy lack of comparisons (between Web and lab) in fully randomized experiments. To provide a critical test, participants were randomly assigned to complete a lexical decision task either (a) in the lab using standard experimental software (E-Prime), (b) in the lab using a browser-based version (written in HTML and JavaScript), or (c) via the Web using the same browser-based version. The classical word frequency effect was typical in size and corresponded to a very large effect in all three conditions. There was no indication that the Web- or browser-based data collection was in any way inferior. In fact, if anything, a larger effect was obtained in the browser-based conditions than in the condition relying on standard experimental software. No differences between Web and lab (within the browser-based conditions) could be observed, thus disconfirming any substantial influence of increased technical or situational variation. In summary, the present experiment contradicts the still common preconception that reaction time effects of only a few hundred milliseconds cannot be detected in Web experiments.

Sustainable dual-use labs: neurovascular interventional capabilities within the cath lab.

PubMed

Lang, Stacey

2012-01-01

The inclusion of neurovascular interventional capabilities within the cath lab setting can be key to optimal utilization of resources, increased staff efficiency, and streamlined operations. When considering an expansion, look beyond the patient population traditionally associated with cardiac cath labs and consider the integration of programs outside cardiac alone--to create a true dual-use lab space. With proper planning, quality dual purpose equipment, appropriately trained staff, capable physicians, and strong leadership, an organization willing to embrace the challenge can build a truly extraordinary service.

DeepSkeleton: Learning Multi-Task Scale-Associated Deep Side Outputs for Object Skeleton Extraction in Natural Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Wei; Zhao, Kai; Jiang, Yuan; Wang, Yan; Bai, Xiang; Yuille, Alan

2017-11-01

Object skeletons are useful for object representation and object detection. They are complementary to the object contour, and provide extra information, such as how object scale (thickness) varies among object parts. But object skeleton extraction from natural images is very challenging, because it requires the extractor to be able to capture both local and non-local image context in order to determine the scale of each skeleton pixel. In this paper, we present a novel fully convolutional network with multiple scale-associated side outputs to address this problem. By observing the relationship between the receptive field sizes of the different layers in the network and the skeleton scales they can capture, we introduce two scale-associated side outputs to each stage of the network. The network is trained by multi-task learning, where one task is skeleton localization to classify whether a pixel is a skeleton pixel or not, and the other is skeleton scale prediction to regress the scale of each skeleton pixel. Supervision is imposed at different stages by guiding the scale-associated side outputs toward the groundtruth skeletons at the appropriate scales. The responses of the multiple scale-associated side outputs are then fused in a scale-specific way to detect skeleton pixels using multiple scales effectively. Our method achieves promising results on two skeleton extraction datasets, and significantly outperforms other competitors. Additionally, the usefulness of the obtained skeletons and scales (thickness) are verified on two object detection applications: Foreground object segmentation and object proposal detection.

Virtual Labs in proteomics: new E-learning tools.

PubMed

Ray, Sandipan; Koshy, Nicole Rachel; Reddy, Panga Jaipal; Srivastava, Sanjeeva

2012-05-17

Web-based educational resources have gained enormous popularity recently and are increasingly becoming a part of modern educational systems. Virtual Labs are E-learning platforms where learners can gain the experience of practical experimentation without any direct physical involvement on real bench work. They use computerized simulations, models, videos, animations and other instructional technologies to create interactive content. Proteomics being one of the most rapidly growing fields of the biological sciences is now an important part of college and university curriculums. Consequently, many E-learning programs have started incorporating the theoretical and practical aspects of different proteomic techniques as an element of their course work in the form of Video Lectures and Virtual Labs. To this end, recently we have developed a Virtual Proteomics Lab at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, which demonstrates different proteomics techniques, including basic and advanced gel and MS-based protein separation and identification techniques, bioinformatics tools and molecular docking methods, and their applications in different biological samples. This Tutorial will discuss the prominent Virtual Labs featuring proteomics content, including the Virtual Proteomics Lab of IIT-Bombay, and E-resources available for proteomics study that are striving to make proteomic techniques and concepts available and accessible to the student and research community. This Tutorial is part of the International Proteomics Tutorial Programme (IPTP 14). Details can be found at: http://www.proteomicstutorials.org/. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Logistics in the Computer Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowles, Jim

1989-01-01

Discusses ways to provide good computer laboratory facilities for elementary and secondary schools. Topics discussed include establishing the computer lab and selecting hardware; types of software; physical layout of the room; printers; networking possibilities; considerations relating to the physical environment; and scheduling methods. (LRW)

Children's Understanding of Large-Scale Mapping Tasks: An Analysis of Talk, Drawings, and Gesture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kotsopoulos, Donna; Cordy, Michelle; Langemeyer, Melanie

2015-01-01

This research examined how children represent motion in large-scale mapping tasks that we referred to as "motion maps". The underlying mathematical content was transformational geometry. In total, 19 children, 8- to 10-year-old, created motion maps and captured their motion maps with accompanying verbal description digitally. Analysis of…

Lab at Home: Hardware Kits for a Digital Design Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, J. P.; Haim, F.

2009-01-01

An innovative laboratory methodology for an introductory digital design course is presented. Instead of having traditional lab experiences, where students have to come to school classrooms, a "lab at home" concept is proposed. Students perform real experiments in their own homes, using hardware kits specially developed for this purpose. They…

A Teacher-Report Measure of Children's Task-Avoidant Behavior: A Validation Study of the Behavioral Strategy Rating Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xiao; Nurmi, Jari-Erik; Kiuru, Noona; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Aunola, Kaisa

2011-01-01

This study aims to validate a teacher-report measure of children's task-avoidant behavior, namely the Behavioral Strategy Rating Scale (BSRS), in a sample of 352 Finnish children. In each of the four waves from Kindergarten to Grade 2, teachers rated children's task-avoidant behavior using the BSRS, children completed reading and mathematics…

Development and Lab-Scale Testing of a Gas Generator Hybrid Fuel in Support of the Hydrogen Peroxide Hybrid Upper Stage Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lund, Gary K.; Starrett, William David; Jensen, Kent C.; McNeal, Curtis (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

As part of a NASA funded contract to develop and demonstrate a gas generator cycle hybrid rocket motor for upper stage space motor applications, the development and demonstration of a low sensitivity, high performance fuel composition was undertaken. The ultimate goal of the development program was to demonstrate successful hybrid operation (start, stop, throttling) of the fuel with high concentration (90+%) hydrogen peroxide. The formulation development and lab-scale testing of a simple DOT Class 1.4c gas generator propellant is described. Both forward injected center perforated and aft injected end burner hybrid combustion behavior were evaluated with gaseous oxygen and catalytically decomposed 90% hydrogen peroxide. Cross flow and static environments were found to yield profoundly different combustion behaviors, which were further governed by binder type, oxidizer level and, significantly, oxidizer particle size. Primary extinguishment was accomplished via manipulation of PDL behavior and oxidizer turndown, which is enhanced with the hydrogen peroxide system. Laboratory scale combustor results compared very well with 11-inch and 24-inch sub-scale test results with 90% hydrogen peroxide.

Institutional profile: the national Swedish academic drug discovery & development platform at SciLifeLab

PubMed Central

Arvidsson, Per I; Sandberg, Kristian; Sakariassen, Kjell S

2017-01-01

The Science for Life Laboratory Drug Discovery and Development Platform (SciLifeLab DDD) was established in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, in 2014. It is one of ten platforms of the Swedish national SciLifeLab which support projects run by Swedish academic researchers with large-scale technologies for molecular biosciences with a focus on health and environment. SciLifeLab was created by the coordinated effort of four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University, and has recently expanded to other Swedish university locations. The primary goal of the SciLifeLab DDD is to support selected academic discovery and development research projects with tools and resources to discover novel lead therapeutics, either molecules or human antibodies. Intellectual property developed with the help of SciLifeLab DDD is wholly owned by the academic research group. The bulk of SciLifeLab DDD's research and service activities are funded from the Swedish state, with only consumables paid by the academic research group through individual grants. PMID:28670468

Institutional profile: the national Swedish academic drug discovery & development platform at SciLifeLab.

PubMed

Arvidsson, Per I; Sandberg, Kristian; Sakariassen, Kjell S

2017-06-01

The Science for Life Laboratory Drug Discovery and Development Platform (SciLifeLab DDD) was established in Stockholm and Uppsala, Sweden, in 2014. It is one of ten platforms of the Swedish national SciLifeLab which support projects run by Swedish academic researchers with large-scale technologies for molecular biosciences with a focus on health and environment. SciLifeLab was created by the coordinated effort of four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Stockholm University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Uppsala University, and has recently expanded to other Swedish university locations. The primary goal of the SciLifeLab DDD is to support selected academic discovery and development research projects with tools and resources to discover novel lead therapeutics, either molecules or human antibodies. Intellectual property developed with the help of SciLifeLab DDD is wholly owned by the academic research group. The bulk of SciLifeLab DDD's research and service activities are funded from the Swedish state, with only consumables paid by the academic research group through individual grants.

ExoGeoLab Pilot Project for Landers, Rovers and Instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foing, Bernard

2010-05-01

We have developed a pilot facility with a Robotic Test Bench (ExoGeoLab) and a Mobile Lab Habitat (ExoHab). They can be used to validate concepts and external instruments from partner institutes. The ExoGeoLab research incubator project, has started in the frame of a collaboration between ILEWG (International Lunar Exploration working Group http://sci.esa.int/ilewg), ESTEC, NASA and academic partners, supported by a design and control desk in the European Space Incubator (ESI), as well as infrastructure. ExoGeoLab includes a sequence of technology and research pilot project activities: - Data analysis and interpretation of remote sensing and in-situ data, and merging of multi-scale data sets - Procurement and integration of geophysical, geo-chemical and astrobiological breadboard instruments on a surface station and rovers - Integration of cameras, environment and solar sensors, Visible and near IR spectrometer, Raman spectrometer, sample handling, cooperative rovers - Delivery of a generic small planetary lander demonstrator (ExoGeoLab lander, Sept 2009) as a platform for multi-instruments tests - Research operations and exploitation of ExoGeoLab test bench for various conceptual configurations, and support for definition and design of science surface packages (Moon, Mars, NEOs, outer moons) - Field tests of lander, rovers and instruments in analogue sites (Utah MDRS 2009 & 2010, Eifel volcanic park in Sept 2009, and future campaigns). Co-authors, ILEWG ExoGeoLab & ExoHab Team: B.H. Foing(1,11)*#, C. Stoker(2,11)*, P. Ehrenfreund(10,11), L. Boche-Sauvan(1,11)*, L. Wendt(8)*, C. Gross(8, 11)*, C. Thiel(9)*, S. Peters(1,6)*, A. Borst(1,6)*, J. Zavaleta(2)*, P. Sarrazin(2)*, D. Blake(2), J. Page(1,4,11), V. Pletser(5,11)*, E. Monaghan(1)*, P. Mahapatra(1)#, A. Noroozi(3), P. Giannopoulos(1,11) , A. Calzada(1,6,11), R. Walker(7), T. Zegers(1, 15) #, G. Groemer(12)# , W. Stumptner(12)#, B. Foing(2,5), J. K. Blom(3)#, A. Perrin(14)#, M. Mikolajczak(14)#, S. Chevrier(14

Technologies for autonomous integrated lab-on-chip systems for space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nascetti, A.; Caputo, D.; Scipinotti, R.; de Cesare, G.

2016-11-01

Lab-on-chip devices are ideal candidates for use in space missions where experiment automation, system compactness, limited weight and low sample and reagent consumption are required. Currently, however, most microfluidic systems require external desktop instrumentation to operate and interrogate the chip, thus strongly limiting their use as stand-alone systems. In order to overcome the above-mentioned limitations our research group is currently working on the design and fabrication of "true" lab-on-chip systems that integrate in a single device all the analytical steps from the sample preparation to the detection without the need for bulky external components such as pumps, syringes, radiation sources or optical detection systems. Three critical points can be identified to achieve 'true' lab-on-chip devices: sample handling, analytical detection and signal transduction. For each critical point, feasible solutions are presented and evaluated. Proposed microfluidic actuation and control is based on electrowetting on dielectrics, autonomous capillary networks and active valves. Analytical detection based on highly specific chemiluminescent reactions is used to avoid external radiation sources. Finally, the integration on the same chip of thin film sensors based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon is discussed showing practical results achieved in different sensing tasks.

Measurement of α -particle quenching in LAB based scintillator in independent small-scale experiments

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

von Krosigk, B.; Chen, M.; Hans, S.

2016-02-29

The α -particle light response of liquid scintillators based on linear alkylbenzene (LAB) has been measured with three different experimental approaches. In the first approach, α -particles were produced in the scintillator via 12C(n,α) 9 Be reactions. In the second approach, the scintillator was loaded with 2 % of natSm providing an α-emitter, 147Sm, as an internal source. In the third approach, a scintillator flask was deployed into the water-filled SNO+ detector and the radioactive contaminants 222Rn, 218Po and 214Po provided the α -particle signal. The behavior of the observed α -particle light outputs are in agreement with each casemore » successfully described by Birks’ law. The resulting Birks parameter kB ranges from (0.0066±0.0016) to (0.0076±0.0003) cm/MeV. In the first approach, the α -particle light response was measured simultaneously with the light response of recoil protons produced via neutron–proton elastic scattering. This enabled a first time a direct comparison of kB describing the proton and the α -particle response of LAB based scintillator. The observed kB values describing the two light response functions deviate by more than 5σ . The presented results are valuable for all current and future detectors, using LAB based scintillator as target, since they depend on an accurate knowledge of the scintillator response to different particles.« less

Assessing dynamics, spatial scale, and uncertainty in task-related brain network analyses.

PubMed

Stephen, Emily P; Lepage, Kyle Q; Eden, Uri T; Brunner, Peter; Schalk, Gerwin; Brumberg, Jonathan S; Guenther, Frank H; Kramer, Mark A

2014-01-01

The brain is a complex network of interconnected elements, whose interactions evolve dynamically in time to cooperatively perform specific functions. A common technique to probe these interactions involves multi-sensor recordings of brain activity during a repeated task. Many techniques exist to characterize the resulting task-related activity, including establishing functional networks, which represent the statistical associations between brain areas. Although functional network inference is commonly employed to analyze neural time series data, techniques to assess the uncertainty-both in the functional network edges and the corresponding aggregate measures of network topology-are lacking. To address this, we describe a statistically principled approach for computing uncertainty in functional networks and aggregate network measures in task-related data. The approach is based on a resampling procedure that utilizes the trial structure common in experimental recordings. We show in simulations that this approach successfully identifies functional networks and associated measures of confidence emergent during a task in a variety of scenarios, including dynamically evolving networks. In addition, we describe a principled technique for establishing functional networks based on predetermined regions of interest using canonical correlation. Doing so provides additional robustness to the functional network inference. Finally, we illustrate the use of these methods on example invasive brain voltage recordings collected during an overt speech task. The general strategy described here-appropriate for static and dynamic network inference and different statistical measures of coupling-permits the evaluation of confidence in network measures in a variety of settings common to neuroscience.

Low cost lab-on-a-chip prototyping with a consumer grade 3D printer.

PubMed

Comina, Germán; Suska, Anke; Filippini, Daniel

2014-08-21

Versatile prototyping of 3D printed lab-on-a-chip devices, supporting different forms of sample delivery, transport, functionalization and readout, is demonstrated with a consumer grade printer, which centralizes all critical fabrication tasks. Devices cost 0.57US$ and are demonstrated in chemical sensing and micromixing examples, which exploit established principles from reference technologies.

MatLab Script and Functional Programming

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2007-01-01

MatLab Script and Functional Programming: MatLab is one of the most widely used very high level programming languages for scientific and engineering computations. It is very user-friendly and needs practically no formal programming knowledge. Presented here are MatLab programming aspects and not just the MatLab commands for scientists and engineers who do not have formal programming training and also have no significant time to spare for learning programming to solve their real world problems. Specifically provided are programs for visualization. The MatLab seminar covers the functional and script programming aspect of MatLab language. Specific expectations are: a) Recognize MatLab commands, script and function. b) Create, and run a MatLab function. c) Read, recognize, and describe MatLab syntax. d) Recognize decisions, loops and matrix operators. e) Evaluate scope among multiple files, and multiple functions within a file. f) Declare, define and use scalar variables, vectors and matrices.

Research on the enhancement of biological nitrogen removal at low temperatures from ammonium-rich wastewater by the bio-electrocoagulation technology in lab-scale systems, pilot-scale systems and a full-scale industrial wastewater treatment plant.

PubMed

Li, Liang; Qian, Guangsheng; Ye, Linlin; Hu, Xiaomin; Yu, Xin; Lyu, Weijian

2018-09-01

In cold areas, nitrogen removal performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) declines greatly in winter. This paper systematically describes the enhancement effect of a periodic reverse electrocoagulation technology on biological nitrogen removal at low temperatures. The study showed that in the lab-scale systems, the electrocoagulation technology improved the biomass amount, enzyme activity and the amount of nitrogen removal bacteria (Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, Paracoccus, Thauera and Enterobacter). This enhanced nitrification and denitrification of activated sludge at low temperatures. In the pilot-scale systems, the electrocoagulation technology increased the relative abundance of cold-adapted microorganisms (Luteimonas and Trueperaceae) at low temperatures. In a full-scale industrial WWTP, comparison of data from winter 2015 and winter 2016 showed that effluent chemical oxygen demand (COD), NH 4 + -N, and NO 3 - -N reduced by 10.37, 3.84, and 136.43 t, respectively, throughout the winter, after installation of electrocoagulation devices. These results suggest that the electrocoagulation technology is able to improve the performance of activated sludge under low-temperature conditions. This technology provides a new way for upgrading of the performance of WWTPs in cold areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improvement of workload estimation techniques in piloting tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wierwille, W. W.

1984-01-01

The Modified Cooper-Harper (MCH) scale has been shown to be a sensitive indicator of workload in several different types of aircrew tasks. The MCH scale, which is a 10 point scale, and five newly devised scales were examined in two different aircraft simulator experiments in which pilot loading was treated as an independent variable. The five scales included a 15 point scale, computerized versions of the MCH and 15 point scales, a scale in which the decision tree was removed, and one in which a 15 point left-to-right format was used. The results indicate that while one of the new scales may be more sensitive in a given experiment, task dependency is a problem. The MCH scale on the other hand exhibits consistent sensitivity and remains the scale recommended for general use. The MCH scale results are consistent with earlier experiments also. The results of the rating scale experiments are presented and the questionnaire results which were directed at obtaining a better understanding of the reasons for the relative sensitivity of the MCH scale and its variations are described.

Scaled vibratory feedback can bias muscle use in children with dystonia during a redundant, one-dimensional myocontrol task

PubMed Central

Liyanagamage, Shanie A.; Bertucco, Matteo; Bhanpuri, Nasir H.; Sanger, Terence D.

2016-01-01

Vibratory feedback can be a useful tool for rehabilitation. We examined its use in children with dystonia to understand how it affects muscle activity in a population that does not respond well to standard rehabilitation. We predicted scaled vibration (i.e. vibration that was directly or inversely proportional to muscle activity) would increase use of the vibrated muscle because of task-relevant sensory information, while non-scaled vibration would not change muscle use. The study was conducted on 11 subjects with dystonia and 14 controls. Each subject underwent 4 different types of vibration on the more dystonic biceps muscle (or non-dominant arm in controls) in a one-dimensional, bimanual myocontrol task. Our results showed that only scaled vibratory feedback could bias muscle use without changing overall performance in children with dystonia. We believe there may be a role in rehabilitation for scaled vibratory feedback to retrain abnormal muscle patterns. PMID:27798370

Decision paths in complex tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galanter, Eugene

1991-01-01

Complex real world action and its prediction and control has escaped analysis by the classical methods of psychological research. The reason is that psychologists have no procedures to parse complex tasks into their constituents. Where such a division can be made, based say on expert judgment, there is no natural scale to measure the positive or negative values of the components. Even if we could assign numbers to task parts, we lack rules i.e., a theory, to combine them into a total task representation. We compare here two plausible theories for the amalgamation of the value of task components. Both of these theories require a numerical representation of motivation, for motivation is the primary variable that guides choice and action in well-learned tasks. We address this problem of motivational quantification and performance prediction by developing psychophysical scales of the desireability or aversiveness of task components based on utility scaling methods (Galanter 1990). We modify methods used originally to scale sensory magnitudes (Stevens and Galanter 1957), and that have been applied recently to the measure of task 'workload' by Gopher and Braune (1984). Our modification uses utility comparison scaling techniques which avoid the unnecessary assumptions made by Gopher and Braune. Formula for the utility of complex tasks based on the theoretical models are used to predict decision and choice of alternate paths to the same goal.

Vista and Pemex in LAB deal

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

Morris, G.D.L.

1993-01-20

Vista Chemical (Houston) and Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex; Mexico City) have firmed up their long-negotiated plans for Pemex to supply feedstock for a linear alkylbenzene (LAB) plant that Vista will build in Mexico (CW, Sept. 16, 1992 p. 8). Specifically, the two companies have signed an agreement of understanding to pursue negotiations and finalize agreements. The plant would cost $250 million, produce 260 million-330 million lbs/year of LAB, and create about 200 permanent jobs. Final agreements, including a site selection, are expected to be completed by midyear. Vista expects startup in 1996, and is considering forming aj oint venture with amore » Mexican partner.« less

Treatment of sanitary landfill leachates in a lab-scale gradual concentric chamber (GCC) reactor.

PubMed

Mendoza, Lourdes; Verstraete, Willy; Carballa, Marta

2010-03-01

Sanitary landfill leachates are a major environmental problem in South American countries where sanitary landfills are still constructed and appropriate designs for the treatment of these leachates remain problematic. The performance of a lab-scale Gradual Concentric Chamber (GCC) reactor for leachates treatment is presented in this study. Two types of sanitary landfill residuals were evaluated, one directly collected from the garbage trucks (JGL), with high organic strength (84 g COD/l) and the second one, a 6-month-generated leachate (YL) collected from the lagoon of the sanitary landfill in Quito, Ecuador, with an organic strength of 66 g COD/l. Different operational parameters, such as organic loading rate (OLR), temperature, recycling and aeration, were tested. The GCC reactor was found to be a robust technology to treat these high-strength streams with organic matter removal efficiencies higher than 65%. The best performance of the reactors (COD removal efficiencies of 75-80%) was obtained at a Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) of around 20 h and at 35 degrees C, with an applied OLR up to 70 and 100 g COD/l per day. Overall, the GCC reactor concept appears worth to be further developed for the treatment of leachates in low-income countries.

The Influence of Tablet PCs on Students' Use of Multiple Representations in Lab Reports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guelman, Clarisa Bercovich; De Leone, Charles; Price, Edward

2009-11-01

This study examined how different tools influenced students' use of representations in the Physics laboratory. In one section of a lab course, every student had a Tablet PC that served as a digital-ink based lab notebook. Students could seamlessly create hand-drawn graphics and equations, and write lab reports on the same computer used for data acquisition, simulation, and analysis. In another lab section, students used traditional printed lab guides, kept paper notebooks, and then wrote lab reports on regular laptops. Analysis of the lab reports showed differences between the sections' use of multiple representations, including an increased use of diagrams and equations by the Tablet users.

Assessing dynamics, spatial scale, and uncertainty in task-related brain network analyses

PubMed Central

Stephen, Emily P.; Lepage, Kyle Q.; Eden, Uri T.; Brunner, Peter; Schalk, Gerwin; Brumberg, Jonathan S.; Guenther, Frank H.; Kramer, Mark A.

2014-01-01

The brain is a complex network of interconnected elements, whose interactions evolve dynamically in time to cooperatively perform specific functions. A common technique to probe these interactions involves multi-sensor recordings of brain activity during a repeated task. Many techniques exist to characterize the resulting task-related activity, including establishing functional networks, which represent the statistical associations between brain areas. Although functional network inference is commonly employed to analyze neural time series data, techniques to assess the uncertainty—both in the functional network edges and the corresponding aggregate measures of network topology—are lacking. To address this, we describe a statistically principled approach for computing uncertainty in functional networks and aggregate network measures in task-related data. The approach is based on a resampling procedure that utilizes the trial structure common in experimental recordings. We show in simulations that this approach successfully identifies functional networks and associated measures of confidence emergent during a task in a variety of scenarios, including dynamically evolving networks. In addition, we describe a principled technique for establishing functional networks based on predetermined regions of interest using canonical correlation. Doing so provides additional robustness to the functional network inference. Finally, we illustrate the use of these methods on example invasive brain voltage recordings collected during an overt speech task. The general strategy described here—appropriate for static and dynamic network inference and different statistical measures of coupling—permits the evaluation of confidence in network measures in a variety of settings common to neuroscience. PMID:24678295

Lab Report Blues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diaz, Andrew

2004-01-01

For middle school students, writing a formal lab report can be challenging. For middle level teachers, reading students lab reports can be overwhelming. After grading report after report with incomplete procedures, incorrect graphs, and missing conclusions, the author's frustration level was at an all-time high. Ready to try anything, he thought,…

Reforming Cookbook Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, Erin

2005-01-01

Deconstructing cookbook labs to require the students to be more thoughtful could break down perceived teacher barriers to inquiry learning. Simple steps that remove or disrupt the direct transfer of step-by-step procedures in cookbook labs make students think more critically about their process. Through trials in the author's middle school…

Chemical Analysis of Drinking Water Concentrates in the Four Lab Study

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of the Four Lab study was to evaluate potential health effects from exposure to disinfection by-products (DBPs). Unchlorinated water taken from a full-scale drinking water treatment plant was concentrated and chlorinated to form DBPs. Both the unchlorinated (control...

LabVIEW Interface for PCI-SpaceWire Interface Card

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lux, James; Loya, Frank; Bachmann, Alex

2005-01-01

This software provides a LabView interface to the NT drivers for the PCISpaceWire card, which is a peripheral component interface (PCI) bus interface that conforms to the IEEE-1355/ SpaceWire standard. As SpaceWire grows in popularity, the ability to use SpaceWire links within LabVIEW will be important to electronic ground support equipment vendors. In addition, there is a need for a high-level LabVIEW interface to the low-level device- driver software supplied with the card. The LabVIEW virtual instrument (VI) provides graphical interfaces to support all (1) SpaceWire link functions, including message handling and routing; (2) monitoring as a passive tap using specialized hardware; and (3) low-level access to satellite mission-control subsystem functions. The software is supplied in a zip file that contains LabVIEW VI files, which provide various functions of the PCI-SpaceWire card, as well as higher-link-level functions. The VIs are suitably named according to the matching function names in the driver manual. A number of test programs also are provided to exercise various functions.

GeneLab: A Systems Biology Platform for Spaceflight Omics Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinsch, Sigrid S.; Lai, San-Huei; Chen, Rick; Thompson, Terri; Berrios, Daniel; Fogle, Homer; Marcu, Oana; Timucin, Linda; Chakravarty, Kaushik; Coughlan, Joseph

2015-01-01

NASA's mission includes expanding our understanding of biological systems to improve life on Earth and to enable long-duration human exploration of space. Resources to support large numbers of spaceflight investigations are limited. NASA's GeneLab project is maximizing the science output from these experiments by: (1) developing a unique public bioinformatics database that includes space bioscience relevant "omics" data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) and experimental metadata; (2) partnering with NASA-funded flight experiments through bio-sample sharing or sample augmentation to expedite omics data input to the GeneLab database; and (3) developing community-driven reference flight experiments. The first database, GeneLab Data System Version 1.0, went online in April 2015. V1.0 contains numerous flight datasets and has search and download capabilities. Version 2.0 will be released in 2016 and will link to analytic tools. In 2015 Genelab partnered with two Biological Research in Canisters experiments (BBRIC-19 and BRIC-20) which examine responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to spaceflight. GeneLab also partnered with Rodent Research-1 (RR1), the maiden flight to test the newly developed rodent habitat. GeneLab developed protocols for maxiumum yield of RNA, DNA and protein from precious RR-1 tissues harvested and preserved during the SpaceX-4 mission, as well as from tissues from mice that were frozen intact during spaceflight and later dissected. GeneLab is establishing partnerships with at least three planned flights for 2016. Organism-specific nationwide Science Definition Teams (SDTs) will define future GeneLab dedicated missions and ensure the broader scientific impact of the GeneLab missions. GeneLab ensures prompt release and open access to all high-throughput omics data from spaceflight and ground-based simulations of microgravity and radiation. Overall, GeneLab will facilitate the generation and query of parallel multi-omics data, and

Task Effects on Linguistic Complexity and Accuracy: A Large-Scale Learner Corpus Analysis Employing Natural Language Processing Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexopoulou, Theodora; Michel, Marije; Murakami, Akira; Meurers, Detmar

2017-01-01

Large-scale learner corpora collected from online language learning platforms, such as the EF-Cambridge Open Language Database (EFCAMDAT), provide opportunities to analyze learner data at an unprecedented scale. However, interpreting the learner language in such corpora requires a precise understanding of tasks: How does the prompt and input of a…

An update on Lab Rover: A hospital material transporter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattaboni, Paul

1994-01-01

The development of a hospital material transporter, 'Lab Rover', is described. Conventional material transport now utilizes people power, push carts, pneumatic tubes and tracked vehicles. Hospitals are faced with enormous pressure to reduce operating costs. Cyberotics, Inc. developed an Autonomous Intelligent Vehicle (AIV). This battery operated service robot was designed specifically for health care institutions. Applications for the AIV include distribution of clinical lab samples, pharmacy drugs, administrative records, x-ray distribution, meal tray delivery, and certain emergency room applications. The first AIV was installed at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass. Lab Rover was beta tested for one year and has been 'on line' for an additional 2 years.

Labs21 Approach to Climate Neutral Campuses | Climate Neutral Research

Science.gov Websites

Campuses | NREL Labs21 Approach to Climate Neutral Campuses Labs21 Approach to Climate Neutral included a whole-building approach to energy efficiency in laboratory buildings. This website takes that approach a step further in carrying out campus-wide energy- and carbon-reduction strategies. The

A Measured Approach to Microcomputer Lab Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duggan, Brian

1994-01-01

Explores design considerations for a functional microcomputer lab, including ergonomics and furnishings; access for the disabled; the use of other media; hardware security; and software security, including virus protection. A summary paragraph comments on the role of planning and forecasting. A bibliography of eight titles for further reading is…

Status of chemistry lab safety in Nepal.

PubMed

Kandel, Krishna Prasad; Neupane, Bhanu Bhakta; Giri, Basant

2017-01-01

Chemistry labs can become a dangerous environment for students as the lab exercises involve hazardous chemicals, glassware, and equipment. Approximately one hundred thousand students take chemistry laboratory classes annually in Nepal. We conducted a survey on chemical lab safety issues across Nepal. In this paper, we assess the safety policy and equipment, protocols and procedures followed, and waste disposal in chemistry teaching labs. Significant population of the respondents believed that there is no monitoring of the lab safety in their lab (p<0.001). Even though many labs do not allow food and beverages inside lab and have first aid kits, they lack some basic safety equipment. There is no institutional mechanism to dispose lab waste and chemical waste is disposed haphazardly. Majority of the respondents believed that the safety training should be a part of educational training (p = 0.001) and they would benefit from short course and/or workshop on lab safety (p<0.001).

Status of chemistry lab safety in Nepal

PubMed Central

Kandel, Krishna Prasad; Neupane, Bhanu Bhakta

2017-01-01

Chemistry labs can become a dangerous environment for students as the lab exercises involve hazardous chemicals, glassware, and equipment. Approximately one hundred thousand students take chemistry laboratory classes annually in Nepal. We conducted a survey on chemical lab safety issues across Nepal. In this paper, we assess the safety policy and equipment, protocols and procedures followed, and waste disposal in chemistry teaching labs. Significant population of the respondents believed that there is no monitoring of the lab safety in their lab (p<0.001). Even though many labs do not allow food and beverages inside lab and have first aid kits, they lack some basic safety equipment. There is no institutional mechanism to dispose lab waste and chemical waste is disposed haphazardly. Majority of the respondents believed that the safety training should be a part of educational training (p = 0.001) and they would benefit from short course and/or workshop on lab safety (p<0.001). PMID:28644869

Lab meets real life: A laboratory assessment of spontaneous thought and its ecological validity

PubMed Central

Welz, Annett; Reinhard, Iris; Alpers, Georg W.

2017-01-01

People’s minds frequently wander towards self-generated thoughts, which are unrelated to external stimuli or demands. These phenomena, referred to as “spontaneous thought” (ST) and “mind wandering” (MW), have previously been linked with both costs and benefits. Current assessments of ST and MW have predominantly been conducted in the laboratory, whereas studies on the ecological validity of such lab-related constructs and their interrelations are rare. The current study examined the stability of ST dimensions assessed in the lab and their predictive value with respect to MW, repetitive negative thought (uncontrollable rumination, RUM), and affect in daily life. Forty-three university students were assessed with the Amsterdam Resting State Questionnaire (2nd version) to assess ten ST dimensions during the resting state in two laboratory sessions, which were separated by five days of electronic ambulatory assessment (AA). During AA, individuals indicated the intensity of MW and RUM, as well as of positive and negative affect in daily life ten times a day. ST dimensions measured in the lab were moderately stable across one week. Five out of ten ST lab dimensions were predicted by mental health-related symptoms or by dispositional cognitive traits. Hierarchical linear models revealed that a number of ST lab dimensions predicted cognitive and affective states in daily life. Mediation analyses showed that RUM, but not MW per se, accounted for the relationship between specific ST lab dimensions and mood in daily life. By using a simple resting state task, we could demonstrate that a number of lab dimensions of spontaneous thought are moderately stable, are predicted by mental health symptoms and cognitive traits, and show plausible associations with categories of self-generated thought and mood in daily life. PMID:28910351

Use of task-shifting to rapidly scale-up HIV treatment services: experiences from Lusaka, Zambia

PubMed Central

Morris, Mary B; Chapula, Bushimbwa Tambatamba; Chi, Benjamin H; Mwango, Albert; Chi, Harmony F; Mwanza, Joyce; Manda, Handson; Bolton, Carolyn; Pankratz, Debra S; Stringer, Jeffrey SA; Reid, Stewart E

2009-01-01

The World Health Organization advocates task-shifting, the process of delegating clinical care functions from more specialized to less specialized health workers, as a strategy to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. However, there is a dearth of literature describing task shifting in sub-Saharan Africa, where services for antiretroviral therapy (ART) have scaled up rapidly in the face of generalized human resource crises. As part of ART services expansion in Lusaka, Zambia, we implemented a comprehensive task-shifting program among existing health providers and community-based workers. Training begins with didactic sessions targeting specialized skill sets. This is followed by an intensive period of practical mentorship, where providers are paired with trainers before working independently. We provide on-going quality assessment using key indicators of clinical care quality at each site. Program performance is reviewed with clinic-based staff quarterly. When problems are identified, clinic staff members design and implement specific interventions to address targeted areas. From 2005 to 2007, we trained 516 health providers in adult HIV treatment; 270 in pediatric HIV treatment; 341 in adherence counseling; 91 in a specialty nurse "triage" course, and 93 in an intensive clinical mentorship program. On-going quality assessment demonstrated improvement across clinical care quality indicators, despite rapidly growing patient volumes. Our task-shifting strategy was designed to address current health care worker needs and to sustain ART scale-up activities. While this approach has been successful, long-term solutions to the human resource crisis are also urgently needed to expand the number of providers and to slow staff migration out of the region. PMID:19134202

Lab-on-a-chip modules for detection of highly pathogenic bacteria: from sample preparation to detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Julich, S.; Kopinč, R.; Hlawatsch, N.; Moche, C.; Lapanje, A.; Gärtner, C.; Tomaso, H.

2014-05-01

Lab-on-a-chip systems are innovative tools for the detection and identification of microbial pathogens in human and veterinary medicine. The major advantages are small sample volume and a compact design. Several fluidic modules have been developed to transform analytical procedures into miniaturized scale including sampling, sample preparation, target enrichment, and detection procedures. We present evaluation data for single modules that will be integrated in a chip system for the detection of pathogens. A microfluidic chip for purification of nucleic acids was established for cell lysis using magnetic beads. This assay was evaluated with spiked environmental aerosol and swab samples. Bacillus thuringiensis was used as simulant for Bacillus anthracis, which is closely related but non-pathogenic for humans. Stationary PCR and a flow-through PCR chip module were investigated for specific detection of six highly pathogenic bacteria. The conventional PCR assays could be transferred into miniaturized scale using the same temperature/time profile. We could demonstrate that the microfluidic chip modules are suitable for the respective purposes and are promising tools for the detection of bacterial pathogens. Future developments will focus on the integration of these separate modules to an entire lab-on-a-chip system.

A New Approach to Standardize Multicenter Studies: Mobile Lab Technology for the German Environmental Specimen Bank

PubMed Central

Lermen, Dominik; Schmitt, Daniel; Bartel-Steinbach, Martina; Schröter-Kermani, Christa; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; von Briesen, Hagen; Zimmermann, Heiko

2014-01-01

Technical progress has simplified tasks in lab diagnosis and improved quality of test results. Errors occurring during the pre-analytical phase have more negative impact on the quality of test results than errors encountered during the total analytical process. Different infrastructures of sampling sites can highly influence the quality of samples and therewith of analytical results. Annually the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) collects, characterizes, and stores blood, plasma, and urine samples of 120–150 volunteers each on four different sampling sites in Germany. Overarching goal is to investigate the exposure to environmental pollutants of non-occupational exposed young adults combining human biomonitoring with questionnaire data. We investigated the requirements of the study and the possibility to realize a highly standardized sampling procedure on a mobile platform in order to increase the required quality of the pre-analytical phase. The results lead to the development of a mobile epidemiologic laboratory (epiLab) in the project “Labor der Zukunft” (future’s lab technology). This laboratory includes a 14.7 m2 reception area to record medical history and exposure-relevant behavior, a 21.1 m2 examination room to record dental fillings and for blood withdrawal, a 15.5 m2 biological safety level 2 laboratory to process and analyze samples on site including a 2.8 m2 personnel lock and a 3.6 m2 cryofacility to immediately freeze samples. Frozen samples can be transferred to their final destination within the vehicle without breaking the cold chain. To our knowledge, we herewith describe for the first time the implementation of a biological safety laboratory (BSL) 2 lab and an epidemiologic unit on a single mobile platform. Since 2013 we have been collecting up to 15.000 individual human samples annually under highly standardized conditions using the mobile laboratory. Characterized and free of alterations they are kept ready for retrospective

A new approach to standardize multicenter studies: mobile lab technology for the German Environmental Specimen Bank.

PubMed

Lermen, Dominik; Schmitt, Daniel; Bartel-Steinbach, Martina; Schröter-Kermani, Christa; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; von Briesen, Hagen; Zimmermann, Heiko

2014-01-01

Technical progress has simplified tasks in lab diagnosis and improved quality of test results. Errors occurring during the pre-analytical phase have more negative impact on the quality of test results than errors encountered during the total analytical process. Different infrastructures of sampling sites can highly influence the quality of samples and therewith of analytical results. Annually the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) collects, characterizes, and stores blood, plasma, and urine samples of 120-150 volunteers each on four different sampling sites in Germany. Overarching goal is to investigate the exposure to environmental pollutants of non-occupational exposed young adults combining human biomonitoring with questionnaire data. We investigated the requirements of the study and the possibility to realize a highly standardized sampling procedure on a mobile platform in order to increase the required quality of the pre-analytical phase. The results lead to the development of a mobile epidemiologic laboratory (epiLab) in the project "Labor der Zukunft" (future's lab technology). This laboratory includes a 14.7 m(2) reception area to record medical history and exposure-relevant behavior, a 21.1 m(2) examination room to record dental fillings and for blood withdrawal, a 15.5 m(2) biological safety level 2 laboratory to process and analyze samples on site including a 2.8 m(2) personnel lock and a 3.6 m2 cryofacility to immediately freeze samples. Frozen samples can be transferred to their final destination within the vehicle without breaking the cold chain. To our knowledge, we herewith describe for the first time the implementation of a biological safety laboratory (BSL) 2 lab and an epidemiologic unit on a single mobile platform. Since 2013 we have been collecting up to 15.000 individual human samples annually under highly standardized conditions using the mobile laboratory. Characterized and free of alterations they are kept ready for retrospective

The Robotic Decathlon: Project-Based Learning Labs and Curriculum Design for an Introductory Robotics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cappelleri, D. J.; Vitoroulis, N.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a series of novel project-based learning labs for an introductory robotics course that are developed into a semester-long Robotic Decathlon. The last three events of the Robotic Decathlon are used as three final one-week-long project tasks; these replace a previous course project that was a semester-long robotics competition.…

From big data analysis in the cloud to robotic pot drumming: tales from the Met Office Informatics Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Niall; Tomlinson, Jacob; Prudden, Rachel; Hilson, Alex; Arribas, Alberto

2017-04-01

The Met Office Informatics Lab is a small multidisciplinary team which sits between science, technology and design. Our mission is simply "to make Met Office data useful" - a deliberately broad objective. Our prototypes often trial cutting edge technologies, and so far have included projects such as virtual reality data visualisation in the web browser, bots and natural language interfaces, and artificially intelligent weather warnings. In this talk we focus on our latest project, Jade, a big data analysis platform in the cloud. It is a powerful, flexible and simple to use implementation which makes extensive use of technologies such as Jupyter, Dask, containerisation, Infrastructure as Code, and auto-scaling. Crucially, Jade is flexible enough to be used for a diverse set of applications: it can present weather forecast information to meteorologists and allow climate scientists to analyse big data sets, but it is also effective for analysing non-geospatial data. As well as making data useful, the Informatics Lab also trials new working practises. In this presentation, we will talk about our experience of making a group like the Lab successful.

Affordable Imaging Lab for Noninvasive Analysis of Biomass and Early Vigour in Cereal Crops

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Plant phenotyping by imaging allows automated analysis of plants for various morphological and physiological traits. In this work, we developed a low-cost RGB imaging phenotyping lab (LCP lab) for low-throughput imaging and analysis using affordable imaging equipment and freely available software. LCP lab comprising RGB imaging and analysis pipeline is set up and demonstrated with early vigour analysis in wheat. Using this lab, a few hundred pots can be photographed in a day and the pots are tracked with QR codes. The software pipeline for both imaging and analysis is built from freely available software. The LCP lab was evaluated for early vigour analysis of five wheat cultivars. A high coefficient of determination (R2 0.94) was obtained between the dry weight and the projected leaf area of 20-day-old wheat plants and R2 of 0.9 for the relative growth rate between 10 and 20 days of plant growth. Detailed description for setting up such a lab is provided together with custom scripts built for imaging and analysis. The LCP lab is an affordable alternative for analysis of cereal crops when access to a high-throughput phenotyping facility is unavailable or when the experiments require growing plants in highly controlled climate chambers. The protocols described in this work are useful for building affordable imaging system for small-scale research projects and for education. PMID:29850536

Performance and Results for Quartz Detector for the SuperHMS Spectrometer at Hall C Jefferson Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griego, Benjamin F., Jr.

A quartz detector has been constructed to be part of the trigger system for the Super High Momentum Spectrometer (SHMS). The SHMS will play a pivotal role in carrying out the 12 -- GeV physics program at Hal -- C Jefferson Lab. The quartz hodoscope consists of twenty one fused silica bars. Each bar is 125 cm long, 5.5 cm wide, 2.5 cm thick, and is viewed by a UV -- sensitive PMT on each end. The quartz hodoscope's task is to provide a clean detection of charged particles, a high level of background suppression, and an accurate tracking efficiency determination. Initial test results of the quartz detectors which include light yield and position resolution will be presented.

A preliminary and qualitative study of resource ratio theory to nitrifying lab-scale bioreactors

PubMed Central

Bellucci, Micol; Ofiţeru, Irina D; Beneduce, Luciano; Graham, David W; Head, Ian M; Curtis, Thomas P

2015-01-01

The incorporation of microbial diversity in design would ideally require predictive theory that would relate operational parameters to the numbers and distribution of taxa. Resource ratio-theory (RRT) might be one such theory. Based on Monod kinetics, it explains diversity in function of resource-ratio and richness. However, to be usable in biological engineered system, the growth parameters of all the bacteria under consideration and the resource supply and diffusion parameters for all the relevant nutrients should be determined. This is challenging, but plausible, at least for low diversity groups with simple resource requirements like the ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). One of the major successes of RRT was its ability to explain the ‘paradox of enrichment’ which states that diversity first increases and then decreases with resource richness. Here, we demonstrate that this pattern can be seen in lab-scale-activated sludge reactors and parallel simulations that incorporate the principles of RRT in a floc-based system. High and low ammonia and oxygen were supplied to continuous flow bioreactors with resource conditions correlating with the composition and diversity of resident AOB communities based on AOB 16S rDNA clone libraries. Neither the experimental work nor the simulations are definitive proof for the application of RRT in this context. However, it is sufficient evidence that such approach might work and justify a more rigorous investigation. PMID:25874592

Improving the Quality of Lab Reports by Using Them as Lab Instructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haagen-Schuetzenhoefer, Claudia

2012-01-01

Lab exercises are quite popular in teaching science. Teachers have numerous goals in mind when teaching science laboratories. Nevertheless, empirical research draws a heterogeneous picture of the benefits of lab work. Research has shown that it does not necessarily contribute to the enhancement of practical abilities or content knowledge. Lab…

SenseCube—a novel inexpensive wireless multisensor for physics lab experimentations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Vedant; Lane, Charles D.

2018-07-01

SenseCube is a multisensor capable of measuring many different real-time events and changes in environment. Most conventional sensors used in introductory-physics labs use their own software and have wires that must be attached to a computer or an alternate device to analyze the data. This makes the standard sensors time consuming, tedious, and space-constricted. SenseCube was developed to overcome these limitations. This research was focused on developing a device that is all-encompassing, cost-effective, wireless, and compact, yet can perform the same tasks as the multiple standard sensors normally used in physics labs. It measures more than twenty distinct types of real-time events and transfers the data via Bluetooth. Both Windows and Mac software were developed so that the data from this device can be retrieved and/or saved on either platform. This paper describes the sensor itself, its development, its capabilities, and its cost comparison with standard sensors.

Computational Labs Using VPython Complement Conventional Labs in Online and Regular Physics Classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachlechner, Martina E.

2009-03-01

Fairmont State University has developed online physics classes for the high-school teaching certificate based on the text book Matter and Interaction by Chabay and Sherwood. This lead to using computational VPython labs also in the traditional class room setting to complement conventional labs. The computational modeling process has proven to provide an excellent basis for the subsequent conventional lab and allows for a concrete experience of the difference between behavior according to a model and realistic behavior. Observations in the regular class room setting feed back into the development of the online classes.

Distributed cerebellar plasticity implements generalized multiple-scale memory components in real-robot sensorimotor tasks.

PubMed

Casellato, Claudia; Antonietti, Alberto; Garrido, Jesus A; Ferrigno, Giancarlo; D'Angelo, Egidio; Pedrocchi, Alessandra

2015-01-01

The cerebellum plays a crucial role in motor learning and it acts as a predictive controller. Modeling it and embedding it into sensorimotor tasks allows us to create functional links between plasticity mechanisms, neural circuits and behavioral learning. Moreover, if applied to real-time control of a neurorobot, the cerebellar model has to deal with a real noisy and changing environment, thus showing its robustness and effectiveness in learning. A biologically inspired cerebellar model with distributed plasticity, both at cortical and nuclear sites, has been used. Two cerebellum-mediated paradigms have been designed: an associative Pavlovian task and a vestibulo-ocular reflex, with multiple sessions of acquisition and extinction and with different stimuli and perturbation patterns. The cerebellar controller succeeded to generate conditioned responses and finely tuned eye movement compensation, thus reproducing human-like behaviors. Through a productive plasticity transfer from cortical to nuclear sites, the distributed cerebellar controller showed in both tasks the capability to optimize learning on multiple time-scales, to store motor memory and to effectively adapt to dynamic ranges of stimuli.

LabPatch, an acquisition and analysis program for patch-clamp electrophysiology.

PubMed

Robinson, T; Thomsen, L; Huizinga, J D

2000-05-01

An acquisition and analysis program, "LabPatch," has been developed for use in patch-clamp research. LabPatch controls any patch-clamp amplifier, acquires and records data, runs voltage protocols, plots and analyzes data, and connects to spreadsheet and database programs. Controls within LabPatch are grouped by function on one screen, much like an oscilloscope front panel. The software is mouse driven, so that the user need only point and click. Finally, the ability to copy data to other programs running in Windows 95/98, and the ability to keep track of experiments using a database, make LabPatch extremely versatile. The system requirements include Windows 95/98, at least a 100-MHz processor and 16 MB RAM, a data acquisition card, digital-to-analog converter, and a patch-clamp amplifier. LabPatch is available free of charge at http://www.fhs.mcmaster.ca/huizinga/.

When Should Zero Be Included on a Scale Showing Magnitude?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kozak, Marcin

2011-01-01

This article addresses an important problem of graphing quantitative data: should one include zero on the scale showing magnitude? Based on a real time series example, the problem is discussed and some recommendations are proposed.

Using collaborative technologies in remote lab delivery systems for topics in automation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashby, Joe E.

Lab exercises are a pedagogically essential component of engineering and technology education. Distance education remote labs are being developed which enable students to access lab facilities via the Internet. Collaboration, students working in teams, enhances learning activity through the development of communication skills, sharing observations and problem solving. Web meeting communication tools are currently used in remote labs. The problem identified for investigation was that no standards of practice or paradigms exist to guide remote lab designers in the selection of collaboration tools that best support learning achievement. The goal of this work was to add to the body of knowledge involving the selection and use of remote lab collaboration tools. Experimental research was conducted where the participants were randomly assigned to three communication treatments and learning achievement was measured via assessments at the completion of each of six remote lab based lessons. Quantitative instruments used for assessing learning achievement were implemented, along with a survey to correlate user preference with collaboration treatments. A total of 53 undergraduate technology students worked in two-person teams, where each team was assigned one of the treatments, namely (a) text messaging chat, (b) voice chat, or (c) webcam video with voice chat. Each had little experience with the subject matter involving automation, but possessed the necessary technical background. Analysis of the assessment score data included mean and standard deviation, confirmation of the homogeneity of variance, a one-way ANOVA test and post hoc comparisons. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated that text messaging chat negatively impacted learning achievement and that text messaging chat was not preferred. The data also suggested that the subjects were equally divided on preference to voice chat verses webcam video with voice chat. To the end of designing collaborative

Life Lab Computer Support System's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lippman, Beatrice D.; Walfish, Stephen

Step-by-step procedures for utilizing the computer support system of Miami-Dade Community College's Life Lab program are described for the following categories: (1) Registration--Student's Lists and Labels, including three separate computer programs for current listings, next semester listings, and grade listings; (2) Competence and Resource…

The NOAO Data Lab PHAT Photometry Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsen, Knut; Williams, Ben; Fitzpatrick, Michael; PHAT Team

2018-01-01

We present a database containing both the combined photometric object catalog and the single epoch measurements from the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT). This database is hosted by the NOAO Data Lab (http://datalab.noao.edu), and as such exposes a number of data services to the PHAT photometry, including access through a Table Access Protocol (TAP) service, direct PostgreSQL queries, web-based and programmatic query interfaces, remote storage space for personal database tables and files, and a JupyterHub-based Notebook analysis environment, as well as image access through a Simple Image Access (SIA) service. We show how the Data Lab database and Jupyter Notebook environment allow for straightforward and efficient analyses of PHAT catalog data, including maps of object density, depth, and color, extraction of light curves of variable objects, and proper motion exploration.

Dysautonomia rating scales in Parkinson's disease: sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation--critique and recommendations by movement disorders task force on rating scales for Parkinson's disease.

PubMed

Evatt, Marian L; Chaudhuri, K Ray; Chou, Kelvin L; Cubo, Ester; Hinson, Vanessa; Kompoliti, Katie; Yang, Chengwu; Poewe, Werner; Rascol, Olivier; Sampaio, Cristina; Stebbins, Glenn T; Goetz, Christopher G

2009-04-15

Upper and lower gastrointestinal dysautonomia symptoms (GIDS)--sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often socially as well as physically disabling for patients. Available invasive quantitative measures for assessing these symptoms and their response to therapy are time-consuming, require specialized equipment, can cause patient discomfort and present patients with risk. The Movement Disorders Society commissioned a task force to assess available clinical rating scales, critique their clinimetric properties, and make recommendations regarding their clinical utility. Six clinical researchers and a biostatistician systematically searched the literature for scales of sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation, evaluated the scales' previous use, performance parameters, and quality of validation data (if available). A scale was designated "Recommended" if the scale was used in clinical studies beyond the group that developed it, has been specifically used in PD reports, and clinimetric studies have established that it is a valid, reliable, and sensitive. "Suggested" scales met at least part of the above criteria, but fell short of meeting all. Based on the systematic review, scales for individual symptoms of sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation were identified along with three global scales that include these symptoms in the context of assessing dysautonomia or nonmotor symptoms. Three sialorrhea scales met criteria for Suggested: Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale (DSFS), Drooling Rating Scale, and Sialorrhea Clinical Scale for PD (SCS-PD). Two dysphagia scales, the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ) and Dysphagia-Specific Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL), met criteria for Suggested. Although Rome III constipation module is widely accepted in the gastroenterology community, and the earlier version from the Rome II criteria has been used in a single study of PD patients, neither met criteria for Suggested or Recommended

Pre-bent instruments used in single-port laparoscopic surgery versus conventional laparoscopic surgery: comparative study of performance in a dry lab.

PubMed

Miernik, Arkadiusz; Schoenthaler, Martin; Lilienthal, Kerstin; Frankenschmidt, Alexander; Karcz, Wojciech Konrad; Kuesters, Simon

2012-07-01

Different types of single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) have become increasingly popular. Although SILS is technically even more challenging than conventional laparoscopy, published data of first clinical series seem to demonstrate the feasibility of these approaches. Various attempts have been made to overcome restrictions due to loss of triangulation in SILS by specially designed SILS-specific instruments. This study involving novices in a dry lab compared task performances between conventional laparoscopic surgery (CLS) and single-port laparoscopic surgery (SPLS) using newly designed pre-bent instruments. In this study, 90 medical students without previous experience in laparoscopic techniques were randomly assigned to undergo one of three procedures: CLS, SPLS using two pre-bent instruments (SPLS-pp), or SPLS using one pre-bent and one straight laparoscopic instrument (SPLS-ps). In the dry lab, the participants performed four typical laparoscopic tasks of increasing difficulty. Evaluation included performance times or number of completed tasks within a given time frame. All performances were videotaped and evaluated for unsuccessful attempts and unwanted interactions of instruments. Using subjective questionnaires, the participants rated difficulties with two-dimensional vision and coordination of instruments. Task performances were significantly better in the CLS group than in either SPLS group. The SPLS-ps group showed a tendency toward better performances than the SPLS-pp group, but the difference was not significant. Video sequences and participants` questionnaires showed instrument interaction as the major problem in the single-incision surgery groups. Although SILS is feasible, as shown in clinical series published by laparoscopically experienced experts, SILS techniques are demanding due to restrictions that come with the loss of triangulation. These can be compensated only partially by currently available SILS-designed instruments. The future of

Perspectives on Industrial Innovation from Agilent, HP, and Bell Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollenhorst, James

2014-03-01

Innovation is the life blood of technology companies. I will give perspectives gleaned from a career in research and development at Bell Labs, HP Labs, and Agilent Labs, from the point of view of an individual contributor and a manager. Physicists bring a unique set of skills to the corporate environment, including a desire to understand the fundamentals, a solid foundation in physical principles, expertise in applied mathematics, and most importantly, an attitude: namely, that hard problems can be solved by breaking them into manageable pieces. In my experience, hiring managers in industry seldom explicitly search for physicists, but they want people with those skills.

Attack of the Killer Fungus: A Hypothesis-Driven Lab Module †

PubMed Central

Sato, Brian K.

2013-01-01

Discovery-driven experiments in undergraduate laboratory courses have been shown to increase student learning and critical thinking abilities. To this end, a lab module involving worm capture by a nematophagous fungus was developed. The goals of this module are to enhance scientific understanding of the regulation of worm capture by soil-dwelling fungi and for students to attain a set of established learning goals, including the ability to develop a testable hypothesis and search for primary literature for data analysis, among others. Students in a ten-week majors lab course completed the lab module and generated novel data as well as data that agrees with the published literature. In addition, learning gains were achieved as seen through a pre-module and post-module test, student self-assessment, class exam, and lab report. Overall, this lab module enables students to become active participants in the scientific method while contributing to the understanding of an ecologically relevant model organism. PMID:24358387

InnovateEDU, Inc.: Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools (LAB)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EDUCAUSE, 2015

2015-01-01

Entrepreneurial learning is the backbone of this Brooklyn charter school network which opened in Fall 2014 to serve grades 6-12, including English language learners and students with disabilities. LAB's academic model combines empirically effective learning practices with innovative implementation strategies, including a blended learning model…

Enhancing recovery of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen in lab-scale and large-scale anion-exchange chromatography by optimizing the conductivity of buffers.

PubMed

Mojarrad Moghanloo, Gol Mohammad; Khatami, Maryam; Javidanbardan, Amin; Hosseini, Seyed Nezamedin

2018-01-01

In biopharmaceutical science, ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) is a well-known purification technique to separate the impurities such as host cell proteins from recombinant proteins. However, IEC is one of the limiting steps in the purification process of recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg), due to its low recovery rate (<50%). In the current study, we hypothesized that ionic strengths of IEC buffers are easy-to-control parameters which can play a major role in optimizing the process and increasing the recovery. Thus, we investigated the effects of ionic strengths of buffers on rHBsAg recovery via adjusting Tris-HCl and NaCl concentrations. Increasing the conductivity of equilibration (Eq.), washing (Wash.) and elution (Elut.) buffers from their initial values of 1.6 mS/cm, 1.6 mS/cm, and 7.0 mS/cm to 1.6 mS/cm, 7 mS/cm and 50 mS/cm, respectively yielded an average recovery rate of 82% in both lab-scale and large-scale weak anion-exchange chromatography without any harsh effect on the purity percentage of rHBsAg. The recovery enhancement via increasing the conductivity of Eq. and Wash. buffers can be explained by their roles in reducing the binding strength and aggregation of retained particles in the column. Moreover, further increase in the salt concentration of Elut. Buffer could substantially promote the ion exchange process and the elution of retained rHBsAg. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New scale-down methodology from commercial to lab scale to optimize plant-derived soft gel capsule formulations on a commercial scale.

PubMed

Oishi, Sana; Kimura, Shin-Ichiro; Noguchi, Shuji; Kondo, Mio; Kondo, Yosuke; Shimokawa, Yoshiyuki; Iwao, Yasunori; Itai, Shigeru

2018-01-15

A new scale-down methodology from commercial rotary die scale to laboratory scale was developed to optimize a plant-derived soft gel capsule formulation and eventually manufacture superior soft gel capsules on a commercial scale, in order to reduce the time and cost for formulation development. Animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets were prepared using an applicator on a laboratory scale and their physicochemical properties, such as tensile strength, Young's modulus, and adhesive strength, were evaluated. The tensile strength of the animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets was 11.7 MPa and 4.41 MPa, respectively. The Young's modulus of the animal-derived and plant-derived soft gel film sheets was 169 MPa and 17.8 MPa, respectively, and both sheets showed a similar adhesion strength of approximately 4.5-10 MPa. Using a D-optimal mixture design, plant-derived soft gel film sheets were prepared and optimized by varying their composition, including variations in the mass of κ-carrageenan, ι-carrageenan, oxidized starch and heat-treated starch. The physicochemical properties of the sheets were evaluated to determine the optimal formulation. Finally, plant-derived soft gel capsules were manufactured using the rotary die method and the prepared soft gel capsules showed equivalent or superior physical properties compared with pre-existing soft gel capsules. Therefore, we successfully developed a new scale-down methodology to optimize the formulation of plant-derived soft gel capsules on a commercial scale. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychomotor Vigilance Task Evaluation for Touchscreen Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arsintescu, Lucia

2017-01-01

The Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) is considered the gold standard fatigue detection device and is used frequently in fatigue research. The purpose of this study was to compare a psychomotor vigilance task developed for use on touchscreen devices with the original PVT-192 in conditions of acute sleep loss and circadian desynchronization. Participants arrived in the lab approximately two hours after their habitual time and were asked to stay awake for up to 24 hrs and take 5-minute reaction time tests every 2 hours on two different devices: the original PVT-192 and NASA-PVT on an iPod. We found that the NASA-PVT and PVT-192 were sensitive to the 24 hrs of extended wakefulness.

Development of Guided Inquiry-Based Student Lab Worksheet on the Making of Pineapple Flavoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwiyanti, G.; Suryatna, A.; Taibah, I.

2017-02-01

The aim of this research was to develop guided inquiry based student lab worksheet on making pineapple flavour and knowing the quality of worksheet that is being developed. Research methods that is being conducted is research and development that is limited by a preliminary studies (literature studies, field surveys, and preparation of the initial product) and development of the model (within limited testing). The results from analyze the books sources and fields survey showed that the characteristic of esterification lab worksheet that currently available still in the direct instruction form (cookbook). The optimization result of making pineapple flavour experiment that was conducted are the ethanol volume 3 mL, butyric acid volume 2 mL, sulfuric acid 5 drops, saturated NaHCO3 solution volume 9 mL, and temperature of heating was 80 °C. The characteristic of guided inquiry based student lab worksheet that was developed contained phenomenon and instructions that suitable with inquiry stages to guide the students in doing the experiment of making pineapple flavour. The evaluation of designated teachers and lecturers of the developed student worksheet were very good (96,08%). Lab-experiment feasibility achieved by using guided inquiry based student lab worksheets that is being developed based on the inquiry stages that conducted by student were found very good (97,50%) and accomplishment based on students’ answer of the tasks in the worksheet were found very good (83,84%). Students’ responses of the experiments using the developed worksheet are found very good (81,84%).

Human Factors Virtual Analysis Techniques for NASA's Space Launch System Ground Support using MSFC's Virtual Environments Lab (VEL)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Searcy, Brittani

2017-01-01

Using virtual environments to assess complex large scale human tasks provides timely and cost effective results to evaluate designs and to reduce operational risks during assembly and integration of the Space Launch System (SLS). NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) uses a suite of tools to conduct integrated virtual analysis during the design phase of the SLS Program. Siemens Jack is a simulation tool that allows engineers to analyze human interaction with CAD designs by placing a digital human model into the environment to test different scenarios and assess the design's compliance to human factors requirements. Engineers at MSFC are using Jack in conjunction with motion capture and virtual reality systems in MSFC's Virtual Environments Lab (VEL). The VEL provides additional capability beyond standalone Jack to record and analyze a person performing a planned task to assemble the SLS at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The VEL integrates Vicon Blade motion capture system, Siemens Jack, Oculus Rift, and other virtual tools to perform human factors assessments. By using motion capture and virtual reality, a more accurate breakdown and understanding of how an operator will perform a task can be gained. By virtual analysis, engineers are able to determine if a specific task is capable of being safely performed by both a 5% (approx. 5ft) female and a 95% (approx. 6'1) male. In addition, the analysis will help identify any tools or other accommodations that may to help complete the task. These assessments are critical for the safety of ground support engineers and keeping launch operations on schedule. Motion capture allows engineers to save and examine human movements on a frame by frame basis, while virtual reality gives the actor (person performing a task in the VEL) an immersive view of the task environment. This presentation will discuss the need of human factors for SLS and the benefits of analyzing tasks in NASA MSFC's VEL.

Design and implementation of laser target simulator in hardware-in-the-loop simulation system based on LabWindows/CVI and RTX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Qiujie; Wang, Qianqian; Li, Xiaoyang; Shan, Bin; Cui, Xuntai; Li, Chenyu; Peng, Zhong

2016-11-01

In order to satisfy the requirements of the real-time and generality, a laser target simulator in semi-physical simulation system based on RTX+LabWindows/CVI platform is proposed in this paper. Compared with the upper-lower computers simulation platform architecture used in the most of the real-time system now, this system has better maintainability and portability. This system runs on the Windows platform, using Windows RTX real-time extension subsystem to ensure the real-time performance of the system combining with the reflective memory network to complete some real-time tasks such as calculating the simulation model, transmitting the simulation data, and keeping real-time communication. The real-time tasks of simulation system run under the RTSS process. At the same time, we use the LabWindows/CVI to compile a graphical interface, and complete some non-real-time tasks in the process of simulation such as man-machine interaction, display and storage of the simulation data, which run under the Win32 process. Through the design of RTX shared memory and task scheduling algorithm, the data interaction between the real-time tasks process of RTSS and non-real-time tasks process of Win32 is completed. The experimental results show that this system has the strongly real-time performance, highly stability, and highly simulation accuracy. At the same time, it also has the good performance of human-computer interaction.

GeneLab: Open Science For Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galazka, Jonathan

2018-01-01

The NASA GeneLab project capitalizes on multi-omic technologies to maximize the return on spaceflight experiments. The GeneLab project houses spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant multi-omics data in a publicly accessible data commons, and collaborates with NASA-funded principal investigators to maximize the omics data from spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant experiments. I will discuss the current status of GeneLab and give specific examples of how the GeneLab data system has been used to gain insight into how biology responds to spaceflight conditions.

Re-Thinking Stages of Cognitive Development: An Appraisal of Connectionist Models of the Balance Scale Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinlan, Philip T.; van der Maas, Han L. J.; Jansen, Brenda R. J.; Booij, Olaf; Rendell, Mark

2007-01-01

The present paper re-appraises connectionist attempts to explain how human cognitive development appears to progress through a series of sequential stages. Models of performance on the Piagetian balance scale task are the focus of attention. Limitations of these models are discussed and replications and extensions to the work are provided via the…

Constructing a Scale to Assess L2 Written Speech Act Performance: WDCT and E-Mail Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yuan-shan; Liu, Jianda

2016-01-01

This study reports the development of a scale to evaluate the speech act performance by intermediate-level Chinese learners of English. A qualitative analysis of the American raters' comments was conducted on learner scripts in response to a total of 16 apology and request written discourse completion task (WDCT) situations. The results showed…

A Museum Learning Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandiver, Kathleen M.; Bijur, Jon Markowitz; Epstein, Ari W.; Rosenthal, Beryl; Stidsen, Don

2008-01-01

The "Learning Lab: The Cell" exhibit was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Museum and the MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS). Specially designed for middle and high school students, the Learning Lab provides museum visitors of all ages with fascinating insights into how our living cells work. The…

Incorporating inquiry and the process of science into introductory astronomy labs at the George Washington University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, Bethany E.

2018-01-01

Since 2013, the Physics Department at GWU has used student-centered active learning in the introductory astronomy course “Introduction to the Cosmos.” Class time is spent in groups on questions, math problems, and hands-on activities, with multiple instructors circulating to answer questions and engage with the students. The students have responded positively to this active-learning. Unfortunately, in transitioning to active-learning there was no time to rewrite the labs. Very quickly, the contrast between the dynamic classroom and the traditional labs became apparent. The labs were almost uniformly “cookie-cutter” in that the procedure and analysis were specified step-by-step and there was just one right answer. Students rightly criticized the labs for lacking a clear purpose and including busy-work. Furthermore, this class fulfills the GWU scientific reasoning general education requirement and thus includes learning objectives related to understanding the scientific method, testing hypotheses with data, and considering uncertainty – but the traditional labs did not require these skills. I set out to rejuvenate the lab sequence by writing new inquiry labs based on both topic-specific and scientific reasoning learning objectives. While inquiry labs can be challenging for the students, as they require active thinking and creativity, these labs engage the students more thoroughly in the scientific process. In these new labs, whenever possible, I include real astronomical data and ask the students to use digital tools (SDSS SkyServer, SOHO archive) as if they are real astronomers. To allow students to easily plot, manipulate and analyze data, I built “smart” Excel files using formulas, dropdown menus and macros. The labs are now much more authentic and thought-provoking. Whenever possible, students independently develop questions, hypotheses, and procedures and the scientific method is “scaffolded” over the semester by providing more guidance in the

Data-Oriented Astrophysics at NOAO: The Science Archive & The Data Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juneau, Stephanie; NOAO Data Lab, NOAO Science Archive

2018-06-01

As we keep progressing into an era of increasingly large astronomy datasets, NOAO’s data-oriented mission is growing in prominence. The NOAO Science Archive, which captures and processes the pixel data from mountaintops in Chile and Arizona, now contains holdings at Petabyte scales. Working at the intersection of astronomy and data science, the main goal of the NOAO Data Lab is to provide users with a suite of tools to work close to this data, the catalogs derived from them, as well as externally provided datasets, and thus optimize the scientific productivity of the astronomy community. These tools and services include databases, query tools, virtual storage space, workflows through our Jupyter Notebook server, and scripted analysis. We currently host datasets from NOAO facilities such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the DESI imaging Legacy Surveys (LS), the Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey (DECaPS), and the nearly all-sky NOAO Source Catalog (NSC). We are further preparing for large spectroscopy datasets such as DESI. After a brief overview of the Science Archive, the Data Lab and datasets, I will briefly showcase scientific applications showing use of our data holdings. Lastly, I will describe our vision for future developments as we tackle the next technical and scientific challenges.

Fabrication of coronagraph masks and laboratory scale star-shade masks: characteristics, defects, and performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; Riggs, A. J. Eldorado; Cady, Eric; White, Victor; Yee, Karl; Wilson, Daniel; Echternach, Pierre; Muller, Richard; Mejia Prada, Camilo; Seo, Byoung-Joon; Shi, Fang; Ryan, Daniel; Fregoso, Santos; Metzman, Jacob; Wilson, Robert Casey

2017-09-01

NASA WFIRST mission has planned to include a coronagraph instrument to find and characterize exoplanets. Masks are needed to suppress the host star light to better than 10-8 - 10-9 level contrast over a broad bandwidth to enable the coronagraph mission objectives. Such masks for high contrast coronagraphic imaging require various fabrication technologies to meet a wide range of specifications, including precise shapes, micron scale island features, ultra-low reflectivity regions, uniformity, wave front quality, etc. We present the technologies employed at JPL to produce these pupil plane and image plane coronagraph masks, and lab-scale external occulter masks, highlighting accomplishments from the high contrast imaging testbed (HCIT) at JPL and from the high contrast imaging lab (HCIL) at Princeton University. Inherent systematic and random errors in fabrication and their impact on coronagraph performance are discussed with model predictions and measurements.

Mechanical Stability of Fractured Rift Basin Mudstones: from lab to basin scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharova, N. V.; Goldberg, D.; Collins, D.; Swager, L.; Payne, W. G.

2016-12-01

Understanding petrophysical and mechanical properties of caprock mudstones is essential for ensuring good containment and mechanical formation stability at potential CO2 storage sites. Natural heterogeneity and presence of fractures, however, create challenges for accurate prediction of mudstone behavior under injection conditions and at reservoir scale. In this study, we present a multi-scale geomechanical analysis for Mesozoic mudstones from the Newark Rift basin, integrating petropyshical core and borehole data, in situ stress measurements, and caprock stability modeling. The project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) focuses on the Newark basin as a representative locality for a series of the Mesozoic rift basins in eastern North America considered as potential CO2 storage sites. An extensive core characterization program, which included laboratory CT scans, XRD, SEM, MICP, porosity, permeability, acoustic velocity measurements, and geomechanical testing under a range of confining pressures, revealed large variability and heterogeneity in both petrophysical and mechanical properties. Estimates of unconfined compressive strength for these predominantly lacustrine mudstones range from 5,000 to 50,000 psi, with only a weak correlation to clay content. Thinly bedded intervals exhibit up to 30% strength anisotropy. Mineralized fractures, abundant in most formations, are characterized by compressive strength as low as 10% of matrix strength. Upscaling these observations from core to reservoir scale is challenging. No simple one-to-one correlation between mechanical and petrophyscial properties exists, and therefore, we develop multivariate empirical relationships among these properties. A large suite of geophysical logs, including new measurements of the in situ stress field, is used to extrapolate these relationships to a basin-scale geomechanical model and predict mudstone behavior under injection conditions.

A preliminary and qualitative study of resource ratio theory to nitrifying lab-scale bioreactors.

PubMed

Bellucci, Micol; Ofiţeru, Irina D; Beneduce, Luciano; Graham, David W; Head, Ian M; Curtis, Thomas P

2015-05-01

The incorporation of microbial diversity in design would ideally require predictive theory that would relate operational parameters to the numbers and distribution of taxa. Resource ratio-theory (RRT) might be one such theory. Based on Monod kinetics, it explains diversity in function of resource-ratio and richness. However, to be usable in biological engineered system, the growth parameters of all the bacteria under consideration and the resource supply and diffusion parameters for all the relevant nutrients should be determined. This is challenging, but plausible, at least for low diversity groups with simple resource requirements like the ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB). One of the major successes of RRT was its ability to explain the 'paradox of enrichment' which states that diversity first increases and then decreases with resource richness. Here, we demonstrate that this pattern can be seen in lab-scale-activated sludge reactors and parallel simulations that incorporate the principles of RRT in a floc-based system. High and low ammonia and oxygen were supplied to continuous flow bioreactors with resource conditions correlating with the composition and diversity of resident AOB communities based on AOB 16S rDNA clone libraries. Neither the experimental work nor the simulations are definitive proof for the application of RRT in this context. However, it is sufficient evidence that such approach might work and justify a more rigorous investigation. © 2015 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Lab-on a-Chip

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Helen Cole, the project manager for the Lab-on-a-Chip Applications Development program, and Lisa Monaco, the project scientist for the program, insert a lab on a chip into the Caliper 42 which is specialized equipment that controls processes on commercial chips to support development of lab-on-a-chip applications. The system has special microscopes and imaging systems, so scientists can process and study different types of fluid, chemical, and medical tests conducted on chips. For example, researchers have examined fluorescent bacteria as it flows through the chips' fluid channels or microfluidic capillaries. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, have been studying how the lab-on-a-chip technology can be used for microbial detection, water quality monitoring, and detecting biosignatures of past or present life on Mars. The Marshall Center team is also collaborating with scientists at other NASA centers and at universities to develop custom chip designs for not only space applications, but for many Earth applications, such as for detecting deadly microbes in heating and air systems. (NASA/MSFC/D.Stoffer)

Breaking Out of the Lab

PubMed Central

Maier, Jürgen; Hampe, J. Felix; Jahn, Nico

2016-01-01

Real-time response (RTR) measurement is an important technique for analyzing human processing of electronic media stimuli. Although it has been demonstrated that RTR data are reliable and internally valid, some argue that they lack external validity. The reason for this is that RTR measurement is restricted to a laboratory environment due to its technical requirements. This paper introduces a smartphone app that 1) captures real-time responses using the dial technique and 2) provides a solution for one of the most important problems in RTR measurement, the (automatic) synchronization of RTR data. In addition, it explores the reliability and validity of mobile RTR measurement by comparing the real-time reactions of two samples of young and well-educated voters to the 2013 German televised debate. Whereas the first sample participated in a classical laboratory study, the second sample was equipped with our mobile RTR system and watched the debate at home. Results indicate that the mobile RTR system yields similar results to the lab-based RTR measurement, providing evidence that laboratory studies using RTR are externally valid. In particular, the argument that the artificial reception situation creates artificial results has to be questioned. In addition, we conclude that RTR measurement outside the lab is possible. Hence, mobile RTR opens the door for large-scale studies to better understand the processing and impact of electronic media content. PMID:27274577

ERLN Lab Compendium Fact Sheet

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Compendium is an online database of environmental testing laboratories nationwide. It enables labs to create profiles of their capabilities, so emergency responders can quickly identify a lab that will meet their support needs.

Physics Labs with Flavor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agrest, Mikhail M.

2009-01-01

This paper describes my attempts to look deeper into the so-called "shoot for your grade" labs, started in the '90s, when I began applying my teaching experience in Russia to introductory physics labs at the College of Charleston and other higher education institutions in South Carolina. The term "shoot for your grade" became popular among…

Making Real Virtual Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller, Harry E.; Keller, Edward E.

2005-01-01

Francis Bacon began defining scientific methodology in the early 17th century, and secondary school science classes began to implement science labs in the mid-19th century. By the early 20th century, leading educators were suggesting that science labs be used to develop scientific thinking habits in young students, and at the beginning of the 21st…

Are Virtual Labs as Effective as Hands-on Labs for Undergraduate Physics? A Comparative Study at Two Major Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darrah, Marjorie; Humbert, Roxann; Finstein, Jeanne; Simon, Marllin; Hopkins, John

2014-01-01

Most physics professors would agree that the lab experiences students have in introductory physics are central to the learning of the concepts in the course. It is also true that these physics labs require time and money for upkeep, not to mention the hours spent setting up and taking down labs. Virtual physics lab experiences can provide an…

The Development of MSFC Usability Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Yiwei; Richardson, Sally

2010-01-01

This conference poster reviews the development of the usability lab at Marshall Space Flight Center. The purpose of the lab was to integrate a fully functioning usability laboratory to provide a resource for future human factor assessments. and to implement preliminary usability testing on a MSFC website to validate the functionality of the lab.

Berkeley Lab - Materials Sciences Division

Science.gov Websites

Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Phone Book Jobs Search DOE Search MSD Go MSD - Materials Investigators Division Staff Facilities and Centers Staff Jobs Safety Personnel Resources Committees In Case of

Chip in a lab: Microfluidics for next generation life science research

PubMed Central

Streets, Aaron M.; Huang, Yanyi

2013-01-01

Microfluidic circuits are characterized by fluidic channels and chambers with a linear dimension on the order of tens to hundreds of micrometers. Components of this size enable lab-on-a-chip technology that has much promise, for example, in the development of point-of-care diagnostics. Micro-scale fluidic circuits also yield practical, physical, and technological advantages for studying biological systems, enhancing the ability of researchers to make more precise quantitative measurements. Microfluidic technology has thus become a powerful tool in the life science research laboratory over the past decade. Here we focus on chip-in-a-lab applications of microfluidics and survey some examples of how small fluidic components have provided researchers with new tools for life science research. PMID:23460772

Energy performance evaluation of ultrasonic pretreatment of organic solid waste in a pilot-scale digester.

PubMed

Rasapoor, Mazdak; Adl, Mehrdad; Baroutian, Saeid; Iranshahi, Zeynab; Pazouki, Mohammad

2018-04-30

It has been proven that ultrasonic pretreatment (UP) has positive effect on biogas generation from previous lab-scale studies. However, that is not always the case in larger scale processes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of UP to biogas generation in terms of anaerobic digestion process and energy efficiency. Parameters including total solids (TS) and ultrasonic treatment operational parameters of organic solid waste (OSW) resulted from our past lab scale UP studies were applied in this study. OSW with 6-10% TS was treated using a lab-scale ultrasonic processor using various power densities (0.2-0.6 W/mL) at different time periods up to 30 min. Results of lab scale confirmed that OSW with 6% TS sonicated with 0.2 W/mL power density in 30 min gave the best outcome for the pilot scale experiment. To simulate the condition of an actual scale, in addition to energy analysis, two different organic loading rates (OLR), namely 500 and 1500 gVS/m 3 day were examined. The pilot digester was fed with OSW with or without the pretreatment based on the aforementioned specifications. The results showed that UP effectively improves biogas generation in terms of quantity and quality (CH 4 /CO 2 ). Furthermore, it decreases the time to reach the maximum cumulative biogas volume comparing to the untreated feed. The key achievement of this research has confirmed that although the relative increase in the energy gain by the influence of UP was more remarkable under the 500 gVS/m 3 day OLR, energy analysis showed a better energy gain and energy benefit as well as jumping in biogas yield up to 80% for UP treated OSW under 1500 gVS/m 3 day OLR. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Labs That Are a Blast.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendrix, Laura

1996-01-01

Presents activities that use a simple homemade apparatus called "the cannon" to demonstrate Newton's Third Law. Reviews the chemistry concepts behind the ignition of the cannon and presents the Momentum Lab and the Projectile Motion Lab. (JRH)

RoboLab and virtual environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giarratano, Joseph C.

1994-01-01

A useful adjunct to the manned space station would be a self-contained free-flying laboratory (RoboLab). This laboratory would have a robot operated under telepresence from the space station or ground. Long duration experiments aboard RoboLab could be performed by astronauts or scientists using telepresence to operate equipment and perform experiments. Operating the lab by telepresence would eliminate the need for life support such as food, water and air. The robot would be capable of motion in three dimensions, have binocular vision TV cameras, and two arms with manipulators to simulate hands. The robot would move along a two-dimensional grid and have a rotating, telescoping periscope section for extension in the third dimension. The remote operator would wear a virtual reality type headset to allow the superposition of computer displays over the real-time video of the lab. The operators would wear exoskeleton type arms to facilitate the movement of objects and equipment operation. The combination of video displays, motion, and the exoskeleton arms would provide a high degree of telepresence, especially for novice users such as scientists doing short-term experiments. The RoboLab could be resupplied and samples removed on other space shuttle flights. A self-contained RoboLab module would be designed to fit within the cargo bay of the space shuttle. Different modules could be designed for specific applications, i.e., crystal-growing, medicine, life sciences, chemistry, etc. This paper describes a RoboLab simulation using virtual reality (VR). VR provides an ideal simulation of telepresence before the actual robot and laboratory modules are constructed. The easy simulation of different telepresence designs will produce a highly optimum design before construction rather than the more expensive and time consuming hardware changes afterwards.

Lab-scale study on the application of In-Adit-Sulfate-Reducing System for AMD control.

PubMed

Ji, S W; Kim, S J

2008-12-30

In a study of the 29 operating passive systems for acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment, 19 systems showed various performance problems. Some systems showed very low efficiency even without visible leakage or overflow. Though systems show fairly good efficiency in metal removal (mainly iron) and pH control, sulfate removal rates were very low which indicates the possibility of very poor sulfate reductions by Sulfate Reducing Bacteria (SRB). As an alternative method, In-Adit-Sulfate-Reducing System (IASRS), the method of placing the SAPS inside the adit, to have temperature constant at about 15 degrees C, was suggested. Lab-scale model experiments of IASRS were carried out. The models 1 and 2 were run at 15 degrees C and 25 degrees C, respectively. The model 1 contained about a half of COD in the beginning of the operation than that of model 2. Metal removal ratios were higher than 90% in both systems. Both systems showed the sulfate removal ratios of 23% and 27%, respectively, which were still considerably low, even though higher than those of presently operating systems. However, since the synthetic AMD used was very low in pH (2.8) and very high in sulfate concentration, if some suggested modifications were applied to the standard design, it is presumed that the sulfate removal ratio would have increased.

Biological groundwater denitrification systems: Lab-scale trials aimed at nitrous oxide production and emission assessment.

PubMed

Capodici, Marco; Avona, Alessia; Laudicina, Vito Armando; Viviani, Gaspare

2018-07-15

Bio-trenches are a sustainable option for treating nitrate contamination in groundwater. However, a possible side effect of this technology is the production of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that can be found both dissolved in the liquid effluent as well as emitted as off gas. The aim of this study was to analyze NO 3 - removal and N 2 O production in lab-scale column trials. The column contained olive nut as organic carbon media. The experimental study was divided into three phases (I, II and III) each characterized by different inlet NO 3 - concentrations (30, 50, 75mgNO 3 -NL -1 respectively). Sampling ports deployed along the length of the column allowed to observe the denitrification process as well as the formation and consumption of intermediate products, such as nitrite (NO 2 - ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). In particular, it was observed that N 2 O production represent only a small fraction of removed NO 3 - during Phase I and II, both for dissolved (0.007%) and emitted (0.003%) phase, and it was recorded a high denitrification efficiency, over 99%. Nevertheless, significantly higher values were recorded for Phase 3 concerning emitted phase (0.018%). This fact is due to increased inlet concentration which resulted in a carbon limitation and in a consequent decrease in denitrification efficiency (76%). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bethune-Cookman University STEM Research Lab. DOE Renovation Project

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

Thompson, Herbert W.

DOE funding was used to renovate 4,500 square feet of aging laboratories and classrooms that support science, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (specifically environmental science, and computer engineering). The expansion of the labs was needed to support robotics and environmental science research, and to better accommodate a wide variety of teaching situations. The renovated space includes a robotics laboratory, two multi-use labs, safe spaces for the storage of instrumentation, modern ventilation equipment, and other “smart” learning venues. The renovated areas feature technologies that are environmentally friendly with reduced energy costs. A campus showcase, the laboratories are a reflection of the University’smore » commitment to the environment and research as a tool for teaching. As anticipated, the labs facilitate the exploration of emerging technologies that are compatible with local and regional economic plans.« less

Using RSpec in an introductory bright star spectroscopy lab activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howe, James; Sitar, David J.

2018-01-01

After presenting at the North Carolina Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers during the fall 2016 meeting, we were encouraged to turn our poster into a paper. This article describes the strengthening of a bright star spectroscopy lab activity for introductory astronomy lab students (AST1002) at Appalachian State University. Explanations of the tools and methods used in the activity are included, particularly the preparation of additional materials using RSpec and calibrated instrument response curves.

E-Labs - Learning with Authentic Data

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

Bardeen, Marjorie G.; Wayne, Mitchell

the success teachers have had providing an opportunity for students to: • Organize and conduct authentic research. • Experience the environment of scientific collaborations. • Possibly make real contributions to a burgeoning scientific field. We've created projects that are problem-based, student driven and technology dependent. Students reach beyond classroom walls to explore data with other students and experts and share results, publishing original work to a worldwide audience. Students can discover and extend the research of other students, modeling the processes of modern, large-scale research projects. From start to finish e-Labs are student-led, teacher-guided projects. Students need only a Webmore » browser to access computing techniques employed by professional researchers. A Project Map with milestones allows students to set the research plan rather than follow a step-by-step process common in other online projects. Most importantly, e-Labs build the learning experience around the students' own questions and let them use the very tools that scientists use. Students contribute to and access shared data, most derived from professional research databases. They use common analysis tools, store their work and use metadata to discover, replicate and confirm the research of others. This is where real scientific collaboration begins. Using online tools, students correspond with other research groups, post comments and questions, prepare summary reports, and in general participate in the part of scientific research that is often left out of classroom experiments. Teaching tools such as student and teacher logbooks, pre- and post-tests and an assessment rubric aligned with learner outcomes help teachers guide student work. Constraints on interface designs and administrative tools such as registration databases give teachers the "one-stop-shopping" they seek for multiple e-Labs. Teaching and administrative tools also allow us to track usage and assess the

GeneLab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrios, Daniel C.; Thompson, Terri G.

2015-01-01

NASA GeneLab is expected to capture and distribute omics data and experimental and process conditions most relevant to research community in their statistical and theoretical analysis of NASAs omics data.

Inductance Scaling of a Helicoil Using ALEGRA

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

HOUSKAMP 3 US ARMY RESEARCH LAB RDRL WMP E P BARTKOWSKI D HORNBAKER P SWOBODA 1 US ARMY RESEARCH LAB RDRL WMP F N GNIAZDOWSKI 1 US ARMY RESEARCH LAB RDRL...HAILL 1 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM D LITTLEFIELD 1 DEFENSE RESEARCH AGENCY B JAMES 2 ENIG ASSOCIATES, INC. E ENIG D BENTZ 42 ...January 2012 Inductance Scaling of a Helicoil Using ALEGRA Robert Doney U.S. Army Research Laboratory ATTN: RDRL-WMP- D Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005

Large-Scale Production of Carbon Nanotubes Using the Jefferson Lab Free Electron Laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, Brian C.

2003-01-01

We report on our interdisciplinary program to use the Free Electron Laser (FEL) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (J-Lab) for high-volume pulsed laser vaporization synthesis of carbon nanotubes. Based in part on the funding of from this project, a novel nanotube production system was designed, tested, and patented. Using this new system nanotube production rates over 100 times faster than conventional laser systems were achieved. Analysis of the material produced shows that it is of as high a quality as the standard laser-based materials.

Robust scaling laws for energy confinement time, including radiated fraction, in Tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murari, A.; Peluso, E.; Gaudio, P.; Gelfusa, M.

2017-12-01

In recent years, the limitations of scalings in power-law form that are obtained from traditional log regression have become increasingly evident in many fields of research. Given the wide gap in operational space between present-day and next-generation devices, robustness of the obtained models in guaranteeing reasonable extrapolability is a major issue. In this paper, a new technique, called symbolic regression, is reviewed, refined, and applied to the ITPA database for extracting scaling laws of the energy-confinement time at different radiated fraction levels. The main advantage of this new methodology is its ability to determine the most appropriate mathematical form of the scaling laws to model the available databases without the restriction of their having to be power laws. In a completely new development, this technique is combined with the concept of geodesic distance on Gaussian manifolds so as to take into account the error bars in the measurements and provide more reliable models. Robust scaling laws, including radiated fractions as regressor, have been found; they are not in power-law form, and are significantly better than the traditional scalings. These scaling laws, including radiated fractions, extrapolate quite differently to ITER, and therefore they require serious consideration. On the other hand, given the limitations of the existing databases, dedicated experimental investigations will have to be carried out to fully understand the impact of radiated fractions on the confinement in metallic machines and in the next generation of devices.

Impact of non-ionic surfactant on the long-term development of lab-scale-activated sludge bacterial communities.

PubMed

Lozada, Mariana; Basile, Laura; Erijman, Leonardo

2007-01-01

The development of bacterial communities in replicate lab-scale-activated sludge reactors degrading a non-ionic surfactant was evaluated by statistical analysis of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints. Four sequential batch reactors were fed with synthetic sewage, two of which received, in addition, 0.01% of nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE). The dynamic character of bacterial community structure was confirmed by the differences in species composition among replicate reactors. Measurement of similarities between reactors was obtained by pairwise similarity analysis using the Bray Curtis coefficient. The group of NPE-amended reactors exhibited the highest similarity values (Sjk=0.53+/-0.03), indicating that the bacterial community structure of NPE-amended reactors was better replicated than control reactors (Sjk=0.36+/-0.04). Replicate NPE-amended reactors taken at different times of operation clustered together, whereas analogous relations within the control reactor cluster were not observed. The DGGE pattern of isolates grown in conditioned media prepared with media taken at the end of the aeration cycle grouped separately from other conditioned and synthetic media regardless of the carbon source amendment, suggesting that NPE degradation residuals could have a role in the shaping of the community structure.

Awakening interest in the natural sciences - BASF's Kids' Labs.

PubMed

Lang, Cinthia

2012-01-01

At BASF's Ludwigshafen headquarters, kids and young adults in grades 1-13 can learn about chemistry in the Kids' Labs. Different programs exist for different levels of knowledge. In the two 'Hands-on Lab H(2)O & Co.' Kids' Labs, students from grades 1-6 explore the secrets of chemistry. BASF Kids' Labs have now been set up in over 30 countries. In Switzerland alone, almost 2,000 students have taken part in the 'Water Loves Chemistry' Kids' Lab since it was started in 2011. In Alsace, 600 students have participated to date. In the Teens' Lab 'Xplore Middle School', middle school students explore five different programs with the themes 'substance labyrinth', 'nutrition', 'coffee, caffeine & co.', 'cosmetics' and 'energy'. Biotechnological methods are the focus of the Teens' Lab 'Xplore Biotech' for students taking basic and advanced biology courses. In the 'Xplore High School' Teens' Lab, chemistry teachers present their own experimental lab instruction for students in basic and advanced chemistry courses. The Virtual Lab has been expanding the offerings of the BASF Kids' Labs since 2011. The online lab was developed by the company for the International Year Of Chemistry and gives kids and young adults the opportunity to do interactive experiments outside of the lab.

Unique Approach to Hydraulic Characterization at an Underground Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, T. L.; Wang, J. S.

2009-12-01

The Sanford Underground Laboratory is the interim lab for the future federally funded DUSEL (Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab). The Sanford Lab took over the abandoned Homestake mine in Lead, SD. Over three hundred miles of drift, extending 8,000 feet below the surface, are now being used to house experiments in disciplines including physics, geology, and biology. The lab is situated in Precambrian metamorphic rocks intersected by Tertiary dike swarms. Three relevant geologic units are defined within the Precambrian rock system; all of which are interpreted to be metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary deposits. The Sanford Lab provides a unique environment to study several aspects of hydrogeology and hydrology; including geochemistry, hydraulic systems in fractured aquifers, and fluvial activity within mine workings. Aquifer characteristics housing the mine workings’ is important to define for future and present research at the underground lab. Outlined here is a unique approach to defining the matrix porosity within the fractured aquifer system. The Homestake mine was abandoned and the pump system keeping the mine dry was turned off in 2003. Over the course of the next five years the water level rose 3470 feet. Oxidation of iron from the water left a red staining on the submerged rocks. Hydrological observations are conducted on different levels throughout the Homestake facility as the water levels are lowered. Isolated air pockets and long stretches of unstained areas along the roof of drifts have been observed, together with less frequent occurrences of seepages. These observations are documented to supplement hydrological monitoring and testing with sensors. The sizes and widths of the trapped air pockets are indications of low permeability values and can be used to estimate the degree of heterogeneity along drifts. It is noted that sections of long stretches of trapped air have more delayed drainages, consistent with low effective permeability

The Infant Version of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB): Measurement Properties and Implications for Concepts of Temperament

PubMed Central

Planalp, Elizabeth M.; Van Hulle, Carol; Gagne, Jeffrey R.; Goldsmith, H. Hill

2017-01-01

We describe large-sample research using the Infant Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab-TAB; Goldsmith and Rothbart, 1996) in 1,076 infants at 6 and 12 months of age. The Lab-TAB was designed to assess temperament dimensions through a series of episodes that mimic everyday situations. Our goal is to provide guidelines for scoring Lab-TAB episodes to derive temperament composites. We also present a set of analyses examining mean differences and stability of temperament in early infancy, gender differences in infant temperament, as well as a validation of Lab-TAB episodes and composites with parent reported Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ; Rothbart, 1981) scales. In general, laboratory observed temperament was only modestly related to parent reported temperament. However, temperament measures were significantly stable across time and several gender differences that align with previous research emerged. In sum, the Lab-TAB usefully assesses individual differences in infant emotionality. PMID:28596748

StagLab: Post-Processing and Visualisation in Geodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crameri, Fabio

2017-04-01

Despite being simplifications of nature, today's Geodynamic numerical models can, often do, and sometimes have to become very complex. Additionally, a steadily-increasing amount of raw model data results from more elaborate numerical codes and the still continuously-increasing computational power available for their execution. The current need for efficient post-processing and sensible visualisation is thus apparent. StagLab (www.fabiocrameri.ch/software) provides such much-needed strongly-automated post-processing in combination with state-of-the-art visualisation. Written in MatLab, StagLab is simple, flexible, efficient and reliable. It produces figures and movies that are both fully-reproducible and publication-ready. StagLab's post-processing capabilities include numerous diagnostics for plate tectonics and mantle dynamics. Featured are accurate plate-boundary identification, slab-polarity recognition, plate-bending derivation, mantle-plume detection, and surface-topography component splitting. These and many other diagnostics are derived conveniently from only a few parameter fields thanks to powerful image processing tools and other capable algorithms. Additionally, StagLab aims to prevent scientific visualisation pitfalls that are, unfortunately, still too common in the Geodynamics community. Misinterpretation of raw data and exclusion of colourblind people introduced with the continuous use of the rainbow (a.k.a. jet) colour scheme is just one, but a dramatic example (e.g., Rogowitz and Treinish, 1998; Light and Bartlein, 2004; Borland and Ii, 2007). StagLab is currently optimised for binary StagYY output (e.g., Tackley 2008), but is adjustable for the potential use with other Geodynamic codes. Additionally, StagLab's post-processing routines are open-source. REFERENCES Borland, D., and R. M. T. Ii (2007), Rainbow color map (still) considered harmful, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 27(2), 14-17. Light, A., and P. J. Bartlein (2004), The end of

Lab on a Chip Application Development for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monaco, Lisa

2004-01-01

At Marshall Space Flight Center a new capability has been established to aid the advancement of microfluidics for space flight monitoring systems. Lab-On-a-Chip Application Development (LOCAD) team has created a program for advancing Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) of 1 & 2 to TRL 6 and 7, quickly and economically for Lab-On-a-Chip (LOC) applications. Scientists and engineers can utilize LOCAD's process to efficiently learn about microfluidics and determine if microfluidics is applicable to their needs. Once the applicability has been determined, LOCAD can then perform tests to develop the new fluidic protocols which are different from macro-scale chemical reaction protocols. With this information new micro-devices can be created such as the development of a microfluidic system to aid in the search for life, past and present, on Mars. Particular indicators in the Martian soil can contain the direct evidence of life. But to extract the information from the soil and present it to the proper detectors requires multiple fluidic/chemical operations. This is where LOCAD is providing its unique abilities.

Dysautonomia Rating Scales in Parkinson’s Disease: Sialorrhea, Dysphagia, and Constipation—Critique and Recommendations by Movement Disorders Task Force on Rating Scales for Parkinson’s Disease

PubMed Central

Evatt, Marian L.; Chaudhuri, K. Ray; Chou, Kelvin L.; Cubo, Ester; Hinson, Vanessa; Kompoliti, Katie; Yang, Chengwu; Poewe, Werner; Rascol, Olivier; Sampaio, Cristina; Stebbins, Glenn T.; Goetz, Christopher G.

2015-01-01

Upper and lower gastrointestinal dysautonomia symptoms (GIDS)—sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and often socially as well as physically disabling for patients. Available invasive quantitative measures for assessing these symptoms and their response to therapy are time-consuming, require specialized equipment, can cause patient discomfort and present patients with risk. The Movement Disorders Society commissioned a task force to assess available clinical rating scales, critique their clinimetric properties, and make recommendations regarding their clinical utility. Six clinical researchers and a biostatistician systematically searched the literature for scales of sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation, evaluated the scales’ previous use, performance parameters, and quality of validation data (if available). A scale was designated “Recommended” if the scale was used in clinical studies beyond the group that developed it, has been specifically used in PD reports, and clinimetric studies have established that it is a valid, reliable, and sensitive. “Suggested” scales met at least part of the above criteria, but fell short of meeting all. Based on the systematic review, scales for individual symptoms of sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation were identified along with three global scales that include these symptoms in the context of assessing dysautonomia or nonmotor symptoms. Three sialorrhea scales met criteria for Suggested: Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale (DSFS), Drooling Rating Scale, and Sialorrhea Clinical Scale for PD (SCS-PD). Two dysphagia scales, the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ) and Dysphagia-Specific Quality of Life (SWAL-QOL), met criteria for Suggested. Although Rome III constipation module is widely accepted in the gastroenterology community, and the earlier version from the Rome II criteria has been used in a single study of PD patients, neither met criteria for Suggested

Curricular Adaptations in Introductory Physics Labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dreyfus, Benjamin W.; Ewell, Mary; Moore, Kimberly

2017-01-01

When curricular materials are disseminated to new sites, there can be a tension between fidelity to the original intent of the developers and adaptation to local needs. In this case study we look at a lab activity that was initially developed for an introductory physics for the life sciences (IPLS) course at the University of Maryland, then implemented at George Mason University with significant adaptations. The goals of the two implementations were overlapping, but also differed in ways that are reflected in the two versions of the lab. We compare student lab report data from the two sites to examine the impacts of the adaptation on how students engaged with the lab.

Lab architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crease, Robert P.

2008-04-01

There are few more dramatic illustrations of the vicissitudes of laboratory architecturethan the contrast between Building 20 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and its replacement, the Ray and Maria Stata Center. Building 20 was built hurriedly in 1943 as temporary housing for MIT's famous Rad Lab, the site of wartime radar research, and it remained a productive laboratory space for over half a century. A decade ago it was demolished to make way for the Stata Center, an architecturally striking building designed by Frank Gehry to house MIT's computer science and artificial intelligence labs (above). But in 2004 - just two years after the Stata Center officially opened - the building was criticized for being unsuitable for research and became the subject of still ongoing lawsuits alleging design and construction failures.

Generalized Nanosatellite Avionics Testbed Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Chad R.; Sorgenfrei, Matthew C.; Nehrenz, Matt

2015-01-01

The Generalized Nanosatellite Avionics Testbed (G-NAT) lab at NASA Ames Research Center provides a flexible, easily accessible platform for developing hardware and software for advanced small spacecraft. A collaboration between the Mission Design Division and the Intelligent Systems Division, the objective of the lab is to provide testing data and general test protocols for advanced sensors, actuators, and processors for CubeSat-class spacecraft. By developing test schemes for advanced components outside of the standard mission lifecycle, the lab is able to help reduce the risk carried by advanced nanosatellite or CubeSat missions. Such missions are often allocated very little time for testing, and too often the test facilities must be custom-built for the needs of the mission at hand. The G-NAT lab helps to eliminate these problems by providing an existing suite of testbeds that combines easily accessible, commercial-offthe- shelf (COTS) processors with a collection of existing sensors and actuators.

Lab-scale investigation on remediation of diesel-contaminated aquifer using microwave energy.

PubMed

Falciglia, Pietro P; Maddalena, Riccardo; Mancuso, Giuseppe; Messina, Valeria; Vagliasindi, Federico G A

2016-02-01

Aquifer contamination with diesel fuel is a worldwide environmental problem, and related available remediation technologies may not be adequately efficient, especially for the simultaneous treatment of both solid and water phases. In this paper, a lab-scale 2.45 GHz microwave (MW) treatment of an artificially diesel-contaminated aquifer was applied to investigate the effects of operating power (160, 350 and 500 W) and time on temperature profiles and contaminant removal from both solid and water phases. Results suggest that in diesel-contaminated aquifer MW remediation, power significantly influences the final reachable temperature and, consequently, contaminant removal kinetics. A maximum temperature of about 120 °C was reached at 500 W. Observed temperature values depended on the simultaneous irradiation of both aquifer grains and groundwater. In this case, solid phase heating is limited by the maximum temperature that interstitial water can reach before evaporation. A minimal residual diesel concentration of about 100 mg kg(-1) or 100 mg L(-1) was achieved by applying a power of 500 W for a time of 60 min for the solid or water phase, respectively. Measured residual TPH fractions showed that MW heating resulted in preferential effects of the removal of different TPH molecular weight fractions and that the evaporation-stripping phenomena plays a major role in final contaminant removal processes. The power low kinetic equation shows an excellent fit (r(2) > 0.993) with the solid phase residual concentration observed for all the powers investigated. A maximum diesel removal of 88 or 80% was observed for the MW treatment of the solid or water phase, respectively, highlighting the possibility to successfully and simultaneously remediate both the aquifer phases. Consequently, MW, compared to other biological or chemical-physical treatments, appears to be a better choice for the fast remediation of diesel-contaminated aquifers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier

Improved LCI profile of LAB based on latest technology advances

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

Berna, J.L.; Renta, C.

1995-12-31

The first technology used to produce LAB was introduced in the early 60`s and since then a continuous optimization process has taken place on this highly competitive product on which additional cost effectiveness improvements became highly challenging. The latest technology introduced in the market (CEPSA {minus} UOP DETAL) based on a fixed bed alkylation process, has already been proved on a commercial scale. The simplicity of the new technology as compared to current ones, namely HF, has proven to be very effective in reducing substantially the impact due to several major components of the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) in particularmore » the emissions of the overall operation. Additional improvements in other aspects like energy consumption are extremely difficult to achieve today as this parameter has already been highly optimized during the last two decades making in fact LAB a highly effective chemical in terms of energy requirements as well as on raw material consumption. The results of the first LCI of the new LAB technology indicate a reduction of CO process emissions to nearly 1/2 as compared to standard HF process as well as reduction in solid waste to 1/3 of the corresponding HF process. Important reductions have also been noticed on NOx emissions with the new technology.« less

Evidence for higher reaction time variability for children with ADHD on a range of cognitive tasks including reward and event rate manipulations

PubMed Central

Epstein, Jeffery N.; Langberg, Joshua M.; Rosen, Paul J.; Graham, Amanda; Narad, Megan E.; Antonini, Tanya N.; Brinkman, William B.; Froehlich, Tanya; Simon, John O.; Altaye, Mekibib

2012-01-01

Objective The purpose of the research study was to examine the manifestation of variability in reaction times (RT) in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and to examine whether RT variability presented differently across a variety of neuropsychological tasks, was present across the two most common ADHD subtypes, and whether it was affected by reward and event rate (ER) manipulations. Method Children with ADHD-Combined Type (n=51), ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Type (n=53) and 47 controls completed five neuropsychological tasks (Choice Discrimination Task, Child Attentional Network Task, Go/No-Go task, Stop Signal Task, and N-back task), each allowing trial-by-trial assessment of reaction times. Multiple indicators of RT variability including RT standard deviation, coefficient of variation and ex-Gaussian tau were used. Results Children with ADHD demonstrated greater RT variability than controls across all five tasks as measured by the ex-Gaussian indicator tau. There were minimal differences in RT variability across the ADHD subtypes. Children with ADHD also had poorer task accuracy than controls across all tasks except the Choice Discrimination task. Although ER and reward manipulations did affect children’s RT variability and task accuracy, these manipulations largely did not differentially affect children with ADHD compared to controls. RT variability and task accuracy were highly correlated across tasks. Removing variance attributable to RT variability from task accuracy did not appreciably affect between-group differences in task accuracy. Conclusions High RT variability is a ubiquitous and robust phenomenon in children with ADHD. PMID:21463041

Improving Student Success in Calculus I Using a Co-Requisite Calculus I Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vestal, Sharon Schaffer; Brandenburger, Thomas; Furth, Alfred

2015-01-01

This paper describes how one university mathematics department was able to improve student success in Calculus I by requiring a co-requisite lab for certain groups of students. The groups of students required to take the co-requisite lab were identified by analyzing student data, including Math ACT scores, ACT Compass Trigonometry scores, and…

TQM in a Computer Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Dewey A.; Phillips, Julie A.

At the Purdue University School of Technology (PST) at Columbus, Indiana, the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy was used in the computer laboratories to better meet student needs. A customer satisfaction survey was conducted to gather data on lab facilities, lab assistants, and hardware/software; other sections of the survey included…

Berkeley Lab - Materials Sciences Division

Science.gov Websites

Synthesis Condensed Matter and Materials Physics Scattering and Instrumentation Science Centers Center for Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Phone Book Jobs Search DOE Search MSD Go MSD - Materials Sciences Division About Organization Contact Research Core Programs Materials Discovery, Design and

Creating a lab to facilitate high school student engagement in authentic paleoclimate science practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maloney, A.; Walsh, E.

2012-12-01

A solid understanding of timescales is crucial for any climate change discussion. This hands-on lab was designed as part of a dual-credit climate change course in which high school students can receive college credit. Using homemade ice cores, students have the opportunity to participate in scientific practices associated with collecting, processing, and interpreting temperature and CO2 data. Exploring millennial-scale cycles in ice core data and extending the CO2 record to the present allows students to discover timescales from an investigators perspective. The Ice Core Lab has been piloted in two high school classrooms and student engagement, and epistemological and conceptual understanding was evaluated using quantitative pre and post assessment surveys. The process of creating this lab involved a partnership between an education assessment professional, high school teachers, and University of Washington professors and graduate students in Oceanography, Earth and Space Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences and the Learning Sciences as part of the NASA Global Climate Change University of Washington in the High School program. This interdisciplinary collaboration led to the inception of the lab and was necessary to ensure that the lesson plan was pedagogically appropriate and scientifically accurate. The lab fits into a unit about natural variability and is paired with additional hands-on activities created by other graduate students that explore short-timescale temperature variations, Milankovitch cycles, isotopes, and other proxies. While the Ice Core Lab is intended to follow units that review the scientific process, global energy budget, and transport, it can be modified to fit any teaching platform.

EPICS Channel Access Server for LabVIEW

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

Zhukov, Alexander P.

It can be challenging to interface National Instruments LabVIEW (http://www.ni.com/labview/) with EPICS (http://www.aps.anl.gov/epics/). Such interface is required when an instrument control program was developed in LabVIEW but it also has to be part of global control system. This is frequently useful in big accelerator facilities. The Channel Access Server is written in LabVIEW, so it works on any hardware/software platform where LabVIEW is available. It provides full server functionality, so any EPICS client can communicate with it.

Surfactant Adsorption: A Revised Physical Chemistry Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bresler, Marc R.; Hagen, John P.

2008-01-01

Many physical chemistry lab courses include an experiment in which students measure surface tension as a function of surfactant concentration. In the traditional experiment, the data are fit to the Gibbs isotherm to determine the molar area for the surfactant, and the critical micelle concentration is used to calculate the Gibbs energy of micelle…

Imaging performance of LabPET APD-based digital PET scanners for pre-clinical research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergeron, Mélanie; Cadorette, Jules; Tétrault, Marc-André; Beaudoin, Jean-François; Leroux, Jean-Daniel; Fontaine, Réjean; Lecomte, Roger

2014-02-01

The LabPET is an avalanche photodiode (APD) based digital PET scanner with quasi-individual detector read-out and highly parallel electronic architecture for high-performance in vivo molecular imaging of small animals. The scanner is based on LYSO and LGSO scintillation crystals (2×2×12/14 mm3), assembled side-by-side in phoswich pairs read out by an APD. High spatial resolution is achieved through the individual and independent read-out of an individual APD detector for recording impinging annihilation photons. The LabPET exists in three versions, LabPET4 (3.75 cm axial length), LabPET8 (7.5 cm axial length) and LabPET12 (11.4 cm axial length). This paper focuses on the systematic characterization of the three LabPET versions using two different energy window settings to implement a high-efficiency mode (250-650 keV) and a high-resolution mode (350-650 keV) in the most suitable operating conditions. Prior to measurements, a global timing alignment of the scanners and optimization of the APD operating bias have been carried out. Characteristics such as spatial resolution, absolute sensitivity, count rate performance and image quality have been thoroughly investigated following the NEMA NU 4-2008 protocol. Phantom and small animal images were acquired to assess the scanners' suitability for the most demanding imaging tasks in preclinical biomedical research. The three systems achieve the same radial FBP spatial resolution at 5 mm from the field-of-view center: 1.65/3.40 mm (FWHM/FWTM) for an energy threshold of 250 keV and 1.51/2.97 mm for an energy threshold of 350 keV. The absolute sensitivity for an energy window of 250-650 keV is 1.4%/2.6%/4.3% for LabPET4/8/12, respectively. The best count rate performance peaking at 362 kcps is achieved by the LabPET12 with an energy window of 250-650 keV and a mouse phantom (2.5 cm diameter) at an activity of 2.4 MBq ml-1. With the same phantom, the scatter fraction for all scanners is about 17% for an energy threshold of

Evaluation of social interaction, task management, and trust among dental hygiene students in a collaborative learning environment.

PubMed

Saylor, Catherine D; Keselyak, Nancy T; Simmer-Beck, Melanie; Tira, Daniel

2011-02-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of collaborative learning on the development of social interaction, task management, and trust in dental hygiene students. These three traits were assessed with the Teamwork Assessment Scale in two different learning environments (traditional lecture/lab and collaborative learning environment). A convenience sample of fifty-six entry-level dental hygiene students taking an introductory/preclinic course at two metropolitan area dental hygiene programs provided comparable experimental and control groups. Factor scores were computed for the three traits, and comparisons were conducted using the Ryan-Einot-Gabriel-Welsh multiple comparison procedure among specific cell comparisons generated from a two-factor repeated measures ANOVA. The results indicate that the collaborative learning environment influenced dental hygiene students positively regarding the traits of social interaction, task management, and trust. However, comparing dental hygiene students to undergraduate students overall indicates that dental hygiene students already possess somewhat higher levels of these traits. Future studies on active learning strategies should examine factors such as student achievement and explore other possible active learning methodologies.

KNMI DataLab experiences in serving data-driven innovations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noteboom, Jan Willem; Sluiter, Raymond

2016-04-01

Climate change research and innovations in weather forecasting rely more and more on (Big) data. Besides increasing data from traditional sources (such as observation networks, radars and satellites), the use of open data, crowd sourced data and the Internet of Things (IoT) is emerging. To deploy these sources of data optimally in our services and products, KNMI has established a DataLab to serve data-driven innovations in collaboration with public and private sector partners. Big data management, data integration, data analytics including machine learning and data visualization techniques are playing an important role in the DataLab. Cross-domain data-driven innovations that arise from public-private collaborative projects and research programmes can be explored, experimented and/or piloted by the KNMI DataLab. Furthermore, advice can be requested on (Big) data techniques and data sources. In support of collaborative (Big) data science activities, scalable environments are offered with facilities for data integration, data analysis and visualization. In addition, Data Science expertise is provided directly or from a pool of internal and external experts. At the EGU conference, gained experiences and best practices are presented in operating the KNMI DataLab to serve data-driven innovations for weather and climate applications optimally.

The DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales in a Dutch non‐clinical sample: psychometric properties including the adult separation anxiety disorder scale

PubMed Central

Bögels, Susan M.

2016-01-01

Abstract With DSM‐5, the American Psychiatric Association encourages complementing categorical diagnoses with dimensional severity ratings. We therefore examined the psychometric properties of the DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales, a set of brief dimensional scales that are consistent in content and structure and assess DSM‐5‐based core features of anxiety disorders. Participants (285 males, 255 females) completed the DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales for social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, agoraphobia, and panic disorder that were included in previous studies on the scales, and also for separation anxiety disorder, which is included in the DSM‐5 chapter on anxiety disorders. Moreover, they completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Adult version (SCARED‐A). The DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales demonstrated high internal consistency, and the scales correlated significantly and substantially with corresponding SCARED‐A subscales, supporting convergent validity. Separation anxiety appeared present among adults, supporting the DSM‐5 recognition of separation anxiety as an anxiety disorder across the life span. To conclude, the DSM‐5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales are a valuable tool to screen for specific adult anxiety disorders, including separation anxiety. Research in more diverse and clinical samples with anxiety disorders is needed. © 2016 The Authors International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:27378317

Design of inquiry-oriented science labs: impacts on students' attitudes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baseya, J. M.; Francis, C. D.

2011-11-01

Background: Changes in lab style can lead to differences in learning. Two inquiry-oriented lab styles are guided inquiry (GI) and problem-based (PB). Students' attitudes towards lab are important to consider when choosing between GI and PB styles during curriculum design. Purpose: We examined the degree to which lab experiences are explained by a GI or a PB lab style vs. students' attitudes towards specific aspects of the experience, reflected by perceived excitement (exc), difficulty (dif), time efficiency (eff) and association between lab and lecture material (help). Sample: Approximately 1000 students attending first-semester, college biology lab for science majors at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, participated in the study. Design and method: In 2007, two labs were run as GI and one as PB. Formats were switched in 2008. Attitudes were assessed with a post-semester survey. Results: Only the four attitude variables (not lab style) had a strong relationship with overall lab rating which was most strongly related to exc, followed by dif and help/eff. Dif and eff had the greatest influence on attitudes for or against GI vs. PB labs, and help and exc had little influence on a GI vs. a PB lab. Also, when dif was low, students' attitudes were not significantly different between PB and GI labs, but when dif was high, students' significantly rated GI labs higher than PB labs. Conclusions: Students' attitudes towards lab are more dependent on specific aspects of the experience than on lab style. Changes in GI vs. PB lab styles primarily influence dif and eff rather than exc and help. Dif may be an important factor to consider when implementing a lab in the PB vs. the GI format. It might be good to go with a GI when dif is high and a PB when dif is low.

Towards a Metadata Schema for Characterizing Lesson Plans Supported by Virtual and Remote Labs in School Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zervas, Panagiotis; Tsourlidaki, Eleftheria; Sotiriou, Sofoklis; Sampson, Demetrios G.

2015-01-01

Technological advancements in the field of World Wide Web have led to a plethora of remote and virtual labs (RVLs) that are currently available online and they are offered with or without cost. However, using a RVL to teach a specific science subject might not be a straightforward task for a science teacher. As a result, science teachers need to…

Science Lab: A Peer Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ronca, Courtney C.

The two goals of this program were to increase the number of classroom teachers using the lab and to increase the amount of time that the science lab was used. The solution strategy chosen was a combination of peer tutoring, orientation presentations, small group discovery experiments and activities, and individual science experiment stations. The…

Reducing the language content in ToM tests: A developmental scale.

PubMed

Burnel, Morgane; Perrone-Bertolotti, Marcela; Reboul, Anne; Baciu, Monica; Durrleman, Stephanie

2018-02-01

The goal of the current study was to statistically evaluate the reliable scalability of a set of tasks designed to assess Theory of Mind (ToM) without language as a confounding variable. This tool might be useful to study ToM in populations where language is impaired or to study links between language and ToM. Low verbal versions of the ToM tasks proposed by Wellman and Liu (2004) for their scale were tested in 234 children (2.5 years to 11.9 years). Results showed that 5 of the tasks formed a scale according to both Guttman and Rasch models whereas all 6 tasks could form a scale according to the Rasch model only. The main difference from the original scale was that the Explicit False Belief task could be included whereas the Knowledge Access (KA) task could not. The authors argue that the more verbal version of the KA task administered in previous studies could have measured language understanding rather than ToM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

"Probeware" on Increase in Schools' Science Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trotter, Andrew

2008-01-01

Though the term, "probeware" may not be a household word, it has grown more familiar to science educators over the past decade, as a new generation of high-tech instruments for collecting and analyzing data from the physical world have been introduced into school science labs. Today, those tools include digital scientific probes or sensors that…

Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: Hazards in a Photography Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houk, Cliff; Hart, Charles

1987-01-01

Described are case studies illustrating chemical hazards in a photography lab due to compounds containing cyanide. Suggestions for preventing problems including proper procedures, housekeeping, facilities, and ventilation are considered. (RH)

Kedalion: NASA's Adaptable and Agile Hardware/Software Integration and Test Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mangieri, Mark L.; Vice, Jason

2011-01-01

NASA fs Kedalion engineering analysis lab at Johnson Space Center is on the forefront of validating and using many contemporary avionics hardware/software development and integration techniques, which represent new paradigms to heritage NASA culture. Kedalion has validated many of the Orion hardware/software engineering techniques borrowed from the adjacent commercial aircraft avionics solution space, with the intention to build upon such techniques to better align with today fs aerospace market. Using agile techniques, commercial products, early rapid prototyping, in-house expertise and tools, and customer collaboration, Kedalion has demonstrated that cost effective contemporary paradigms hold the promise to serve future NASA endeavors within a diverse range of system domains. Kedalion provides a readily adaptable solution for medium/large scale integration projects. The Kedalion lab is currently serving as an in-line resource for the project and the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) program.

Jellyfish Bioactive Compounds: Methods for Wet-Lab Work

PubMed Central

Frazão, Bárbara; Antunes, Agostinho

2016-01-01

The study of bioactive compounds from marine animals has provided, over time, an endless source of interesting molecules. Jellyfish are commonly targets of study due to their toxic proteins. However, there is a gap in reviewing successful wet-lab methods employed in these animals, which compromises the fast progress in the detection of related biomolecules. Here, we provide a compilation of the most effective wet-lab methodologies for jellyfish venom extraction prior to proteomic analysis—separation, identification and toxicity assays. This includes SDS-PAGE, 2DE, gel chromatography, HPLC, DEAE, LC-MS, MALDI, Western blot, hemolytic assay, antimicrobial assay and protease activity assay. For a more comprehensive approach, jellyfish toxicity studies should further consider transcriptome sequencing. We reviewed such methodologies and other genomic techniques used prior to the deep sequencing of transcripts, including RNA extraction, construction of cDNA libraries and RACE. Overall, we provide an overview of the most promising methods and their successful implementation for optimizing time and effort when studying jellyfish. PMID:27077869

Jellyfish Bioactive Compounds: Methods for Wet-Lab Work.

PubMed

Frazão, Bárbara; Antunes, Agostinho

2016-04-12

The study of bioactive compounds from marine animals has provided, over time, an endless source of interesting molecules. Jellyfish are commonly targets of study due to their toxic proteins. However, there is a gap in reviewing successful wet-lab methods employed in these animals, which compromises the fast progress in the detection of related biomolecules. Here, we provide a compilation of the most effective wet-lab methodologies for jellyfish venom extraction prior to proteomic analysis-separation, identification and toxicity assays. This includes SDS-PAGE, 2DE, gel chromatography, HPLC, DEAE, LC-MS, MALDI, Western blot, hemolytic assay, antimicrobial assay and protease activity assay. For a more comprehensive approach, jellyfish toxicity studies should further consider transcriptome sequencing. We reviewed such methodologies and other genomic techniques used prior to the deep sequencing of transcripts, including RNA extraction, construction of cDNA libraries and RACE. Overall, we provide an overview of the most promising methods and their successful implementation for optimizing time and effort when studying jellyfish.

An evaluation of two hands-on lab styles for plant biodiversity in undergraduate biology.

PubMed

Basey, John M; Maines, Anastasia P; Francis, Clinton D; Melbourne, Brett

2014-01-01

We compared learning cycle and expository formats for teaching about plant biodiversity in an inquiry-oriented university biology lab class (n = 465). Both formats had preparatory lab activities, a hands-on lab, and a postlab with reflection and argumentation. Learning was assessed with a lab report, a practical quiz in lab, and a multiple-choice exam in the concurrent lecture. Attitudes toward biology and treatments were also assessed. We used linear mixed-effect models to determine impacts of lab style on lower-order cognition (LO) and higher-order cognition (HO) based on Bloom's taxonomy. Relative to the expository treatment, the learning cycle treatment had a positive effect on HO and a negative effect on LO included in lab reports; a positive effect on transfer of LO from the lab report to the quiz; negative impacts on LO quiz performance and on attitudes toward the lab; and a higher degree of perceived difficulty. The learning cycle treatment had no influence on transfer of HO from lab report to quiz or exam; quiz performance on HO questions; exam performance on LO and HO questions; and attitudes toward biology as a science. The importance of LO as a foundation for HO relative to these lab styles is addressed. © 2014 J. M. Basey et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2014 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Theme: Land Laboratories--Urban Settings, Liability, Natural Resources Labs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whaley, David, Ed.; And Others

1994-01-01

Includes "With a Little Imagination"; "From Fallow to Fertile"; "Operating a School Enterprise in Agriculture"; "Using a Nontraditional Greenhouse to Enhance Lab Instruction"; "Risk Management for Liability in Operating Land Laboratories"; "Working Land and Water Laboratory for Natural…

Artificial intelligence programming with LabVIEW: genetic algorithms for instrumentation control and optimization.

PubMed

Moore, J H

1995-06-01

A genetic algorithm for instrumentation control and optimization was developed using the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. The usefulness of this methodology for the optimization of a closed loop control instrument is demonstrated with minimal complexity and the programming is presented in detail to facilitate its adaptation to other LabVIEW applications. Closed loop control instruments have variety of applications in the biomedical sciences including the regulation of physiological processes such as blood pressure. The program presented here should provide a useful starting point for those wishing to incorporate genetic algorithm approaches to LabVIEW mediated optimization of closed loop control instruments.

LANGUAGE LABS--AN UPDATED REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1963

REPORTS FROM SEVERAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS ON THE USE OF AND PLANNING OF LANGUAGE LABORATORIES ARE PRESENTED. LABORATORIES SHOULD BE ARRANGED FOR FLEXIBLE USE. THE AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CAN USE A LAB PROFITABLY FOR 20 TO 25 MINUTES. THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LANGUAGE LABORATORIES THAT ARE DESCRIBED. THE SATELLITE LAB IS DIVIDED BY A…

Academic Pipeline and Futures Lab

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

AFRL-RY-WP-TR-2015-0186 ACADEMIC PIPELINE AND FUTURES LAB Brian D. Rigling Wright State University FEBRUARY 2016...DD-MM-YY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) February 2016 Final 12 June 2009 – 30 September 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE ACADEMIC ...6 3 WSU ACADEMIC PIPELINE AND LAYERED SENSING FUTURES LAB (prepared by K

Towards a Manifesto for Living Lab Co-creation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Følstad, Asbjørn; Brandtzæg, Petter Bae; Gulliksen, Jan; Börjeson, Mikael; Näkki, Pirjo

There is a growing interest in Living Labs for innovation and development in the field of information and communication technology. In particular there seem to be a tendency that current Living Labs aim to involve users for co-creative purposes. However, the current literature on Living Lab co-creation is severely limited. Therefore an Interact workshop is arranged as a first step towards a manifesto for Living Lab co-creation.

Age-related Multiscale Changes in Brain Signal Variability in Pre-task versus Post-task Resting-state EEG.

PubMed

Wang, Hongye; McIntosh, Anthony R; Kovacevic, Natasa; Karachalios, Maria; Protzner, Andrea B

2016-07-01

Recent empirical work suggests that, during healthy aging, the variability of network dynamics changes during task performance. Such variability appears to reflect the spontaneous formation and dissolution of different functional networks. We sought to extend these observations into resting-state dynamics. We recorded EEG in young, middle-aged, and older adults during a "rest-task-rest" design and investigated if aging modifies the interaction between resting-state activity and external stimulus-induced activity. Using multiscale entropy as our measure of variability, we found that, with increasing age, resting-state dynamics shifts from distributed to more local neural processing, especially at posterior sources. In the young group, resting-state dynamics also changed from pre- to post-task, where fine-scale entropy increased in task-positive regions and coarse-scale entropy increased in the posterior cingulate, a key region associated with the default mode network. Lastly, pre- and post-task resting-state dynamics were linked to performance on the intervening task for all age groups, but this relationship became weaker with increasing age. Our results suggest that age-related changes in resting-state dynamics occur across different spatial and temporal scales and have consequences for information processing capacity.

Nitrification denitrification enhanced biological phosphorous removal (NDEBPR) occurs in a lab-scale alternating hypoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor.

PubMed

Sibag, Mark; Kim, Han-Seung

2012-01-01

Strict anaerobic or anoxic maintenance of the system and process susceptibility to low organic loading are major concerns in nitrification denitrification enhanced biological phosphorous removal (NDEBPR). The study has initiated NDEBPR in a lab-scale alternating hypoxic/oxic membrane bioreactor by developing an enhanced mixed microbial culture capable of removing 97±2% COD, 99±0.84% NH(3)-N, 90±3% TN, and 96±1% TP-PO(4)(3-) with 20-day SRT. The viable cells ranging from 1.6×10(8) to 2.0×10(8)cells/ml estimated from the total bacterial genomic DNA (6.43-7.83 μg DNA/ml) represented only 5% of the MLVSS indicating low microbial biomass concentration. Reducing the organic load from 1250 to 750 mg COD/ml as glucose did not deteriorate the effluent quality (3.77±1.0 mg N-TN/l; 0.08±0.24 mg NH(3)-N/l; and 0.32±0.10 mg PO(4)(3-)-P/l). These observations are characteristics of activated sludge that harbors denitrifying polyphosphate accumulating organisms (DPAOs). The results showed that NDEBPR can be achieved under alternating hypoxic/oxic conditions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales in a Dutch non-clinical sample: psychometric properties including the adult separation anxiety disorder scale.

PubMed

Möller, Eline L; Bögels, Susan M

2016-09-01

With DSM-5, the American Psychiatric Association encourages complementing categorical diagnoses with dimensional severity ratings. We therefore examined the psychometric properties of the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales, a set of brief dimensional scales that are consistent in content and structure and assess DSM-5-based core features of anxiety disorders. Participants (285 males, 255 females) completed the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales for social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, agoraphobia, and panic disorder that were included in previous studies on the scales, and also for separation anxiety disorder, which is included in the DSM-5 chapter on anxiety disorders. Moreover, they completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Adult version (SCARED-A). The DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales demonstrated high internal consistency, and the scales correlated significantly and substantially with corresponding SCARED-A subscales, supporting convergent validity. Separation anxiety appeared present among adults, supporting the DSM-5 recognition of separation anxiety as an anxiety disorder across the life span. To conclude, the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales are a valuable tool to screen for specific adult anxiety disorders, including separation anxiety. Research in more diverse and clinical samples with anxiety disorders is needed. © 2016 The Authors International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Berkeley Lab 2nd Grader Outreach

ScienceCinema

Scoggins, Jackie; Louie, Virginia

2017-12-11

The Berkeley Lab IT Department sponsored a community outreach program aimed at teaching young children about computers and networks. Second graders from LeConte Elementary School joined Lab IT Staff for a day of in-depth exercises and fun.

Berkeley Lab - Materials Sciences Division

Science.gov Websites

-486-6999 Urgent Radiation Protection Group Assistance Non-Life Threatening Event 24/7 Lab Phone: x7277 : 911 (no extentions required now) Non-Emergency Reporting (Fire and Police) Non-Life Threatening Event Spill Non-Life Threatening Event 24/7 Lab Phone: x6999 Cell Phone: 510-486-6999 Off Site Locations: 510

Report from the banding lab

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tautin, J.

1995-01-01

Mr. Tautin reported on the seemingly everchanging structure of biological science units within the Interior Department. Current Congressional proposals would either change the name of the Bird Banding Lab's parent agency or make it part of the Geological Survey. The current Congress has not looked favorably on science budgets within the Interior Department, and the Banding Lab's budget is being squeezed ever tighter.

Propulsion Systems Lab

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-04-14

NASA Glenn’s Propulsion Systems Lab (PSL) is conducting research to characterize ice crystal clouds that can create a hazard to aircraft engines in certain conditions. With specialized equipment, scientists can create a simulated ice crystal cloud with the set of bars in the back spraying out a mist. The red area includes lasers, which measure the intensity of the cloud and a series of probes to measure everything from humidity to air pressure. The isokinetic probe (in gold) samples particles and the robotic arm (in orange) has a test tube on the end that catches ice particles for further measuring. NASA Glenn’s PSL is the only place in the world which can create these kind of ice crystal cloud conditions.

Computer-based Astronomy Labs for Non-science Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, A. B. E.; Murray, S. D.; Ward, R. A.

1998-12-01

We describe and demonstrate two laboratory exercises, Kepler's Third Law and Stellar Structure, which are being developed for use in an astronomy laboratory class aimed at non-science majors. The labs run with Microsoft's Excel 98 (Macintosh) or Excel 97 (Windows). They can be run in a classroom setting or in an independent learning environment. The intent of the labs is twofold; first and foremost, students learn the subject matter through a series of informational frames. Next, students enhance their understanding by applying their knowledge in lab procedures, while also gaining familiarity with the use and power of a widely-used software package and scientific tool. No mathematical knowledge beyond basic algebra is required to complete the labs or to understand the computations in the spreadsheets, although the students are exposed to the concepts of numerical integration. The labs are contained in Excel workbook files. In the files are multiple spreadsheets, which contain either a frame with information on how to run the lab, material on the subject, or one or more procedures. Excel's VBA macro language is used to automate the labs. The macros are accessed through button interfaces positioned on the spreadsheets. This is done intentionally so that students can focus on learning the subject matter and the basic spreadsheet features without having to learn advanced Excel features all at once. Students open the file and progress through the informational frames to the procedures. After each procedure, student comments and data are automatically recorded in a preformatted Lab Report spreadsheet. Once all procedures have been completed, the student is prompted for a filename in which to save their Lab Report. The lab reports can then be printed or emailed to the instructor. The files will have full worksheet and workbook protection, and will have a "redo" feature at the end of the lab for students who want to repeat a procedure.

Experiences in supporting the structured collection of cancer nanotechnology data using caNanoLab

PubMed Central

Gaheen, Sharon; Lijowski, Michal; Heiskanen, Mervi; Klemm, Juli

2015-01-01

Summary The cancer Nanotechnology Laboratory (caNanoLab) data portal is an online nanomaterial database that allows users to submit and retrieve information on well-characterized nanomaterials, including composition, in vitro and in vivo experimental characterizations, experimental protocols, and related publications. Initiated in 2006, caNanoLab serves as an established resource with an infrastructure supporting the structured collection of nanotechnology data to address the needs of the cancer biomedical and nanotechnology communities. The portal contains over 1,000 curated nanomaterial data records that are publicly accessible for review, comparison, and re-use, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the translation of nanotechnology-based cancer therapeutics, diagnostics, and imaging agents to the clinic. In this paper, we will discuss challenges associated with developing a nanomaterial database and recognized needs for nanotechnology data curation and sharing in the biomedical research community. We will also describe the latest version of caNanoLab, caNanoLab 2.0, which includes enhancements and new features to improve usability such as personalized views of data and enhanced search and navigation. PMID:26425409

Lab-scale demonstration of recuperative thickening technology for enhanced biogas production and dewaterability in anaerobic digestion processes.

PubMed

Cobbledick, Jeffrey; Aubry, Nicholas; Zhang, Victor; Rollings-Scattergood, Sasha; Latulippe, David R

2016-05-15

There is growing interest in the use of high performance anaerobic digestion (AD) processes for the production of biogas at wastewater treatment facilities to offset the energy demands associated with wastewater treatment. Recuperative thickening (RT) is a promising technique which involves recycling a portion of the digested solids back to the incoming feed. In general there exists a significant number of knowledge gaps in the field of RT because the studies that have been conducted to date have almost exclusively occurred in pilot plant or full scale trials; this approach greatly limits the amount of process optimization that can be done in a given trial. In this work, a detailed and comprehensive study of RT was conducted at the lab scale; two custom designed digesters (capacity = 1.5 L) were operated in parallel with one acting as a 'control' digester and the other operating under a semi-batch RT mode. There was no significant change in biogas methane composition for the two digesters, however the RT digester had an average biogas productivity over two times higher than the control one. It was found that the recycling of the polymer flocculant back into the RT digester resulted in a significant improvement in dewatering performance. At the highest polymer concentration tested, the capillary suction time (CST) values for flocculated samples for the RT digester were over 6 times lower than the corresponding values for the control digester. Thus, there exists an opportunity to decrease the overall consumption of polymer flocculants through judicious selection of the dose of polymer flocculant that is used both for the thickening and end-stage dewatering steps in RT processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-level multi-task learning for modeling cross-scale interactions in nested geospatial data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yuan, Shuai; Zhou, Jiayu; Tan, Pang-Ning; Fergus, Emi; Wagner, Tyler; Sorrano, Patricia

2017-01-01

Predictive modeling of nested geospatial data is a challenging problem as the models must take into account potential interactions among variables defined at different spatial scales. These cross-scale interactions, as they are commonly known, are particularly important to understand relationships among ecological properties at macroscales. In this paper, we present a novel, multi-level multi-task learning framework for modeling nested geospatial data in the lake ecology domain. Specifically, we consider region-specific models to predict lake water quality from multi-scaled factors. Our framework enables distinct models to be developed for each region using both its local and regional information. The framework also allows information to be shared among the region-specific models through their common set of latent factors. Such information sharing helps to create more robust models especially for regions with limited or no training data. In addition, the framework can automatically determine cross-scale interactions between the regional variables and the local variables that are nested within them. Our experimental results show that the proposed framework outperforms all the baseline methods in at least 64% of the regions for 3 out of 4 lake water quality datasets evaluated in this study. Furthermore, the latent factors can be clustered to obtain a new set of regions that is more aligned with the response variables than the original regions that were defined a priori from the ecology domain.

Evaluation of oral microbiology lab curriculum reform.

PubMed

Nie, Min; Gao, Zhen Y; Wu, Xin Y; Jiang, Chen X; Du, Jia H

2015-12-07

According to the updated concept of oral microbiology, the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, has carried out oral microbiology teaching reforms during the last 5 years. There was no lab curriculum before 2009 except for a theory course of oral microbiology. The school has implemented an innovative curriculum with oral medicine characteristics to strengthen understanding of knowledge, cultivate students' scientific interest and develop their potential, to cultivate the comprehensive ability of students. This study was designed to evaluate the oral microbiology lab curriculum by analyzing student performance and perceptions regarding the curriculum from 2009 to 2013. The lab curriculum adopted modalities for cooperative learning. Students collected dental plaque from each other and isolated the cariogenic bacteria with selective medium plates. Then they purified the enrichment culture medium and identified the cariogenic strains by Gram stain and biochemical tests. Both quantitative and qualitative data for 5 years were analysed in this study. Part One of the current study assessed student performance in the lab from 2009 to 2013. Part Two used qualitative means to assess students' perceptions by an open questionnaire. The 271 study students' grades on oral microbiology improved during the lab curriculum: "A" grades rose from 60.5 to 81.2 %, and "C" grades fell from 28.4 to 6.3 %. All students considered the lab curriculum to be interesting and helpful. Quantitative and qualitative data converge to suggest that the lab curriculum has strengthened students' grasp of important microbiology-related theory, cultivated their scientific interest, and developed their potential and comprehensive abilities. Our student performance and perception data support the continued use of the innovative teaching system. As an extension and complement of the theory course, the oral microbiology lab curriculum appears to improve the quality of oral medicine education and help to

Playing the Simon game: use of the Simon task for investigating human information processing.

PubMed

Proctor, Robert W

2011-02-01

A little more than 40 years ago, J. R. Simon and colleagues introduced what is now called the Simon task, which yielded a correspondence effect known as the Simon effect. In this paper, I set Simon's contribution in the context of research on stimulus-response compatibility. The novel contribution of the Simon task is described, along with foundational findings using the task that Simon and colleagues reported. I acknowledge the significance of Simon's (1990) review chapter in generating my own interests in the Simon task and describe four selected lines of research from my lab that have been a result of those interests. The article concludes with a brief tribute to Simon and his contribution to experimental psychology. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovation - A view from the Lab

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA Ag Lab in Peoria helps bridge the gap between agricultural producers and commercial manufacturers. In 2015, the Ag Lab, officially known as the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR), is celebrating 75 years of research in Peoria. T...

Recent lab-on-chip developments for novel drug discovery.

PubMed

Khalid, Nauman; Kobayashi, Isao; Nakajima, Mitsutoshi

2017-07-01

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and micro total analysis systems (μTAS) revolutionized the biochemical and electronic industries, and this miniaturization process became a key driver for many markets. Now, it is a driving force for innovations in life sciences, diagnostics, analytical sciences, and chemistry, which are called 'lab-on-a-chip, (LOC)' devices. The use of these devices allows the development of fast, portable, and easy-to-use systems with a high level of functional integration for applications such as point-of-care diagnostics, forensics, the analysis of biomolecules, environmental or food analysis, and drug development. In this review, we report on the latest developments in fabrication methods and production methodologies to tailor LOC devices. A brief overview of scale-up strategies is also presented together with their potential applications in drug delivery and discovery. The impact of LOC devices on drug development and discovery has been extensively reviewed in the past. The current research focuses on fast and accurate detection of genomics, cell mutations and analysis, drug delivery, and discovery. The current research also differentiates the LOC devices into new terminology of microengineering, like organ-on-a-chip, stem cells-on-a-chip, human-on-a-chip, and body-on-a-chip. Key challenges will be the transfer of fabricated LOC devices from lab-scale to industrial large-scale production. Moreover, extensive toxicological studies are needed to justify the use of microfabricated drug delivery vehicles in biological systems. It will also be challenging to transfer the in vitro findings to suitable and promising in vivo models. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2017, 9:e1381. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1381 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Task Design for Intercultural Telecollaboration in Secondary Schools: Insights from the EU project TILA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffstaedter, Petra; Kohn, Kurt

2014-01-01

Our contribution focuses on synchronous oral telecollaboration in secondary schools. With reference to the EU project TILA, aspects of task design and implementation are discussed against the backdrop of issues of technological quality in connection with class organisation in computer labs. Case study evidence is provided in favour of the…

H CANYON PROCESSING IN CORRELATION WITH FH ANALYTICAL LABS

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

Weinheimer, E.

2012-08-06

Management of radioactive chemical waste can be a complicated business. H Canyon and F/H Analytical Labs are two facilities present at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC that are at the forefront. In fact H Canyon is the only large-scale radiochemical processing facility in the United States and this processing is only enhanced by the aid given from F/H Analytical Labs. As H Canyon processes incoming materials, F/H Labs provide support through a variety of chemical analyses. Necessary checks of the chemical makeup, processing, and accountability of the samples taken from H Canyon process tanks are performed at themore » labs along with further checks on waste leaving the canyon after processing. Used nuclear material taken in by the canyon is actually not waste. Only a small portion of the radioactive material itself is actually consumed in nuclear reactors. As a result various radioactive elements such as Uranium, Plutonium and Neptunium are commonly found in waste and may be useful to recover. Specific processing is needed to allow for separation of these products from the waste. This is H Canyon's specialty. Furthermore, H Canyon has the capacity to initiate the process for weapons-grade nuclear material to be converted into nuclear fuel. This is one of the main campaigns being set up for the fall of 2012. Once usable material is separated and purified of impurities such as fission products, it can be converted to an oxide and ultimately turned into commercial fuel. The processing of weapons-grade material for commercial fuel is important in the necessary disposition of plutonium. Another processing campaign to start in the fall in H Canyon involves the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel for disposal in improved containment units. The importance of this campaign involves the proper disposal of nuclear waste in order to ensure the safety and well-being of future generations and the environment. As processing proceeds in the fall, H Canyon will have a

LABS Foundational Technology

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

Olson, Jerry

2012-01-01

They are the inventors of our generation dedicated to exceptional science, advancing the technologies of tomorrow. CO-LABS honors the outstanding achievements of researchers and their impact on the world.

Beamline Insertions Manager at Jefferson Lab

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

Johnson, Michael C.

2015-09-01

The beam viewer system at Jefferson Lab provides operators and beam physicists with qualitative and quantitative information on the transverse electron beam properties. There are over 140 beam viewers installed on the 12 GeV CEBAF accelerator. This paper describes an upgrade consisting of replacing the EPICS-based system tasked with managing all viewers with a mixed system utilizing EPICS and high-level software. Most devices, particularly the beam viewers, cannot be safely inserted into the beam line during high-current beam operations. Software is partly responsible for protecting the machine from untimely insertions. The multiplicity of beam-blocking and beam-vulnerable devices motivates us tomore » try a data-driven approach. The beamline insertions application components are centrally managed and configured through an object-oriented software framework created for this purpose. A rules-based engine tracks the configuration and status of every device, along with the beam status of the machine segment containing the device. The application uses this information to decide on which device actions are allowed at any given time.« less

NASA GeneLab Project: Bridging Space Radiation Omics with Ground Studies.

PubMed

Beheshti, Afshin; Miller, Jack; Kidane, Yared; Berrios, Daniel; Gebre, Samrawit G; Costes, Sylvain V

2018-06-01

Accurate assessment of risks of long-term space missions is critical for human space exploration. It is essential to have a detailed understanding of the biological effects on humans living and working in deep space. Ionizing radiation from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a major health risk factor for astronauts on extended missions outside the protective effects of the Earth's magnetic field. Currently, there are gaps in our knowledge of the health risks associated with chronic low-dose, low-dose-rate ionizing radiation, specifically ions associated with high (H) atomic number (Z) and energy (E). The NASA GeneLab project ( https://genelab.nasa.gov/ ) aims to provide a detailed library of omics datasets associated with biological samples exposed to HZE. The GeneLab Data System (GLDS) includes datasets from both spaceflight and ground-based studies, a majority of which involve exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition to detailed information on radiation exposure for ground-based studies, GeneLab is adding detailed, curated dosimetry information for spaceflight experiments. GeneLab is the first comprehensive omics database for space-related research from which an investigator can generate hypotheses to direct future experiments, utilizing both ground and space biological radiation data. The GLDS is continually expanding as omics-related data are generated by the space life sciences community. Here we provide a brief summary of the space radiation-related data available at GeneLab.

Recent developments from the OPEnS Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selker, J. S.; Good, S. P.; Higgins, C. W.; Sayde, C.; Buskirk, B.; Lopez, M.; Nelke, M.; Udell, C.

2016-12-01

The Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) lab is a facility that is open to all from around the world to use (http://agsci.oregonstate.edu/open-sensing). With 3-D CAD, electronics benches, 3-D printers and laser cutters, and a complete precision metal shop, the lab can build just about anything. Electronic platforms such as the Arduino are combined with cutting edge sensors, and packaged in rugged housing to address critical environmental sensing needs. The results are published in GITHub and in the AGU journal Earth and Space Sciences under the special theme of "Environmental Sensing." In this poster we present advancements including: A ultra-precise isotopic sampler for rainfall; an isotopic sampler for soil gas; a data-logging wind vane that can be mounted on the tether of a balloon; a rain-gage calibrator with three rates of constant application; a <$20 dissolved O2 probe for water; a stream-bed permeameter that gives rapid quantification of permeability. You can use the OPEnS lab! Just sketch your idea on a white board and send it in. The conversation is started, and your prototype can be ready in a few weeks. We have a staff of three engineers ready to help, where you are working remotely, or decide to spend some time with the team in Corvallis.

GeoLab's First Field Trials, 2010 Desert RATS: Evaluating Tools for Early Sample Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evans, Cindy A.; Bell, M. S.; Calaway, M. J.; Graff, Trevor; Young, Kelsey

2011-01-01

As part of an accelerated prototyping project to support science operations tests for future exploration missions, we designed and built a geological laboratory, GeoLab, that was integrated into NASA's first generation Habitat Demonstration Unit-1/Pressurized Excursion Module (HDU1-PEM). GeoLab includes a pressurized glovebox for transferring and handling samples collected on geological traverses, and a suite of instruments for collecting preliminary data to help characterize those samples. The GeoLab and the HDU1-PEM were tested for the first time as part of the 2010 Desert Research and Technology Studies (DRATS), NASA's analog field exercise for testing mission technologies. The HDU1- PEM and GeoLab participated in two weeks of joint operations in northern Arizona with two crewed rovers and the DRATS science team.

Teaching Ocean Sciences in the 21st Century Classroom: Lab to Classroom Videoconferencing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peach, C. L.; Gerwick, W.; Gerwick, L.; Senise, M.; Jones, C. S.; Malloy, K.; Jones, A.; Trentacoste, E.; Nunnery, J.; Mendibles, T.; Tayco, D.; Justice, L.; Deutscher, R.

2010-12-01

Teaching Ocean Science in the 21st Century Classroom (TOST) is a Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE CA) initiative aimed at developing and disseminating technology-based instructional strategies, tools and ocean science resources for both formal and informal science education. San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) have established a proving ground for TOST activities and for development of effective, sustainable solutions for researchers seeking to fulfill NSF and other funding agency broader impact requirements. Lab to Classroom Videoconferencing: Advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are making it easier to connect students and researchers using simple online tools that allow them to interact in novel ways. COSEE CA is experimenting with these tools and approaches to identify effective practices for providing students with insight into the research process and close connections to researchers and their laboratory activities. At the same time researchers, including graduate students, are learning effective communication skills and how to align their presentations to specific classroom needs - all from the comfort of their own lab. The lab to classroom videoconferencing described here is an ongoing partnership between the Gerwick marine biomedical research lab and a group of three life science teachers (7th grade) at Pershing Middle School (SDUSD) that started in 2007. Over the last 5 years, the Pershing science teachers have created an intensive, semester-long unit focused on drug discovery. Capitalizing on the teacher team’s well-developed unit of study and the overlap with leading-edge research at SIO, COSEE CA created the videoconferencing program as a broader impact solution for the lab. The team has refined the program over 3 iterations, experimenting with structuring the activities to most effectively reach the students. In the

Berkeley Lab - Materials Sciences Division

Science.gov Websites

Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Phone Book Jobs Search DOE Search MSD Go MSD - Materials Investigators Ager, Joel W » Alivisatos, A Paul » Altman, Ehud » Analytis, James » Anderson, Christopher  , Naomi » Gullikson, Eric M » Harris, Stephen J » Hasan, M. Zahid » Hellman, Frances » Helms, Brett A

Exploring the changing learning environment of the gross anatomy lab.

PubMed

Hopkins, Robin; Regehr, Glenn; Wilson, Timothy D

2011-07-01

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of virtual models and prosected specimens in the context of the gross anatomy lab. In 2009, student volunteers from an undergraduate anatomy class were randomly assigned to study groups in one of three learning conditions. All groups studied the muscles of mastication and completed identical learning objectives during a 45-minute lab. All groups were provided with two reference atlases. Groups were distinguished by the type of primary tools they were provided: gross prosections, three-dimensional stereoscopic computer model, or both resources. The facilitator kept observational field notes. A prepost multiple-choice knowledge test was administered to evaluate students' learning. No significant effect of the laboratory models was demonstrated between groups on the prepost assessment of knowledge. Recurring observations included students' tendency to revert to individual memorization prior to the posttest, rotation of models to match views in the provided atlas, and dissemination of groups into smaller working units. The use of virtual lab resources seemed to influence the social context and learning environment of the anatomy lab. As computer-based learning methods are implemented and studied, they must be evaluated beyond their impact on knowledge gain to consider the effect technology has on students' social development.

Experiential Learning of Digital Communication Using LabVIEW

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhan, Wei; Porter, Jay R.; Morgan, Joseph A.

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the design and implementation of laboratories and course projects using LabVIEW in an instrumentation course. The pedagogical challenge is to enhance students' learning of digital communication using LabVIEW. LabVIEW was extensively used in the laboratory sessions, which better prepared students for the course projects. Two…

Investigation of lab-scale horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands treating industrial cork boiling wastewater.

PubMed

Gomes, Arlindo C; Silva, Lúcia; Albuquerque, António; Simões, Rogério; Stefanakis, Alexandros I

2018-09-01

The feasibility and treatment efficiency of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands (HSFCW) was assessed for the first time for cork boiling wastewater (CBW) through laboratory experiments. CBW is known for its high content of phenolic compounds, complex composition of biorecalcitrant and toxic nature. Two lab-scale units, one planted with Phragmites australis (CWP) and one unplanted (CWC), were used to evaluate the removals of COD, BOD, total phenolic compounds (TPh) and decolourization over a 2.5-years monitoring period under Mediterranean climatic conditions. Seven organic and hydraulic loading rates ranging from 2.6 to 11.5 g COD/m 2 /d and 5.7-9.1 L/m 2 /d were tested under average hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 5 ± 1 days required due to the CWB limited biodegradability (i.e., BOD 5 /COD of 0.19). Average removals of the CWP exceeded those of the CWC and reached 74.6%, 91.7% and 69.1% for COD, BOD 5 and TPh, respectively, with respective mass removals rates up to 7.0, 1.7 and 0.5 (in g/m 2 /d). Decolourization was limited to 35%, since it mainly depends on physical processes rather than biodegradation. CBW concentration of nine phenolic compounds ranged from 1.2 to 38.4 mg/L (for the syringic and ellagic acids, respectively) in the raw CBW, with respective removals in the CWP unit ranging from 41.8 to 76.3%, higher than those in the control unit. Despite CBW high concentration of TPhs (average of 116.3 mg/L), the HSFCW reached organic load removals higher than those of conventional biological treatment methods. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of applied forces and electromyography of back and shoulders muscles when performing a simulated hand scaling task.

PubMed

Porter, William; Gallagher, Sean; Torma-Krajewski, Janet

2010-05-01

Hand scaling is a physically demanding task responsible for numerous overexertion injuries in underground mining. Scaling requires the miner to use a long pry bar to remove loose rock, reducing the likelihood of rock fall injuries. The experiments described in this article simulated "rib" scaling (scaling a mine wall) from an elevated bucket to examine force generation and electromyographic responses using two types of scaling bars (steel and fiberglass-reinforced aluminum) at five target heights ranging from floor level to 176 cm. Ten male and six female subjects were tested in separate experiments. Peak and average force applied at the scaling bar tip and normalized electromyography (EMG) of the left and right pairs of the deltoid and erectores spinae muscles were obtained. Work height significantly affected peak prying force during scaling activities with highest force capacity at the lower levels. Bar type did not affect force generation. However, use of the lighter fiberglass bar required significantly more muscle activity to achieve the same force. Results of these studies suggest that miners scale points on the rock face that are below their knees, and reposition the bucket as often as necessary to do so. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Students in the My Brother’s Keeper program line the railings of an observation deck overlooking the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spaceport is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Students in the My Brother’s Keeper program try out some of the machinery inside the Prototype Lab at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Florida spaceport is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Mike Lane demonstrates a 3D scanner inside the NASA Kennedy Space Center Prototype Lab for students in the My Brother’s Keeper program. The Florida spaceport is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Harold (Russ) McAmis demonstrates machinery inside NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Prototype Lab for students in the My Brother’s Keeper program. The Florida spaceport is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Jose Nunez of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs talks to students in the My Brother’s Keeper program outside the Florida spaceport’s Swamp Works Lab. Kennedy is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

Report of the Fermilab ILC Citizens' Task Force

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

None

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory convened the ILC Citizens' Task Force to provide guidance and advice to the laboratory to ensure that community concerns and ideas are included in all public aspects of planning and design for a proposed future accelerator, the International Linear Collider. In this report, the members of the Task Force describe the process they used to gather and analyze information on all aspects of the proposed accelerator and its potential location at Fermilab in northern Illinois. They present the conclusions and recommendations they reached as a result of the learning process and their subsequent discussions and deliberations.more » While the Task Force was charged to provide guidance on the ILC, it became clear during the process that the high cost of the proposed accelerator made a near-term start for the project at Fermilab unlikely. Nevertheless, based on a year of extensive learning and dialogue, the Task Force developed a series of recommendations for Fermilab to consider as the laboratory develops all successor projects to the Tevatron. The Task Force recognizes that bringing a next-generation particle physics project to Fermilab will require both a large international effort and the support of the local community. While the Task Force developed its recommendations in response to the parameters of a future ILC, the principles they set forth apply directly to any large project that may be conceived at Fermilab, or at other laboratories, in the future. With this report, the Task Force fulfills its task of guiding Fermilab from the perspective of the local community on how to move forward with a large-scale project while building positive relationships with surrounding communities. The report summarizes the benefits, concerns and potential impacts of bringing a large-scale scientific project to northern Illinois.« less

Baseball Physics: A New Mechanics Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagoner, Kasey; Flanagan, Daniel

2018-05-01

The game of baseball provides an interesting laboratory for experimenting with mechanical phenomena (there are many good examples in The Physics Teacher, available on Professor Alan Nathan's website, and discussed in Physics of Baseball & Softball). We have developed a lab, for an introductory-level physics course, that investigates many of these phenomena. The lab uses inexpensive, readily available equipment such as wooden baseball bats, baseballs, and actual Major League Baseball data. By the end of the lab, students have revisited many concepts they learned earlier in the semester and come away with an understanding of how to put seemingly disparate ideas together to analyze a fun sport.

Teaching Chemistry Lab Safety through Comics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Raddo, Pasquale

2006-04-01

As a means for raising students' interest in aspects pertaining to chemistry lab safety, this article presents a novel approach to teaching this important subject. Comic book lab scenes that involve fictional characters familiar to many students are presented and discussed as to the safety concerns represented in those images. These are discussed in a safety prelab session. For the sake of comparison, students are then shown images taken from current chemistry journals of safety-conscious contemporary chemists at work in their labs. Finally the need to adhere to copyright regulations for the use of the images is discussed so as to increase students' awareness of academic honesty and copyright issues.

Assessing the Impact of a Virtual Lab in an Allied Health Program.

PubMed

Kay, Robin; Goulding, Helene; Li, Jia

2018-01-01

Competency-based education in health care requires rigorous standards to ensure professional proficiency. Demonstrating competency in hands-on laboratories calls for effective preparation, knowledge, and experience, all of which can be difficult to achieve using traditional teaching methods. Virtual laboratories are an alternative, cost-effective approach to providing students with sufficient preparatory information. Research on the use of virtual labs in allied health education is limited. The current study investigated the benefits, challenges, and perceived impact of a virtual lab in an allied health program. The sample consisted of 64 students (55 females, 9 males) enrolled in a university medical laboratory science program. A convergent mixed-methods approach (Likert survey, open-ended questions, think-aloud protocol data) revealed that students had positive attitudes towards visual learning, authenticity, learner control, organization, and scaffolding afforded by the virtual lab. Challenges reported included navigational difficulties, an absence of control over content selection, and lack of understanding for certain concepts. Over 90% of students agreed that the virtual lab helped them prepare for hands-on laboratory sessions and that they would use this format of instruction again. Overall, 84% of the students agreed that the virtual lab helped them to achieve greater success in learning.

Electrifying the disk: a modular rotating platform for wireless power and data transmission for Lab on a disk application.

PubMed

Höfflin, Jens; Torres Delgado, Saraí M; Suárez Sandoval, Fralett; Korvink, Jan G; Mager, Dario

2015-06-21

We present a design for wireless power transfer, via inductively coupled coils, to a spinning disk. The rectified and stabilised power feeds an Arduino-compatible microcontroller (μC) on the disc, which in turn drives and monitors various sensors and actuators. The platform, which has been conceived to flexibly prototype such systems, demonstrates the feasibility of a wireless power supply and the use of a μC circuit, for example for Lab-on-a-disk applications, thereby eliminating the need for cumbersome slip rings or batteries, and adding a cogent and new degree of freedom to the setup. The large number of sensors and actuators included demonstrate that a wide range of physical parameters can be easily monitored and altered. All devices are connected to the μC via an I(2)C bus, therefore can be easily exchanged or augmented by other devices in order to perform a specific task on the disk. The wireless power supply takes up little additional physical space and should work in conjunction with most existing Lab-on-a-disk platforms as a straightforward add-on, since it does not require modification of the rotation axis and can be readily adapted to specific geometrical requirements.

Distribution and dissipation pathways of nonylphenol polyethoxylates in the Yellow River: Site investigation and lab-scale studies.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Wu, Yinghong; Sun, Hongwen; Xu, Jian; Dai, Shugui

2006-09-01

Spatial distribution of nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPEOs) and nonylphenol (NP) was investigated in a field study in Lanzhou Reach of the Yellow River. NPEOs and their metabolites were found in the river, with the maximum dissolved concentrations of 6.38 nmol/L for NPEOs, 0.19 nmol/L for nonylphenol ethoxy acetic acids (NPECs) and 0.79 nmol/L for NP, respectively. The maximum concentrations in the sediment and suspended particle samples were 1.50 and 5.09 nmol/g for NPEOs and NP, respectively. The effects of particles, light and microorganism on the dissipation of NPEOs in the river water were investigated based on lab-scale experiments. When natural particles were removed, 72% and 22% degradation of NPEOs were achieved at 120 h in non-sterile and sterile conditions with light, respectively. Different concentrations of NPECs were also observed in these experiments. When suspended particle matters (SPMs) were present, about 38-50% of NPEOs were sorbed to the particulate phase in only 1 h. As a result, the degradation of NPEOs and production of NPECs were inhibited. However, the combined sorption and degradation in the presence of SPMs resulted in lower dissolved NPEO concentrations than those in the absence of SPMs. Biodegradation was the most important pathway for NPEOs degradation in the river water, while NPECs seemed to be produced through both biological and abiological pathways.

Hydrogel Beads: The New Slime Lab?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brockway, Debra; Libera, Matthew; Welner, Heidi

2011-01-01

Creating slime fascinates students. Unfortunately, though intrigue is at its peak, the educational aspect of this activity is often minimal. This article describes a chemistry lab that closely relates to the slime lab and allows high school students to explore the concepts of chemical bonding, properties, and replacement reactions. It involves the…

Interactive, Online, Adsorption Lab to Support Discovery of the Scientific Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, K. C.; Ulery, A. L.; Chamberlin, B.; Dettmer, A.

2014-12-01

Science students require more than methods practice in lab activities; they must gain an understanding of the application of the scientific process through lab work. Large classes, time constraints, and funding may limit student access to science labs, denying students access to the types of experiential learning needed to motivate and develop new scientists. Interactive, discovery-based computer simulations and virtual labs provide an alternative, low-risk opportunity for learners to engage in lab processes and activities. Students can conduct experiments, collect data, draw conclusions, and even abort a session. We have developed an online virtual lab, through which students can interactively develop as scientists as they learn about scientific concepts, lab equipment, and proper lab techniques. Our first lab topic is adsorption of chemicals to soil, but the methodology is transferrable to other topics. In addition to learning the specific procedures involved in each lab, the online activities will prompt exploration and practice in key scientific and mathematical concepts, such as unit conversion, significant digits, assessing risks, evaluating bias, and assessing quantity and quality of data. These labs are not designed to replace traditional lab instruction, but to supplement instruction on challenging or particularly time-consuming concepts. To complement classroom instruction, students can engage in a lab experience outside the lab and over a shorter time period than often required with real-world adsorption studies. More importantly, students can reflect, discuss, review, and even fail at their lab experience as part of the process to see why natural processes and scientific approaches work the way they do. Our Media Productions team has completed a series of online digital labs available at virtuallabs.nmsu.edu and scienceofsoil.com, and these virtual labs are being integrated into coursework to evaluate changes in student learning.

National Labs Host Classroom Ready Energy Educational Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, C. D.

2009-12-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) has a clear goal of joining all climate and energy agencies in the task of taking climate and energy research and development to communities across the nation and throughout the world. Only as information on climate and energy education is shared with the nation and world do research labs begin to understand the massive outreach work yet to be accomplished. The work at hand is to encourage and ensure the climate and energy literacy of our society. The national labs have defined the K-20 population as a major outreach focus, with the intent of helping them see their future through the global energy usage crisis and ensure them that they have choices and a chance to redirect their future. Students embrace climate and energy knowledge and do see an opportunity to change our energy future in a positive way. Students are so engaged that energy clubs are springing up in highschools across the nation. Because of such global clubs university campuses are being connected throughout the world (Energy Crossroads www.energycrossroads.org) etc. There is a need and an interest, but what do teachers need in order to faciliate this learning? It is simple, they need financial support for classroom resources; standards based classroom ready lessons and materials; and, training. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a Department of Energy Lab, provides standards based education materials to schools across the nation. With a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency education, NREL helps educators to prompt students to analyze and then question their energy choices and evaluate their carbon footprint. Classrooms can then discover the effects of those choices on greenhouse gas emmissions and climate change. The DOE Office of Science has found a way to contribute to teachers professional development through the Department of Energy Academics Creating Teacher Scientists (DOE ACTS) Program. This program affords teachers an opportunity to

Bituminous Mixtures Lab

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-07-25

The Bituminous Mixtures Laboratory (BML) specializes in the research of asphalt pavement mixtures. This lab supports FHWA's efforts to develop, evaluate and improve materials, mixture design technology and performance-based tests for asphalt paving m...

Seeing an Old Lab in a New Light: Transforming a Traditional Optics Lab into Full Guided Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maley, Tim; Stoll, Will; Demir, Kadir

2013-01-01

This paper describes the authors' experiences transforming a "cookbook" lab into an inquiry-based investigation and the powerful effect the inquiry-oriented lab had on our students' understanding of lenses. We found the inquiry-oriented approach led to richer interactions between students as well as a deeper conceptual…

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Students in the My Brother’s Keeper program watch as Jose Nunez of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs demonstrates some of the hardware in the Electrostatic and Surface Physics Lab at the Florida spaceport. Kennedy is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-03-02

Students in the My Brother’s Keeper program listen as Jose Nunez of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs explains some of the hardware in the Electrostatic and Surface Physics Lab at the Florida spaceport. Kennedy is one of six NASA centers that participated in My Brother’s Keeper National Lab Week. The event is a nationwide effort to bring youth from underrepresented communities into federal labs and centers for hands-on activities, tours and inspirational speakers. Sixty students from the nearby cities of Orlando and Sanford visited Kennedy, where they toured the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Station Processing Facility and the center’s innovative Swamp Works Labs. The students also had a chance to meet and ask questions of a panel of subject matter experts from across Kennedy.

NBodyLab Simulation Experiments with GRAPE-6a AND MD-GRAPE2 Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, V.; Ates, A.

2005-12-01

NbodyLab is an astrophysical N-body simulation testbed for student research. It is accessible via a web interface and runs as a backend framework under Linux. NbodyLab can generate data models or perform star catalog lookups, transform input data sets, perform direct summation gravitational force calculations using a variety of integration schemes, and produce analysis and visualization output products. NEMO (Teuben 1994), a popular stellar dynamics toolbox, is used for some functions. NbodyLab integrators can optionally utilize two types of low-cost desktop supercomputer accelerators, the newly available GRAPE-6a (125 Gflops peak) and the MD-GRAPE2 (64-128 Gflops peak). The initial version of NBodyLab was presented at ADASS 2002. This paper summarizes software enhancements developed subsequently, focusing on GRAPE-6a related enhancements, and gives examples of computational experiments and astrophysical research, including star cluster and solar system studies, that can be conducted with the new testbed functionality.

A Streamlined Molecular Biology Module for Undergraduate Biochemistry Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muth, Gregory W.; Chihade, Joseph W.

2008-01-01

Site-directed mutagenesis and other molecular biology techniques, including plasmid manipulation and restriction analysis, are commonly used tools in the biochemistry research laboratory. In redesigning our biochemistry lab curricula, we sought to integrate these techniques into a term-long, project-based course. In the module presented here,…

ASTRO 101 Labs and the Invasion of the Cognitive Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Stephanie J.

2015-04-01

Since the mid 1800's there has been widespread agreement that we should be about the business of engaging students in the practices of scientific research in order to best teach the methods and practices of science. There has been significantly less agreement on precisely how to teach science by mimicking scientific inquiry in a way that can be empirically supported, even with our ``top students.'' Engaging ``ASTRO 101 students'' in scientific inquiry is a task that has left our astronomy education research community more than a little stymied, to the extent that it is difficult to find non-major science students practicing anything other than confirmation exercises in college labs. Researchers at the CAPER Center for Astronomy & Physics Education Research have struggled with this problem as well, until in our frustration we had to ask: ``Can research tell us anything about how to get students to do research?'' This talk presents an overview of the cognitive science that we've brought to bear in the ASTRO 101 laboratory setting for non-science majoring undergraduates and future teachers, along with the results of early studies that suggest that a ``backwards faded scaffolding'' approach to instruction in Intro Labs can successfully support large numbers of students in enhancing their understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. Supported by NSF DUE 1312562.

Removal of heavy metals from synthetic landfill leachate in lab-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands.

PubMed

A, Dan; Oka, Masao; Fujii, Yuta; Soda, Satoshi; Ishigaki, Tomonori; Machimura, Takashi; Ike, Michihiko

2017-04-15

Synthetic landfill leachate was treated using lab-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands (CWs) in sequencing batch modes to assess heavy metal removal efficiencies. The CWs filled with loamy soil and pumice stone were unplanted or planted with common reed (Phragmites australis) (Reed-CW) or common rush (Juncus effusus) (Rush-CW). Synthetic leachate contained acetate, propionate, humate, ammonium, and heavy metals. Common reed grew almost vigorously but common rush partly withered during the 8-month experiment. The CWs reduced the leachate volume effectively by evapotranspiration and removed easily degradable organic matter, color, and ammonium. Furthermore, the CWs demonstrated high removal amounts for heavy metals such as Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, Fe, and Pb, but not Mn from leachate. The metal removal amounts in the CWs were low for high-strength leachate (influent concentration increased from one time to three times) or under short retention time (batch cycle shortened from 3days to 1day). The Rush-CW showed slightly lower removal amounts for Cr, Ni, Mn, and Cd, although the Reed-CW showed lower Mn removal amounts than the unplanted CW did. However, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Zn were highly accumulated in the upper soil layer in the planted CW by rhizofiltration with adsorption compared with unplanted CW, indicating that the emergent plants would be helpful for decreasing the dredging soil depth for the final removal of heavy metals. Although the emergent plants were minor sinks in comparison with soil, common rush had higher bioconcentration factors and translocation factors for heavy metals than common reed had. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetic Viscous Drag for Friction Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaffney, Chris; Catching, Adam

2016-01-01

The typical friction lab performed in introductory mechanics courses is usually not the favorite of either the student or the instructor. The measurements are not all that easy to make, and reproducibility is usually a troublesome issue. This paper describes the augmentation of such a friction lab with a study of the viscous drag on a magnet…

Small-scale spatial cognition in pigeons.

PubMed

Cheng, Ken; Spetch, Marcia L; Kelly, Debbie M; Bingman, Verner P

2006-05-01

Roberts and Van Veldhuizen's [Roberts, W.A., Van Veldhuizen, N., 1985. Spatial memory in pigeons on the radial maze. J. Exp. Psychol.: Anim. Behav. Proc. 11, 241-260] study on pigeons in the radial maze sparked research on landmark use by pigeons in lab-based tasks as well as variants of the radial-maze task. Pigeons perform well on open-field versions of the radial maze, with feeders scattered on the laboratory floor. Pigeons can also be trained to search precisely for buried food. The search can be based on multiple landmarks, but is sometimes controlled by just one or two landmarks, with the preferred landmarks varying across individuals. Findings are similar in landmark-based searching on a computer monitor and on a lab floor, despite many differences between the two kinds of tasks. A number of general learning principles are found in landmark-based searching, such as cue competition, generalization and peak shift, and selective attention. Pigeons also learn the geometry of the environment in which they are searching. Neurophysiological studies have implicated the hippocampal formation (HF) in avian spatial cognition, with the right hippocampus hypothesized to play a more important role in the spatial recognition of goal locations. Most recently, single-cell recording from the pigeon's hippocampal formation has revealed cells with different properties from the classic 'place' cells of rats, as well as differences in the two sides of the hippocampus.

Novartis School Lab: bringing young people closer to the world of research and discovering the excitement of science.

PubMed

Michel, Christiane Röckl; Standke, Gesche; Naef, Reto

2012-01-01

The Novartis School Lab (http://www.novartis.ch/schullabor) is an institution with an old tradition. The School Lab reaches about 5000 students through internal courses and an additional 5000 children at public science events where they can enjoy hands-on science in disciplines of biomedical research. The subjects range from chemistry, physics, molecular biology and genetics to toxicology and medical topics. The Novartis School Lab offers a variety of activities for youngsters aged 10-20 ranging from lab courses for school classes, continuing education for teachers and development of teaching kits, support for individual research projects to outreach for public science events. Innovation and adaptation to changes of current needs are essential aspects for the Novartis School Lab. Ongoing activities to shape the Novartis Biomedical Learning Lab include design of new teaching experiments, exploration into additional disciplines of biomedical science and the creation of a fascinating School Lab of the future.

Berkeley Lab Scientist Named MacArthur "Genius" Fellow for Audio

Science.gov Websites

Preservation Research | Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Directory Submit Web People Navigation Berkeley Lab Search Submit Web People Close About the Lab Leadership/Organization Calendar News to digitally recover a 128-year-old recording of Alexander Graham Bell's voice, enabling people to

Performance in complex motor tasks deteriorates in hyperthermic humans.

PubMed

Piil, Jacob F; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper; Trangmar, Steven J; Nybo, Lars

2017-01-01

Heat stress, leading to elevations in whole-body temperature, has a marked impact on both physical performance and cognition in ecological settings. Lab experiments confirm this for physically demanding activities, whereas observations are inconsistent for tasks involving cognitive processing of information or decision-making prior to responding. We hypothesized that divergences could relate to task complexity and developed a protocol consisting of 1) simple motor task [TARGET_pinch], 2) complex motor task [Visuo-motor tracking], 3) simple math task [MATH_type], 4) combined motor-math task [MATH_pinch]. Furthermore, visuo-motor tracking performance was assessed both in a separate- and a multipart protocol (complex motor tasks alternating with the three other tasks). Following familiarization, each of the 10 male subjects completed separate and multipart protocols in randomized order in the heat (40°C) or control condition (20°C) with testing at baseline (seated rest) and similar seated position, following exercise-induced hyperthermia (core temperature ∼ 39.5°C in the heat and 38.2°C in control condition). All task scores were unaffected by control exercise or passive heat exposure, but visuo-motor tracking performance was reduced by 10.7 ± 6.5% following exercise-induced hyperthermia when integrated in the multipart protocol and 4.4 ± 5.7% when tested separately (both P < 0.05 ). TARGET_pinch precision declined by 2.6 ± 1.3% ( P < 0.05 ), while no significant changes were observed for the math tasks. These results indicate that heat per se has little impact on simple motor or cognitive test performance, but complex motor performance is impaired by hyperthermia and especially so when multiple tasks are combined.

Reviews Equipment: LabQuest 2 Equipment: Rubens' Tube Equipment: Ripple Strobe Tank Book: God and the Atom Book: Magnificent Principia, Exploring Isaac Newton's Masterpiece Book: Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values Classroom Video: Maxwell's Equations Book: Exploring Quantum Physics Through Hands-on Projects Web Watch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2013-11-01

WE RECOMMEND LabQuest 2 New logger now includes mobile data sharing Rubens' Tube Sturdy Rubens' tube ramps up the beat Ripple Strobe Tank Portable ripple tank makes waves in and out of the lab God and the Atom Expertly told story of the influence of atomism Maxwell's Equations Video stands the test of time Exploring Quantum Physics Through Hands-on Projects Mixture of theory and experiment hits the spot WORTH A LOOK Magnificent Principia, Exploring Isaac Newton's Masterpiece The tricky task of summarizing Newton's iconic work Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values Interesting book tackles communication in the classroom WEB WATCH Interactive website plans a trip to Mars ... documentary peers into telescopes ... films consider the density of water

Towards a Computable Data Corpus of Temporal Correlations between Drug Administration and Lab Value Changes

PubMed Central

Newe, Axel; Wimmer, Stefan; Neubert, Antje; Becker, Linda; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich; Ganslandt, Thomas

2015-01-01

Background The analysis of electronic health records for an automated detection of adverse drug reactions is an approach to solve the problems that arise from traditional methods like spontaneous reporting or manual chart review. Algorithms addressing this task should be modeled on the criteria for a standardized case causality assessment defined by the World Health Organization. One of these criteria is the temporal relationship between drug intake and the occurrence of a reaction or a laboratory test abnormality. Appropriate data that would allow for developing or validating related algorithms is not publicly available, though. Methods In order to provide such data, retrospective routine data of drug administrations and temporally corresponding laboratory observations from a university clinic were extracted, transformed and evaluated by experts in terms of a reasonable time relationship between drug administration and lab value alteration. Result The result is a data corpus of 400 episodes of normalized laboratory parameter values in temporal context with drug administrations. Each episode has been manually classified whether it contains data that might indicate a temporal correlation between the drug administration and the change of the lab value course, whether such a change is not observable or whether a decision between those two options is not possible due to the data. In addition, each episode has been assigned a concordance value which indicates how difficult it is to assess. This is the first open data corpus of a computable ground truth of temporal correlations between drug administration and lab value alterations. Discussion The main purpose of this data corpus is the provision of data for further research and the provision of a ground truth which allows for comparing the outcome of other assessments of this data with the outcome of assessments made by human experts. It can serve as a contribution towards systematic, computerized ADR detection in

The TRIDEC System-of-Systems; Choreography of large-scale concurrent tasks in Natural Crisis Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Häner, R.; Wächter, J.

2012-04-01

The project Collaborative, Complex, and Critical Decision-Support in Evolving Crises (TRIDEC), co-funded by the European Commission in its Seventh Framework Programme aims at establishing a network of dedicated, autonomous legacy systems for large-scale concurrent management of natural crises utilising heterogeneous information resources. TRIDEC's architecture reflects the System-of- Systems (SoS) approach which is based on task-oriented systems, cooperatively interacting as a collective in a common environment. The design of the TRIDEC-SoS follows the principles of service-oriented and event-driven architectures (SOA & EDA) exceedingly focusing on a loose coupling of the systems. The SoS approach in combination with SOA and EDA has the distinction of being able to provide novel and coherent behaviours and features resulting from a process of dynamic self-organisation. Self-organisation is a process without the need for a central or external coordinator controlling it through orchestration. It is the result of enacted concurrent tasks in a collaborative environment of geographically distributed systems. Although the individual systems act completely autonomously, their interactions expose emergent structures of evolving nature. Particularly, the fact is important that SoS are inherently able to evolve on all facets of intelligent information management. This includes adaptive properties, e.g. seamless integration of new resource types or the adoption of new fields in natural crisis management. In the case of TRIDEC with various heterogeneous participants involved, concurrent information processing is of fundamental importance because of the achievable improvements regarding cooperative decision making. Collaboration within TRIDEC will be implemented with choreographies and conversations. Choreographies specify the expected behaviour between two or more participants; conversations describe the message exchange between all participants emphasising their logical

Flexible HVAC System for Lab or Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedan, Jonathan

2001-01-01

Discusses an effort to design a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system flexible enough to accommodate an easy conversion of classrooms to laboratories and dry labs to wet labs. The design's energy efficiency and operations and maintenance are examined. (GR)

ASC Tri-lab Co-design Level 2 Milestone Report 2015

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

Hornung, Rich; Jones, Holger; Keasler, Jeff

2015-09-23

In 2015, the three Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories that make up the Advanced Sci- enti c Computing (ASC) Program (Sandia, Lawrence Livermore, and Los Alamos) collaboratively explored performance portability programming environments in the context of several ASC co-design proxy applica- tions as part of a tri-lab L2 milestone executed by the co-design teams at each laboratory. The programming environments that were studied included Kokkos (developed at Sandia), RAJA (LLNL), and Legion (Stan- ford University). The proxy apps studied included: miniAero, LULESH, CoMD, Kripke, and SNAP. These programming models and proxy-apps are described herein. Each lab focused on amore » particular combination of abstractions and proxy apps, with the goal of assessing performance portability using those. Performance portability was determined by: a) the ability to run a single application source code on multiple advanced architectures, b) comparing runtime performance between \

Optum Labs: building a novel node in the learning health care system.

PubMed

Wallace, Paul J; Shah, Nilay D; Dennen, Taylor; Bleicher, Paul A; Bleicher, Paul D; Crown, William H

2014-07-01

Unprecedented change in the US health care system is being driven by the rapid uptake of health information technology and national investments in multi-institution research networks comprising academic centers, health care delivery systems, and other health system components. An example of this changing landscape is Optum Labs, a novel network "node" that is bringing together new partners, data, and analytic techniques to implement research findings in health care practice. Optum Labs was founded in early 2013 by Mayo Clinic and Optum, a commercial data, infrastructure services, and care organization that is part of UnitedHealth Group. Optum Labs now has eleven collaborators and a database of deidentified information on more than 150 million people that is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. This article describes the early progress of Optum Labs. The combination of the diverse collaborator perspectives with rich data, including deep patient and provider information, is intended to reveal new insights about diseases, treatments, and patients' behavior to guide changes in practice. Practitioners' involvement in agenda setting and translation of findings into practical care innovations accelerates the implementation of research results. Furthermore, feedback loops from the clinic help Optum Labs expand on successes and give quick attention to challenges as they emerge. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Assessing Usage and Maximizing Finance Lab Impact: A Case Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noguera, Magdy; Budden, Michael Craig; Silva, Alberto

2011-01-01

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to assess students' usage and perceptions of a finance lab. Finance labs differ from simple computer labs as they typically contain data boards, streaming market quotes, terminals and software that allow for real-time financial analyses. Despite the fact that such labs represent significant and…

Design of Inquiry-Oriented Science Labs: Impacts on Students' Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baseya, J. M.; Francis, C. D.

2011-01-01

Background: Changes in lab style can lead to differences in learning. Two inquiry-oriented lab styles are guided inquiry (GI) and problem-based (PB). Students' attitudes towards lab are important to consider when choosing between GI and PB styles during curriculum design. Purpose: We examined the degree to which lab experiences are explained by a…

Excellence in Physics Education Award: SCALE-UP, Student Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beichner, Robert

2016-03-01

The Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) Project combines curricula and a specially-designed instructional space to enhance learning. SCALE-UP students practice communication and teamwork skills while performing activities that enhance their conceptual understanding and problem solving skills. This can be done with small or large classes and has been implemented at more than 250 institutions. Educational research indicates that students should collaborate on interesting tasks and be deeply involved with the material they are studying. SCALE-UP classtime is spent primarily on ``tangibles'' and ``ponderables''--hands-on measurements/observations and interesting questions. There are also computer simulations (called ``visibles'') and hypothesis-driven labs. Students sit at tables designed to facilitate group interactions. Instructors circulate and engage in Socratic dialogues. The setting looks like a banquet hall, with lively interactions nearly all the time. Impressive learning gains have been measured at institutions across the US and internationally. This talk describes today's students, how lecturing got started, what happens in a SCALE-UP classroom, and how the approach has spread. The SCALE-UP project has greatly benefitted from numerous Grants made by NSF and FIPSE to NCSU and other institutions.

The Relationship between Rating Scales Used to Evaluate Tasks from Task Inventories for Licensure and Certification Examinations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cadle, Adrienne Woodley

2012-01-01

The first step in developing or updating a licensure or certification examination is to conduct a job or task analysis. Following completion of the job analysis, a survey validation study is performed to validate the results of the job analysis and to obtain task ratings so that an examination blueprint may be created. Psychometricians and job…

Vertex evoked potentials in a rating-scale detection task: Relation to signal probability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Squires, K. C.; Squires, N. K.; Hillyard, S. A.

1974-01-01

Vertex evoked potentials were recorded from human subjects performing in an auditory detection task with rating scale responses. Three values of a priori probability of signal presentation were tested. The amplitudes of the N1 and P3 components of the vertex potential associated with correct detections of the signal were found to be systematically related to the strictness of the response criterion and independent of variations in a priori signal probability. No similar evoked potential components were found associated with signal absent judgements (misses and correct rejections) regardless of the confidence level of the judgement or signal probability. These results strongly support the contention that the form of the vertex evoked response is closely correlated with the subject's psychophysical decision regarding the presence or absence of a threshold level signal.

Designing virtual science labs for the Islamic Academy of Delaware

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AlZahrani, Nada Saeed

Science education is a basic part of the curriculum in modern day classrooms. Instructional approaches to science education can take many forms but hands-on application of theory via science laboratory activities for the learner is common. Not all schools have the resources to provide the laboratory environment necessary for hands-on application of science theory. Some settings rely on technology to provide a virtual laboratory experience instead. The Islamic Academy of Delaware (IAD), a typical community-based organization, was formed to support and meet the essential needs of the Muslim community of Delaware. IAD provides science education as part of the overall curriculum, but cannot provide laboratory activities as part of the science program. Virtual science labs may be a successful model for students at IAD. This study was conducted to investigate the potential of implementing virtual science labs at IAD and to develop an implementation plan for integrating the virtual labs. The literature has shown us that the lab experience is a valuable part of the science curriculum (NBPTS, 2013, Wolf, 2010, National Research Council, 1997 & 2012). The National Research Council (2012) stressed the inclusion of laboratory investigations in the science curriculum. The literature also supports the use of virtual labs as an effective substitute for classroom labs (Babateen, 2011; National Science Teachers Association, 2008). Pyatt and Simms (2011) found evidence that virtual labs were as good, if not better than physical lab experiences in some respects. Although not identical in experience to a live lab, the virtual lab has been shown to provide the student with an effective laboratory experience in situations where the live lab is not possible. The results of the IAD teacher interviews indicate that the teachers are well-prepared for, and supportive of, the implementation of virtual labs to improve the science education curriculum. The investigator believes that with the

In Defense of the National Labs and Big-Budget Science

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

Goodwin, J R

2008-07-29

The purpose of this paper is to present the unofficial and unsanctioned opinions of a Visiting Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the values of LLNL and the other National Labs. The basic founding value and goal of the National Labs is big-budget scientific research, along with smaller-budget scientific research that cannot easily be done elsewhere. The most important example in the latter category is classified defense-related research. The historical guiding light here is the Manhattan Project. This endeavor was unique in human history, and might remain so. The scientific expertise and wealth of an entire nation was tappedmore » in a project that was huge beyond reckoning, with no advance guarantee of success. It was in many respects a clash of scientific titans, with a large supporting cast, collaborating toward a single well-defined goal. Never had scientists received so much respect, so much money, and so much intellectual freedom to pursue scientific progress. And never was the gap between theory and implementation so rapidly narrowed, with results that changed the world, completely. Enormous resources are spent at the national or international level on large-scale scientific projects. LLNL has the most powerful computer in the world, Blue Gene/L. (Oops, Los Alamos just seized the title with Roadrunner; such titles regularly change hands.) LLNL also has the largest laser in the world, the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) has the most powerful microscope in the world. Not only is it beyond the resources of most large corporations to make such expenditures, but the risk exceeds the possible rewards for those corporations that could. Nor can most small countries afford to finance large scientific projects, and not even the richest can afford largess, especially if Congress is under major budget pressure. Some big-budget research efforts are funded by international consortiums, such as the Large Hadron

Commerce Lab: Mission analysis. Payload integration study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marvin, G. D.

1984-01-01

The objectives of the commerce lab mission analysis and payload integration study are discussed. A mission model which accommodates commercial users and provides a basic data base for future mission planning is described. The data bases developed under this study include: (1) user requirements; (2) apparatus capabilities and availabilities; and (3) carrier capabilities. These data bases are synthesized in a trades and analysis phase along with the STS flight opportunities. Optimum missions are identified.

Transforming the advanced lab: Part I - Learning goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwickl, Benjamin; Finkelstein, Noah; Lewandowski, H. J.

2012-02-01

Within the physics education research community relatively little attention has been given to laboratory courses, especially at the upper-division undergraduate level. As part of transforming our senior-level Optics and Modern Physics Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder we are developing learning goals, revising curricula, and creating assessments. In this paper, we report on the establishment of our learning goals and a surrounding framework that have emerged from discussions with a wide variety of faculty, from a review of the literature on labs, and from identifying the goals of existing lab courses. Our goals go beyond those of specific physics content and apparatus, allowing instructors to personalize them to their contexts. We report on four broad themes and associated learning goals: Modeling (math-physics-data connection, statistical error analysis, systematic error, modeling of engineered "black boxes"), Design (of experiments, apparatus, programs, troubleshooting), Communication, and Technical Lab Skills (computer-aided data analysis, LabVIEW, test and measurement equipment).

Student Plagiarism and Faculty Responsibility in Undergraduate Engineering Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parameswaran, Ashvin; Devi, Poornima

2006-01-01

In undergraduate engineering labs, lab reports are routinely copied. By ignoring this form of plagiarism, teaching assistants and lab technicians neglect their role responsibility. By designing courses that facilitate it, however inadvertently, professors neglect their causal responsibility. Using the case of one university, we show via interviews…

Task-driven dictionary learning.

PubMed

Mairal, Julien; Bach, Francis; Ponce, Jean

2012-04-01

Modeling data with linear combinations of a few elements from a learned dictionary has been the focus of much recent research in machine learning, neuroscience, and signal processing. For signals such as natural images that admit such sparse representations, it is now well established that these models are well suited to restoration tasks. In this context, learning the dictionary amounts to solving a large-scale matrix factorization problem, which can be done efficiently with classical optimization tools. The same approach has also been used for learning features from data for other purposes, e.g., image classification, but tuning the dictionary in a supervised way for these tasks has proven to be more difficult. In this paper, we present a general formulation for supervised dictionary learning adapted to a wide variety of tasks, and present an efficient algorithm for solving the corresponding optimization problem. Experiments on handwritten digit classification, digital art identification, nonlinear inverse image problems, and compressed sensing demonstrate that our approach is effective in large-scale settings, and is well suited to supervised and semi-supervised classification, as well as regression tasks for data that admit sparse representations.

The Balance-Scale Task Revisited: A Comparison of Statistical Models for Rule-Based and Information-Integration Theories of Proportional Reasoning

PubMed Central

Hofman, Abe D.; Visser, Ingmar; Jansen, Brenda R. J.; van der Maas, Han L. J.

2015-01-01

We propose and test three statistical models for the analysis of children’s responses to the balance scale task, a seminal task to study proportional reasoning. We use a latent class modelling approach to formulate a rule-based latent class model (RB LCM) following from a rule-based perspective on proportional reasoning and a new statistical model, the Weighted Sum Model, following from an information-integration approach. Moreover, a hybrid LCM using item covariates is proposed, combining aspects of both a rule-based and information-integration perspective. These models are applied to two different datasets, a standard paper-and-pencil test dataset (N = 779), and a dataset collected within an online learning environment that included direct feedback, time-pressure, and a reward system (N = 808). For the paper-and-pencil dataset the RB LCM resulted in the best fit, whereas for the online dataset the hybrid LCM provided the best fit. The standard paper-and-pencil dataset yielded more evidence for distinct solution rules than the online data set in which quantitative item characteristics are more prominent in determining responses. These results shed new light on the discussion on sequential rule-based and information-integration perspectives of cognitive development. PMID:26505905

Strategic planning for skills and simulation labs in colleges of nursing.

PubMed

Gantt, Laura T

2010-01-01

While simulation laboratories for clinical nursing education are predicted to grow, budget cuts may threaten these programs. One of the ways to develop a new lab, as well as to keep an existing one on track, is to develop and regularly update a strategic plan. The process of planning not only helps keep the lab faculty and staff apprised of the challenges to be faced, but it also helps to keep senior level management engaged by reason of the need for their input and approval of the plan. The strategic planning documents drafted by those who supervised the development of the new building and Concepts Integration Labs (CILs) helped guide and orient faculty and other personnel hired to implement the plan and fulfill the vision. As the CILs strategic plan was formalized, the draft plans, including the SWOT analysis, were reviewed to provide historical perspective, stimulate discussion, and to make sure old or potential mistakes were not repeated.

Analyze the beta waves of electroencephalogram signals from young musicians and non-musicians in major scale working memory task.

PubMed

Hsu, Chien-Chang; Cheng, Ching-Wen; Chiu, Yi-Shiuan

2017-02-15

Electroencephalograms can record wave variations in any brain activity. Beta waves are produced when an external stimulus induces logical thinking, computation, and reasoning during consciousness. This work uses the beta wave of major scale working memory N-back tasks to analyze the differences between young musicians and non-musicians. After the feature analysis uses signal filtering, Hilbert-Huang transformation, and feature extraction methods to identify differences, k-means clustering algorithm are used to group them into different clusters. The results of feature analysis showed that beta waves significantly differ between young musicians and non-musicians from the low memory load of working memory task. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Virtual Versus Physical Lab Manipulatives on Inquiry Skill Acquisition and Conceptual Understanding of Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brinson, James R.

The current study compared the effects of virtual versus physical laboratory manipulatives on 84 undergraduate non-science majors' (a) conceptual understanding of density and (b) density-related inquiry skill acquisition. A pre-post comparison study design was used, which incorporated all components of an inquiry-guided classroom, except experimental mode, and which controlled for curriculum, instructor, instructional method, time spent on task, and availability of reference resources. Participants were randomly assigned to either a physical or virtual lab group. Pre- and post-assessments of conceptual understanding and inquiry skills were administered to both groups. Paired-samples t tests revealed a significant mean percent correct score increase for conceptual understanding in both the physical lab group (M = .103, SD = .168), t(38) = -3.82, p < .001, r = .53, two-tailed, and the virtual lab group (M = .084, SD = .177), t(44) = -3.20, p = .003, r = .43, two-tailed. However, a one-way ANCOVA (using pretest scores as the covariate) revealed that the main effect of lab group on conceptual learning gains was not significant, F(1, 81) = 0.081, p = .776, two-tailed. An omnibus test of model coefficients within hierarchical logistic regression revealed that a correct response on inquiry pretest scores was not a significant predictor of a correct post-test response, chi 2(1, N = 84) = 1.68, p = .195, and that when lab mode was added to the model, it did not significantly increase the model's predictive ability, chi2(2, N = 84) = 1.95, p = .377. Thus, the data in the current study revealed no significant difference in the effect of physical versus virtual manipulatives when used to teach conceptual understanding and inquiry skills related to density.

From experiment to publication in one semester: a lecture course model on the basis of a photonic researcher's every-day tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerhard, Christoph; Wieneke, Stephan

2015-10-01

We report on a lecture course model that we established three semesters ago in order to strengthen practice-orientated teaching in optics and photonics: In the frame of the lecture "Advanced Laser Treatment", which is a mandatory course of our university's master degree curriculum, students now have the possibility to experience a researcher's every-day tasks. In small groups, the attendees work on a self-contained topic which is defined by the lecturers. The work load and content is in the scale of a small work package of a usual research project. It includes the initial research on the state of the art, the experimentation using different laser sources, and the subsequent evaluation of the obtained results. On the basis of this work, the students then prepare a draft of a scientific paper and finally present their results and findings orally in a conference-like exam. This lecture course model has turned out to be an appropriate teaching method for practice-orientated subjects. It was observed that the students are much more motivated and work more independently than during a classical lecture with a certain amount of lab work. Having sole responsibility supports to identify with their project. Further, this lecture course model helps to develop scientific work skills, attain first experience in every-day research tasks and encourages creativity. In some cases, the paper drafts written by the students can even be published, representing a valuable starting point for their future professional career.

Comparing Treatment Effect Measurements in Narcolepsy: The Sustained Attention to Response Task, Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Maintenance of Wakefulness Test.

PubMed

van der Heide, Astrid; van Schie, Mojca K M; Lammers, Gert Jan; Dauvilliers, Yves; Arnulf, Isabelle; Mayer, Geert; Bassetti, Claudio L; Ding, Claire-Li; Lehert, Philippe; van Dijk, J Gert

2015-07-01

To validate the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) as a treatment effect measure in narcolepsy, and to compare the SART with the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Validation of treatment effect measurements within a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Ninety-five patients with narcolepsy with or without cataplexy. The RCT comprised a double-blind, parallel-group, multicenter trial comparing the effects of 8-w treatments with pitolisant (BF2.649), modafinil, or placebo (NCT01067222). MWT, ESS, and SART were administered at baseline and after an 8-w treatment period. The severity of excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy was also assessed using the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI-C). The SART, MWT, and ESS all had good reliability, obtained for the SART and MWT using two to three sessions in 1 day. The ability to distinguish responders from nonresponders, classified using the CGI-C score, was high for all measures, with a high performance for the SART (r = 0.61) and the ESS (r = 0.54). The Sustained Attention to Response Task is a valid and easy-to-administer measure to assess treatment effects in narcolepsy, enhanced by combining it with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. © 2015 Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC.

Using lab notebooks to examine students' engagement in modeling in an upper-division electronics lab course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, Jacob T.; Su, Weifeng; Lewandowski, H. J.

2017-12-01

We demonstrate how students' use of modeling can be examined and assessed using student notebooks collected from an upper-division electronics lab course. The use of models is a ubiquitous practice in undergraduate physics education, but the process of constructing, testing, and refining these models is much less common. We focus our attention on a lab course that has been transformed to engage students in this modeling process during lab activities. The design of the lab activities was guided by a framework that captures the different components of model-based reasoning, called the Modeling Framework for Experimental Physics. We demonstrate how this framework can be used to assess students' written work and to identify how students' model-based reasoning differed from activity to activity. Broadly speaking, we were able to identify the different steps of students' model-based reasoning and assess the completeness of their reasoning. Varying degrees of scaffolding present across the activities had an impact on how thoroughly students would engage in the full modeling process, with more scaffolded activities resulting in more thorough engagement with the process. Finally, we identified that the step in the process with which students had the most difficulty was the comparison between their interpreted data and their model prediction. Students did not use sufficiently sophisticated criteria in evaluating such comparisons, which had the effect of halting the modeling process. This may indicate that in order to engage students further in using model-based reasoning during lab activities, the instructor needs to provide further scaffolding for how students make these types of experimental comparisons. This is an important design consideration for other such courses attempting to incorporate modeling as a learning goal.

Perceptions of Prospective Biology Teachers on Scientific Argumentation in Microbiology Inquiry Lab Activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roviati, E.; Widodo, A.; Purwianingsih, W.; Riandi, R.

2017-09-01

Inquiry laboratory activity and scientific argumentation in science education should be promoted and explicitly experienced by prospective biology teacher students in classes, including in microbiology courses. The goal of this study is to get information about perceptions of prospective biology teachers on scientific argumentation in microbiology inquiry lab activities. This study reported the result of a survey research to prospective biology teachers about how their perception about microbiology lab classes and their perception about inquiry and argumentation in microbiology lab activities should be. The participants of this study were 100 students of biology education department from an institute in Cirebon, West Java taking microbiology lecture during the fifth semester. The data were collected using questionnaire to explore the perceptions and knowledge of prospective biology teachers about microbiology, inquiry lab activities and argumentation. The result showed that students thought that the difficulties of microbiology as a subject were the lack of references and the way lecturer teaching. The students’ perception was that argumentation and inquiry should be implemented in microbiology courses and lab activities. Based on the data from questionnaire, It showed that prospective biology teacher students had very little knowledge about scientific argumentation and its implementation in science education. When the participants made arguments based on the problems given, they showed low quality of arguments.

Task Description Language

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, Reid; Apfelbaum, David

2005-01-01

Task Description Language (TDL) is an extension of the C++ programming language that enables programmers to quickly and easily write complex, concurrent computer programs for controlling real-time autonomous systems, including robots and spacecraft. TDL is based on earlier work (circa 1984 through 1989) on the Task Control Architecture (TCA). TDL provides syntactic support for hierarchical task-level control functions, including task decomposition, synchronization, execution monitoring, and exception handling. A Java-language-based compiler transforms TDL programs into pure C++ code that includes calls to a platform-independent task-control-management (TCM) library. TDL has been used to control and coordinate multiple heterogeneous robots in projects sponsored by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It has also been used in Brazil to control an autonomous airship and in Canada to control a robotic manipulator.

Accuracy Maximization Analysis for Sensory-Perceptual Tasks: Computational Improvements, Filter Robustness, and Coding Advantages for Scaled Additive Noise

PubMed Central

Burge, Johannes

2017-01-01

Accuracy Maximization Analysis (AMA) is a recently developed Bayesian ideal observer method for task-specific dimensionality reduction. Given a training set of proximal stimuli (e.g. retinal images), a response noise model, and a cost function, AMA returns the filters (i.e. receptive fields) that extract the most useful stimulus features for estimating a user-specified latent variable from those stimuli. Here, we first contribute two technical advances that significantly reduce AMA’s compute time: we derive gradients of cost functions for which two popular estimators are appropriate, and we implement a stochastic gradient descent (AMA-SGD) routine for filter learning. Next, we show how the method can be used to simultaneously probe the impact on neural encoding of natural stimulus variability, the prior over the latent variable, noise power, and the choice of cost function. Then, we examine the geometry of AMA’s unique combination of properties that distinguish it from better-known statistical methods. Using binocular disparity estimation as a concrete test case, we develop insights that have general implications for understanding neural encoding and decoding in a broad class of fundamental sensory-perceptual tasks connected to the energy model. Specifically, we find that non-orthogonal (partially redundant) filters with scaled additive noise tend to outperform orthogonal filters with constant additive noise; non-orthogonal filters and scaled additive noise can interact to sculpt noise-induced stimulus encoding uncertainty to match task-irrelevant stimulus variability. Thus, we show that some properties of neural response thought to be biophysical nuisances can confer coding advantages to neural systems. Finally, we speculate that, if repurposed for the problem of neural systems identification, AMA may be able to overcome a fundamental limitation of standard subunit model estimation. As natural stimuli become more widely used in the study of psychophysical and

Model-Based Reasoning in Upper-division Lab Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewandowski, Heather

2015-05-01

Modeling, which includes developing, testing, and refining models, is a central activity in physics. Well-known examples from AMO physics include everything from the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom to the Bose-Hubbard model of interacting bosons in a lattice. Modeling, while typically considered a theoretical activity, is most fully represented in the laboratory where measurements of real phenomena intersect with theoretical models, leading to refinement of models and experimental apparatus. However, experimental physicists use models in complex ways and the process is often not made explicit in physics laboratory courses. We have developed a framework to describe the modeling process in physics laboratory activities. The framework attempts to abstract and simplify the complex modeling process undertaken by expert experimentalists. The framework can be applied to understand typical processes such the modeling of the measurement tools, modeling ``black boxes,'' and signal processing. We demonstrate that the framework captures several important features of model-based reasoning in a way that can reveal common student difficulties in the lab and guide the development of curricula that emphasize modeling in the laboratory. We also use the framework to examine troubleshooting in the lab and guide students to effective methods and strategies.

Interfacial film formation: influence on oil spreading rates in lab basin tests and dispersant effectiveness testing in a wave tank.

PubMed

King, Thomas L; Clyburne, Jason A C; Lee, Kenneth; Robinson, Brian J

2013-06-15

Test facilities such as lab basins and wave tanks are essential when evaluating the use of chemical dispersants to treat oil spills at sea. However, these test facilities have boundaries (walls) that provide an ideal environment for surface (interfacial) film formation on seawater. Surface films may form from surfactants naturally present in crude oil as well as dispersant drift/overspray when applied to an oil spill. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of surface film formation on oil spreading rates in a small scale lab basin and on dispersant effectiveness conducted in a large scale wave tank. The process of crude oil spreading on the surface of the basin seawater was influenced in the presence of a surface film as shown using a 1st order kinetic model. In addition, interfacial film formation can greatly influence chemically dispersed crude oil in a large scale dynamic wave tank. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of a Lab Manual Delivered on CD-ROM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brickman, Peggy; Ketter, Catherine A. Teare; Pereira, Monica

2005-01-01

Although electronic instructional media are becoming increasingly prevalent in science classrooms, their worth remains unproven. Here, student perceptions and performance using CD-ROM delivery of lab materials are assessed. Numerous learning barriers that produced lower lab grades for students using a CD-ROM lab manual in comparison to a print…

Analysis of the Hexapod Work Space using integration of a CAD/CAE system and the LabVIEW software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbuś, K.; Ociepka, P.

2015-11-01

The paper presents the problems related to the integration of a CAD/CAE system with the LabVIEW software. The purpose of the integration is to determine the workspace of a hexapod model basing on a mathematical model describing it motion. In the first stage of the work concerning the integration task the 3D model to simulate movements of a hexapod was elaborated. This phase of the work was done in the “Motion Simulation” module of the CAD/CAE/CAM Siemens NX system. The first step was to define the components of the 3D model in the form of “links”. Individual links were defined according to the nature of the hexapod elements action. In the model prepared for movement simulation were created links corresponding to such elements as: electric actuator, top plate, bottom plate, ball-and-socket joint, toggle joint Phillips. Then were defined the constraints of the “joint” type (e.g.: revolute joint, slider joint, spherical joint) between the created component of the “link” type, so that the computer simulation corresponds to the operation of a real hexapod. The next stage of work included implementing the mathematical model describing the functioning of a hexapod in the LabVIEW software. At this stage, particular attention was paid to determining procedures for integrating the virtual 3D hexapod model with the results of calculations performed in the LabVIEW. The results relate to specific values of the jump of electric actuators depending on the position of the car on the hexapod. The use of integration made it possible to determine the safe operating space of a stationary hexapod taking into consideration the security of a person in the driving simulator designed for the disabled.

Inhibition Plasticity in Older Adults: Practice and Transfer Effects Using a Multiple Task Approach.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Andrea J; Yang, Lixia

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVE. To examine plasticity of inhibition, as indexed by practice effects of inhibition tasks and the associated transfer effects, using a multiple task approach in healthy older adults. METHOD. Forty-eight healthy older adults were evenly assigned to either a practice group or a no-contact control group. All participants completed pretest (2.5 hours) and posttest (2 hours) sessions, with a 2-week interval in between. During the 2-week interval, only the practice group completed six 30-minute practice sessions (three sessions per week for two consecutive weeks) of three lab-based inhibition tasks. RESULTS. All three inhibition tasks demonstrated significant improvement across practice sessions, suggesting practice-induced plasticity. The benefit, however, only transferred to near-near tasks. The results are inconclusive with regard to the near-far and far-far transfer effects. DISCUSSION. This study further extends literature on practice effects of inhibition in older adults by using a multiple task approach. Together with previous work, the current study suggests that older adults are able to improve inhibition performance through practice and transfer the practice gains to tasks that overlap in both target cognitive ability and task structure (i.e., near-near tasks).

Inhibition Plasticity in Older Adults: Practice and Transfer Effects Using a Multiple Task Approach

PubMed Central

Wilkinson, Andrea J.; Yang, Lixia

2016-01-01

Objective. To examine plasticity of inhibition, as indexed by practice effects of inhibition tasks and the associated transfer effects, using a multiple task approach in healthy older adults. Method. Forty-eight healthy older adults were evenly assigned to either a practice group or a no-contact control group. All participants completed pretest (2.5 hours) and posttest (2 hours) sessions, with a 2-week interval in between. During the 2-week interval, only the practice group completed six 30-minute practice sessions (three sessions per week for two consecutive weeks) of three lab-based inhibition tasks. Results. All three inhibition tasks demonstrated significant improvement across practice sessions, suggesting practice-induced plasticity. The benefit, however, only transferred to near-near tasks. The results are inconclusive with regard to the near-far and far-far transfer effects. Discussion. This study further extends literature on practice effects of inhibition in older adults by using a multiple task approach. Together with previous work, the current study suggests that older adults are able to improve inhibition performance through practice and transfer the practice gains to tasks that overlap in both target cognitive ability and task structure (i.e., near-near tasks). PMID:26885407

Insights into solar photo-Fenton reaction parameters in the oxidation of a sanitary landfill leachate at lab-scale.

PubMed

Silva, Tânia F C V; Ferreira, Rui; Soares, Petrick A; Manenti, Diego R; Fonseca, Amélia; Saraiva, Isabel; Boaventura, Rui A R; Vilar, Vítor J P

2015-12-01

This work evaluates the effect of the main photo-Fenton (PF) reaction variables on the treatment of a sanitary landfill leachate collected at the outlet of a leachate treatment plant, which includes aerated lagooning followed by aerated activated sludge and a final coagulation-flocculation step. The PF experiments were performed in a lab-scale compound parabolic collector (CPC) photoreactor using artificial solar radiation. The photocatalytic reaction rate was determined while varying the total dissolved iron concentration (20-100 mg Fe(2+)/L), solution pH (2.0-3.6), operating temperature (10-50 °C), type of acid used for acidification (H2SO4, HCl and H2SO4 + HCl) and UV irradiance (22-68 W/m(2)). This work also tries to elucidate the role of ferric hydroxides, ferric sulphate and ferric chloride species, by taking advantage of ferric speciation diagrams, in the efficiency of the PF reaction when applied to leachate oxidation. The molar fraction of the most photoactive ferric species, FeOH(2+), was linearly correlated with the PF pseudo-first order kinetic constants obtained at different solution pH and temperature values. Ferric ion speciation diagrams also showed that the presence of high amounts of chloride ions negatively affected the PF reaction, due to the decrease of ferric ions solubility and scavenging of hydroxyl radicals for chlorine radical formation. The increment of the PF reaction rates with temperature was mainly associated with the increase of the molar fraction of FeOH(2+). The optimal parameters for the photo-Fenton reaction were: pH = 2.8 (acidification agent: H2SO4); T = 30 °C; [Fe(2+)] = 60 mg/L and UV irradiance = 44 WUV/m(2), achieving 72% mineralization after 25 kJUV/L of accumulated UV energy and 149 mM of H2O2 consumed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An investigation of communication patterns and strategies between international teaching assistants and undergraduate students in university-level science labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourlay, Barbara Elas

This research project investigates communication between international teaching assistants and their undergraduate students in university-level chemistry labs. During the fall semester, introductory-level chemistry lab sections of three experienced non-native speaking teaching assistants and their undergraduate students were observed. Digital audio and video recordings documented fifteen hours of lab communication, focusing on the activities and interactions in the first hour of the chemistry laboratory sessions. In follow-up one-on-one semi-structured interviews, the participants (undergraduates, teaching assistants, and faculty member) reviewed interactions and responded to a 10-item, 7-point Likert-scaled interview. Interactions were classified into success categories based on participants' opinions. Quantitative and qualitative data from the observations and interviews guided the analysis of the laboratory interactions, which examined patterns of conversational listening. Analysis of laboratory communication reveals that undergraduates initiated nearly two-thirds of laboratory communication, with three-fourths of interactions less than 30 seconds in duration. Issues of gender and topics of interaction activity were also explored. Interview data identified that successful undergraduate-teaching assistant communication in interactive science labs depends on teaching assistant listening comprehension skills to interpret and respond successfully to undergraduate questions. Successful communication in the chemistry lab depended on the coordination of visual and verbal sources of information. Teaching assistant responses that included explanations and elaborations were also seen as positive features in the communicative exchanges. Interaction analysis focusing on the listening comprehension demands placed on international teaching assistants revealed that undergraduate-initiated questions often employ deixis (exophoric reference), requiring teaching assistants to

Electrospinning-based synthesis of highly ordered mesoporous silica fiber for lab-in-syringe enrichment of plasma peptides.

PubMed

Zhu, Gang-Tian; Li, Xiao-Shui; Fu, Xiao-Meng; Wu, Jian-Yuan; Yuan, Bi-Feng; Feng, Yu-Qi

2012-10-14

Silica fiber with highly ordered mesoporous structure and continuously long fibrous property was synthesized on a large-scale for the first time. It can be applied to the rapid (less than 3 min) and effective enrichment of endogenous peptides with a novel lab-in-syringe approach.

California State University, Northridge: Hybrid Lab Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EDUCAUSE, 2014

2014-01-01

California State University, Northridge's Hybrid Lab course model targets high failure rate, multisection, gateway courses in which prerequisite knowledge is a key to success. The Hybrid Lab course model components incorporate interventions and practices that have proven successful at CSUN and other campuses in supporting students, particularly…

Exploring Asynchronous Many-Task Runtime Systems toward Extreme Scales

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

Knight, Samuel; Baker, Gavin Matthew; Gamell, Marc

2015-10-01

Major exascale computing reports indicate a number of software challenges to meet the dramatic change of system architectures in near future. While several-orders-of-magnitude increase in parallelism is the most commonly cited of those, hurdles also include performance heterogeneity of compute nodes across the system, increased imbalance between computational capacity and I/O capabilities, frequent system interrupts, and complex hardware architectures. Asynchronous task-parallel programming models show a great promise in addressing these issues, but are not yet fully understood nor developed su ciently for computational science and engineering application codes. We address these knowledge gaps through quantitative and qualitative exploration of leadingmore » candidate solutions in the context of engineering applications at Sandia. In this poster, we evaluate MiniAero code ported to three leading candidate programming models (Charm++, Legion and UINTAH) to examine the feasibility of these models that permits insertion of new programming model elements into an existing code base.« less

Animal ethics and welfare education in wet-lab training can foster residents’ ethical values toward life

PubMed Central

Iki, Yuko; Ito, Takuya; Kudo, Katsuyoshi; Noda, Masafumi; Kanehira, Masahiko; Sueta, Teruko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Kagaya, Yutaka; Okada, Yoshinori; Unno, Michiaki

2017-01-01

Live animals are used in surgical skills training in wet lab, which has undeniable effectiveness for the development of future surgeons. However, where such training is provided, animal welfare is a major consideration. Increasingly, institutions that offer wet-lab training are incorporating animal ethics and welfare-related content into their training courses, but the effectiveness of such animal ethics education has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. We investigated whether the animal ethics content of a training course affected trainees by measuring increase in ethical awareness using visual analog scale questionnaires before and after training. Our results demonstrated a significant and positive increase in awareness of animal ethics (significance level of 5%; 0.0380≤P≤0.0016). PMID:28592716

Animal ethics and welfare education in wet-lab training can foster residents' ethical values toward life.

PubMed

Iki, Yuko; Ito, Takuya; Kudo, Katsuyoshi; Noda, Masafumi; Kanehira, Masahiko; Sueta, Teruko; Miyoshi, Ichiro; Kagaya, Yutaka; Okada, Yoshinori; Unno, Michiaki

2017-10-30

Live animals are used in surgical skills training in wet lab, which has undeniable effectiveness for the development of future surgeons. However, where such training is provided, animal welfare is a major consideration. Increasingly, institutions that offer wet-lab training are incorporating animal ethics and welfare-related content into their training courses, but the effectiveness of such animal ethics education has yet to be evaluated quantitatively. We investigated whether the animal ethics content of a training course affected trainees by measuring increase in ethical awareness using visual analog scale questionnaires before and after training. Our results demonstrated a significant and positive increase in awareness of animal ethics (significance level of 5%; 0.0380≤P≤0.0016).

The Portable Usability Testing Lab: A Flexible Research Tool.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hale, Michael E.; And Others

A group of faculty at the University of Georgia obtained funding for a research and development facility called the Learning and Performance Support Laboratory (LPSL). One of the LPSL's primary needs was obtaining a portable usability lab for software testing, so the facility obtained the "Luggage Lab 2000." The lab is transportable to…

Modifying Cookbook Labs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Robert, L.; Clough, Michael P.; Berg, Craig A.

2000-01-01

Modifies an extended lab activity from a cookbook approach for determining the percent mass of water in copper sulfate pentahydrate crystals to one which incorporates students' prior knowledge, engenders active mental struggling with prior knowledge and new experiences, and encourages metacognition. (Contains 12 references.) (ASK)

Photocopy of photograph (digital image located in LBNL Photo Lab ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Photocopy of photograph (digital image located in LBNL Photo Lab Collection, XBD200503-00117-139). March 2005. TOP OF BEVATRON, INCLUDING WOOD STAIRWAY FROM OUTER EDGE OF SHIELDING TO TOP OF ROOF BLOCK SHIELDING - University of California Radiation Laboratory, Bevatron, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, Alameda County, CA

Methane oxidation and attenuation of sulphur compounds in landfill top cover systems: Lab-scale tests.

PubMed

Raga, Roberto; Pivato, Alberto; Lavagnolo, Maria Cristina; Megido, Laura; Cossu, Raffaello

2018-03-01

In this study, a top cover system is investigated as a control for emissions during the aftercare of new landfills and for old landfills where biogas energy production might not be profitable. Different materials were studied as landfill cover system in lab-scale columns: mechanical-biological pretreated municipal solid waste (MBP); mechanical-biological pretreated biowaste (PB); fine (PBS f ) and coarse (PBS c ) mechanical-biological pretreated mixtures of biowaste and sewage sludge, and natural soil (NS). The effectiveness of these materials in removing methane and sulphur compounds from a gas stream was tested, even coupled with activated carbon membranes. Concentrations of CO 2 , CH 4 , O 2 , N 2 , H 2 S and mercaptans were analysed at different depths along the columns. Methane degradation was assessed using mass balance and the results were expressed in terms of methane oxidation rate (MOR). The highest maximum and mean MOR were observed for MBP (17.2gCH 4 /m 2 /hr and 10.3gCH 4 /m 2 /hr, respectively). Similar values were obtained with PB and PBS c . The lowest values of MOR were obtained for NS (6.7gCH 4 /m 2 /hr) and PBS f (3.6gCH 4 /m 2 /hr), which may be due to their low organic content and void index, respectively. Activated membranes with high load capacity did not seem to have an influence on the methane oxidation process: MBP coupled with 220g/m 2 and 360g/m 2 membranes gave maximum MOR of 16.5gCH 4 /m 2 /hr and 17.4gCH 4 /m 2 /hr, respectively. Activated carbon membranes proved to be very effective on H 2 S adsorption. Furthermore, carbonyl sulphide, ethyl mercaptan and isopropyl mercaptan seemed to be easily absorbed by the filling materials. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Balancing the Demands of Two Tasks: An Investigation of Cognitive-Motor Dual-Tasking in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Butchard-MacDonald, Emma; Paul, Lorna; Evans, Jonathan J

2018-03-01

People with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (PwRRMS) suffer disproportionate decrements in gait under dual-task conditions, when walking and a cognitive task are combined. There has been much less investigation of the impact of cognitive demands on balance. This study investigated whether: (1) PwRRMS show disproportionate decrements in postural stability under dual-task conditions compared to healthy controls, and (2) dual-task decrements are associated with everyday dual-tasking difficulties. The impact of mood, fatigue, and disease severity on dual-tasking was also examined. A total of 34 PwRRMS and 34 matched controls completed cognitive (digit span) and balance (movement of center of pressure on Biosway on stable and unstable surfaces) tasks under single- and dual-task conditions. Everyday dual-tasking was measured using the Dual-Tasking Questionnaire. Mood was measured by the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale. Fatigue was measured via the Modified Fatigue Index Scale. No differences in age, gender, years of education, estimated pre-morbid IQ, or baseline digit span between groups. Compared with controls, PwRRMS showed significantly greater decrement in postural stability under dual-task conditions on an unstable surface (p=.007), but not a stable surface (p=.679). Balance decrement scores were not correlated with everyday dual-tasking difficulties or fatigue. Stable surface balance decrement scores were significantly associated with levels of anxiety (rho=0.527; p=.001) and depression (rho=0.451; p=.007). RRMS causes dual-tasking difficulties, impacting balance under challenging conditions, which may contribute to increased risk of gait difficulties and falls. The relationship between anxiety/depression and dual-task decrement suggests that emotional factors may be contributing to dual-task difficulties. (JINS, 2018, 24, 247-258).

Defense Science Board Task Force Report: The Role of Autonomy in DoD Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

ASD(R&E) and the Military Services should schedule periodic, on-site collaborations that bring together academia, government and not-for-profit labs...expressing UxV activities, increased problem solving, planning and scheduling capabilities to enable dynamic tasking of distributed UxVs and tools for...industrial, governmental and military. Manufacturing has long exploited planning for logistics and matching product demand to production schedules

A comparative analysis of traditional and online lab science transfer courses in the rural community college

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Andrea

Through distance learning, the community college system has moved beyond geographical boundaries to serve all students and provide educational opportunities at a distance to individuals previously out of reach of the college community. With the inception of the Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC) in January 2000, Mississippi's public community colleges have experienced unprecedented growth in online enrollments and online course offerings to include the laboratory sciences; however, transfer of online lab science courses are problematic for individuals who wish to gain admittance to Medical, Dental, and Pharmacy schools in Mississippi. Currently online lab science courses are not accepted for transfer for students seeking admission to Mississippi Medical, Dental, or Pharmacy schools. The need for this study, the statement of the problem, and the purpose of the study address transfer issues related to the transfer of online lab science courses in Mississippi and the impact of such on the student and community college. The study also addresses existing doubts regarding online course delivery as a viable method of lab science delivery. The purpose of the study was to investigate differences between online instructional delivery as compared to traditional face-to-face delivery with the following research questions to: (1) Investigate the perception of quality of online courses as compared to traditional face-to-face courses. (2) Investigate the difference in student performance in online transfer lab science courses as compared to student performance in traditional face-to-face lab science courses. The results of this 13 semester study show significant differences in both perception of quality and student performance between online instructional delivery as compared to traditional face-to-face delivery. The findings demonstrate a need for Mississippi Dental, Medical, and Pharmacy schools to reexamine the articulation agreement between IHL and Community and

Virtual Reality Robotic Surgery Warm-Up Improves Task Performance in a Dry Lab Environment: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

PubMed Central

Lendvay, Thomas S.; Brand, Timothy C.; White, Lee; Kowalewski, Timothy; Jonnadula, Saikiran; Mercer, Laina; Khorsand, Derek; Andros, Justin; Hannaford, Blake; Satava, Richard M.

2014-01-01

Background Pre-operative simulation “warm-up” has been shown to improve performance and reduce errors in novice and experienced surgeons, yet existing studies have only investigated conventional laparoscopy. We hypothesized a brief virtual reality (VR) robotic warm-up would enhance robotic task performance and reduce errors. Study Design In a two-center randomized trial, fifty-one residents and experienced minimally invasive surgery faculty in General Surgery, Urology, and Gynecology underwent a validated robotic surgery proficiency curriculum on a VR robotic simulator and on the da Vinci surgical robot. Once successfully achieving performance benchmarks, surgeons were randomized to either receive a 3-5 minute VR simulator warm-up or read a leisure book for 10 minutes prior to performing similar and dissimilar (intracorporeal suturing) robotic surgery tasks. The primary outcomes compared were task time, tool path length, economy of motion, technical and cognitive errors. Results Task time (-29.29sec, p=0.001, 95%CI-47.03,-11.56), path length (-79.87mm, p=0.014, 95%CI -144.48,-15.25), and cognitive errors were reduced in the warm-up group compared to the control group for similar tasks. Global technical errors in intracorporeal suturing (0.32, p=0.020, 95%CI 0.06,0.59) were reduced after the dissimilar VR task. When surgeons were stratified by prior robotic and laparoscopic clinical experience, the more experienced surgeons(n=17) demonstrated significant improvements from warm-up in task time (-53.5sec, p=0.001, 95%CI -83.9,-23.0) and economy of motion (0.63mm/sec, p=0.007, 95%CI 0.18,1.09), whereas improvement in these metrics was not statistically significantly appreciated in the less experienced cohort(n=34). Conclusions We observed a significant performance improvement and error reduction rate among surgeons of varying experience after VR warm-up for basic robotic surgery tasks. In addition, the VR warm-up reduced errors on a more complex task (robotic

Three pedagogical approaches to introductory physics labs and their effects on student learning outcomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambers, Timothy

This dissertation presents the results of an experiment that measured the learning outcomes associated with three different pedagogical approaches to introductory physics labs. These three pedagogical approaches presented students with the same apparatus and covered the same physics content, but used different lab manuals to guide students through distinct cognitive processes in conducting their laboratory investigations. We administered post-tests containing multiple-choice conceptual questions and free-response quantitative problems one week after students completed these laboratory investigations. In addition, we collected data from the laboratory practical exam taken by students at the end of the semester. Using these data sets, we compared the learning outcomes for the three curricula in three dimensions of ability: conceptual understanding, quantitative problem-solving skill, and laboratory skills. Our three pedagogical approaches are as follows. Guided labs lead students through their investigations via a combination of Socratic-style questioning and direct instruction, while students record their data and answers to written questions in the manual during the experiment. Traditional labs provide detailed written instructions, which students follow to complete the lab objectives. Open labs provide students with a set of apparatus and a question to be answered, and leave students to devise and execute an experiment to answer the question. In general, we find that students performing Guided labs perform better on some conceptual assessment items, and that students performing Open labs perform significantly better on experimental tasks. Combining a classical test theory analysis of post-test results with in-lab classroom observations allows us to identify individual components of the laboratory manuals and investigations that are likely to have influenced the observed differences in learning outcomes associated with the different pedagogical approaches. Due to

Engineering and Scientific Applications: Using MatLab(Registered Trademark) for Data Processing and Visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sen, Syamal K.; Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2011-01-01

MatLab(TradeMark)(MATrix LABoratory) is a numerical computation and simulation tool that is used by thousands Scientists and Engineers in many countries. MatLab does purely numerical calculations, which can be used as a glorified calculator or interpreter programming language; its real strength is in matrix manipulations. Computer algebra functionalities are achieved within the MatLab environment using "symbolic" toolbox. This feature is similar to computer algebra programs, provided by Maple or Mathematica to calculate with mathematical equations using symbolic operations. MatLab in its interpreter programming language form (command interface) is similar with well known programming languages such as C/C++, support data structures and cell arrays to define classes in object oriented programming. As such, MatLab is equipped with most of the essential constructs of a higher programming language. MatLab is packaged with an editor and debugging functionality useful to perform analysis of large MatLab programs and find errors. We believe there are many ways to approach real-world problems; prescribed methods to ensure foregoing solutions are incorporated in design and analysis of data processing and visualization can benefit engineers and scientist in gaining wider insight in actual implementation of their perspective experiments. This presentation will focus on data processing and visualizations aspects of engineering and scientific applications. Specifically, it will discuss methods and techniques to perform intermediate-level data processing covering engineering and scientific problems. MatLab programming techniques including reading various data files formats to produce customized publication-quality graphics, importing engineering and/or scientific data, organizing data in tabular format, exporting data to be used by other software programs such as Microsoft Excel, data presentation and visualization will be discussed.

Hydrologic Process Regularization for Improved Geoelectrical Monitoring of a Lab-Scale Saline Tracer Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oware, E. K.; Moysey, S. M.

2016-12-01

Regularization stabilizes the geophysical imaging problem resulting from sparse and noisy measurements that render solutions unstable and non-unique. Conventional regularization constraints are, however, independent of the physics of the underlying process and often produce smoothed-out tomograms with mass underestimation. Cascaded time-lapse (CTL) is a widely used reconstruction technique for monitoring wherein a tomogram obtained from the background dataset is employed as starting model for the inversion of subsequent time-lapse datasets. In contrast, a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-constrained inversion framework enforces physics-based regularization based upon prior understanding of the expected evolution of state variables. The physics-based constraints are represented in the form of POD basis vectors. The basis vectors are constructed from numerically generated training images (TIs) that mimic the desired process. The target can be reconstructed from a small number of selected basis vectors, hence, there is a reduction in the number of inversion parameters compared to the full dimensional space. The inversion involves finding the optimal combination of the selected basis vectors conditioned on the geophysical measurements. We apply the algorithm to 2-D lab-scale saline transport experiments with electrical resistivity (ER) monitoring. We consider two transport scenarios with one and two mass injection points evolving into unimodal and bimodal plume morphologies, respectively. The unimodal plume is consistent with the assumptions underlying the generation of the TIs, whereas bimodality in plume morphology was not conceptualized. We compare difference tomograms retrieved from POD with those obtained from CTL. Qualitative comparisons of the difference tomograms with images of their corresponding dye plumes suggest that POD recovered more compact plumes in contrast to those of CTL. While mass recovery generally deteriorated with increasing number of time

Social Cognition in Williams Syndrome: Relations between Performance on the Social Attribution Task and Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics.

PubMed

van der Fluit, Faye; Gaffrey, Michael S; Klein-Tasman, Bonita P

2012-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder of genetic origin, with characteristic cognitive and personality profiles. Studies of WS point to an outgoing and gregarious personality style, often contrasted with autism spectrum disorders; however, recent research has uncovered underlying social reciprocity difficulties in people with WS. Social information processing difficulties that underlie these social reciprocity difficulties have been sparsely examined. Participants in the current study included 24 children with WS ages 8 through 15. A lab-based measure of social perception and social cognition was administered (Social Attribution Test), as well as an intellectual functioning measure (KBIT-II) and parent reports of communication and reciprocal social skills (Social Communication Questionnaire, Social Responsiveness Scale). Relations between social cognition, cognitive abilities, and social-communication were examined. Results demonstrated relations between parent-reported social reciprocity and the typicality of the responses provided in the lab-based measure, even once variability in intellectual functioning was taken into account. Specifically, those individuals who produced narratives in response to the social attribution task (SAT) that were more similar to those described in previous studies of typically developing individuals were also reported to have fewer social reciprocity difficulties in the real world setting as reported by parents. In addition, a significant improvement in performance on the SAT was seen with added scaffolding, particularly for participants with stronger intellectual functioning. These findings indicate that difficulties interpreting the social dynamics between others in ambiguous situations may contribute to the social relationship difficulties observed in people with WS, above and beyond the role of intellectual functioning. Exploratory analyses indicated that performance by individuals with stronger intellectual

Social Cognition in Williams Syndrome: Relations between Performance on the Social Attribution Task and Cognitive and Behavioral Characteristics

PubMed Central

van der Fluit, Faye; Gaffrey, Michael S.; Klein-Tasman, Bonita P.

2012-01-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder of genetic origin, with characteristic cognitive and personality profiles. Studies of WS point to an outgoing and gregarious personality style, often contrasted with autism spectrum disorders; however, recent research has uncovered underlying social reciprocity difficulties in people with WS. Social information processing difficulties that underlie these social reciprocity difficulties have been sparsely examined. Participants in the current study included 24 children with WS ages 8 through 15. A lab-based measure of social perception and social cognition was administered (Social Attribution Test), as well as an intellectual functioning measure (KBIT-II) and parent reports of communication and reciprocal social skills (Social Communication Questionnaire, Social Responsiveness Scale). Relations between social cognition, cognitive abilities, and social-communication were examined. Results demonstrated relations between parent-reported social reciprocity and the typicality of the responses provided in the lab-based measure, even once variability in intellectual functioning was taken into account. Specifically, those individuals who produced narratives in response to the social attribution task (SAT) that were more similar to those described in previous studies of typically developing individuals were also reported to have fewer social reciprocity difficulties in the real world setting as reported by parents. In addition, a significant improvement in performance on the SAT was seen with added scaffolding, particularly for participants with stronger intellectual functioning. These findings indicate that difficulties interpreting the social dynamics between others in ambiguous situations may contribute to the social relationship difficulties observed in people with WS, above and beyond the role of intellectual functioning. Exploratory analyses indicated that performance by individuals with stronger intellectual

EarthLabs Modules: Engaging Students In Extended, Rigorous Investigations Of The Ocean, Climate and Weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manley, J.; Chegwidden, D.; Mote, A. S.; Ledley, T. S.; Lynds, S. E.; Haddad, N.; Ellins, K.

2016-02-01

EarthLabs, envisioned as a national model for high school Earth or Environmental Science lab courses, is adaptable for both undergraduate middle school students. The collection includes ten online modules that combine to feature a global view of our planet as a dynamic, interconnected system, by engaging learners in extended investigations. EarthLabs support state and national guidelines, including the NGSS, for science content. Four modules directly guide students to discover vital aspects of the oceans while five other modules incorporate ocean sciences in order to complete an understanding of Earth's climate system. Students gain a broad perspective on the key role oceans play in fishing industry, droughts, coral reefs, hurricanes, the carbon cycle, as well as life on land and in the seas to drive our changing climate by interacting with scientific research data, manipulating satellite imagery, numerical data, computer visualizations, experiments, and video tutorials. Students explore Earth system processes and build quantitative skills that enable them to objectively evaluate scientific findings for themselves as they move through ordered sequences that guide the learning. As a robust collection, EarthLabs modules engage students in extended, rigorous investigations allowing a deeper understanding of the ocean, climate and weather. This presentation provides an overview of the ten curriculum modules that comprise the EarthLabs collection developed by TERC and found at http://serc.carleton.edu/earthlabs/index.html. Evaluation data on the effectiveness and use in secondary education classrooms will be summarized.

Earth analog image digitization of field, aerial, and lab experiment studies for Planetary Data System archiving.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, D. A.; Nelson, D. M.

2017-12-01

A portion of the earth analog image archive at the Ronald Greeley Center for Planetary Studies (RGCPS)-the NASA Regional Planetary Information Facility at Arizona State University-is being digitized and will be added to the Planetary Data System (PDS) for public use. This will be a first addition of terrestrial data to the PDS specifically for comparative planetology studies. Digitization is separated into four tasks. First is the scanning of aerial photographs of volcanic and aeolian structures and flows. The second task is to scan field site images taken from ground and low-altitude aircraft of volcanic structures, lava flows, lava tubes, dunes, and wind streaks. The third image set to be scanned includes photographs of lab experiments from the NASA Planetary Aeolian Laboratory wind tunnels, vortex generator, and of wax models. Finally, rare NASA documents are being scanned and formatted as PDF files. Thousands of images are to be scanned for this project. Archiving of the data will follow the PDS4 standard, where the entire project is classified as a single bundle, with individual subjects (i.e., the Amboy Crater volcanic structure in the Mojave Desert of California) as collections. Within the collections, each image is considered a product, with a unique ID and associated XML document. Documents describing the image data, including the subject and context, will be included with each collection. Once complete, the data will be hosted by a PDS data node and available for public search and download. As one of the first earth analog datasets to be archived by the PDS, this project could prompt the digitizing and making available of historic datasets from other facilities for the scientific community.

The effectiveness of computerized drug-lab alerts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Bayoumi, Imaan; Al Balas, Mosab; Handler, Steven M; Dolovich, Lisa; Hutchison, Brian; Holbrook, Anne

2014-06-01

Inadequate lab monitoring of drugs is a potential cause of ADEs (adverse drug events) which is remediable. To determine the effectiveness of computerized drug-lab alerts to improve medication-related outcomes. Citations from the Computerized Clinical Decision Support System Systematic Review (CCDSSR) and MMIT (Medications Management through Health Information Technology) databases, which had searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from 1974 to March 27, 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of clinician-targeted computerized drug lab alerts conducted in any healthcare setting. Two reviewers performed full text review to determine study eligibility. A single reviewer abstracted data and evaluated validity of included studies using Cochrane handbook domains. Thirty-six studies met the inclusion criteria (25 single drug studies with 22,504 participants, 14 targeting anticoagulation; 11 multi-drug studies with 56,769 participants). ADEs were reported as an outcome in only four trials, all targeting anticoagulants. Computerized drug-lab alerts did not reduce ADEs (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.79-1.00, p=0.05), length of hospital stay (SMD 0.00, 95%CI -0.93 to 0.93, p=0.055, 1 study), likelihood of hypoglycemia (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.31-5.37) or likelihood of bleeding, but were associated with increased likelihood of prescribing changes (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.21-2.47) or lab monitoring (OR 1.47, 95% confidence interval 1.12-1.94) in accordance with the alert. There is no evidence that computerized drug-lab alerts are associated with important clinical benefits, but there is evidence of improvement in selected clinical surrogate outcomes (time in therapeutic range for vitamin K antagonists), and changes in process outcomes (lab monitoring and prescribing decisions). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

GeneLab: NASA's Open Access, Collaborative Platform for Systems Biology and Space Medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berrios, Daniel C.; Thompson, Terri G.; Fogle, Homer W.; Rask, Jon C.; Coughlan, Joseph C.

2015-01-01

NASA is investing in GeneLab1 (http:genelab.nasa.gov), a multi-year effort to maximize utilization of the limited resources to conduct biological and medical research in space, principally aboard the International Space Station (ISS). High-throughput genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic or other omics analyses from experiments conducted on the ISS will be stored in the GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS), an open-science information system that will also include a biocomputation platform with collaborative science capabilities, to enable the discovery and validation of molecular networks.

Project-Based Learning in Education through an Undergraduate Lab Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joye, Donald D.; Hoffman, Adam; Christie, Jacqueline; Brown, Mayo; Niemczyk, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Three undergraduate students functioned as teaching assistants in unit ops lab for their senior project, which included developing a purchased size exclusion chromatography experiment, supervising the running of this experiment, and assisting the junior students with their calculations. They also read the reports, graded them, and commented on…

Analytic and subjective assessments of operator workload imposed by communications tasks in transport aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eckel, J. S.; Crabtree, M. S.

1984-01-01

Analytical and subjective techniques that are sensitive to the information transmission and processing requirements of individual communications-related tasks are used to assess workload imposed on the aircrew by A-10 communications requirements for civilian transport category aircraft. Communications-related tasks are defined to consist of the verbal exchanges between crews and controllers. Three workload estimating techniques are proposed. The first, an information theoretic analysis, is used to calculate bit values for perceptual, manual, and verbal demands in each communication task. The second, a paired-comparisons technique, obtains subjective estimates of the information processing and memory requirements for specific messages. By combining the results of the first two techniques, a hybrid analytical scale is created. The third, a subjective rank ordering of sequences of communications tasks, provides an overall scaling of communications workload. Recommendations for future research include an examination of communications-induced workload among the air crew and the development of simulation scenarios.

A Well-Maintained Lab Is a Safer Lab. Safety Spotlight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walls, William H.; Strimel, Greg J.

2018-01-01

Administration and funding can cause Engineering/Technology Education (ETE) programs to thrive or die. To administrators, the production/prototyping equipment and laboratory setting are often viewed as the features that set ETE apart from other school subjects. A lab is a unique gift as well as a responsibility. If an administrator can see that…

Kennedy's Biomedical Laboratory Makes Multi-Tasking Look Easy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, Carol Anne

2009-01-01

If it is one thing that Florida has in abundance, it is sunshine and with that sunshine heat and humidity. For workers at the Kennedy Space Center that have to work outside in the heat and humidity, heat exhaustion/stroke is a real possibility. It might help people to know that Kennedy's Biomedical Laboratory has been testing some new Koolvests(Trademark) that can be worn underneath SCAPE suits. They have also been working on how to block out high noise levels; in fact, Don Doerr, chief of the Biomedical Lab, says, "The most enjoyable aspect is knowing that the Biomedical Lab and the skills of its employees have been used to support safe space flight, not only for the astronaut flight crew, but just as important for the ground processing personnel as well." The NASA Biomedical Laboratory has existed in the John F. Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building since the Apollo Program. The primary mission of this laboratory has been the biomedical support to major, manned space programs that have included Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Skylab, and Shuttle. In this mission, the laboratory has been responsible in accomplishing much of the technical design, planning, provision, fabrication, and maintenance of flight and ground biomedical monitoring instrumentation. This includes the electronics in the launch flight suit and similar instrumentation systems in the spacecraft. (Note: The Lab checked out the system for STS-128 at Pad A using Firing room 4 and ground support equipment in the lab.) During Apollo, there were six engineers and ten technicians in the facility. This has evolved today to two NASA engineers and two NASA technicians, a Life Science Support contract physiologist and part-time support from an LSSC nurse and physician. Over the years, the lab has enjoyed collaboration with outside agencies and investigators. These have included on-site support to the Ames Research Center bed rest studies (seven years) and the European Space Agency studies in Toulouse, France (two

MatLab Programming for Engineers Having No Formal Programming Knowledge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaykhian, Linda H.; Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2007-01-01

MatLab is one of the most widely used very high level programming languages for Scientific and engineering computations. It is very user-friendly and needs practically no formal programming knowledge. Presented here are MatLab programming aspects and not just the MatLab commands for scientists and engineers who do not have formal programming training and also have no significant time to spare for learning programming to solve their real world problems. Specifically provided are programs for visualization. Also, stated are the current limitations of the MatLab, which possibly can be taken care of by Mathworks Inc. in a future version to make MatLab more versatile.

Quantifying Electromigration Processes in Sn-0.7Cu Solder with Lab-Scale X-Ray Computed Micro-Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mertens, James Charles Edwin

For decades, microelectronics manufacturing has been concerned with failures related to electromigration phenomena in conductors experiencing high current densities. The influence of interconnect microstructure on device failures related to electromigration in BGA and flip chip solder interconnects has become a significant interest with reduced individual solder interconnect volumes. A survey indicates that x-ray computed micro-tomography (muXCT) is an emerging, novel means for characterizing the microstructures' role in governing electromigration failures. This work details the design and construction of a lab-scale muXCT system to characterize electromigration in the Sn-0.7Cu lead-free solder system by leveraging in situ imaging. In order to enhance the attenuation contrast observed in multi-phase material systems, a modeling approach has been developed to predict settings for the controllable imaging parameters which yield relatively high detection rates over the range of x-ray energies for which maximum attenuation contrast is expected in the polychromatic x-ray imaging system. In order to develop this predictive tool, a model has been constructed for the Bremsstrahlung spectrum of an x-ray tube, and calculations for the detector's efficiency over the relevant range of x-ray energies have been made, and the product of emitted and detected spectra has been used to calculate the effective x-ray imaging spectrum. An approach has also been established for filtering 'zinger' noise in x-ray radiographs, which has proven problematic at high x-ray energies used for solder imaging. The performance of this filter has been compared with a known existing method and the results indicate a significant increase in the accuracy of zinger filtered radiographs. The obtained results indicate the conception of a powerful means for the study of failure causing processes in solder systems used as interconnects in microelectronic packaging devices. These results include the

Commerce Lab - A program of commercial flight opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, J.; Atkins, H. L.; Williams, J. R.

1985-01-01

Commerce Lab is conceived as an adjunct to the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) by providing a focal point for commercial missions which could utilize existing NSTS carrier and resource capabilities for on-orbit experimentation in the microgravity sciences. In this context, the Commerce Lab program provides mission planning for private sector involvement in the space program, in general, and the commercial exploitation of the microgravity environment for materials processing research and development. It is expected that Commerce Lab will provide a logical transition between currently planned NSTS missions and future microgravity science and commercial R&D missions centered around the Space Station. The present study identifies candidate Commerce Lab flight experiments and their development status and projects a mission traffic model that can be used in commercial mission planning.

Differences between Lab Completion and Non-Completion on Student Performance in an Online Undergraduate Environmental Science Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corsi, Gianluca

2011-12-01

Web-based technology has revolutionized the way education is delivered. Although the advantages of online learning appeal to large numbers of students, some concerns arise. One major concern in online science education is the value that participation in labs has on student performance. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between lab completion and student academic success as measured by test grades, scientific self-confidence, scientific skills, and concept mastery. A random sample of 114 volunteer undergraduate students, from an online Environmental Science program at the American Public University System, was tested. The study followed a quantitative, non-experimental research design. Paired sample t-tests were used for statistical comparison between pre-lab and post-lab test grades, two scientific skills quizzes, and two scientific self-confidence surveys administered at the beginning and at the end of the course. The results of the paired sample t-tests revealed statistically significant improvements on all post-lab test scores: Air Pollution lab, t(112) = 6.759, p < .001; Home Chemicals lab t(114) = 8.585, p < .001; Water Use lab, t(116) = 6.657, p < .001; Trees and Carbon lab, t(113) = 9.921, p < .001; Stratospheric Ozone lab, t(112) =12.974, p < .001; Renewable Energy lab, t(115) = 7.369, p < .001. The end of the course Scientific Skills quiz revealed statistically significant improvements, t(112) = 8.221, p < .001. The results of the two surveys showed a statistically significant improvement on student Scientific Self-Confidence because of lab completion, t(114) = 3.015, p < .05. Because age and gender were available, regression models were developed. The results indicated weak multiple correlation coefficients and were not statistically significant at alpha = .05. Evidence suggests that labs play a positive role in a student's academic success. It is recommended that lab experiences be included in all online Environmental Science

The effect of single-task and dual-task balance exercise programs on balance performance in adults with osteoporosis: a randomized controlled preliminary trial.

PubMed

Konak, H E; Kibar, S; Ergin, E S

2016-11-01

Osteoporosis is a serious disease characterized by muscle weakness in the lower extremities, shortened length of trunk, and increased dorsal kyphosis leading to poor balance performance. Although balance impairment increases in adults with osteoporosis, falls and fall-related injuries have been shown to occur mainly during the dual-task performance. Several studies have shown that dual-task performance was improved with specific repetitive dual-task exercises. The aims of this study were to compare the effect of single- and dual-task balance exercise programs on static balance, dynamic balance, and activity-specific balance confidence in adults with osteoporosis and to assess the effectiveness of dual-task balance training on gait speed under dual-task conditions. Older adults (N = 42) (age range, 45-88 years) with osteoporosis were randomly assigned into two groups. Single-task balance training group was given single-task balance exercises for 4 weeks, whereas dual-task balance training group received dual-task balance exercises. Participants received 45-min individualized training session, three times a week. Static balance was evaluated by one-leg stance (OLS) and a kinesthetic ability trainer (KAT) device. Dynamic balance was measured by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Time Up and Go (TUG) test, and gait speed. Self-confidence was assessed with the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC-6) scale. Assessments were performed at baseline and after the 4-week program. At the end of the treatment periods, KAT score, BBS score, time in OLS and TUG, gait speeds under single- and dual-task conditions, and ABC-6 scale scores improved significantly in all patients (p < 0.05). However, BBS and gait speeds under single- and dual-task conditions showed significantly greater improvement in the dual-task balance training group than in the single-task balance training group (p < 0.05). ABC-6 scale scores improved more in the single-task balance training group than

Frederick National Lab Collaboration Success Stories | FNLCR Staging

Cancer.gov

IBBR and Frederick National Lab Collaborate to Study Vaccine-Boosting Compounds The Frederick National Lab and the University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) will work under a formal collaboration to eval

Designing a ruggedisation lab to characterise materials for harsh environments.

PubMed

Frazzette, Nicholas; Jethva, Janak; Mehta, Khanjan; Stapleton, Joshua J; Randall, Clive

Designing products for use in developing countries presents a unique set of challenges including harsh operating environments, costly repairs and maintenance, and users with varying degrees of education and device familiarity. For products to be robust, adaptable and durable, they need to be ruggedised for environmental factors such as high temperature and humidity as well as different operational conditions such as shock and chemical exposure. The product characterisation and ruggedisation processes require specific expertise and resources that are seldom available outside of large corporations and elite national research labs. There is no standardised process since product needs strongly depend on the context and user base, making it particularly onerous for underfunded start-ups and academic groups. Standardised protocols that identify essential lab testing regimens for specific contexts and user groups can complement field-testing and accelerate the product development process while reducing costs. This article synthesises current methods and strategies for product testing employed by large corporations as well as defence-related entities. A technological and organisational framework for a service-for-fee product characterisation and ruggedisation lab that reduces costs and shortens the timespan from product invention to commercial launch in harsh settings is presented.

Microsoft Licenses Berkeley Lab's Home Energy Saver Code for Its Energy

Science.gov Websites

-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings. About one million people visit the Home Management Software | Berkeley Lab Berkeley Lab A-Z Index Directory Submit Web People Navigation Berkeley Lab Search Submit Web People Close About the Lab Leadership/Organization Calendar News

Reducing unnecessary lab testing in the ICU with artificial intelligence.

PubMed

Cismondi, F; Celi, L A; Fialho, A S; Vieira, S M; Reti, S R; Sousa, J M C; Finkelstein, S N

2013-05-01

To reduce unnecessary lab testing by predicting when a proposed future lab test is likely to contribute information gain and thereby influence clinical management in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Recent studies have demonstrated that frequent laboratory testing does not necessarily relate to better outcomes. Data preprocessing, feature selection, and classification were performed and an artificial intelligence tool, fuzzy modeling, was used to identify lab tests that do not contribute an information gain. There were 11 input variables in total. Ten of these were derived from bedside monitor trends heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, temperature, blood pressure, and urine collections, as well as infusion products and transfusions. The final input variable was a previous value from one of the eight lab tests being predicted: calcium, PTT, hematocrit, fibrinogen, lactate, platelets, INR and hemoglobin. The outcome for each test was a binary framework defining whether a test result contributed information gain or not. Predictive modeling was applied to recognize unnecessary lab tests in a real world ICU database extract comprising 746 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Classification accuracy of necessary and unnecessary lab tests of greater than 80% was achieved for all eight lab tests. Sensitivity and specificity were satisfactory for all the outcomes. An average reduction of 50% of the lab tests was obtained. This is an improvement from previously reported similar studies with average performance 37% by [1-3]. Reducing frequent lab testing and the potential clinical and financial implications are an important issue in intensive care. In this work we present an artificial intelligence method to predict the benefit of proposed future laboratory tests. Using ICU data from 746 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, and eleven measurements, we demonstrate high accuracy in predicting the likely information to be gained from proposed future

Reducing unnecessary lab testing in the ICU with artificial intelligence

PubMed Central

Cismondi, F.; Celi, L.A.; Fialho, A.S.; Vieira, S.M.; Reti, S.R.; Sousa, J.M.C.; Finkelstein, S.N.

2017-01-01

Objectives To reduce unnecessary lab testing by predicting when a proposed future lab test is likely to contribute information gain and thereby influence clinical management in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Recent studies have demonstrated that frequent laboratory testing does not necessarily relate to better outcomes. Design Data preprocessing, feature selection, and classification were performed and an artificial intelligence tool, fuzzy modeling, was used to identify lab tests that do not contribute an information gain. There were 11 input variables in total. Ten of these were derived from bedside monitor trends heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, temperature, blood pressure, and urine collections, as well as infusion products and transfusions. The final input variable was a previous value from one of the eight lab tests being predicted: calcium, PTT, hematocrit, fibrinogen, lactate, platelets, INR and hemoglobin. The outcome for each test was a binary framework defining whether a test result contributed information gain or not. Patients Predictive modeling was applied to recognize unnecessary lab tests in a real world ICU database extract comprising 746 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Main results Classification accuracy of necessary and unnecessary lab tests of greater than 80% was achieved for all eight lab tests. Sensitivity and specificity were satisfactory for all the outcomes. An average reduction of 50% of the lab tests was obtained. This is an improvement from previously reported similar studies with average performance 37% by [1–3]. Conclusions Reducing frequent lab testing and the potential clinical and financial implications are an important issue in intensive care. In this work we present an artificial intelligence method to predict the benefit of proposed future laboratory tests. Using ICU data from 746 patients with gastrointestinal bleeding, and eleven measurements, we demonstrate high accuracy in predicting the

Results from teleoperated free-flying spacecraft simulations in the Martin Marietta space operations simulator lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Craig S.

1990-01-01

To augment the capabilities of the Space Transportation System, NASA has funded studies and developed programs aimed at developing reusable, remotely piloted spacecraft and satellite servicing systems capable of delivering, retrieving, and servicing payloads at altitudes and inclinations beyond the reach of the present Shuttle Orbiters. Since the mid 1970's, researchers at the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group Space Operations Simulation (SOS) Laboratory have been engaged in investigations of remotely piloted and supervised autonomous spacecraft operations. These investigations were based on high fidelity, real-time simulations and have covered a wide range of human factors issues related to controllability. Among these are: (1) mission conditions, including thruster plume impingements and signal time delays; (2) vehicle performance variables, including control authority, control harmony, minimum impulse, and cross coupling of accelerations; (3) maneuvering task requirements such as target distance and dynamics; (4) control parameters including various control modes and rate/displacement deadbands; and (5) display parameters involving camera placement and function, visual aids, and presentation of operational feedback from the spacecraft. This presentation includes a brief description of the capabilities of the SOS Lab to simulate real-time free-flyer operations using live video, advanced technology ground and on-orbit workstations, and sophisticated computer models of on-orbit spacecraft behavior. Sample results from human factors studies in the five categories cited above are provided.

Latest results from FROST at Jefferson Lab

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

Ritchie, Barry G.

2014-06-01

The spectrum of broad and overlapping nucleon excitations can be greatly clarified by use of a polarized photon beam incident on a polarized target in meson photoproduction experiments. At Jefferson Lab, a program of such measurements has made use of the Jefferson Lab FROzen Spin Target (FROST). An overview of preliminary results are presented.

The Contexts of mathematics tasks and the context of the classroom: Are we including all students?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, Peter; Zevenbergen, Robyn; Mousley, Judith

2003-09-01

Mathematics teachers are encouraged to use realistic contexts in order to make mathematics more meaningful and accessible for all students. However, the focus group research reported in this article shows that decisions on the suitability of contexts are complex and multidimensional. Similarly, the way the task contexts are presented, and the way the tasks are incorporated into classroom routines have potential to alienate some groups of students. We suggest that teachers and researchers should be sensitive to difficulties that students might experience as a result of both the task and classroom contexts, and take specific steps to avoid or overcome the difficulties.

Three-dimensional femtosecond laser processing for lab-on-a-chip applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sima, Felix; Sugioka, Koji; Vázquez, Rebeca Martínez; Osellame, Roberto; Kelemen, Lóránd; Ormos, Pal

2018-02-01

The extremely high peak intensity associated with ultrashort pulse width of femtosecond laser allows us to induce nonlinear interaction such as multiphoton absorption and tunneling ionization with materials that are transparent to the laser wavelength. More importantly, focusing the femtosecond laser beam inside the transparent materials confines the nonlinear interaction only within the focal volume, enabling three-dimensional (3D) micro- and nanofabrication. This 3D capability offers three different schemes, which involve undeformative, subtractive, and additive processing. The undeformative processing preforms internal refractive index modification to construct optical microcomponents including optical waveguides. Subtractive processing can realize the direct fabrication of 3D microfluidics, micromechanics, microelectronics, and photonic microcomponents in glass. Additive processing represented by two-photon polymerization enables the fabrication of 3D polymer micro- and nanostructures for photonic and microfluidic devices. These different schemes can be integrated to realize more functional microdevices including lab-on-a-chip devices, which are miniaturized laboratories that can perform reaction, detection, analysis, separation, and synthesis of biochemical materials with high efficiency, high speed, high sensitivity, low reagent consumption, and low waste production. This review paper describes the principles and applications of femtosecond laser 3D micro- and nanofabrication for lab-on-a-chip applications. A hybrid technique that promises to enhance functionality of lab-on-a-chip devices is also introduced.

Formulation design of taste-masked particles, including famotidine, for an oral fast-disintegrating dosage form.

PubMed

Mizumoto, Takao; Tamura, Tetsuya; Kawai, Hitoshi; Kajiyama, Atsushi; Itai, Shigeru

2008-04-01

In this study, the taste-masking of famotidine, which could apply to any fast-disintegrating tablet, was investigated using the spray-dry method. The target characteristics of taste-masked particles were set as follows: the dissolution rate is not to be more than 30% at 1 min and not less than 85% at 15 min, and the particle size is not to be more than 150 microm in diameter to avoid a gritty feeling in the mouth. The target dissolution profiles of spray-dried particles consisting of Aquacoat ECD30 and Eudragit NE30D or triacetin was accomplished by the screening of formulas and the appropriate lab-scale manufacturing conditions. Lab-scale testing produced taste-masked particles that met the formulation targets. On the pilot scale, spray-dried particles with attributes, such as dissolution rate and particle size, of the same quality were produced, and reproducibility was also confirmed. This confirmed that the spray-dry method produced the most appropriate taste-masked particles for fast-disintegrating dosage forms.

The Mysterious Death: An HPLC Lab Experiment. An Undergraduate Forensic Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beussman, Douglas J.

2007-01-01

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) laboratory experiment based on the separation of four prescription drugs (disopyramide, lidocaine, procainamide, and quinidine) is presented. The experiment is set within the forensic science context of the discovery of a patient's mysterious death where a drug overdose is suspected. Each lab group…

Sodium Blood Test: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

MedlinePlus

... Lab Tests Online [Internet]. American Association for Clinical Chemistry; c2001–2017. Cirrhosis; [updated 2017 Jan 8; cited ... Lab Tests Online [Internet]. American Association for Clinical Chemistry; c2001–2017. Electrolytes: Common Questions [updated 2015 Dec ...

Modern Laboratory Exercises in Astronomy V: New Lab Exercises, Electronic Publication and Dissemination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caton, D. B.; Gray, R. O.; Pollock, J. T.; Burns, W. C.; Hawkins, R. L.

1993-12-01

New lab exercises are presented, continuing a series developed over the past few years (see Caton and Pollock, BAAS 18 No. 4, 22 Nos. 1 and 4, and 23 No.4, and 24 No. 4), including a PC-based spectral classification exercise that displays spectra on a VGA screen, and a simple PC-based eclipsing binary light curve simulation program. Information packets will be available, including software, lab exercises, and instructor's notes. These will be on paper and on (PC) disk, in ASCII and WordPerfect formats, including some figures in AutoDesk's Generic CADD form. This will allow other institutions to modify the exercises to fit their own equipment and procedures. Information will also be provided on accessing a PC that we have installed on the Internet to allow acquisition of future updates and additional materials that will be developed.

Integrating Multiple On-line Knowledge Bases for Disease-Lab Test Relation Extraction.

PubMed

Zhang, Yaoyun; Soysal, Ergin; Moon, Sungrim; Wang, Jingqi; Tao, Cui; Xu, Hua

2015-01-01

A computable knowledge base containing relations between diseases and lab tests would be a great resource for many biomedical informatics applications. This paper describes our initial step towards establishing a comprehensive knowledge base of disease and lab tests relations utilizing three public on-line resources. LabTestsOnline, MedlinePlus and Wikipedia are integrated to create a freely available, computable disease-lab test knowledgebase. Disease and lab test concepts are identified using MetaMap and relations between diseases and lab tests are determined based on source-specific rules. Experimental results demonstrate a high precision for relation extraction, with Wikipedia achieving the highest precision of 87%. Combining the three sources reached a recall of 51.40%, when compared with a subset of disease-lab test relations extracted from a reference book. Moreover, we found additional disease-lab test relations from on-line resources, indicating they are complementary to existing reference books for building a comprehensive disease and lab test relation knowledge base.

LIVING LAB: User-Driven Innovation for Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liedtke, Christa; Welfens, Maria Jolanta; Rohn, Holger; Nordmann, Julia

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarize and discuss the results from the LIVING LAB design study, a project within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. The aim of this project was to develop the conceptual design of the LIVING LAB Research Infrastructure that will be used to research human interaction with, and stimulate…

Semantic SenseLab: implementing the vision of the Semantic Web in neuroscience

PubMed Central

Samwald, Matthias; Chen, Huajun; Ruttenberg, Alan; Lim, Ernest; Marenco, Luis; Miller, Perry; Shepherd, Gordon; Cheung, Kei-Hoi

2011-01-01

Summary Objective Integrative neuroscience research needs a scalable informatics framework that enables semantic integration of diverse types of neuroscience data. This paper describes the use of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and other Semantic Web technologies for the representation and integration of molecular-level data provided by several of SenseLab suite of neuroscience databases. Methods Based on the original database structure, we semi-automatically translated the databases into OWL ontologies with manual addition of semantic enrichment. The SenseLab ontologies are extensively linked to other biomedical Semantic Web resources, including the Subcellular Anatomy Ontology, Brain Architecture Management System, the Gene Ontology, BIRNLex and UniProt. The SenseLab ontologies have also been mapped to the Basic Formal Ontology and Relation Ontology, which helps ease interoperability with many other existing and future biomedical ontologies for the Semantic Web. In addition, approaches to representing contradictory research statements are described. The SenseLab ontologies are designed for use on the Semantic Web that enables their integration into a growing collection of biomedical information resources. Conclusion We demonstrate that our approach can yield significant potential benefits and that the Semantic Web is rapidly becoming mature enough to realize its anticipated promises. The ontologies are available online at http://neuroweb.med.yale.edu/senselab/ PMID:20006477

Digital signal processing at Bell Labs-Foundations for speech and acoustics research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabiner, Lawrence R.

2004-05-01

Digital signal processing (DSP) is a fundamental tool for much of the research that has been carried out of Bell Labs in the areas of speech and acoustics research. The fundamental bases for DSP include the sampling theorem of Nyquist, the method for digitization of analog signals by Shannon et al., methods of spectral analysis by Tukey, the cepstrum by Bogert et al., and the FFT by Tukey (and Cooley of IBM). Essentially all of these early foundations of DSP came out of the Bell Labs Research Lab in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. This fundamental research was motivated by fundamental applications (mainly in the areas of speech, sonar, and acoustics) that led to novel design methods for digital filters (Kaiser, Golden, Rabiner, Schafer), spectrum analysis methods (Rabiner, Schafer, Allen, Crochiere), fast convolution methods based on the FFT (Helms, Bergland), and advanced digital systems used to implement telephony channel banks (Jackson, McDonald, Freeny, Tewksbury). This talk summarizes the key contributions to DSP made at Bell Labs, and illustrates how DSP was utilized in the areas of speech and acoustics research. It also shows the vast, worldwide impact of this DSP research on modern consumer electronics.

Semantic SenseLab: Implementing the vision of the Semantic Web in neuroscience.

PubMed

Samwald, Matthias; Chen, Huajun; Ruttenberg, Alan; Lim, Ernest; Marenco, Luis; Miller, Perry; Shepherd, Gordon; Cheung, Kei-Hoi

2010-01-01

Integrative neuroscience research needs a scalable informatics framework that enables semantic integration of diverse types of neuroscience data. This paper describes the use of the Web Ontology Language (OWL) and other Semantic Web technologies for the representation and integration of molecular-level data provided by several of SenseLab suite of neuroscience databases. Based on the original database structure, we semi-automatically translated the databases into OWL ontologies with manual addition of semantic enrichment. The SenseLab ontologies are extensively linked to other biomedical Semantic Web resources, including the Subcellular Anatomy Ontology, Brain Architecture Management System, the Gene Ontology, BIRNLex and UniProt. The SenseLab ontologies have also been mapped to the Basic Formal Ontology and Relation Ontology, which helps ease interoperability with many other existing and future biomedical ontologies for the Semantic Web. In addition, approaches to representing contradictory research statements are described. The SenseLab ontologies are designed for use on the Semantic Web that enables their integration into a growing collection of biomedical information resources. We demonstrate that our approach can yield significant potential benefits and that the Semantic Web is rapidly becoming mature enough to realize its anticipated promises. The ontologies are available online at http://neuroweb.med.yale.edu/senselab/. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gourmet Lab: The Scientific Principles Behind Your Favorite Foods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Sarah

2011-01-01

Hands-on, inquiry-based, and relevant to every student's life, "Gourmet Lab" serves up a full menu of activities for science teachers of grades 6-12. This collection of 15 hands-on experiments--each of which includes a full set of both student and teacher pages--challenges students to take on the role of scientist and chef, as they boil,…

Development of a magnetic lab-on-a-chip for point-of-care sepsis diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schotter, Joerg; Shoshi, Astrit; Brueckl, Hubert

2009-05-01

We present design criteria, operation principles and experimental examples of magnetic marker manipulation for our magnetic lab-on-a-chip prototype. It incorporates both magnetic sample preparation and detection by embedded GMR-type magnetoresistive sensors and is optimized for the automated point-of-care detection of four different sepsis-indicative cytokines directly from about 5 μl of whole blood. The sample volume, magnetic particle size and cytokine concentration determine the microfluidic volume, sensor size and dimensioning of the magnetic gradient field generators. By optimizing these parameters to the specific diagnostic task, best performance is expected with respect to sensitivity, analysis time and reproducibility.